Moscow, Russia
June 1918
Bruce Lockhart could not calm down after he finished the call. The plan had been starting to gel, and he remained highly optimistic that the mission could be accomplished. His network continued to expand, and their first detailed planning session would be taking place later in the week. In the midst of this, he learned that Sidney Reilly had arrived back in Moscow. In fact, Lockhart had been waiting for the arrival of this key agent, but the manner of Reilly’s arrival totally galled the proper British envoy.
Lockhart had been drinking tea and reading the latest edition of Pravda when he got the call. At first, the story seemed too ridiculous to believe. Arriving less than an hour before from Siberia, Sidney Reilly had traveled directly to the Kremlin. At the gates, he announced he was an emissary of the British prime minister and demanded to see Lenin personally. His personality and semi-official looking documents actually got him in the door, but they then escorted him to the office of the head of security for the Kremlin, Comrade Moryak. Moryak was not in the Kremlin at the time, so an assistant acting in his stead spoke with Reilly. He immediately suspected that the man could not possibly be a genuine emissary, and he called the British Consulate and asked to speak to the envoy, Bruce Lockhart.
Furious, Lockhart asked to speak to the mysterious visitor. He ordered Reilly to come to his office immediately. In a short while, Sidney Reilly arrived at his office, where Lockhart ordered him in and slammed the door behind them. “Just what the hell do you think you are doing? Are you insane? Christ almighty, things are at a delicate stage, and stunts like this could ruin everything!” As he shouted at him, he realized by Reilly’s demeanor and enthusiasm that he had a very likable air about him. Reilly remained silent during the berating. He looked like a schoolboy who had been caught cheating and was there to receive his just desserts.
“My apologies, sir. I will freely admit that I have a flare for the dramatic. Not to worry, my official documents that I presented at the Kremlin had a false name, so they won’t be able to track us. Lord, I have over ten passports you know.”
“So I’ve heard!” After several more minutes, the conversation began to soften. Lockhart had established his point. He was in overall charge of intelligence operations for England in Moscow, and Reilly worked for him. Reilly readily acknowledged his authority. Lockhart then asked for an update on the banking plan that had been funding all of the counterrevolutionary activity in Russia. Reilly assured him that the banking scheme continued to go very well in that regard. It quickly became obvious that Lockhart and Reilly would work well together, a fact that greatly encouraging the envoy. A professional bond had formed, and already they spoke on a first-name basis.
Lockhart rang his secretary and arranged for lunch to be brought in for the two of them. As they ate, Lockhart updated his prize agent on the latest developments. “Our plan is coming to a head, Sidney. The day of reckoning is near. Our plan is developing in conjunction with the Americans and the French.” Pausing for effect, he said “The Allies are planning a landing of expeditionary troops — British, American, and French — at Murmansk this summer. We will be staging a coup to overthrow the Bolsheviks at the same time the landings occur.”
Reilly put down his fork and looked up at Lockhart. Normally an unflappable individual, the audacity of Lockhart’s statement stunned him. “Are our plans advanced enough to meet that timeline? That's only two months away.”
“Yes, the plans are coming along smoothly. Tell me, Sidney, do you know Boris Savinkov?”
“Yes, I know him. He’s a Social Revolutionary who despises the Bolsheviks. Quite the terrorist bomber when the mood suits him.”
“Well, he’s thrown his lot in with us for this endeavor. Along with my counterpart from the French government here in Moscow, Consul Fernand Grenard, we’ve funneled millions to Savinkov’s organizations, as well as the White Army. The best news of all is that we’ve got a commitment from several Latvian guards to help us with the coup!”
“Really?” Reilly was impressed. “My impression of them is that they are virtually unshakeable in their loyalty to the Bolsheviks.”
“Tomorrow night you will see. We have scheduled a detailed meeting of the major participants. That is why I’ve been so eager for you to return to Moscow at this time. Sidney, the plan is coming together. It’s like a wave in the English Channel; it can’t be stopped. I believe the heavens are all aligned for this one.”
The plan had Reilly excited. A coup to overthrow the dreaded Bolsheviks! As he thought over what he had just heard, Lockhart interrupted his thoughts by asking, “How is your inside agent doing?”
“You mean Double Eagle? You know about him?”
“I didn’t know he is called Double Eagle. In fact, I know almost nothing about him, just that he exists, is close to Lenin, has provided incredible inside intelligence, and that he is run by you. How the hell we ever got an Englishman inside the Kremlin is a mystery, no, a miracle, to me.”
Reilly smiled and told him, “Actually, he is not an Englishman. He’s an American.”
“An American! An American — how the hell? Never mind, how is he doing?”
Reilly sighed and said, “I haven’t had contact with him in almost two months. Now that I’m back, I plan to contact him this week. I will tell you this, Bruce, he is an incredible man. The Allies owe this man more than they could ever attempt to repay him. When this operation is over, I will debrief you on the story of Double Eagle in detail. It is almost too bizarre to believe. In fact, even though I’ve been involved with him since the beginning, I still don’t believe it. It’s rare in one’s lifetime that you get to meet a man like him.”
* * *
Several weeks earlier, the naval attaché to the old British embassy in Petrograd, Captain Hugh Cromie, had been contacted by two members of the Latvian Guards, named Shmidken and Bredis. They informed him of the great dissatisfaction among the guards with the Bolshevik rulers. Cromie, in turn, reported this information up the chain of command, and eventually, the two dissidents were introduced to Lockhart who saw their participation as the key to the success of any coup attempt. The Latvian Guards were the only troops in Moscow. They were known as the Bolsheviks’ protectors, their Praetorian Guard. If they were willing to oppose the Bolsheviks and join the counterrevolutionaries, then a coup was definitely feasible. Without their support, a coup would be impossible. Lockhart believed that the linking of these Latvians with Savinkov’s groups, as well as the Allied agents working in Moscow, would prove to be the deathblow to Lenin and his crowd.
Now, several weeks later, as the small group assembled in the safe house selected by Lockhart, he felt almost giddy with anticipation. Each of the conspirators had taken convoluted routes to the safe house in order to avoid any detection by the Cheka. After they assembled in the small room, Lockhart did the introductions. This time Shmidkin and Bredis had brought the commander of one of the Latvian regiments, Colonel Eduard Berzin, who would be in command of the rebelling guardsmen. After introducing the Latvians, Lockhart introduced the French military attaché General Lavarge, as well as himself and Reilly. General Lavarge also had a journalist from the French mission with him named Rene Marchand. Lastly, Lockhart introduced the two other men present, a French officer, Colonel Henri de Vertement, and an American agent named Xenophon Kalamatiano.
To the assembled group, Lockhart went over the details of the plan. He specified the landing dates for the Allied expeditionary forces in Murmansk with their subsequent advance on Moscow and Petrograd. “Concurrent with this,” he continued, “the Latvian Guards will abandon their posts at the Kremlin, allowing counterrevolutionary forces led by Savinkov’s groups to storm the Kremlin and arrest Lenin and all of his government supporters. The Latvian Guards will then provide security for any interim government. We expect fierce resistance by committed Bolshevik elements of the Cheka and from party elements in general. Hence, to aid in the conflict between the Bolsheviks and the Allied forces, we’re leaving three agents to stay behind after the Allied consulate staffs are evacuated from Moscow.” Lockhart designated these agents to the group: Reilly, Colonel de Vertement, and Xenophon Kalamatiano. “Their jobs will be sabotage and espionage against the Bolshevik forces in Moscow. They will be keeping the Bolshevik forces tied up until the arrival of the Allied expeditionary forces,” explained Lockhart. Before finishing the initial walk-through of the plan, Lockhart informed the Latvians that Reilly would be their direct contact for all matters relating to the plan. The discussions continued for nearly two hours. Each of the participants had questions, and by the end of the meeting, everyone seemed satisfied with the general plan; only a few details needed to be resolved. As per the initial ground rules of the meeting, no note taking had been allowed.
After the meeting ended, Reilly seemed euphoric to Lockhart. “This really is your cup of tea, I see.”
“Indeed it is!” exclaimed Reilly. “I really believe we can pull this off. Wouldn’t I like to march that bastard Lenin down the streets of Moscow in his underwear with his hands tied behind his back!”
“Well, I doubt that little detail will be added to our operation,” quipped Lockhart. “There is another matter that I want to discuss with you. I didn’t want to bring this up tonight because I’m under orders to keep this matter close to the chest. It involves you and the agent Double Eagle.”
“Go on,” said Reilly, getting an unsettled feeling in his stomach.
“This morning I had a visitor at my office. Our guest logs list him as a private businessman in town trying to establish a relationship with the Bolshevik government. He is, in fact, an American military intelligence agent. His name is Homer Slaughter, and he’s a major in the U. S. Army. His current posting is as Assistant Military Attaché to Russia. His real job is actually running all U. S. intelligence operations concerning the Bolsheviks, especially in the Perm region, including Tobolsk and Ekaterinburg.”
“Ekaterinburg!” interrupted Reilly. “Isn’t that where the Reds are holding the Tsar and his family?”
“Exactly right. Slaughter met with me to inform me that our government and the Americans are determined to rescue the Imperial family and take them out of Russia. They want the attempt to take place when the Allied landings and the coup are both occurring. It is the opinion of both governments that the only way this could possibly be attempted is by your inside agent, Double Eagle. They admit they don’t have a clue how the rescue can be pulled off, but they also feel that given his insider status, he is the only one who could even begin to attempt the job.
“Slaughter has already met with Double Eagle recently in Vologda and provided a series of both safe houses and multiple safe telegraph operating stations to use for secure communications. He is available to assist Double Eagle in any manner that he reasonably can. He also told Double Eagle of the coup attempt and Allied landings.” Pausing for a moment, he turned to Reilly and with deadly earnest told him, “Contact him in the next few days and give him the mission. Slaughter told him that he would probably be tasked with the rescue attempt. These orders are coming from the highest levels of the British and American governments.”