John Schettler - Hammer of God

Fedorov took advantage of the pause, clearing his voice to add a comment. “Excuse me, Generals and Admirals,” he began. “I know the opinion of a Russian sea Captain may not count for much here, but I am no ordinary Captain.” Volsky and Kamenski smiled as Fedorov continued, and just as they expected, he began to relate facts he knew from the history.

“The effort to bombard Tripoli was successful in the history I know. No British ships were lost, but that said, interdiction by sea had no real effect on the Axis supply effort. Over ninety percent of their convoys continued to get through for the next year. In fact, it was only the limited capacity of Tripoli that restricted their buildup, and they will soon realize this and begin to seek alternatives. This could be why the Italians have decided to hold out at Benghazi, and I expect they will soon consider Tunis, Bizerte, or even direct coastal landings if need presses them, and it will. It was difficult for the Germans to supply the two divisions Rommel already has, and it will be even more difficult trying to provide for any new troops. Therein lies a brief advantage. Yes, it will take time to re-occupy the lost ground and take Benghazi, but I believe that must be your first priority. As to the question of interdicting Tripoli, remember you have more than Warspite and Invincible here. My ship can assist, and at considerable range.” He looked at Admiral Volsky now, wondering if he should say anything of Kazan, but decided to leave that to the Admiral.

“While I do not believe our missiles would be a good choice against enemy merchant ships, we can definitely assist any naval interdiction effort. Yet I must caution you that this could again precipitate another major engagement, and the enemy seems to have air superiority in the Central Mediterranean.”

“They do,” said Tovey. “This is why I’ve ordered in more carrier support. It can’t all be laid on you, Admiral Volsky, and I thank you, Captain Fedorov, for the benefit of your… foresight concerning these events. In my opinion we are at a most delicate juncture here. It seems we have decided that Mister Churchill can no longer be kept in the dark, and that will have to be our next move. We must have our meeting with the Prime Minister and see if we can talk some sense into him. Once he is led to see the elephant, then he must also be convinced that the resources we have must be carefully applied. Brigadier Kinlan’s force needs support. It cannot act alone in a vacuum any more than your ship can, Admiral Volsky. This will take careful planning.”

“I agree,” said Wavell. “Until I have the troops in theater to contemplate an offensive, our best and only play is to stand on the ground we’ve lately won. I’ve moved the Aussies to invest and take Benghazi, but for the moment that leaves me only the 2nd New Zealand Division and Brigadier Kinlan’s force to watch Rommel’s buildup at Agheila and Mersa Brega. The 7th Australian Division is in reserve, but I have a feeling it will be needed elsewhere. As for the Germans, it should take them some time, but they’ll soon learn we are not as strong as they believe, and eventually they will contemplate a move east again. So I’m recalling the 4th Indian Division from East Africa, and looking into getting a South African Division, but we have a good deal on our hands now, and the butter is spread fairly thin.”

“We’ve worked out a possible plan to support and supply the new 7th Brigade,” said O’Connor. “General Kinlan suggests we move water, food and fuel to Siwa. From there his own support columns can take over, and he proposes to move on our southern flank.”

“But the Italians still have Giarabub,” said Wavell, “and they show no signs of leaving.”

“Because they have yet to see my tanks,” said Kinlan. “But I think I can easily persuade them to yield the place. I already have a battalion of light infantry at Siwa to reinforce your Australian cavalry reconnaissance unit. We’ve discovered the Italians have reinforced Giarabub, so I propose to take it with my brigade at once. I’ll then move west, drawing supplies from depots established at these oasis sites. This will serve two purposes. First off, my troops will always be on the enemy southern flank. Any move they make east will have to consider the presence of my brigade as a foil on their exposed right flank, and I think they will remember what happened at Bir el Khamsa. This also has another advantage, because operating in this manner limits the exposure of my force to other units, and that helps us keep this genie in the bottle.”

“But surely the army knows something of you already,” said Wavell.

“We never got close enough to your left flank at Bir el Khamsa for other units to really get a good look at us. After that, I withdrew south to regroup and consider the matter of Giarabub.”

“That will only go so far,” said Wavell. “Rumors are already spreading. The boys know we’ve just given Rommel a good pasting. Talk is that we’ve new armor, which was some surprise to me. The men working those docks out there also know damn well what comes and goes. We haven’t received so much as a single new tank for weeks.”

“We’ve thought about that,” said O’Connor. “We can say the unit was moved in piecemeal, from other Red Sea ports, or the Sudan, and then moved west through Fafarah Oasis.”

“Clever, but anyone who took the time would get to the bottom of that.”

“True, but that is where we come in. Discouraging others from digging up what amounts to top secret troop movements should not be difficult for us. It’s a big world, and a big war. A thousand things happen out there every day, and I daresay that most of them are secret, known only to those that take part in the operation. This is no different. If anyone gets uppity, then we can tamp that down with a secrecy order.”

“But we can’t keep Brigadier Kinlan’s force down south indefinitely. What will we tell the army when a real bar fight begins out here again? Rommel will be back at us in a few weeks time, a month at the most.”

“We tell them the 7th is back-a new brigade formed and delivered as I described. That’s all they need to know.” O’Connor was in full agreement with Fedorov, and eager to get back in the field with those marvelous tanks as soon as possible. “I propose that I operate directly with General Kinlan, as a strong link to your overall command here, General Wavell.”

“Good enough,” said Wavell. “So unless the Prime Minister gets uppity when he realizes he never sent me this new brigade, we have the makings of a good plan there.”

“It’s clear that Churchill will have to be briefed,” said Tovey, “which is why we should see to that as soon as possible. The question is how do we get him here safely? Failing that, we shall have to meet with him in England, and we all have rather pressing duties here.”

“Takoradi,” said Cunningham. “In my jousting with Churchill over the order to bombard Tripoli, I suggested that Wellington bombers would do the job just as well, and save us a few ships. Could Mister Churchill fly to our base at Takoradi, and then sneak through on a Wellington?”

With Gibraltar lost, the air route to Egypt now began at the port of Takoradi on the coast of Ghana. From there, planes would fly inland over central Africa to the Sudan, and the British had numerous bases established along that route. From Khartum, the last leg would fly north over friendly territory to Egypt.

“Yes,” said Tovey. “Takoradi. Let me draft the request, if you will, gentlemen. I’ll use the strongest possible wording, and then we can all sign in blood. My bet is that Churchill will be here soon enough, and then we can get on with these plans in earnest, because the enemy is also making plans, and we’ll have to keep our wits about us.”