The Red Collusion Read online

  A wry smile appeared on Yevgeni’s face.

  “Look, we are a team of experts, right? The sixth man gives the impression of being a bit of an expert in a bit of everything. This is usually the expertise of KGB men. Or he may belong to our host’s military intelligence. In my opinion, he supervises us on their behalf. We need to include him more so that he doesn’t get suspicions of our real roles in the team. Okay, let’s start the meeting – everybody’s watching us.”

  “Good morning”, Yevgeni said, quickly scanning his colleagues’ faces.

  “This is not our first meeting, but it is the first that will yield a specific detailed plan, and we have a lot of work to do. But before we start, I have two comments. Yesterday, we were all clutching our heads, but it must be clear to everyone that not much has changed since yesterday. This is a large and complex plan and I have no doubt that many moments of desperation and failures await us.

  “The Minister is coming back here tomorrow, this time with more experts. In my estimation, these will be Navy men or operations research specialists.”

  “Or both”, Dimitri added.

  “You are right, Dimitri. The Navy men, you know how to deal with. As for the others, we don’t know if they will question us on the very technical points, or if the Minister will include them in an open discussion in order to examine all the ramifications of such an operation. We have three issues, in three different areas. Let’s start with you, Colonel Nazarbayev.”

  The Kazakh colonel was attentive.

  “The blast that will be carried out at a certain distance from the American submarine must have one purpose only: to cause its crew to think that a nuclear explosion has occurred on the East Coast of the United States. I will be more specific. We need to execute a small blast that is far enough from the submarine for the submarine not to hear the blast itself, but near enough for it to detect signals from a seismological station that indicate a nuclear explosion or an earthquake.

  “In my estimation, if we catch such an American submarine in the North Sea, then our blast should indicate to them that an explosion has occurred about six thousand nautical miles from them. This is a huge distance. You, Colonel Nazarbayev, will also tell us whether an undersea blast or an explosion above sea water should be made. You should call up the brightest mathematicians and operations research specialists to carry out the calculations that will produce two clear and explicit answers. One, what should be the magnitude of the blast? Two, precisely at what distance from the submarine should it be made? Regarding the location of the blast in relation to the submarine, obviously, it depends on where we catch it. If the submarine is on its way to the North Sea, then the explosion should take place behind here and west of here, as if it is happening on United States soil. Am I clear so far?”

  Colonel Nazarbayev followed Yevgeni’s explanation attentively, while taking notes in his notebook in his dense handwriting. He then placed his pencil on the table and combed through his close-cut hair with his fingers, trying to concentrate before he spoke.

  “Yes, Colonel Yevgeni, you are clear, but there are quite a few problems. On one hand, a small blast will not create the seismological effect that we want the submarine to detect. On the other hand, a large explosion will do that, but then it would have to be executed much farther away from the submarine so that the blast’s acoustic noise does not reach it. In short, it is a table with two curves, one going up and the other going down, and we must find the right point at which the curves intersect each other. In my opinion, and at this stage I am going only by intuition, I believe that we will need to execute a large blast, using one to one-and-a-half tons of TNT, some tens of kilometers behind the submarine.”

  It was now Brigadier General Dimitri’s turn to speak.

  “Colonel Nazarbayev, do we have any such bombs of this weight in the

  Navy, or even in the Air Force?”

  “Yes”, replied Colonel Nazarbayev. “The Air Force has such bombs, but I’m not even sure that we need them. I think that to create the seismic effect, the blast should be made on the sea bed. Therefore, I think that we should perhaps use several depth charges clustered together. We will set the fuse of these bombs with a very long delay so that the explosion will take place only after the bombs reach the bottom of the sea. It is clear to me that we’ll have to conduct a test on our own nuclear submarine that would simulate the American vessel.”

  Colonel Yevgeni removed his glasses and wiped them thoroughly with his handkerchief.

  “If the depth charges suit our purposes”, said Yevgeni, placing his glasses back on his nose, “that will save a lot of time in preparing for the operation, as I assume that our Navy has a large variety of depth charges. Clearly it is preferable for us to conduct this operation from a Navy vessel that will lie in wait for the American submarine. It will facilitate everything and it will be much easier and simpler to execute the blast. If the Minister gives us his approval for this outline today, then we can fly to our large naval base in Murmansk tomorrow. With the letter that the Minister gave us, we will get everything that we ask for there and can deploy quickly for testing.”

  Brigadier General Dimitri raised his hand, requesting to speak.

  “If we have already covered the subject of the blast, then, with your permission, Colonel Yevgeni, I would like to mention several things about the wireless communication with the submarines. Of course, it touches on the area of electronic warfare, and that’s your baby, General Okhramenko.”

  The General nodded his acknowledgement, and Colonel Yevgeni motioned to Dimitri to continue.

  “First of all, we must all know how wireless communication is conducted in submarines. Like everything in the military, this consists of three parts. At a shallow depth, let us say up to 20 meters underwater, the option is to release an inflatable with an antenna to float on the water’s surface and to transmit and receive through it. Such an inflatable is almost out of use today, because it requires the submarine to reduce speed at a very shallow depth, making it visible and very vulnerable to a hit from the sea or from the air. In such a case, we should be ready with an appropriate communication block that will neutralize this inflatable. The maximum diving depth in training can be almost five hundred meters, which is about sixteen hundred feet. They conduct their navigation training at a depth of up to three hundred meters. At these depths, the Americans, like us, use an intricate network of underwater cables connected to hydrophones. These are transmitters and receivers which serve as relay stations for the submarines. This hydrophone network has two distinct advantages. One is high-quality communication, and the other is that the submarine does not reveal its location during the transmission. The big problem with this network, which is, in fact, our biggest advantage, is that the Americans, just like us, deploy such underwater networks only in areas that are near their territory and coasts. So when such a submarine arrives from the United States to the North Sea, for example, it is very far from the American underwater network and therefore cannot use it.

  “The third possibility is the most practical one, and this is the method used by submarines when they are at medium to great depths. They use a frequency band called ELF, meaning extremely low frequency, 3 to

  30 hertz. Do you understand? Not kilohertz and not megahertz but a few single hertz. Just so you fully comprehend, at these frequencies, the wavelength is between 10,000 to 100,000 kilometers. Do you get it? It’s insane! But we can also understand that this is the only way for submarines at medium to great depths to communicate with their headquarters in the United States. Just to give you a sense of scale, we have reception antennas for these unique frequencies near the Murmansk Naval Base, and the Americans also have them in the Michigan area, and each of these antennas is more than 50 kilometers long. By the way, the submarines tow a huge metal cable underwater for this purpose, which serves them as an antenna.”

  Tea was served. Brigadier Ge
neral Dimitri took a sip from his glass of tea and continued speaking.

  “These frequencies - we must block them completely. That is the critical point of our entire plan”, he said, and turned to the general. “General Okhramenko, how is this done? You probably know better than anyone.”

  The five team members awaited the words of the elderly general, but he said nothing, as though saying condescendingly, that’s all? There is nothing simpler than this for me.

  When his answer was late in coming, Colonel Yevgeni prodded him to speak and he finally deigned to reply.

  “The description you provided, Mr. Brigadier General, is correct, and I know it well. All the equipment and the instruments we need to execute communication blocks at all those frequencies are available, and are actually installed in quite a few of our large battleships. Therefore, I see no problem in carrying out the order.”

  Colonel Yevgeni gazed at the General, trying to decide whether his confidence in the proposed solution had any bearing. The General, one of the old school of Soviet generals, was bloated with self-importance, thought Yevgeni, but he probably knows what he is doing, not least because the Minister of Defense, the father of all ageing Soviet generals, introduced him as one of the greatest experts in the field of electronic warfare that the world had ever known.

  “General Okhramenko”, said Yevgeni. “I am very encouraged by your answer, but the last thing I want is a battleship in the region of the operation. Therefore, all the equipment and instruments that you referred to should quickly be installed on a civilian fishing boat that looks innocent. Only this vessel will be present in the perimeter of our operation and we shall conduct all our activities only from that.”

  Yevgeni glanced quickly at Brigadier General Dimitri, as if communicating a message.

  “Comrades, it seems to me that tomorrow our behinds will already be in Murmansk. You, General Okhramenko, will have your work cut out for you there. Do we understand each other?”

  The General continued displaying the same indifference, bordering on apathy, when he replied to Yevgeni as if in passing.

  “The fishing boat should be of medium size or larger. I do not foresee a problem installing the equipment for the communication block, but some of the antennas are very large so a small vessel would present a problem. However, I have done much many complicated things in my life. We will find a solution.”

  Colonel Yevgeni looked again at the old white-haired general and wondered. Could my appointment as team leader, even though I am only a colonel, be causing the General to feel disrespected? Yevgeni tactically decided that there was no benefit in asking the General any further questions, and instead turned his attention to the Kazakh, Colonel Nazarbayev.

  “You must take into account the fact that a fishing vessel will also know how to deploy the cluster of depth charges in the water.”

  “I don’t see much of a problem with this, Colonel”, the Kazakh replied readily. “Because if we take a medium-size or larger fishing boat, it is reasonable that it is also equipped with cranes large enough to do the job. Am I correct, Brigadier General Dimitri?

  “Yes, you are correct, because these vessels lift nets with fish from the water and this is a large weight; but tomorrow we will be wiser and we will have all the data in our hands.”

  “Very well”, said Colonel Nazarbayev. “I would like to continue discussing the method of introducing the depth charges into the water. Instead of hurling them from a catapult, as it is done on battleships, we will lower them into the water with the crane. In every case, their fuses will be set for a very long delay instead of less than half a minute, as with conventional charges. As it is now, and before we go into detail, we want the blast to occur on the seabed. As far as I know, and of course we will test this, the water depth in the North Sea or the Norwegian Sea may be more than two thousand meters. Therefore, the delay before the blast must be extremely long, and I hope that our navy has such fuses in its inventory. If not, we will improvise a device.”

  Yevgeni leaned back, drumming his fingers on the table.

  “Very well. Thank you, everyone”, he said, and glanced at his watch. “Lunch will be served soon, and then tomorrow, Marshal Budarenko will be coming. It seems to me that this time at least, we are more or less prepared to meet him, even though I really cannot guarantee the meeting’s outcome.”

  Brigadier General Dimitri, on his right, tapped him affectionately on the shoulder and winked.

  “Let’s go smoke before lunch. You should practice your smoking, so your hands don’t start shaking. Come, let’s go.”

  Chapter 6

  The friendship and mutual respect that had developed between Brigadier General Dimitri and Colonel Yevgeni had already caused them to call each other by their first names and drop their military rank.

  Dimitri leaned towards Yevgeni, who was sitting by his side, and whispered in his ear.

  “I know that lady sitting by the Minister. She’s the Head of Operations Research in the Navy, and is considered exceptionally gifted in her field.”

  Yevgeni nodded in reply.

  The Minister of Defense ground his cigarette butt into the ashtray.

  “I want to remind you that our primary plan for the invasion and occupation of the German Democratic Republic has already been approved by the Party’s General Secretary, Vladimir Petrovich Yermolov. But that is only the beginning. All this vast force will be prepared and ready within three to four days and will be waiting, like a tightly coiled spring, only for you. We shall launch our Stage One of the military operation only after you succeed in creating for me the cause, the legitimacy, to continue from there directly to Stage B. Do you understand the responsibility that you bear and why we don’t have any more time for fanciful suggestions?”

  The Minister of Defense looked into the faces of the team members, all nervously awaiting his reaction, and that of his experts, to their plan.

  “Colonel Yevgeni”, the Minister thundered through his nicotine- thickened throat, “Speak up! What have you done today and what are you planning to do in the next two days?”

  Yevgeni stood up and cleared his throat.

  “Mr. Minister Marshal Budarenko. Today, we have already formed the plan and its details, and assigned tasks. Tomorrow, General Okhramenko, Brigadier General Dimitri, Colonel Nazarbayev and I will fly to Murmansk Naval Base and start working there.”

  “What exactly do you want to do in Murmansk?”

  “We have several tasks there. The first task is to obtain a medium-size fishing boat that will be manned by our Navy seamen, and we shall install on it all the electronic equipment to block communication on the American submarine. The second mission is to conduct several tests with depth charges and survey the blast effects of a cluster of charges that we shall string together. We need to check their effectiveness when they explode on the sea bed, at a depth of several kilometers, and if they can even survive intact at such a depth. If the charges implode under the water pressure on their way down, we can reinforce their structure, or else we may have to use other ordnance.”

  Brigadier General Dimitri leaned toward Colonel Nazarbayev, the explosives expert, and gently pulled the sleeve of his shirt.

  “Both of us are stupid”, Dimitri whispered to the Colonel. “Yevgeni is right. The bombs will implode under the water pressure way before they reach the sea bed. How did we not think of that? We are so lucky that Yevgeni has enough brains for all three of us.”

  The Minister turned to the woman on his right.

  “This is your specialty. What do you have to say on the subject? Do you have any comments?”

  The woman, about 35 years old, shifted her considerable frame in her chair. She wore a blue dress and her blond hair was worn in a long braid fastened at the back of her head in a very precise snail pattern.

  “Colonel Yevgeni”, the Operations Research specialist said
quietly. “If you had consulted with Brigadier General Dimitri, I’m sure that he would have told you that the depth charges would be crushed at a depth of 500 to 600 meters. To go deeper than that, you need to reinforce the bombs in another steel shell, or maybe it is better if you search for another type of ordnance, maybe iron bombs, like those used by the Air Force. Of course, you will need to make some modifications.”

  The Minister of Defense shook his head incredulously, emphatically expressing his displeasure at what he had just heard.

  “You have not even begun and your plan is already as full of holes as Swiss cheese”, he said.

  Just like the previous day, it was Colonel Yevgeni who volunteered to save the day by diverting the raging minister’s wrath to himself.

  “Mr. Minister Marshal Budarenko, this plan is a good plan, and I believe we will resolve the ordnance problem quite easily in Murmansk. For example, I’ve just had an idea that is worth looking into tomorrow. Our navy has round diving bells made of massive steel that are used for research. These bells are designed to be resistant to immense pressures at the greatest depths. I do not see a problem in fitting such a bell with a large amount of explosives and detonating it at the bottom of the sea.”

  Yevgeni finished his speech and looked at the Operations Research expert. Would she kill this idea that he had just pulled from up his sleeve, just to calm the Minister’s mercurial temper? Or perhaps she would deem it appropriate and viable. The Minister was waiting for her response, but she weighed her words carefully before speaking.

  “Mr. Minister, yes. I think it’s definitely worth looking into.”

  The Minister shifted his gaze to Gregory, who all that time had been standing to attention by his side.

  “Gregory, about tomorrow, have you already arranged their flight to Murmansk? Make sure that they receive the best treatment there, and get them out as soon as possible.”

  “Yes, sir”, Gregory readily replied. “They are expected there tomorrow. There’s a team there that has already started working on the requests and they have already found a fishing boat, and a full crew has been taken from a Navy supply ship. The crew will board the fishing boat tomorrow and prepare it for its mission.”