The 28th of April 1942, Minsk, 4,7°C, 10 pm Moscow Time,
It took 'Odinatsat' about a week to get her car running. Most of it had been ready, however, quite a few tweaks had to be made to accommodate the larger engine. On the 22nd, she enrolled the help of a few off duty members of the Garrison to help her navigate the engine, already mated, by her, to the transmission, placing it onto the frame in just the right position. The moment of truth was on the 24th, when, with the interior finished, the body was ready to be lowered onto the frame. The large engine fitted under the standard bonnet, but only just, with about 2 cm to spare on either side. On the 25th, after some more tinkering, the one of a kind GAZ-M1 came to life. Even the grumpy mechanic helped out to get the Engine installed just right. He was barely hiding how impressed he was with the beastly engine, and how happy he was to be able to work on it.
'Odinatsat' asked to go see Sergei, the Yak-7 mechanic, in Moskva. Ever since she had gotten hold of the new Engine, their correspondence turned to how they were going to get more power out of that v8, a lot more power. The obvious question was where this work would take place. Some specialised tools would be necessary. Bringing Sergei into the Secret Committee isn't an option, at least for the time being. The search for a suitable workshop was on.
Meanwhile, the 'retired' Generals were preparing a plan for the withdrawal of troops from our German border. The whole effort was coordinated by 'Dva'. Most of the Generals understood the need for a partial withdrawal. While it doesn't necessarily make military sense, it does make geopolitical sense not to be seen as the aggressor. 'Chteyre' also chipped in with the suggestion of adding a VVS element to the plan. In the end, the date of the operation was set for the 28th of April. The propaganda machine went into overdrive as large amounts of troops started boarding trains, and hundreds of aeroplanes prepared to take off. The front page of Pravda was entirely dedicated to 'Operation Eastern Shade':
The true numbers are lower, but not by that much. In total three corps of Riflemen, each about 60.000 men, were pulled from the border itself:
XXIII SK , composed of Winter War veterans, was pulled from 2nd Army Group (North), it will be travelling East, to Vitsyebsk, 400km inland.
XVII SK was pulled from 3rd Army Group (South), going in a South-Easterly direction to Kryvyy Rih, 500km inland, near the Black sea.
VI SK was pulled from 4ya Armiya (Hungarian border), with Homel, 400km inland, as it's destination.
1ya Armiya HQ was also pulled from 2nd Army Group, it was placed under the command of the VVS/Reserves Army Group, all three of the above-mentioned corps were placed under it's command, along with XXIX GvSK, and XVI SK, which have been assigned directly to the Army Group until now.
Further back, to reduce supply demand, and increase the chatter about a massive eastward redeployment, all of 2ya Tankovaya Armiya will be railed back to Kaluga, 140km South-West of Moskva.
XIV MSK
is also driving eastward from Vinnytsya to Komsomolske, just outside of Kharkov, across the Donets river. 620 aeroplanes are actually flying to Vladivostok, as it is expected that the Japanese will likely spot the arrival of that many aeroplanes, and report back to their German Allies.
All of our TB-3s are going over there, as well as V. IAK
, along with it's 496 Yak-7s. Interestingly, the rapid redeployment of these aeroplanes, which doesn't include Sergei's unit, has left several Air Bases around Moskva quite empty.
At about 5:30am, myself and 'Odinatsat' set out on the maiden voyage of her GAZ-M1. Our disguises were pretty much the same as last time. 'Odinatsat' had painted her GAZ-M1 in the unofficial, but universally recognised, 'state security' paint scheme, black with a red pinstripe along the side. This drive to Moscow was significantly faster than the previous one. For starters, there was already significantly less mud than two weeks ago, and no frozen patches at all. We made it to the main road in half an hour, and once we were there, 'Odinatsat' started to open up the rumbling 3.9 liter V8. Our early start had clearly paid off, as there was barely anyone on the narrow road between Vologda and Jaroslavl, and she could confidently push the car into triple digit speeds on the straighter bits. Our average must have been about 90 km/h, significantly faster than the few vehicles we passed. We comfortably got to Yaroslavl by 8:45am, right in time for breakfast, which we consumed in a small cafe-restaurant that seemed to be filled with apparatchiks. I fit right in, and by 9:30 we were back on the road, our bellies properly stuffed, and the GAZ-M1's gasoline tank topped up.
The highway to Moskva was where 'Odinatsat' could really put the hammer down. Our speed remained over 100 km/h most of the time, with an average speed of over 125 km/h. Thanks to our fearsome paint job, traffic parted like the red sea to let us through, and 'Odinatsat' took full advantage of that fact. A little weary that the stock transmission might not be able to handle the power of the 3,9 liter Engine, 'Odinatsat' refrained from pushing the car all the way to the limit, though we did hit 145 km/h a few times, and the engine felt like it had still more to give. By 11:30am we reached the outskirts of Moskva, and turned off the highway. If you add in the time saved by having fewer stops, and by the relative lack of mud, we did the trip to Moskva in half the time when compared to our last run. Once everything on that car is fine-tuned, and that powerful v8 souped up with the help of an experienced aeroplane mechanic, who knows how fast it will go. Will it be able to beat the Soviet Union's fastest car ever built, the legendary 1939 ZiS-101A-Sport? I guess we'll find out sooner rather than later.
A train on the Jaroslavl-Moskva line passes over the Jaroslavl-Moskva Highway shortly after leaving Yaroslavl Moscovskiy station on it's way to Moskva.
We headed towards 73. IAD's base first. Sergei's leave starts on the 2nd of May, so we're a few days early, but what's the point of dressing up as a NKGB Lieutenant of State Security if you never use the authority that comes with the position. 'Odinatsat' stopped the car at the gatehouse of the base. I opened my window, and as a Starshina (Sergeant Major) came out of the gatehouse to check our identification, I motioned him to my window, where I swiftly showed him my identification:
"Starshina. Listen to me closely. I need to speak to one of your senior mechanics, Sergei Kharkov, concerning an incident that happened one month ago, at Homel Air Base. Don't worry, he's not in trouble, I think he might have some information we need, that's all. Now, before you say anything, this is important, you will personally bring him to the gate, I'm sure he'll come willingly. Oh, and I'm not here right now, all of this is to stay strictly off the record. Have one of your men show my driver to an inconspicuous parking spot close by, while I wait. Go now, you and your men will take this encounter to the grave, is that understood?"
"Yes sir. I'll fetch him right now, sir. Sergeant, locate a discreet parking spot close-by for the man's car." (the Starshina tried his best to hide both his fear and his excitement at being involved in such a hush hush affair. Needless to say, he was never meant to be an actor, nor a spy for that matter)
"Yes sir"
I stayed in the car as a Junior Sergeant showed us to a parking spot between a Zis-5 lorry and a small warehouse, about 60m away. The GAZ-M1 was neatly tucked away, and through the windshield we could almost see the gatehouse. We sat there, in silence, for a couple of minutes, then we glimpsed two silhouettes moving towards the gate. 'Odinatsat' started the engine, and we slowly rolled towards the gate. The gate was already open when we go there, and as we approached, the Junior Sergeant exited the gatehouse and started running in our direction, before stopping in his tracks as he noticed that we were already approaching. 'Odinatsat' kept going, looking straight ahead, before halting, with the passenger side rear door of the car right in front of the Sergeant and Sergei. I threw open the door, and motioned Sergei to get in, simultaneously shuffling over to the driver side of the rear bench. He clearly recognised me, though he tactfully avoided showing he knew me to the Sergeant, who was standing about a metre away. He jumped in, and before he even finished closing the door, the driver stepped on it, and we were off.
We weren't going very far, but that didn't stop 'Odinatsat' from doing some rather spirited driving During the entire 10 minute drive, Sergei, the aeroplane mechanic, was fixated on the road ahead. Her fast and smooth driving style didn't strike me as particularly dangerous or frightening, but that's probably because I've grown used to it. After all, we had just spent quite some time on the road with her behind the wheel, as she was building up speed and confidence, getting a feel for the car, and the engine. It definitely distracted Sergei enough for him to not notice that it was in fact his pen-pal 'Irina' ('Odinatsat's name as far as he is concerned) that was driving. Well, her being disguised as a male NKVD Yefreytor surely didn't help either.
We turned of the main tarmac road onto a narrow gravel road, leading to a rather ramshackle Airfield. The sign in front read: “Air Base #15”, and below that, another more improvised sign read “The home of 43. IAD”. Someone had added quotation marks around the word 'home' with what looked to be the same red paint that's used to paint red stars on aeroplanes in the VVS. The wooden gate was opened by an NKVD guard as soon as he saw our car, we didn't even have to slow down.
The Airfield was tiny, and it looked almost abandoned. A single aeroplane, a Yak-7UTI two-seater was parked on the other side of the runway, it was painted in the mostly white winter camouflage. Against the background of the dark treeline, and without any snow around, it stuck out like a sore thumb. Especially as the aeroplane looked like alien technology when compared to the ramshackle buildings of the Airfield and the potholed gravel airstrip that was barely 600m long.
The sturdiest of the buildings, the one with a brick base, was still being emptied by about a dozen VVS ground crew. It was mostly aircraft ammunition, and all of it was being hurriedly loaded into the backs of a row of 4 ZIS-5 lorries with VVS markings. As we reached the wooden control tower and the associated command post, A pair of NKVD soldiers indicated for us to park next to a menacing black ZIS-101. The door was opened for me. Our driver was told to move the GAZ-M1 into the second of the two hangars, and before Sergei could get out, 'Odinatsat' restarted the engine and took off.
The ZIS-101, the successor to the Leningrad 1 (a copy of the 1932 Buick). It was produced in surprisingly high numbers for such a luxury item, close to 9.000, and counting. Every Apparatchik, high-ranking member of the party, and General has one of these at his disposal. It is even used as a taxi in Moscow, Minsk and several other large cities. It's a heavy and powerful barge. 5,7m long, a kerb weight of 2,5 tonnes, and a massive 5,8l straight 8 putting out 110 hp in the early cars, and 115 hp in the newer ZIS-101A (shown on the picture) with some tweaks to the engine. Top speed is 115 km/h and 125 km/h respectively, pretty fast for a car weighing close to 3 tonnes in daily use.
Looking around a bit more, I noticed about 20 NKVD personnel eating their lunch in the first of the two hangars on the other side of the Airstrip. The structure was a bit of a mess, a wooden frame covered with mismatched corrugate steel plates, some galvanised, others painted various colours, probably depending on the paint that was handy at the time each particular piece was placed, replaced, or repainted. The sliding doors looked like they were going to fall of their rails any minute. Between the two Hangars two GAZ-AA lorries were parked, which was probably how the NKVDers had gotten here. There was something off about them though, they looked familiar.
As I looked up to the control tower, I wasn't surprised to see two men overlooking the Air Base from the little viewing platform. One of them noticed our arrival, and they made their way down a succession of steep and narrow staircases. They made for an interesting pair. The first was dressed in the uniform of a top level spook. NKGB, GRU, NKVD, they all wear the same style of three piece suits, with the same little Soviet flag pin on the lapel, and a gun, usually a Tokarev in a chest-holster. To be fair, I was wearing almost exactly the same thing. The other man was dressed in a VVS officer's Field uniform, going by the chevrons on his sleeves he was a Polkovnik (Colonel) of Aviation, and going by the wings on his collar, he was a pilot.
We know them better as 'Shest' and 'Chteyre', of course. They soon made their way down the succession of steep, narrow, and no doubt splintery, staircases. As they arrived at the bottom of the tower, the V8 of 'Odinatsat's GAZ-M1 was turned off, bringing some welcome silence to the base. I suddenly became aware of orders being barked by a VVS Second Lieutenant to the ground crew packing up the ammunition. I could hear the men in the first hangar laughing at what was, no doubt, a rather inappropriate joke.
Now, I should clarify right now, that I have told 'Odinatsat' only the strict minimum she needed to know. We were driving to Moskva, picking up Sergei at his job, then heading to a very recently abandoned Air Base #15. The final instruction was somewhat more mysterious. As soon as she was entirely out of sight at the base, she would have to change into the clothes to be found in the boot of her car.
I wasn't surprised when Sergeant Sergei walked out of the hangar first, followed shortly by a brand new character, Female Red Army Lieutenant Irina Goleniewsky, (aka 'Odinatsat'). She walked out, her Mosin-Nagant slung over her shoulder, her wavy blonde hair on full display, her 'pilotka' (summer cap), placed on top of her head at a slight angle. She walked back towards us, it was a straight-backed military walk. It was hard to tell that she'd never really been in the Army proper, and I'm sure even the less casual observer would have no reason to doubt her to be a genuine Red Army Lieutenant. 'Shest' and 'Chteyre' had taken up position next to me, none of us saying a word as we admired this moment of creation. Thanks to 'Shest's magic, and 'Odinatsat's' performance, Lieutenant Irina Goleniewsky was now a real person, 21 years after birth, created on some airfield outside Moskva.
After what seemed like a long walk, but was probably little over 30 seconds, Sergeant Sergei, and Lieutenant Irina came to a halt in front of the three of us. Both snapped to attention and saluted.
“Lieutenant Goleniewsky and Junior Sergeant Kharkov reporting for duty, sirs”
'Shest' immediately replied:
quickly followed by 'Chteyre's:
“At ease Sergeant”
There was a short pause, before 'Chteyre' said:
“Sergeant. With me.”
'Chteyre' and Sergei walked off in the direction of the Yak-7UTI, no doubt to do a walkaround inspection, and exchange some VVS-specific humour. It was also an opportunity to gauge Sergei's character in a non-threatening way. They hadn't even reached the aeroplane, when 'Shest' simply said:
“Let's have lunch”
The three of us made it inside the command post, and a basic lunch was served by a familiar looking NKVD cook. 'Shest', having done most of the legwork on this whole operation, was excited to share the details with us, and especially with 'Odinatsat', who had been kept mostly in the dark until now. As soon as the cook had left, he started his exposé:
“It is my pleasure to introduce Lieutenant Irina Alexandrovich Goleniewsky, Red Army sharpshooter, veteran of the Winter War, though her unit didn't take part in any major battle. 5 confirmed kills at a range over 200m, dozens of kills at shorter ranges. Large parts of her service file, including most of the kills, are classified at the highest level, suggesting that she has been working for military intelligence in some capacity since the end of the Winter War. No one will dare to ask any questions. Now, Lieutenant Goleniewsky is going to get a normal job. This afternoon she'll take up a posting at the newly opened “Central Women's Sniper Training School” in the Veshnyaki District, in Eastern Moskva. I, as a GRU Major General, will accompany you there myself after lunch to make the introductions and make sure that the Colonel in command lends the necessary weight to your, mostly classified, record.
Now, you will be able to go on leave several nights a week, which you will be able to spend here, at Air Base #15, with Sergeant Sergei. 'Chteyre' has assured me that Sergei's leave will nearly always coincide with yours, so that you can spend time together and build that monster of a car, as well as your friendship. If anything goes wrong, Air Base #15 is under full control of the Committee now, those NKVDers out there were picked from the Garrison at our Vologda location. Initially, you will be driven to and from here in an unmarked GAZ-A with a GRU driver. However, if you get promoted to Captain, you will get your own official staff car, probably a GAZ-M1. I'm sure you can figure out the possibilities that brings. In short, we're giving you a whole new life, as suited to you as we could make it. One that won't be a secret to nearly everyone around. See it as a your rebirth, a chance to reinvent yourself as a soldier instead of a spy, for now.”
'Odinatsat' was silent, contemplating her new life in all of it's aspects. She seemed somewhat relieved at the thought that she wouldn't have to sneak around so much any more, that she would able to just be someone, and have the time to grow comfortable in her skin, to truly become this Lieutenant Goleniewsky and train the next generation female snipers. This job is perfect for her, not only because she's a great marksman, but because the better she does it, the more damage her cadets will eventually do to the enemies of the Soviet Union, in particular the Germans, who we'll have to face sooner or later. It thus lines up with her hunger for revenge, she will no doubt do a great job. The slight grin on her face told me that she had gathered as much.
The silence was broken by the sudden roar of the Yak-7's engine outside. 'Odinatsat' had been surprised by the lengths we had gone through in this case. She simply gave me, and then 'Shest', a hug. A rare show of affection from her. She had just let go from the second hug when there was a knock on the door of the command post, which was a small wooden structure with just a single room, right next to the control tower. Lieutenant Goleniewsky straightened out her uniform, stood at attention and barked:
“Enter!”
Sergeant Sergei Kharkov entered the room, and after a quick salute:
“Sirs, Sergeant Kharkov, reporting for Polkovnik -'Chteyre'-, sirs”
'Shest' said lazily:
“Go ahead Sergeant.”
“The last of 43 IAD's ground crews have left the premises. The base is all yours... Major General... (He tried to hide it, but there was some disbelief concerning 'Shest's rank of Major General, obviously 'Chteyre' must have told him) Senior Lieutenant (to me), the Polkovnik wanted to let you know that he is taxiing onto the airstrip as we speak. If you would please make your way to the aeroplane, sir.”
I excused myself:
“I have a meeting in Minsk this afternoon, and the Polkovnik's Yak-7V is my ride out there. I'll see you all later. Major General, Lieutenant, Sergeant, we will surely meet again.”
I ran outside, the Sergeant followed me. All the VVS lorries were gone, the noise of their departure was probably drowned out by the Klimov M-105P 'Chteyre' engine of the Yak-7UTI. The one 'Chteyre' was rotating so that it would face the far end of the runway. As soon as the aeroplane was pointing the right way, 'Chteyre' throttled down to idle. I ran over, following the Sergeant Kharkov to the rear of the right wing. He helped me up, and once I was in the snug cabin, right behind 'Chteyre', he helped me shut the canopy. Lieutenant Goleniewsky and 'Shest' were standing just in front of the command post. Sergei ran over to the others, and went to stand next to 'Odinatsat', or rather the Lieutenant, they both stood at attention and saluted. 'Shest' was waving, more of a a royal wave than a full-on enthusiastic wave. Then, 'Chteyre' opened up the throttle, and the Air Base quickly became a blur before vanishing entirely from view as we left it behind us.
A Yak-7UTI, in it's winter paint scheme, with the engine running. Some help is needed to get into the passenger seat, a problem that doesn't exist for the ubiquitous single-seater Yak-7 and Yak-7B fighters.
As we approached Minsk, we flew along the railway for a couple of minutes. I could see the long trains loaded with tanks and other military vehicles of all kinds. From up high, it was hard to miss the scale of the eastward relocation of 2ya Tankovaya Armiya. A Yak-7 is definitely the fastest way to travel this kind of distance, we touched down in Minsk less than an hour after take off, at 3pm. That's an average speed over 600 km/h. 'Devyat' met us on the ground, and we split up, 'Chteyre' had his own business to attend to.
I went along with 'Devyat' to visit some more brand new fortifications around the city. This included Anti-Tank trenches, and fortified Anti-Tank positions, as well as fortified trenches in strategic locations linking the existing Machine-Gun bunkers to some of the new infrastructure. He proudly announced that the construction schedule has also been changed to lend further weight to operation Eastern Shade. The construction in Minsk is thus followed by the construction of Machine-Gun bunkers in Khabarovsk, on our Manchurian border. It started this morning.
This only adds to the picture. I can't help but think of the Japanese high command, especially the Kwantung Army I can only imagine the flood of worrying reports they are going to get over the next day. It should be enough to make the Japanese very nervous indeed, and the Germans less nervous by a similar amount... that's the plan anyway.
I met back up with 'Chteyre' for dinner, and he only confirmed my assessment of Sergei Kharkov's character. He seems like a decent man, very skilled as a mechanic, fiercely loyal to the VVS and the Soviet Union, and an excellent judge of character. There are no gaps in his history, no serious crimes in his past. We will, of course keep a close watch on those two. Our watch will be 'Invisible but thorough'. That could be the Secret Committee's slogan, if having a slogan didn't rather defeat the point, by rendering us significantly less invisible.
This was truly a long day. How will the Axis react to this? Will they take the bait? How will 'Odinatsat' fare in her new life? Have we been compromised in some way? Only time will tell.
Greetings,
'Odin'
