John Schettler - Grand Alliance

“You say they still have Tobruk?”

“Correct, and I spoke to Wavell about that personally. The 6th Australian Division is there, but the rest of the army has fallen back on Bardia and Sollum. That’s a strong position, a natural castle in the desert. The escarpment there means Rommel will have to go some 80 kilometers further east if he wants to outflank that position.”

“How is it you have Wavell’s ear, Captain, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Because we matter, General. That’s the simplest way to put it. You know what my ship is capable of, and we’re about to take off the gloves here and get serious.”

“You’re an active combatant?”

Fedorov did not want to go into any of the events that preceded their arrival to 1940-or to hint in any way that they once were actively combating the British! He had to get to the heart of the matter here, and get Kinlan to see that he mattered as well-that his force could be decisive here.

“Yes, we fight for the British. We have helped them secure the Iceland gap against German raiders, and intervened on more than one occasion to support their operations. Up until now, my Admiral has been reluctant to fully engage, but events have taken a real turn for the worse in this war, and so now we fight. We are prepared to use the full power of our ship and crew to try and reverse the setbacks lately suffered by the British. If we do not, and Egypt falls to Rommel, then it will be more difficult than ever to prevent a German victory in this war.”

“I seem to recall that you Russians had a good deal to do with stopping Hitler.”

“True, but my homeland is no longer whole. The Soviet Union, as it was once known, exists only in part now. The country has fragmented into three warring states. We think we know how this has happened, but the implications are staggering. It took all these states, strongly unified under Stalin, to stave off the German invasion that may happen later this year. Without a unified Soviet state, I fear that the West has little prospect for victory. Remember, it is January of 1941, and the Americans are not in this yet.”

“He says the Yanks aren’t in it yet,” said Popski. “So it’s a nice private little fight for us now, just like my PPA-that’s Popski’s Private Army. Got that right from Hackett, if you know the man.”

“So you see, General,” said Fedorov, “What we can do at sea in the Mediterranean, you can do here in the desert. How was it Lawrence put it when he was trying to enlist Arab support with Feisal? The desert is a sea in which no oar is dipped, and on this sea you can go where you please, and strike where you please, and this is what you must do now.”

Kinlan’s eyes narrowed. In the face of this whole impossible day, he at last had his hand on something solid. Here I was, he thought, about to preside over a withdrawal on the brink of World War III, and worried about how I could save these men here. Now I’ve gone and landed in the last war instead if this crazy talk holds. But if that is so… If I am here, with the 7th Brigade at my command, well then it is exactly as this man puts it-I matter here, we matter a very great deal. I can do exactly what I told Sims, and I can kick Rommel’s behind any time I choose.

Wavell had been hopping mad. He had no idea who he was talking to, and wanted to speak with O’Connor straight away. I had to feign a communications lapse to get out of that one, and I still have this O’Connor fellow on ice in the other FV432. I know it sounds crazy, but something tells me I haven’t heard the last from this Wavell, and that O’Connor is going to want to get right back in the saddle as soon as he can. That thought brought a question.

“O’Connor… Does he know all this?”

“No sir,” said Fedorov, “he has not been briefed either. The only other man in theater that is fully briefed is Admiral John Tovey.”

“Tovey knows. He’s heard everything you’ve told me here?”

“Yes.”

“And he believed it?”

“He’s seen my ship in action. That can be very persuasive.”

“I suppose that is so.” Kinlan rubbed a cramp from the back of his neck, the least of his worries. “So what will I find if I do proceed to Mersa Matruh now?”

“That will depend on how far east Rommel has moved. The last I knew he was operating near Bardia.”

“That’s 200 kilometers west of Matruh.”

“About that,” said Fedorov. “If you get there soon you will likely appear well behind British lines-assuming there is still a line. If I can get through to Wavell I can determine what the situation is. Then again… If you go north for Bardia, you might appear behind German lines, which would be a very unpleasant surprise. May I ask how big your force is?”

“He wants to know just how many lad’s you’ve got here,” said Popski.

Kinlan passed a brief moment thinking he was about to divulge information to an enemy, but then he realized that the Russians of 2021 knew full well the composition of his force when they took their pot shot. Telling this man what cards he had in hand would not affect the game one way or another.

“Tell him I’ve a full brigade, 7th Armored Brigade, to be precise.”

“He says he has a full brigade here.”

“Can he be more specific?” Fedorov gave Popski a nudge.

“I have the 12th Royal Lancers for starters, with one company in Dragons and the rest with the old Scimitars.”

“Just an armored cavalry unit?”

“I said for starters,” Kinlan corrected. “Right behind them are the Royal Scotts Dragoon Guards, and not the 2020 light cavalry configuration. They sent the big boys here to settle this business at Sultan Apache. See those two tanks over there?” Kinlan pointed to the two Challenger II tanks that were part of his headquarters troop. “Well, I have four Sabres-a full battalion of 60 tanks, and a few more tucked away in HQ troops. Then two mechanized infantry battalions are in support, the Highlanders and 3rd Mercian, both Armored Infantry in Warrior IFVs. That’s a real fist full of war fighting for you. Throw in a battalion of Gurkha light role infantry and supporting engineers, supply, and logistics troops to round it all off. It’s a lot to keep on my mind, and none of those boys have heard this wild tale were spinning out here.”

That brought another whole can of worms to the discussion. If this were true, how in the world would he tell his men about it? How could he tell them there would be no sealift units waiting for them at Mersa Matruh. They were scheduled to rendezvous there to meet several RoRo units, the ‘Roll on-Roll off’ ships that could accommodate his heavy vehicles. Hurst, Hartland, Anvil Point and Eddystone were to be in attendance to move the 7th Brigade to Toulon in several trips, for deployment in Europe. But that would never happen now. That was all gone. Even if we were still where we should be, it might still all be gone, he thought. If the Russkies lobbed warheads our way, they would have hit those units at Mersa Matruh as well.

“So that’s what I’ve got out here,” said Kinlan. “If this had happened a few days ago I’d have a squadron of Apache attack helicopters too, but they left early and missed the party.”

Fedorov nodded. “It may not feel that way now, General, but you were the lucky ones. Speaking of helicopters… can we sort this out and get my men back aboard our KA-40? We were to get General O’Connor back to Alexandria, but your presence here has changed everything. That said, my helicopter can give you some very good airborne reconnaissance. Care to take a ride with me? I’ll give you a good sitrep on the whole situation up north.”

“The Captain here invites you to accompany him on that helicontraption of his, and believe me, General, that’s a royal ride if ever there was one.”