John Schettler - Grand Alliance

“5th Light Division started with 44 light Panzer IIs and another 40 medium Panzer IIIs between the two battalions. The 15th Panzer Division will have at least that. They likely sustained some attrition coming all the way from Agheila, but they’ll probably have eighty percent of those tanks still operational. Then there will be the Panzerjager battalions, and the flak units to think about. Rommel was the man who adapted the 88mm gun to good use as an AT weapon, and I’m sorry to say that an 88 will put a round clean through one of your Warrior IFVs, and then some.”

“You know a good deal for a navy Captain,” said Kinlan. “Yet what you say is true. So how many of these 88s will they have out there?”

“I’d say he might have three batteries with four guns each-possibly four batteries. Many more come later. Then there will be the self-propelled Panzerjagers. They’ll have a 47mm AT gun that might penetrate your Warriors, as will all the guns on their medium tanks if they have the 50mm version. Even their light Panzer IIs will have a 20mm main gun that could pose a threat to one of your IFVs. Beyond this there will be artillery, and a lot of it. Each German division would have several battalions, from 75mm guns up to 150s. Attack a prepared German defense and you can expect it will be well supported, and they’ll have air support as well, Stukas, Heinkel-111s, Bf-109s. Yes, these are old planes, but very capable, and those Stukas will be dropping 500 to 1000 pound bombs. This won’t be like a deployment in Afghanistan. You’ll be up against tough, disciplined troops. Another thing, sir, your force is mostly mechanized infantry. Well, once they exit their vehicles…”

“I’m beginning to get the picture,” said Kinlan. “They’ve got good infantry body armor, but beneath that its good old flesh and blood. We were sent here to face down the renegade Egyptian Army, and that we did, and without a single casualty. They wanted no part of us.”

“That won’t be the case here. You’ll shock the Germans in the first encounter, undoubtedly, but they will adapt, and they will fight. Something tells me they’ll put a good deal more effort into this campaign, now that Gibraltar has fallen. Malta may be lost soon as well. That has dramatically increased their logistics potential, but it will be my job to work on that end for you. My Admiral is already at sea with the British to see about it. But I’ve given this a good deal of thought, General. Yes, I think you can win this battle up north, but the Germans have plenty more they could commit here if they choose to do so. Understand? The British have not yet seen the full might of the Wehrmacht, and with Russia and the United States still neutral, their prospects are very bleak. They’ll need all the help they can possibly get. This may be a very long war.”

“Understood, but at least we can make a real difference here if it comes to a fight.”

“You certainly can, as long as the ammunition holds out.” Fedorov thought he should voice this concern early on. “We found our capabilities more than equal to the adversaries we faced, but that said, we’ve taken hits, and there have been some alarming near misses. We’ve had to be very stingy with our ammunition once we realized we were…” He looked at Popski now. “…going to be in theater for a good long while.” He also wanted that to register on Kinlan-a good long while.

“That’s another issue I’ll have to visit with the men in time. For now, I’ve got my whole brigade strung out in road column. If we go north, how soon before we can expect trouble?”

“I can give you a detailed scouting report with my helicopter, if you’ll permit me.”

“You’re a long way from the coast out here. What is your fuel situation?”

“We were expecting to spend some time in our search and rescue operation, so we laid on extra fuel. Eventually I will have to rendezvous with my ship to replenish, but we should be able to operate here for a while yet. We can set up a secure comm-link to you on HF bands not used here. I can keep you informed as to the situation you will be facing, and also see what I can do to help brief Wavell and O’Connor.”

“That sounds acceptable,” said Kinlan. “Do you think you can get Wavell out here?”

“Possibly, though he may be in the thick of things up north.”

“Then perhaps we should start with the bird in hand and give this General O’Connor a little tour of the brigade. Let’s take this thing slowly. If we can brief O’Connor and get him over the fence, that may help us with Wavell when it comes to that. You know I studied that man’s tactics in the academy-O’Connor as well-we all did. To think of them being right here at my side… Well, all this is a bit overwhelming.”

“You’ll need time, though I’m afraid we have all too little to spare. Rommel may decide things before we can intervene, but I’ll keep you informed of anything I hear on that.” Fedorov extended his hand now, smiling.

“General, thank you for giving me that small benefit of the doubt and having that look at Sultan Apache, and welcome to this nice private little fight here. I’ll do anything I can to help you. You have my word on this. Understand I’ve been through all this with my own crew.”

“I appreciate that,” said Kinlan, and they shook hands warmly.

Then to Popski, Fedorov said: “Can you go inform General O’Connor that we would like him to tour the brigade?”

“Well enough,” said Popski, hoping he could come along too.

“And tell him not to worry about Siwa,” said Kinlan. “I’ll handle the matter, then together we’ll see about this General Rommel.”

“He’ll be happy to hear that, sir.” Popski was glad to hear it as well, but he was no fool. He had been listening very carefully to everything that was being said, involved in all the discourse between Kinlan and this Russian Captain. He had seen things on that ship, and on the ground here that he knew were quite extraordinary, fantastic, as Fedorov had put it to him earlier. Slowly, like a hunch that was gathering strength by degrees, he was starting to feel something was not quite what it seemed to be here, and that all these men, the Russians, Kinlan, and his soldiers in those odd new uniforms and equipment, were a bit of a mystery that he set his mind to solve.

How was it that these two men could share a common understanding on all that gibberish they were talking over? They just mentioned that Indian Sultan again, and what was all that talk about ICBMs and nuclear bombs? And these damn tanks… That was sixty tons I saw there last night if it was an ounce. Where in bloody hell did the British Army get that monster I saw? Was it true that this was all new equipment? If so, Rommel is going to get the surprise of his life.

The General is right cozy with the Russian Captain now, but things didn’t start that way. These men assumed we were hostile right from the get go. The one thing I don’t understand yet is why this Russian seemed to have to convince General Kinlan that they were on the same side. It was as if the General had been sleeping under a tree somewhere and knew nothing of what was going on, yet he had to have been briefed if he was sent here with this new unit. And why did he presume to think I was an enemy combatant at first encounter, or the Russians, for that matter? In fact, that cheeky Lieutenant who first found us went so far as to state we were to be his prisoners! Kinlan said the same. Was the man blind or merely stupid? He did not seem that way.

It just didn’t make any sense, and it fed that growing feeling of uncertainty in his gut. Something wasn’t quite on the up and up here. These men are not what they seem, he said to himself. They seem like fish out of water here. Maybe it was the harsh environment of the desert, but he had the feeling it was something more. I’ll play along, even play dumb if I have to, but I’m going to find out what’s up, one way or another.