Mission to Britain

by J Eugene Porter

  Carlson looked at the entrance to the tent and not at Flannigan. He seemed occupied in some other place and time. After a moment of thought, he continued. “Many of our colleagues in the military, all branches, have no use for our British Allies but I’m impressed by their raids and their organizational structures. I studied what you gave me on the first day, all the reports based on your training in Achnacarry. By the way, these were well written. The most important thing I picked up was the small unit tactics they use and their use of small arms to overcome hardened targets. Quite amazing. So, I have listened, and now I have questions for you.”

  Flannigan was astounded by this turn of events and taken aback by the high degree of knowledge Carlson demonstrated. The conversation quickly turned to the big picture ideas of how the Brits selected targets, manpower selection techniques, weapons, small unit tactics and coordination with the Royal Navy to make sure a unit could get in and get out after a raid. Carlson even stood up and asked Flannigan to show him some of the moves he had learned in the hand-to-hand combat classes he had attended. In two quick moves, he had knocked the colonel flat. The sentry came rushing in, but before he could say a word, Carlson said, “Not a problem here, Corporal Johnson. Just getting my ass kicked by the good Captain.” Johnson was about to walk out of the tent when Carlson stopped him saying, “Johnson, give me your rifle. Let me see it.”

  “Yes sir, Colonel.” He handed the Model 1903 Springfield to the colonel.

  Then looking at Flannigan, the colonel asked, “Okay, Mr. Flannigan, take this away from me before I kill you.”

  Flannigan moved before the last word was out of Carlson’s mouth. The rifle was pointed in the air, and the colonel was again on the deck with Flannigan holding the rifle. The corporal could not help himself saying, “Damn, Colonel, the captain is one fast SOB. Are you okay, sir?”

  The colonel stood up smiling at the corporal and said, “Johnson, just don’t tell everybody the old man had his ass handed to him, all right?”

  “Yes sir, no one but us will know. I wonder if the captain could show me that move?”

  Carlson smiled at Flannigan again and then said, “Captain, tomorrow you and your men will conduct a class with me along with all officers and non-coms on how the commandos train, so we, in turn, can train our men. Then, I think I will send you home before I get clobbered again.”

  The colonel thrust out his hand to Flannigan who grabbed it with gusto. The colonel then asked Flannigan to sit down for some coffee and to discuss commando tactics. The colonel said he had lots of questions.

  29

  23 April 1942

  Office of the Chief of Naval Operations

  Washington, D.C.

  • United Kingdom--Germans begin series of retaliation air attacks on cathedral cities, the first occurring night of April 23-24 against Exeter.

  Admiral Willson had been conducting a shuttle service of paper from his office to the chief’s office all morning long. The reports from Naval Intelligence were getting more numerous and often conflicting. The best reports, those being the most consistent, had come from Station HYPO at Pearl Harbor. King had gone to the trouble of directly requesting the station’s analysis of Japanese intentions in the Southwest Pacific.

  The leader of Station HYPO, Lt. Comdr. Joseph Rochefort, made four points which King accepted. First, the Indian Ocean operations Japan had been conducting in late March and early April were concluded. Second, there were two offensives planned for eastern New Guinea and the Coral Sea. Third, there was no evidence Japan intended to invade Australia. Fourth, there was at least one more Pacific operation being planned, whose objective and details were not clear. This he concluded was the second phase of Japan’s grand strategy which was to consolidate Japan’s island defenses and would nullify American attacks.

  Admiral Nimitz was also buying the reports from his intelligence people and the ones coming in from Australia. The two admirals had agreed to meet on April 25 in San Francisco to review strategy and available forces for what appeared to be a major Japanese thrust. King wanted the best minds on the subject, and he had told Willson to get Jameson and his team back to Washington to help. Willson had sent instructions to Jameson who had returned from Boston a few days ago to get the rest of the team ready for any possibility, including travel. Luckily, Flannigan’s group were on their way back to Washington flying in a B-17 to the East Coast and would arrive in the late afternoon.

  Brand was on his way, but reluctantly. He had spent the past two days flying a Wildcat in practice dogfights with Commander Overstreet. The commander was impressed with James’ ability to get behind him and stick with him no matter what he tried to do. James had also shown his prowess in hitting the towed targets with the six .50 caliber machine guns carried on the Wildcat. His first few passes had been off, but after these misses, he had the geometry down correctly in his mind and peppered the targets from a surprising distance, which was counter to what Overstreet thought possible.

  The order had come in late on April 22. Brand was told by Jameson a plane would be sent to pick up him and his security team for an early morning flight to Washington and to make sure everyone was ready. That evening, Brand met up with Overstreet and Base Commander Read. Both were quite happy to see him leave so they could get back to their normal training schedule. While at the club bar, Captain Read had Overstreet pull Brand into a small dining room where several senior officers were present. Everyone raised their glasses and toasted the newest naval aviator and Captain Read pinned the wings of gold on James’ uniform. Everyone came up to congratulate him, and the reception was over. James didn’t even want this much fuss because he knew he had not earned his wings the way all the others had but knew that if given the time, he could have done it the right way.

  Once back in Washington, the team’s officers were given a small conference room near Admiral Willson’s office and presented with boxes filled with situation reports from the Pacific theater of operations along with some highly censored intelligence reports so as not to give away the sources of the information. Willson had told the three officers to look through as many of the reports as possible and give him their best assessment. The team worked through the morning with Brand devouring report after report with his incredibly fast ability to read and assimilate information. After each report, he would write up a synopsis of the information using his cryptic shorthand then tackle the next one.

  Jameson worked on the operations reports going back to the first American attacks in the Marshall Islands in February then worked up to the previous week’s reports. Flannigan examined all the logistic information and ship movements of the U.S. Fleet to understand how they had operated and what their present situation was regarding readiness.

  Early in the afternoon, Commander Allen came into the room and told the men Admiral Willson wanted to see them in his office. They followed the aide to the admiral’s office and were seated at his conference table in preparation for Willson’s questions. It didn’t take long to be on the receiving end of a torrent of questions from the admiral.

  “Gentlemen, you have been looking at various pieces of information concerning the current Pacific situation. Some of it is historical concerning our operations as well as Japanese movements. Some of the information is about our current capabilities throughout the Pacific area of operations. The last part, which I specifically wanted Mr. Brand to review, is our intelligence of what we think the Japanese are going to do. Now, this information is all scattered, and in the case of the intelligence, it is only a summary and does not include source material. Are you with me so far?”

  Everyone said, “Yes sir.”

  Willson continued, “Admiral King is leaving this evening for San Francisco to meet Admiral Nimitz to discuss the Pacific war situation. If you were Admiral King, what would you recommend to Admiral Nimitz?”

  Jameson began by saying, “Based upon the operations conducted since the raids in the Marshall Islands and then against Wake, it appear
s our carrier forces are gaining in experience but still mostly untested in combat. We do not have adequate forces regarding heavy ships, specifically battleships and cruisers. And we are very low on the number of destroyers to support long-term operations. The Japanese are very experienced, but they are long overdue for overhauls and general maintenance of their ships. Their pilots may also be getting edgy, but they appear to be a very strong group of men.”

  Flannigan went next. “Admiral, I agree with what the captain stated. The Japanese are probably battle weary, and their ships are getting worn down. Their tempo of operations is even greater than ours. They have been steaming across the Pacific and Indian Oceans constantly since December. Our ships are under similar strain, but with Pearl Harbor still available to us, we are closer to support and supplies. Our strength has increased to four carriers, and even though we don’t have fast battleships available in numbers, we do have some coming soon.”

  The Marine captain looked down at his notes and moved on to what he thought were key points concerning American capabilities. “Sir, our base situation is in much better shape with new air bases set up in Samoa, Palmyra, Bora Bora, Vella, and New Caledonia. The number of land-based aircraft has increased, and so has the experience of the pilots. But there are glaring weaknesses in heavy bombers and long-range recon-naisance aircraft. The army has two full divisions in Australia, and the Marines have defense battalions in Samoa, Midway, and New Caledonia. Sir, we are getting stronger, but we are not quite there yet.”

  Willson now turned to Brand who had reviewed the intelligence information. He had told Brand to look at what was in these summaries and extrapolate from there. He was also told not to concern himself with the source or validity of the information as it was sound.

  Brand started by asking the admiral a question. “Sir, what is the level of loss we can accept to turn the enemy around?”

  Willson had asked himself this already and bluntly replied, “Mr. Brand, that is a question only Admiral Nimitz and his field commanders can answer. I think it’s important to remember each battle is only one part of a longer war, so the integrity of the force is important. Does that help?”

  “Sir, I was looking for a feeling from you, so this helps somewhat. Here is what I think is going to happen. The Japanese, based on the reports you shared, are going to hit New Guinea first. They will want to hurt us, especially our carriers which are a constant threat to their strategy of creating a line of interconnected and mutually supporting island fortresses. New Guinea is a large land mass and they see the Australians sitting at Port Moresby as a constant threat. With New Guinea under their control, they can fly deep into northern Australia which would push the Aussies and us back toward Brisbane. This way they have another buffer zone against our attacks.”

  James looked down at his notes and then looked directly at Admiral Willson. “Sir, this situation is like the conquest of Java and Sumatra in the past few months. They would have an arc running from Burma all the way to the Solomon Islands then north to the Gilberts, the Marshalls, the Marianas, and up to the Aleutians. So, Port Moresby is the target, and the Japs will divide their forces again to see if they can get us to commit against their landing force. They will have a smaller force of surface ships heading from Rabaul to Port Moresby by going around the Papuan Peninsula into the Coral Sea and landing somewhere along the area near Port Moresby.”

  During this briefing, Brand pointed to the various Japanese moves on the map in front of him. He moved the map so the admiral could see the locations of the current Japanese bases and probable movements. “A large Japanese carrier force will be lurking near the Coral Sea working its way around to the south or east to catch our carriers. We have a few advantages that I believe the Japanese do not see as a threat.”

  Willson listened to the young scientist with a long face. The expression hid his amazement at Brand’s assessment, which was not part of the intelligence information. He looked at the lieutenant intently and said, “So what are they going to do and what would you do if you were in command?”

  Brand looked at the map intently for a few seconds and without any further hesitation told the chief of staff his thoughts. “Admiral, I believe the Japanese will work two fleets in this operation. Light forces will cover the invasion force with perhaps a small carrier, the one that the intelligence people referred to in their report. A larger force will be lurking out to the east and perhaps south, deeper into the Coral Sea to get behind our forces and attack them. We can counter this in two ways. First, our air reconnaissance assets should be able to find them before they find us. Even if we only find one of their groups, we will be able to validate our theory and attack with superior forces quickly. If we get into a major battle, we must take the calculated risk and fight.

  Willson looked at the map and thought about Brand’s conclusions so far and then looked back at Brand who continued with his ideas. “Two things will help us in this situation. One, our radar capability is up to date on our carriers in the Pacific, and two, maintaining our principle of concentrating forces should win the battle. The Japanese like to come up with intricate strategies which are wonderfully complex, but hard to make work in the reality of war. We are much more pragmatic and will slug it out if necessary. I believe this is the time we must stand and fight.”

  Willson looked at James and said, “Go back to your conference room until I call you.” He walked out of his office.

  The team looked at each other then returned to the conference room but not before stopping in the small outer office where the yeoman always had a pot of navy coffee brewing. Jameson expected they would need a lot of coffee to stay awake until called for by Admiral Willson.

  The coffee had not gotten cold when the door was flung open, and a Marine sergeant yelled, “Attention on deck.” The men jumped up and went to attention as Admiral King and Admiral Willson entered the room. The Marine closed the door and waited outside allowing no one to enter the room.

  “Sit down,” King said in his usual no-nonsense manner.

  King looked at each of the men, settling his stare on Brand. “Mr. Brand, Admiral Willson told me what you had to offer. If I said your analysis was off the mark, what would you say?”

  Brand, not fearing any man stated, “Sir, the analysis I provided to Admiral Willson was based on the information provided and my overall understanding of the current war situation. I stand by my comments.”

  Willson had to hold back a laugh knowing that only the brash young lieutenant junior grade would dare confront the chief of Naval Operations and the commander in chief of the United States Fleet.

  King frowned when he heard Brand’s comments and stood, which was followed by everyone else in the room doing the same. “Mr. Brand, you’re a cocky son of a bitch, but you are right more than you are wrong. I think it was Napoleon who said something about having lucky generals were better than having smart generals, but that doesn’t apply here. You’re both smart and lucky. I agree with your assessment. I want you to stand by to assist my staff in the coming days because I think we’re going to do battle with the Japs and we will win.”

  “Captain Jameson, I am flying to meet Admiral Nimitz in San Francisco to discuss this operation, and I want you to come with me. Brand, Flannigan, stay here and support Admiral Willson and his staff. Admiral Willson will give you more information as it becomes available and I want updates sent as you create them. Understood?”

  Everyone quickly confirmed their understanding and King left the room. Admiral Willson told Jameson to get over to National field by 2000 hours for the plane ride to the west coast. He told the other two men they could expect Jameson to return in three or four days.

  30

  27 April 1942

  Bethesda, Maryland

  • China--General Stillwell presents “Proposal to Organize and Train a Chinese Force in India” to Chiang Kai-shek and gains approval in principle.

  • U.S. Army Air Services is formed under Maj. Gen. Rush B. Linc
oln to take responsibility for air service from United States Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA).

  Sergeant Laird watched the staff car motor up the driveway. The two officers got out along with the driver, Corporal Pride, and the gunny. All of them looked tired after being gone since 0500 hours this morning. Laird caught the eye of Dr. Feldman and said, “Here they come, and they look beat.”

  The doctor, who wasn’t spending much time at his large, fully staffed and equipped hospital, rose out of his seat and put down the newspaper. He stood next to Sergeant Laird and commented, “I bet they need a drink. I think I do as well. How about you, Sergeant Laird?”

  “I would love to have a drink, Doc, but I had better wait until I get a green light from the captain.”

  “Understood, Sergeant. I shall make an effort to intervene on your behalf, for purely medicinal reasons, of course.” He gave Laird a wink and then the doc walked to the back door. He would see if they might be conducive to a bit of liquid medicine to help them sort things out.

  Flannigan walked through first. His eyes gave him away. He was bushed but gave Feldman a quick smile saying, “Well, looks like the nursing staff has thrown you back into the sea. Could you not find anyone to give you a nice hot bath over at the hospital?” The smile got larger as he saw his friend holding a bottle of scotch in one hand, a large glass in the other, and a question imprinted on his face.

  “Doctor’s orders, my dear captain of Marines. A small elixir would be good for you, but your crass comments about my sexual conquests at a United States Naval Hospital may reduce the dosage.”