Decision at the Wolf's Lair, an alternate history novel, by Anthony Genualdi

I'm happy to announce my newest work is published. Decision at the Wolf's Lair is my sequel to Campaign in Britain, 1940-41. My hero and narrator of that work, Field Marshal Horst von Halen, is back to tell us about the second half of WWII in his universe.

If you recall from the end of the first work (which if you didn't buy it, shame on you! Living writers need your money more that the dead ones.), von Halen had left Britain in August of '41, when von Brauchitsch had his heart attack, in that alternate history, to take command of OKH. I pick up with the Russian Front and the attack on Pearl Harbor, as well as other efforts in the west. Von Halen can't figure out why Japan isn't attacking Siberia. He finds out in the following excerpt.

CHAPTER TEN


A Meeting With Admiral Canaris



I’ve never felt a great attraction to the “cloak-and-dagger” world. Intelligence and counterintelligence work have their great uses, as the master Clausewitz had talked about. Still, I didn’t get any thrill from hearing about how spies did their jobs, just gratitude for what they obtained. It was in this frame of mind that I received one of those cryptic notes espionage people seem so fond of sending. It came from Colonel Oster at Abwehr, Germany’s military intelligence bureau. “There is something the admiral wishes you to see.”

I had my secretary clear my calendar for 14 January, 1942. On that day, I drove up to Berlin and went to the nondescript building that housed Abwehr. A lieutenant met me at the door. “How may I help you, Field Marshal?”

“Field Marshal von Halen to see Admiral Canaris.” I repeated that phrase a few times passing through the place before finally getting to Colonel Oster’s office. He knew who I was without me being announced. He came to attention at his desk and said, “Welcome, Field Marshal von Halen.”

“Thank you, Colonel.”

Oster walked to his master’s door and knocked. “Herein” came from within. I stepped up as the door was opened and was past Oster before he could say, “Field Marshal von Halen, Herr Admiral.”

The gray eminence of German intelligence was on his feet. We shook hands and saluted.

“How are you, Field Marshal?”

“Fine, Herr Admiral, and you?”

“Doing well. That will be all, Oster.” As I heard the door close, Canaris motioned to the seat across from him. After we sat down, he said, “Before I show you the thing of interest, I feel I should tell you how we got it.”

“Of course.”

“I had a man in deep cover in Red Army headquarters for three years. He was a file clerk that primarily dealt with after action reports. As our forces closed in on Moscow two months ago, he believed the NKVD were onto him, and signaled he needed to be retrieved. I sent a Brandenburger unit to get him out. It cost half the men of the unit, but we got him to safety.” Canaris opened a drawer to his right and brought up a folder. “There’s one particular thing he brought out that you might find … enlightening.”

I took out my reading glasses and opened the folder. I was lost. “I’m afraid it’s been sometime since I took Russian. Um—”

“Oh, sorry about that. The German translation is on the bottom half.”

What I read certainly was enlightening. It was from the staff of our friend Zhukov. It seemed that in the summer of ’39, the Japanese made a territorial grab along the Manchurian-Mongolian border. On that border is a river called the Khalkin Gol. There’s a point where the river makes a “C” shaped bend, and the land to the east of it belongs to Mongolia. The border there makes a slightly convex line, at the apex of which is a collection of huts that passes for a village, called Nomonhan.

The Japanese commanders in Manchuria felt they knew better than Tokyo where the border should be, and in response to bandit raids from that pocket, marched in and took it. Mongolia wasn’t strong enough on its own to drive them out, so they called Stalin for help. He sent Zhukov with a field army. Zhukov concentrated his forces on the Japanese flanks and marched along that convex line on the map to Nomonhan. The Japanese were trapped like rats and defeated in detail. This was accomplished in the first half of September. It was after this that Stalin fulfilled his part of a bargain with us and invaded southeastern Poland.

I took off my glasses and looked at Canaris. He was having a cigarette. I shook my head. “This explains … so much.”

“How so?” Canaris asked.

“Why those little monkeys won’t move on Siberia. We can never get an answer as to why.”

“Their old enemy beat them. They ‘lost face,’ so they didn’t move.”

“Plus the Russians keep tight lipped about everything, so they never told us.”

“That’s right.”

“This is just what I needed to show the Fuehrer, Canaris. How did you know I needed this?” Canaris looked at me for a moment, then grinned. I laughed. “That’s what I get for questioning a spy.”

Canaris was still grinning. “That’s quite all right, Field Marshal.”

A frightening thought hit me. “You think the Gestapo knows how I feel?”

“It’s possible.”

“Well, at any rate, I need a copy of this to show the Fuehrer.”

“Colonel Oster can give you one.” He crushed his cigarette, and we stood and saluted. “Good luck, Herr Feldmarschall.”

“Danke, Herr Admiral.”





Here's the cover. I hired Jayme Cramer again. Here she is Fraulein Inga, von Halen's secretary.

It's available on Kindle and Nook for $7.99. Paperback POD, iTunes, and Kobo coming soon. Thanks.

 

DECISION AT THE WOLF'S LAIR: An Alternate History Novel

Here is the link to get the paperback print on demand from my publisher.