Opening Moves

Knocke smiled disarmingly.

“One day Maior Haefeli.” Knocke turned to acknowledge the other man, an old legion caporal whose eyes were moist, the moment still working within him.

“Sir,” the NCO cleared his throat to try to speak without emotion. He failed. “My name is Yitzhak Rubenstein and I am German, and you, Sir, are a mentsch.”

Ernst could do no more than pat the man on the shoulder and nod. No further words were necessary.

Bringing himself back to the moment and the purpose of his excursion into the lower Château, Knocke went to salute and curtailed his action, again conscious of his lack of headwear.

Removing his kepi, Haefeli extended it to Knocke.

“If you would so honour me Colonel.”

Hesitating for a moment, Knocke understood what a precious accolade the Swiss Officer was giving him.

“It will be my honour Maior Haefeli. Thank you.”

A dark blue officer’s kepi of the 2e Regiment D’Infanterie, Légion Étrangère sat on the head of a man wearing the black panzer uniform and medals of the defeated German Reich. Those who examined the combination closely found it very much to their liking.

The Swiss grinned from ear to ear.

“It suits you Colonel.”

“I believe it does Herr Maior!”

The smile was returned, along with a formal salute and, with a last glance at the Russian corpses, Knocke moved off to the field hospital to check up on the wounded.

Suddenly weary, Haefeli closed his eyes and raised his face to the sky, feeling the warmth upon his face but could not enjoy it, for he knew that the sun, bright and strong in the early morning, was casting its rays on a very different world.

Chapter 39 – THE BALTIC

Of all the branches of men in the forces there is none which shows more devotion and faces grimmer perils than the submariners.

Sir Winston Spencer Churchill

Traditional Naval Monday toast – “To Our Ships at Sea.”

0521 hrs Monday, 6th August 1945, Aboard ShCh-307, Baltic Sea, 20kms East-South-East of Gedser Point, Lolland, Denmark.

Some time previously, a Soviet built Shchuka-class submarine sweeping well ahead of a Soviet convoy transporting invasion troops to Denmark, had picked up indications of vessels gliding gently through the cold Baltic waters. The detection apparatus indicated that the sounds were fast screw warships and when Captain Third Rank Mikhail Kalinin took a swift look through his attack periscope, he was delighted to discover that there had been sufficient moonlight for him to identify the silhouettes. Ceding the periscope to his First Officer, they agreed that the larger ships were the two British Cruisers they were informed of, one of the heavy County class and a light cruiser, probably Dido class.

Around them fussed four destroyers, and they were preceded by what were probably a pair of minesweepers.

Kalinin was a successful Captain already sporting the Red Star, and he quietly and calmly manoeuvred his submarine into firing position, taking occasional snatched looks through his periscope, conscious of the need for restraint until the allotted time but also very aware of the damage these cruisers could cause if they got in amongst his charges in such confined waters.

As the chronometer crept slowly towards 0530 hrs, Kalinin maintained his firing solution, constantly updating with new headings and readings as the warships drove forward. Inside he was increasingly concerned, especially when the enemy group all increased speed. Perhaps, he agonised, the British radar operators had recognised the approaching invasion group for what it was, not the friendly naval flotilla with who they had been invited to conduct exercises for the day, prior to putting into Rostock for the night to enjoy some comradely fraternisation. However, despite his own inner tensions, his outer calmness spread through his crew and settled all nerves.

All torpedo tube doors were already open, awaiting the order to fire.

A final solution adjustment, a snatched look through his periscope and he made a last check of the hour. Judging that running time would take any strike past the appointed hour he ordered all four bow tubes fired. The First officer discharged his duty and ShCh-307 shuddered as each tube was emptied in turn.

Kalinin then ordered a dive to the bottom, some thirty metres down, to try to evade any prosecution by the escorts and to reload. Unfortunately for him and his craft, there was no good depth available to hide in here, like much of the Baltic.

Further orders were dispatched encouraging the forward crew to make the reload time the best yet.

As they headed deeper, the sonar operator reported other sounds of torpedoes fired nearby. Submarine K-56 had added to the impressive amount of high explosive that was running hot in the cold Baltic.