“So now Churchill wants us to nuke them?”
“That sounds harsh,” said Volsky, “and I suppose it is, but here is what they proposed. They want us to strike the German special weapons development center at Peenemünde. Apparently, they attempted to bomb the place, but without satisfactory results. Now they are afraid the Germans will soon disperse their special weapons to avoid losing key assets in one place like that, so, and somewhat ironically, time is of the essence.”
“Operation Hydra used over 500 bombers,” said Fedorov. “That happened a few months early, as it didn’t take place until August on our original meridian. They won’t try another operation on that scale again for nearly a year, in July of 1944 with Mission 481. That sent almost 400 B-17’s escorted by nearly 300 fighters, and it still failed to shut the place down. Face it, these massed bombing raids just don’t have the precision to strike key targets, and we don’t have the missile range—or the missiles—to commit to such an operation with a conventional attack.”
“Well,” said Karpov, “unless we want to try and sneak in right off Bremerhaven, we’d have to be well out in the North Sea to avoid being found and attacked by German aircraft. That could be dealt with, but again, at a cost in SAM’s that we don’t really want to expend. That would put us 500 kilometers from the target. We would have to use one of the long-range Zircons, and yet, consider the cost to us in strategic striking power. We have only two special warheads left… Unless you have something in the sea chest, Captain Gromyko.”
“Gromyko gave Karpov a look, but said nothing.”
“Should we use that kind of power on an attack like this?”
“Here is what the British propose,” said Volsky. “London was already attacked, so they know the Germans have a working bomb. That alone should chill our blood. Even if we run a successful mission to eliminate Volkov, this is still a far more serious threat. Remember, we are staying here. This is our war, and we will have to face this question sooner or later if the German weapons program is not stopped.”
“Agreed,” said Fedorov. “Right now, everything is largely in one nest. Their project started September 1st of 1939. They have been working on getting enriched uranium, heavy water production, and uranium isotope separation. That was their main lagging point, getting the fuel they needed.”
“They obviously solved the problem,” said Volsky. “Mister Churchill now wants to make a most convincing demonstration. The British think the Germans may already suspect that London has the bomb. After all, there was that incident involving the detonation at sea during our pursuit of the German fleet.”
Karpov eyed Gromyko. At least this was one detonation that could not be laid at his feet. “Alright,” he said. “Our intelligence has determined that the Germans do, in fact, believe that the British have a weapon. Yet Hitler was bold enough to use his bomb the first chance he got! Our Mister Tyrenkov had determined that this was most likely a prototype.”
“So the British want to show Hitler that two can play this deadly game,” said Volsky. “Tovey said that Churchill believes this attack against Peenemünde can be most helpful, and not just by eliminating the German special weapons programs. He is planning to send a communication to Berlin after that attack, and state that it was in direct reprisal for the raid on London.”
“Tit for tat,” said Karpov.
“Precisely,” said Volsky. “But Churchill will also make a proposal that if the Germans refrain from any further deployment and use of these weapons, Britain and her allies will do the same. There is already an agreement concerning chemical and biological weapons.”
“The Geneva Protocol,” said Fedorov. “Yes, that was signed in The Hague in 1925. If they could add atomic weapons to the list, that would be a good step forward. It may give the Americans a bit of a problem if they can’t use the bomb on the Japanese, but at least it might stop a holocaust well before 1945 in this war.”
“That delicate balance of terror,” said Volsky.
“Would such an agreement hold?” asked Karpov. “Remember, this comes at a high cost to us.”
“Oh?” said Volsky. “You had other plans for your warheads, Mister Karpov?”
“Not exactly, though having a pair of Aces in your hand never hurts when it comes time to place your bets. And I’ll remind you that the only reason we are still here to even have this discussion is because I had a special warhead available for use in that most unusual engagement we just fought.”
“Yes, but if we could get such an agreement, with both sides vowing to refrain from using these warheads, then I think we have done something very significant here. That might even extend to the post-war world. Without the use of Atomic weapons in this war, perhaps we might prevent the arms race that leads inevitably to the next one.”
Hitler’s bomb would not be the last. They knew that the Americans were feverishly working on these weapons as well as the Soviets and Japanese. This would be the last great war fought with tanks and ships and planes. The next one would be fought with the sleek missiles that had come with the Russian ship, Kirov, and it would end in the bright fire of utter doom. After that, Einstein had famously said that any subsequent war would have to be fought with sticks and stones….
“I tend to agree,” said Fedorov, “but it will mean we would have to take the ship to the North Sea to get within Zircon range of Peenemünde. That’s a long journey, most likely over the north passage, and then we still have to defend ourselves to get in close enough to launch our strike.”
“It would also mean we leave the Pacific to the Japanese and their new F-35’s,” said Karpov, none too happy about that. “However, we have another alternative.”
“And what is that?” asked Volsky.
“Tunguska, that airship out there. We were going to take it to Ilanskiy, but I have plenty of airships. We could rig out Tunguska to launch a shorter range missile and we could fly to Peenemünde much faster and easier than that trip through the north passage.”
“What about German air patrols?” asked Volsky.
“What about them? Tunguska is a high flyer. No German plane could reach us, and if one tried, I’d blow it out of the sky. We already have Oko Panel radars installed on Tunguska, and Ilga hand held SAMs that can range out 6000 meters. We’ll get there, and deliver the weapon on target. I’ll handle it—or at least my brother will. This is the perfect mission for him. That will also allow me to remain here in the Pacific, aboard Kirov. Something tells me we haven’t seen the last of this Japanese task force we tangled with. We could get news at any time that would require us to sortie.”
“You think they will be coming for us up here?” asked Volsky.
“No, I doubt that. But they’ll be gunning for the Americans soon if we allow them to persist here. I’ve spoken to the Captain of the ship we took down. If he survived that, we might just get him on the line again and see if we can come to some agreement.”
“Another protocol?” said Fedorov.
“Why not? They know damn well what they can do to Halsey’s carriers, but I think we should consider trying to dissuade them. We’ve hurt them once, and they know we’re a threat. If we could get them to stay out of this fight, I’m willing to agree to refrain from any further operations against Japan here.”