The Next War....
John Schettler’s Kirov Series launches the ground war in Europe!
About Eagle Rising: Volume 7 in the Next War segment of the Kirov Saga.
Volume VII in the Next War segment of the long Kirov
Saga now takes the war in 2021 to Europe as NATO begins its long awaited
counteroffensive to liberate the Baltic States. Operation Eagle Rising
begins with a bold stroke to cut off the Russian salient of Kaliningrad, and
liberate Kaunas and Vilnius in Lithuania. As the American divisions push
through the Suwalki Gap, strong German and British contingents under Brigadiers
Berg and Kinlan are on their left, fighting their way across the Neman River.
Eventually, the plan is to drive north to Riga, the capital of Latvia, and
cross the Daugava River. Can the vaunted Russian Army stop them while also
fighting a dramatic battle for control of Kharkov in the Ukraine?
Meanwhile, Kirov moves east towards a meeting
with Tyrenkov at the Northern Shamrock, only to find the Grey Wolves in a
daunting and perplexing encounter when they reach that far flung Arctic
outpost. They soon realize things are terribly wrong....
The war in 2021 moves to Europe in Volume 7, Eagle
Rising, the name of the NATO operation to begin the liberation of the
Baltic States. Before the war, armies were evaluated by their strength on
paper, the hot new hardware they were building, or the sheer numbers fielded ,
yet very few units in the Armies of the world actually had any real combat
experience. The United States was the great exception within NATO, having
fought two massive Gulf wars, an endless war in Afghanistan, and ten years in
Iraq. American generals had proved they could transport, deploy, stage and
operate massive land forces in a major full spectrum, multi-domain ground war. Other
NATO partners joined in those battles, giving them some experience as well. On
the other side, Russia had fought in Chechnya, Georgia, the Ukraine and Syria,
giving some of its many brigades a taste of modern combat. As for China, in
spite of its massive Army, rapidly growing Navy and burgeoning Air Force, it
had virtually no modern day combat experience of any kind.
Now all sides would all be put to the test in a way
that had not been seen since WWII. Fighting insurgents in Iraq, which
represented the bulk of the time the US was there, or hounding ISIS out of
Syria, is not the same as meeting a peer adversary on a modern day high
intensity field of battle. Now we’re about to see just how good the tanks,
APC’s, and troops on every side are in a fast paced ground war on two fronts in
Europe. Concurrent with NATO’s Operation Eagle Rising, the Russians have
countered on the far flung fields of the Ukraine with a surprise offensive of
their own.
By moving their entire 58th Army out of the Caucasus,
where no action was expected, they rapidly doubled the number of troops they
had in the Donbass. At the same time, other units from their Central Military District
crossed into Ukraine from Belgorod. There, on those blood sodden fields where
Zhukov’s Red Army battled Manstein’s Armeegruppe South, the Russians
stage a big operation aimed at pinching off Kharkov.
Both actions are presented in the first 18th Chapters
of this volume, a mighty clash of modern armies that ends up featuring
Brigadiers Berg and Kinlan prominently in the action. As these battles begin to
reach a conclusion, the story takes us back to Korea again briefly for a dire
escalation there that starts that doomsday clock ticking again. These battles all
come to a head by the mid-point of the book, and the likely military outcome in
the Baltic States and Ukraine is decided. Then the story shifts back to Kirov
and company in the far north, after Karpov put in his stunning Zircon strike to
drive Captain Tanner’s CVN Washington out of the war with heavy damage.
The ship makes it to a friendly port, but just barely, and will be long months
in the shipyards.
The whole second half of this volume now focuses
entirely on Kirov and crew. The ship returns to Severomorsk and the crew
is given a much needed shore leave. While Karpov tries to clean house, Voronin,
his would be Zampolit (Political Officer), is still scheming, and with
Ivan Volkov in the mix. Voronin had earlier threatened to use his elite “Grey
Wolves” security force to bring Karpov to heel, and plots are still simmering on
and off the ship in this port call. Silenko’s steady recruitment of Gennadi
Orlov proceeds and the plot thickens when Volkov gets involved. Tyrenkov comes
to pay Fedorov and Karpov a visit, and as the three men discuss Russia’s
prospects, it becomes clear that Tyrenkov is also scheming on something.
Things come to a head on the docks at Severomorsk,
but Kirov will soon find itself out to sea again, with puzzling orders
that Karpov vows to disregard. The result is a most unusual ending to this
book, when Fedorov and Karpov try to figure out how they can use the gift
hidden in Director Kamenski’s briefcase. (Have any of you guessed what it is
yet?)
In an eerie sortie east, Karpov intends to go pick up
his old Air Commandant Bogrov and his airship crew, but instead the ship and
crew meet the Grey Wolves, only not in the way they first feared and expected.
It becomes a haunting little side trip in parts IX and X of this one, and also
sets up what is going to happen next, because this look at the next war has many
more battles to be fought—just not where you might expect them. To say more
would spoil the ending, but seeds planted earlier in the tale now grow to take
us up the bean stock to another round of WWIII action, as the author widens his
lens to show us something more.
The next book in the series, entitled Tangent
Fire now comes up in the position that has been reserved for the season
finale. Is this the end? We asked John about it to get the scoop .
“No,” said John, “the 8th Volume in this season will
not end the series yet. While it will bring the events of the war in 2021 to a
conclusion, our heroes, and the ship, have yet more work to do. Telling you
about it now would spoil the ending of Volume 7, so you’ll have to wait and
see. All I can tell you is that, much like the story line that occupies the
second half of Eagle Rising, what follows next will be largely centered on the
ship, but I’ll let Fedorov and Karpov tell you about it all in this book.
Enjoy!”
BUY FOR KINDLE or eBook Reader: $4.99 – Also available
as a Quality Trade Paperback
Kirov Saga
Eagle
Rising
By
John Schettler
Part I – Changelings
Part II – Article V
Part III – The Cauldron
Part IV – Stand Firm
Part V – Trick or Treat
Part VI – Fork in the Road
Part VII – The Devil’s Bargain
Part VIII– Plots and Devices
Part IX – The Frozen Night
Part X – Grey Wolves
Part XI – The Mushroom
Part XII – Reunions
