Opening Moves

The reports written by Yarishlov and Ramsey held much the same information. Firstly that the American tank exercise had been an utter shambles. Both explained the reasons why, although Yarishlov’s expertise in tank combat made his submission more detailed in that regard. Secondly, that the American officers either did not realise it had all gone badly wrong, or were delusional, or lying, or a combination of those. Thirdly, an American officer had made direct mention of the word symposium. Ramsey’s report also included the word “Biarritz” and the US officer’s identity.

He submitted it to his Colonel’s office, from whence it was sent to Brigade headquarters. The Staff Sergeant responsible for compiling the daily bulletin for the Brigadier’s ADC started to read it but was disturbed by a package delivery to the office. He put the message down and returned only to find that a large area was smouldering where he had placed the paper over his cigarette. In a panic, he dowsed it with tea, screwed up the document and stuffed it in his pocket, disposing of it down the latrine as soon as possible.

In Yarishlov’s report, this ‘symposium” in a French castle was identified as something which he felt was important, and he also mentioned that he felt the British Major who overheard part of the conversation looked concerned by it. The whole conversation with the US officer was recorded reasonably well in fact. Even though Arkady wondered if he was making an elephant from a fly, his professional senses had lit off at the time and he had to trust them.

That report ended up on in the office of overworked GRU Colonel General Pekunin, whose staff was presently tasked with interpreting intelligence gained on the Western Allies and compiling detailed reports for the GKO. The inclusion of certain key words meant that some reports ended up on his desk. In this case, the word ‘symposium’ was familiar to him and he immediately summoned another GRU officer to his office.

“Ah Nazarbayeva, this may be of interest to you. Full analysis on my desk in four hours.” Apart from looking up briefly to check it was the Kapitan he had called who came in, the General never lifted his eyes from the file before him. Tatiana took the proffered report and left the room, not before she had caught the words “Kingdom39” on the file that the General was finding so captivating.

Tatiana Sergievna Nazarbayeva understood that perfectly and smiled, for she was a mother who had read to her four sons, and to Russian children the 39th Kingdom was where all good fairytales are set; in a land far, far away.

Nazarbayeva was forty-six years old and strikingly beautiful for a Russian woman. Rich black hair and piercing brown eyes brought her many admiring glances from senior officers but, despite numerous advances, she remained loyal to her husband Yuri, a combat infantryman with a Guards Corps.

She had once been a fighting soldier with a mortar unit in the Crimea through the difficult retreats, right up to the crushing defeat on the Kerch Peninsula in May 1942. During heavy fighting, she had even picked up a Mosin rifle on occasions to clear direct pressure on her unit, being credited with seventeen kills in an hour outside Osovyny, when the panzer-grenadiers of the 22nd Panzer Division had pressed her unit hard.

As her company’s position was about to be overwhelmed she counter-attacked single-handedly with grenades and a pistol, driving off the Germans with heavy casualties. One souvenir of that bloody time was kept well hidden and few ever noticed the slight limp, caused by the absence of half of her left foot, the only serious injury she sustained during her time in action. She was the last wounded soldier loaded on the last boat to escape the debacle that saw the rest of her unit disappear into German captivity. It had taken her some months and use of a special metal ankle strap to learn to walk with anything approaching a normal gait.

Despite the constant presence of her limp, the other souvenir of those desperate times attracted much more attention.

She was the second woman to receive the Hero of the Soviet Union Gold Star, and she wore it with pride.

None the less, many wondered if she had secured her present position by use of her obvious charms, but that was not how she had advanced to become a respected Captain in the GRU. Her rank and status were achieved through her abilities and excellence at her job. It was no surprise to Pekunin that, three hours and forty-seven minutes later, she placed a comprehensive and detailed report in front of him, which now surmised that there were four symposium operated by the Western Allies, not three as Russian Military Intelligence first thought.