At the time Tovey was some 225 miles to the south, and the American Task Force 16 was 150 miles northwest of his position. Somerville was an equal distance south, and the three forces, steaming for Newfoundland, formed a slowly compressing wall of steel as their courses converged. Then a further report came in from the PBY: amazingly, the enemy ship changed course in a direction no one expected, not east or southeast into the Atlantic, but southwest on a heading that would put it off the coast of Newfoundland in another twenty four hours.
“The gall of that ship,” Tovey exclaimed. “Do they think the Royal Navy has just turned tail and run home?”
“More than likely they’ve got other ideas,” said Brind. “They may have even got wind of this secret meeting.”
“What could they possibly be up to with that heading?” Tovey shook his head.
“It could be a fuel situation,” Brind suggested. “Perhaps they have a tanker hidden away that the Americans failed to spot. The weather has been somewhat grim. Then again…If they do know about the Prime Minister’s meeting, that ship is on a course that will put it in firing range of Argentia Bay given the range of these rockets.”
Tovey raised his eyebrows at that. “Damn,” he said. “Could the Germans have known about this meeting all along? I only learned the details but a few days ago.”
“True, sir, but there it is. The raider would be here tomorrow morning if it holds its present course and speed.” Brind pointed to the map off the northeast cape of Newfoundland. He took up a pair of calipers and neatly drew a circle. “That’s the range we’ve observed on these rockets.” The arc of fire covered the whole of Argentia Bay.
“We’ll have to do something about this, Brind. We can’t very well have Jerry taking pot shots at the Prime Minister, can we? Look here… If we put out the word and make all the speed we can, perhaps we can cover that coastline and herd this raider into the Sea of Labrador. All we have to do is form a line and then sweep north.” Tovey moved his arm, as if stroking a tennis ball and knocking the German ship halfway to Greenland. “We’ve enough ships to cover well over 200 miles. We’ve got her now, Brind. She’s stickling her neck out with this maneuver, and right into our jaws of steel.”
The Admiral could see an opportunity here, and he immediately asked the Prime Minister if he would consider transferring to a fast cruiser, and sail on ahead, well screened and protected by all the ships now gathering in the region. That way he could keep Prince of Wales in hand for the battle he hoped was just hours away now.
Churchill, balked, at first, hoping to stay at sea for the action. “Giving me the bums rush, Admiral?” he complained. “I was hoping to actually see you get your teeth into this German ship.” He was eventually persuaded that this would be most unwise, and the early arrival of the Americans and FDR at Argentia proved a sufficient lure. That decided, the Prime Minister was ferried over to the cruiser Devonshire and, thankfully, Admiral Pound went along as well. Tovey detached three destroyers with them, Echo in the van, and Eclipse and Escapade to either side. Designated Task Force C, the group sped away at all of 34 knots, hastening on toward their fateful rendezvous at Argentia Bay.
This allowed Tovey to take the rest of Home Fleet, including Prince of Wales, northwest on a course that would eventually put him just east of the American Task Force 16. Being informed of the American order of battle, he reasoned that together they would then have sixteen ships, including three battleships, a battlecruiser, five cruisers and seven destroyers-a wall of steel stretching from the coast of Newfoundland some 200 miles out to sea, in a good position to find and smother this enemy raider when they turned north.
That was not all. With FDR safely ashore, the Americans were now free to reinforce their fleet with the addition of the battleships New York, Arkansas, three or four fast cruisers and double that number of destroyers in Desron 7. Admiral Starke convinced King that this was, indeed, a job for the cruisers.
“Leave the battleships behind,” he suggested. We can use their AA guns to beef up air defense in the bay here in the event the Germans try lobbing some of these new glide bombs and rockets our way.” He also wanted FDR in the best armored ships he had, and the cruisers and destroyers had the speed required for a hunt at sea. He put it in terms King quickly understood and embraced. “Release the hounds, Rey. Let’s get the dogs out after this bastard and run it down. The old battleships will just get in the way and, if need be, you’ve got Mississippi out there already, though I suggest you make her the goalie in this game.”
King agreed that this was a much better plan, and so the venerable WWI battleships New York, the “Lady Broadway,” and Arkansas, “Old Arky,” hove to in Argentia Bay, with FDR and all the remaining brass eagerly awaiting the arrival of Churchill. The fast cruisers left hours later, Brooklyn, Nashville, Augusta, and Tuscaloosa, all eager to get out to sea and into the hunt. There was an empty berth back home where Vincennes once anchored, and they had a score to settle.
When Marshall brought up the fact that the US was still technically neutral King bristled at the notion. “You tell that to John Reeves and the rest of his crew on Wasp,” he said.
An hour later Roosevelt had drafted and issued a Presidential Order for the U.S. Navy to find and sink any and all hostile ships within 300 miles of the coast of Newfoundland. The Americans were edging ever closer to an open declaration of war, which was nothing more than a formality now. All FDR had to do was make sure Admiral King realized the British were out there as well, and that they were not hostile ships, in spite of the Admiral’s distaste for the ‘conniving limeys’ as he called them.
As the clock ticked off the time, an unspoken Zero Hour loomed in the minds of every man involved, and that same clock was ticking aboard Kirov as well.
Just as Karpov was pressing Orlov for his support, Zolkin and the Admiral were finishing up their conversation in the sick bay. “Don’t worry about Karpov,” he said. “If he starts another battle I’ll carry you up to the bridge myself.”
“That man is dangerous,” said Volsky. “He claims to have only the interests of the ship and crew at heart, yet I feel there is something more there.”
“I agree,” said Zolkin. “There is more to the man than meets the eye. He is brooding on something, scheming. You can see it in his body language, Leonid. But understand his situation. He is captain of the ship, but yet not captain as long as you are aboard.”
“Professional jealousy?”
“More than that. It is a kind of adverse reaction to higher authority. In my opinion he regards his own judgment as unassailable, and resents any interference. He may accord you the respect your rank deserves, but I think it is mere lip service and that he views you as an obstacle, or worse, as an interloper aboard a ship that is rightfully his. I have seen a thousand men like him over the years. It seems our Mother Russia breeds them in batches. Do you notice how he closes up physically whenever questioned? He folds his arms defensively. His eyes narrow, and his expressions clearly register impatience, resentment and even annoyance.”
“The man has an ego, most certainly.”
“You must be cautious with such a man. He can become a dangerous and unpredictable enemy.”
“What are you suggesting, that Karpov might attempt to subvert my authority?”
“Possibly. We are not operating under normal circumstances, my friend. Severomorsk is not a radio message away any longer. The entire chain of command aboard this ship derives from authority vested in men by a world that no longer even exists! The men are performing their duties. They say, yes sir; no sir; if I may, sir, but this is mere protocol, reflexive behavior on one level.”
“I think I have earned the respect of these men many times over,” said Volsky.
“That you have, and this is your strongest asset at the moment. Take off the stripes and uniforms and we are all just men, Leonid, and men do odd things in situations of extreme pressure. In Karpov’s case, they salute the rank, but I do not think they salute or admire the man. In your case I think the men genuinely love and respect you, and would follow you irrespective of your rank. You are “Papa Volsky,” the Grand Admiral of the Fleet. Some still hold you in awe, others see you as a father figure. Yet sometimes a father has a wayward and rebellious son, yes? This is Karpov. And when a man like Karpov feels threatened, he will seek allies before he acts.”
“Aboard this ship?”
“Where else? And you can make a very short list of the men most likely to see things his way.”
Volsky was silent for a time, his face pained under those thick brows, eyes furrowed, distant, as if seeing
