Knight's Move (Kirov Series Book 21)

by John Schettler

  “Well sir, the Hurricanes do a little better.” Bracken needed to reinforce his point here.

  “They do, if we can get them in action soon. Of the 51 in the first lot we received in January, only 21 remain available for operations.”

  “If you are to make good use of these planes,” said Bracken, “then you’ll certainly have to hold the airfields on this island, and rather tenaciously. Kallang is well in hand, but the fields at Tengan, Sembawang and Seletam are all in jeopardy should you fail to stop the enemy from obtaining a secure lodgment here.”

  Percival shook his head. “My good man, once the Japanese bring up their artillery, those fields will be under the gun and impossible to use. We’ll only have the old civilian field at Kallang, and they’ve been bombing it daily. The damn place was built on reclaimed land, and the bombs kick up the mud from below. The planes have to dodge mud craters just to get into position to try and take off, which makes getting them up after the bombers a bit of a task.”

  Percival’s subordinates always said he would see five difficulties for every opportunity he was presented, and Bracken was beginning to take the measure of the man.

  “Frankly,” the General concluded, “I’m not sure what good these 90 Hurricanes will do here now. I’m not even sure we’ll be able to find a place to park them at Kallang, and if we do, they will most likely make good targets for the Japanese bombers.”

  “My, my,” said Bracken. “Yes, I’m not a military man, but I believe I’m beginning to see the difficulty here, and it starts with you, sir, though I mean you no disrespect. You tell me you disposed your troops to fight for those airfields, and now, when I come with news of fresh fighter reserves, you make it seem as if they’ll be more of a bother than any help!”

  “What about additional troops and supplies?” said Percival. “I was only sent one Brigade of the 18th Division, and I could use more along those lines if you have them handy.”

  “They’ll be coming,” said Bracken. “The rest of the 18th Division is already at sea and should arrive shortly. But the first step is to get your existing troops ready to repel the attack that will inevitably come. I wish I could give you specifics on troop arrivals, but this was all I’ve been authorized to disclose at the moment. Yet I can tell you one thing…” he leaned in, lowering his voice again with a wink. “Something is in the works, old boy. Something big.”

  “Indeed…” The light shone a little brighter in Percival’s eyes. “Well then, I appreciate everything you’ve said here. We won’t let the Prime Minister down, I can assure you.”

  The two men shook hands, and hours later Bracken and his aide were on a plane, flying off to the nearest British base at Colombo. Blair felt privileged to have been in on the whole scene, even though he was no more than a mute attendant to the discussion.

  “Good to hear there’s a big relief effort in the offing,” he ventured when they had settled in for the flight.

  Bracken gave him a sideways glance. “Yes, good to hear it, yet it would be so much better if there actually was something big in the works, wouldn’t it?”

  “I’m sorry? You mean to say there will be no relief operation?”

  “Mister Blair,” said Bracken, “The Empire couldn’t find another division to stand up on the cliffs of Dover if the Germans were about to cross tomorrow, and they certainly can’t find one to send all the way around the cape and through the Indian Ocean to Singapore!”

  “Oh… I was rather thinking it might be another Aussie unit.”

  “Australian troops? Percival is damn lucky he’s got the two brigades of the 8th Division there. The rest have all been recalled home. So you see, my little disclosure there was meant entirely to give the man hope. If Percival thinks there’s a big push on to relieve him, he’ll act as if it was actually going to happen. That was the only reason I was sent here. You see, appearances make truth, irrespective of the reality in any situation. Truth is what we decide it to be, understand? Now then… You’re not to breathe a word of this to anyone, or you’ll find yourself sitting in a most uncomfortable room.”

  “I understand, sir.”

  Blair never liked his superior, and after that little incident his contempt for the man deepened considerably. He would later come to call him B.B., using his initials instead of the man’s name. The imposing edifice of the Ministry of Information in the Senate House of Bloomsbury would also come to seem a hopeless tomb to him, and all these experiences would figure prominently in his future writing. He never forgot what Bracken said to him about truth and appearances.

  Blair adopted a pen name for his work, something he just made up one day. He changed his given name to George, the name of the monarch, or perhaps old St. George himself, the slayer of dragons. His sharp pen would be his lance ever thereafter, and he would joust with demons in many famous works, one day named as one of the most significant English writers of his era. For the surname he chose was Orwell, the name of a river in Suffolk, though some say it was a village in Cambridge that he fancied.

  The book he would write one day after the war was, of course, 1984, a dark vision of the future world he thought men like Brendon Bracken, would give rise to. For old B.B. was his analog for Big Brother, and the Ministry of Information in Bloomsbury his analog for the Ministry of Truth. Mister Bracken had told him just now, a simple maxim that he would put at the heart of that novel. “Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else.” If Percival thought relief was imminent, he would perhaps become more of a man than he could by thinking otherwise.

  “In wartime,” Churchill would quip one day, “truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.”

  * * *

  Whether he was the image of Big Brother or not in Orwell’s mind, Brenden Bracken had come to one inescapable conclusion during his talk with Percival—the man was not capable of properly defending Singapore, and under his watch it would certainly be lost. He reported this directly to General Wavell, who had flown from Alexandria to Colombo to take his report at Churchill’s urging.

  “Rotten from the top down,” he said. “Any fight left in the division commanders will be leached right out of them under that man. Percival may be stolid and obey orders to hold on, but he won’t conduct a spirited defense. I fear we’re looking at the same disaster foretold to us earlier by the Russian Captain. We need someone else, and quickly.”

  Wavell nodded, his expression dark and grave. His unique position as one of the very few men ‘in the know’ concerning the Russians had kept him in his post as overall Theater Commander, and now he was feeling the weight of that command.

  “I agree completely,” he said at last, “and I believe I have just the man for the job, our own General Montgomery. He’s a particular genius for a situation like this—cut his teeth organizing the defenses along the coast of Kent and Sussex when we thought the Germans might try to kick in the door. He held Tobruk, and to the point of taking up a rifle himself in that fight when we stopped Rommel. I’d say he’s the perfect man of the hour for Singapore.”

  “Then get him there, and as quickly as you possibly can. And if you have anything at all you can spare by way of additional troops, even a single battalion, by all means, send it with him.”

  That was Wavell’s order, and the troops he found to send along with Montgomery were the 6th Infantry Brigade of the 2nd New Zealand Division. Rommel had just lost his 98th Mountain Regiment, so Wavell thought he could spare one last Brigade, and hoped to rely on Brigadier Kinlan’s troops to fill in if needed. Along with those three battalions, he added the crack 28th Maori Battalion, a company from the 22nd Machinegun Battalion, and another from the Recon Battalion and Royal Engineers.

  The troops would have to make a long sea journey, all of 7000 miles from Alexandria, but they were dispatched that day, the 15th of January, on the fastest transports available, and would get there inside two weeks time. RMS Empress of Asia was also dispatched from Cape Town, a steam liner that had o
nce served as an auxiliary cruiser hunting WWI German raiders in the Indian Ocean. Her holds were packed with machineguns, rifles, mortars and other military supplies, and she was leading a little convoy comprised of Félix Roussel and City of Canterburyn, escorted by HMAS Yarra and HMS Danae.

  Along the way they would hear news of the great naval battle off Fuerteventura on the 23rd of January, and if nothing else, it imparted a sense of gravity in the situation they were now facing. The Empire was under assault from every quarter, and now they were being sent to the desperate defense of one of its most important outposts.

  General Montgomery arrived by air on the 24th of January, stepping in with the rest of the fresh 18th British Infantry Division, which was there a little earlier than it arrived in the old history. He wanted to make it seem that they were here at his behest, a proud new General leading in fresh troops to buck up morale. He met Percival in the “battlebox” beneath Fort Canning, a warren of narrow halls and rooms where the General held forth with his staff. There were offices and conference rooms, a gun operations room to control the shore batteries, a signals control room for communications back to Wavell. To Monty it all seemed a stench ridden, oppressive Ostrich hole, and he resolved to move his own headquarters much closer to the front lines he had in mind.

  It was only then that Percival learned what was ‘in the works,’ as Bracken had put it to him. Monty handed Percival yet another letter, signed by Wavell, and formally relieving the lanky General of command. Percival would stay on in a secondary role as Chief of Staff, for Wavell believed his knowledge of the local scene would be of considerable use to Montgomery.

  “Well then,” said Monty. “I can say I’m accustomed to the heat, but certainly not this humidity. It’s been a bit dry where I hail from. That aside, I shall want to review all your dispositions for the defense of this island immediately, and tomorrow morning, we will hold a meeting with all the senior division commanders. Am I to understand that you’re planning to pack all the fighters off our carriers into one small civilian airfield near the city?”

  “We certainly can’t use the forward air fields,” said Percival. They’ll all be under the Japanese artillery soon.”

  “Quite so, but this single airfield, what is it, Kallang? Well it simply won’t do. So I propose those fighters operate from Pakanbharu on Sumatra. It’s only 170 miles from Singapore, and our Hurricanes can manage that, with plenty of fuel left for combat air patrols over the city. The Fairey Fulmars on the carriers have even better range, but I’ll leave their disposition up to the Commanding Officer, Carrier Force. The Blenheims in theater can operate from Padang on the west coast of Sumatra, and Palembang.”

  It was amazing how this single change suddenly imparted a whole new attitude. Unlike Percival, Monty was all business, quick minded, obstinate, decisive, and with a keen eye for defense. He soon looked over Percival’s plan, having discussed it all with Wavell earlier.

  “It seems you wanted the Australians in the Western sector. Wavell believes that will be the most likely point of attack, and I tend to agree. Therefore, British regulars should be defending there.”

  “But I’ve posted them in the Eastern sector, around the naval base,” said Percival. “Surely the Japanese will make that one of their initial objectives. They’ve already put troops on the islands nearby. They’ll want the oil fuel stocks.”

  “Then we’ll give it to them, but not in any way they might like. As for the Australians, they only have two brigades, and you’ve split them in two, on either side of the Kranji river inlet. That’ won’t do at all. How will they communicate and support one another? Instead, I’ll put them side by side, near the village of Kranji and the causeway sector. I’ll move one of the Indian brigades to the Naval Base, and they can watch the northeast section. As for those oil stocks, I’m afraid they can’t be defended—simply too vulnerable. So what I propose to do is spill the tanks into this slough and simply set it all on fire at an opportune moment. We’ve got to get positively medieval here. This is a castle, and the Strait of Johor is our moat. We’ve blown the causeway, but they’ll try to rebuild it, as it is the only real road they can use to move in any heavy weapons or armor they may have. Think of it as the main gate, and this is why I want both Australian Brigades to stand the line there.”

  “And if they come over these islands east of the naval base?” said Percival. “They’ll have the Aussies cut off.”

  “I very much doubt that. If they do put in an attack there, it would only be a feint. No, they must take that causeway. As for the British troops, I think I’ll post the 18th Division here.” He was pointing to a spot in the center of the island near Tengah airfield.

  “Well they certainly can’t cover the Northwest coast from that position,” Percival protested.

  “I have no intention of trying to man the entire coastline. If we try to hold everywhere, we’ll be spread thin, like too little butter on bread. We need to mass our troops, and for two good reasons. Firstly, their numbers when massed are mutually supporting and good for morale. Secondly, they’ll be much easier to control on the field, particularly in an attack. From this map, the northwest looks to be nothing more than a mangrove swamp. You’ve placed the entire Australian 22nd Brigade there, but the river near Kranji forms a natural barrier to the east, and any troops posted there will be cut off immediately if the Japanese land to their south. So I’ll cede that ground to the enemy, if he wants it. In fact, I’ll position my artillery so as to make it a nice killing field. They’ll be tangled up in the mangrove swamps, and make good targets. We’ll defend here, on a line from Kranji, along the river, and down to the airfield at Tengah. Leave the 27th Australian Brigade where you’ve placed it at Kranji. We’ll move the 22nd Brigade east and have them take over the positions you’ve assigned to the 11th Indian Division, and then send those troops to the Naval Base. That should do.”

  “Then nothing will defend the northwest sector?”

  “We’ll post forward detachments to watch the coast, and they’ll all have radios.”

  “You’ll break radio silence?”

  “And why not? The Japanese will know exactly where we are. It’s not like we have anything to hide here. Besides all they will hear is my order for our guns to fire. So the main job of these forward spotters will be to alert the 18th Division as to the enemy landings, and to call in our artillery.”

  “Then you plan to hold that far inland, behind the airfield at Tengah?”

  “No, my good man, I plan to counterattack from that location. That is the whole point of massing the division there. We can’t cover the entire coast in any real strength, so we’ll hold in key positions to the rear, and when we’ve identified their main effort, that’s when we hit them. It’s what I recommended at Dover when the Germans were looking at us across the Channel. That’s what we’ll do here. The Indian Brigades are worn out, so I’ll post them to the rear as a reserve, along with the Malay Brigade, Dalforce irregulars, and the Fortress Troops. Now then, I shall want to tour the entire sector today to look over the ground.”

  Montgomery had immediately seen the flaws in Percival’s deployments and corrected them. Where Percival had his freshest unit, the 18th British Division, spread all along the northeast coast, Monty Moved it to Tengah Airfield in one concentrated force. Where Percival had split his next best force by separating the two Australian brigades, Monty combined them to reinforce the Causeway Sector. He then used the Indian troops to fill in here and there, and left the Malay Brigades and Fortress Troops to watch the south and stand as his reserve.

  So Monty was off, baton in hand, visiting one unit after another and already issuing orders to get them moving where he wanted them. Some of the Australians muttered that they had only just settled in and now they were looking at yet another withdrawal.

  “How big do they think this bloody island is?” they said. “How do we stop the Japs from crossing if we aren’t in good positions on the shore?”

  “Beats me,”
said a Corporal, “but this ain’t a retreat, mate. He wants up over on the other side of the island. This one seems to know what he’s about. He’s got that look about him—stiff upper lip and all.”

  “Better him than Percy, I suppose, and better by the Causeway then in this bloody Mangrove swamp. But I’ve had enough of running from the Japs. When we get to Kranji, I’m staying put.”

  “The general will certainly be glad to hear that Bob. Can’t say the Japs will fancy it. They’ll want that causeway, and to get at it, they’ll have to cross one side or another, right in our laps.”

  * * *

  The Japanese continued to push, closing inexorably on the island, and forcing the defenders back over the long stone causeway to Johore, their last connection to the mainland that had been taken from them in just fifty days. The last of Brigadier Bennett’s Australians tramped in, moving into positions near the causeway where Monty wanted them. The engineers were soon busy tending to the demolition charges, and they blew a 70 foot gap in the causeway, sending the steel of the rail line and water pipe into the murky waters of the Strait of Johor.

  “That ought to stop the little bastards,” said a big Scotsman as he watched the smoke and dust rise from the explosion.

  “Right,” said a Sergeant of Engineers. “And that’s also stopped all the water coming in from the mainland. Now we’re just down to what we have in the reservoirs here, and the city has swollen with refugees from up-country.”

  It was an observation worthy of Percival himself, yet water would definitely be a factor in any protracted siege. The weary, disheartened troops filed back to their newly assigned positions on the island, the draw bridge was blown, and there they sat behind their moat—only this castle had no walls. Very little in the way of fortifications had been built in the north… bad for morale….