We were all anxious about the reaction of the Soviet Government to the unpleasant though inevitable news that there would be no crossing of the Channel in 1942. It happened that on the night of July 28 I had the honour of entertaining the King to dinner with the War Cabinet in the propped-up garden-room at Number 10, which we used for dining. I obtained His Majesty’s approval privately for my journey, and immediately he had gone brought the Ministers, who were in a good frame of mind, into the Cabinet Room and clinched matters. It was settled that I should go to Cairo in any case, and should propose to Stalin that I should go on to see him. On the 30th I therefore telegraphed to him as follows:
We are making preliminary arrangements for another effort to run a large convoy through to Archangel in the first week of September.
2. I am willing, if you invite me, to come myself to meet you in Astrakhan, the Caucasus, or similar convenient meeting-place. We could then survey the war together and take decisions hand-in-hand. I could then tell you plans we have made with President Roosevelt for offensive action in 1942. I would bring the Chief of the Imperial General Staff with me.
3. I am starting for Cairo forthwith. I have serious business there, as you may imagine. From there I will, if you desire it, fix a convenient date for our meeting, which might, so far as I am concerned, be between August 10 and 13, all being well.
4. The War Cabinet have endorsed my proposals.
The reply came next day.
On behalf of the Soviet Government I invite you to the U.S.S.R. to meet the members of the Government.… I think the most suitable meeting-place would be Moscow, as neither I nor the members of the Government and the leading men of the General Staff could leave the capital at the moment of such an intense struggle against the Germans. The presence of the Chief of the Imperial General Staff would be extremely desirable.
The date of the meeting please fix yourself in accordance with the time necessary for completion of your business in Cairo. You may be sure beforehand that any date will suit me.
Let me express my gratitude for your consent to send the next convoy with war materials for the U.S.S.R. at the beginning of September. In spite of the extreme difficulty of diverting aircraft from the battle-front we will take all possible measures to increase the aerial protection of the convoy.
Thus all was arranged, and we started after midnight on Sunday August 2, from Lyneham in the bomber “Commando”. This was a very different kind of travel from the comforts of the Boeing flyingboats. The bomber was at this time unheated, and razor-edged draughts cut in through many chinks. There were no beds, but two shelves in the after cabin enabled me and Lord Moran to lie down. There were plenty of blankets for all. We flew low over the South of England in order to be recognised by our batteries, who had been warned, but who were also under “Alert” conditions. As we got out to sea I left the cockpit and retired to rest, fortified by a good sleeping cachet.
We reached Gibraltar uneventfully on the morning of August 3, spent the day looking round the fortress, and started at 6 p.m. for Cairo, a hop of 2,000 miles or more, as the détours necessary to avoid the hostile aircraft around the Desert battle were considerable. Vanderkloot, in order to have more petrol in hand, did not continue down the Mediterranean till darkness fell, but flew straight across the Spanish zone and the Vichy quasi-hostile territory. Therefore, as we had an armed escort till nightfall of four Beaufighters we in fact openly violated the neutrality of both these regions. No one molested us in the air, and we did not come within cannon-shot of any important town. All the same I was glad when darkness cast her shroud over the harsh landscape and we could retire to such sleeping accommodation as “Commando” could offer. It would have been very tiresome to make a forced landing on neutral territory, and even descent in the Desert, though preferable, would have raised problems of its own. However, all “Commando’s” four engines purred happily, and I slept sound as we sailed through the starlit night.
It was my practice on these journeys to sit in the co-pilot’s seat before sunrise, and when I reached it on this morning of August 4 there in the pale, glimmering dawn the endless winding silver ribbon of the Nile stretched joyously before us. Often had I seen the day break on the Nile. In war and peace I had traversed by land or water almost its whole length, except the “Dongola Loop”, from Lake Victoria to the sea. Never had the glint of daylight on its waters been so welcome to me.
Now for a short spell I became “the man on the spot”. Instead of sitting at home waiting for the news from the front I could send it myself. This was exhilarating.
The following issues had to be settled in Cairo. Had General Auchinleck or his staff lost the confidence of the Desert Army? If so, should he be relieved, and who could succeed him? In dealing with a commander of the highest character and quality, of proved ability and resolution, such decisions are painful. In order to fortify my own judgment I had urged General Smuts to come from South Africa to the scene and he was already at the Embassy when I arrived. We spent the morning together, and I told him all our troubles and the choices that were open. In the afternoon I had a long talk with Auchinleck, who explained the military position very clearly. After luncheon next day General Wavell arrived from India, and at six o’clock I held a meeting about the Middle East, attended by all the authorities—Smuts, Casey, who had succeeded Lyttelton as Minister of State in the Middle East, General Brooke, the C.I.G.S., Wavell, Auchinleck, Admiral Harwood, and Tedder for the Air. We did a lot of business with a very great measure of agreement. But all the time my mind kept turning to the prime question of the command.
It is not possible to deal with changes of this character without reviewing the alternatives. In this part of the problem the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, whose duty it was to appraise the quality of our generals, was my adviser. I first offered the Middle East Command to him. General Brooke would of course have greatly liked this high operational appointment, and I knew that no man would fill it better. He thought it over, and had a long talk the next morning with General Smuts. Finally he replied that he had been C.I.G.S. for only eight months, he believed he had my full confidence, and the Staff machine was working very smoothly. Another change at this moment might cause a temporary dislocation at this critical time. It may well be also that out of motives of delicacy he did not wish to be responsible for advising General Auchinleck’s supersession and then taking the post himself. His reputation stood too high for such imputations; but I had now to look elsewhere.
Alexander and Montgomery had both fought with him in the battle which enabled us to get back to Dunkirk in May 1940. We both greatly admired Alexander’s magnificent conduct in the hopeless campaign to which he had been committed in Burma. Montgomery’s reputation stood high. If it were decided to relieve Auchinleck we had no doubt that Alexander must be ordered to carry the load in the Middle East. But the feelings of the Eighth Army must not be overlooked. Might it not be taken as a reproach upon them and all their commanders of every grade if two men were sent from England to supersede all those who had fought in the desert? Here General Gott, one of the Corps Commanders, seemed in every way to meet the need. The troops were devoted to him and he had not earned the title “Strafer” by nothing. But then there was the view which Brooke reported to me, that he was very tired and needed a rest. It was at this moment too early to take decisions. I had travelled all this way to have the chance of seeing and hearing what was possible in the short time which might be claimed and spared.
The hospitality of our ambassador, Sir Miles Lampson, was princely. I slept in his air-cooled bedroom and worked in his air-cooled study. It was intensely hot, and those were the only two rooms in the house where the temperature was comfortable. In these otherwise agreeable surroundings we dwelt for more than a week, sensing the atmosphere, hearing opinions, and visiting the front or the large camps to the east of Cairo in the Kassassin area, where our powerful reinforcements were now steadily arriving.
On August 5 I visited the A
lamein positions. I drove with General Auchinleck in his car to the extreme right flank of the line west of El Ruweisat. Thence we proceeded along the front to his headquarters behind the Ruweisat Ridge, where we were given breakfast in a wirenetted cube, full of flies and important military personages. I had asked for various officers to be brought, but above all General “Strafer” Gott. It was said that he was worn down with his hard service. This was what I wanted to find out. Having made the acquaintance of the various Corps and Divisional Commanders who were present, I therefore asked that General Gott should drive with me to the airfield, which was my next stop. Objection was raised by one of Auchinleck’s staff officers that this would take him an hour out of his way; but I insisted he should come with me. And here was my first and last meeting with Gott. As we rumbled and jolted over the rough tracks I looked into his clear blue eyes and questioned him about himself. Was he tired, and had he any views to give? Gott said that no doubt he was tired, and he would like nothing better than three months’ leave in England, which he had not seen for several years, but he declared himself quite capable of further immediate efforts and of taking any responsibilities confided to him. We parted at the airfield at two o’clock on this afternoon of August 5. By the same hour two days later he had been killed by the enemy in almost the very air spaces through which I now flew.
At the airfield I was handed over to Air Vice-Marshal Coningham, who, under Tedder, commanded all the air-power which had worked with the Army, and without whose activity the immense retreat of five hundred miles could never have been accomplished without even greater disasters than we had suffered. We flew in a quarter of an hour to his headquarters, where luncheon was provided, and where all the leading Air officers, from Group Captains upwards, were gathered. I was conscious of an air of nervousness in my hosts from the moment of my arrival. The food had all been ordered from Shepheard’s Hotel. A special car was bringing down the dainties of Cairo. But it had gone astray. Frantic efforts were being made to find it. At last it arrived.
This turned out to be a gay occasion in the midst of care—a real oasis in a very large desert. It was not difficult to perceive how critical the Air was of the Army, and how both Air and Army were astonished at the reverse which had befallen our superior forces. In the evening I flew back to Cairo and reported my general impressions to Mr. Attlee.
All the next day, the 6th, I spent with Brooke and Smuts, and in drafting the necessary telegrams to the Cabinet. The questions that had now to be settled not only affected the high personalities but also the entire structure of command in this vast theatre. I had always felt that the name “Middle East” for Egypt, the Levant, Syria, and Turkey was ill-chosen. This was the Near East. Persia and Iraq were the Middle East; India, Burma, and Malaya the East; and China and Japan the Far East. But, far more important than changing names, I felt it necessary to divide the existing Middle East Command, which was far too diverse and expansive. Now was the time to effect this change in organisation. At 8.15 p.m. I therefore telegraphed to Mr. Attlee as follows:
20 + s.w.w.
… I have come to the conclusion that a drastic and immediate change is needed in the High Command.
2. I therefore propose that the Middle East Command shall be reorganised into two separate Commands, namely:
(a) “Near East Command”, comprising Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, with its centre in Cairo, and
(b) “Middle East Command”, comprising Persia and Iraq, with its centre in Basra or Baghdad.
The Eighth and Ninth Armies fall within the first and the Tenth Army in the second of these Commands.
3. General Auchinleck to be offered the post of C.-in-C. the new Middle East Command.…
4. General Alexander to be Commander-in-Chief the Near East.
5. General Montgomery to succeed Alexander in “Torch”. I regret the need of moving Alexander from “Torch”, but Montgomery is in every way qualified to succeed [him in that].
6. General Gott to command the Eighth Army under Alexander.
… The above constitute the major simultaneous changes which the gravity and urgency of the situation here require. I shall be grateful to my War Cabinet colleagues if they will approve them. Smuts and C.I.G.S. wish me to say they are in full agreement that amid many difficulties and alternatives this is the right course to pursue. The Minister of State is also in full agreement. I have no doubt the changes will impart a new and vigorous impulse to the Army and restore confidence in the Command, which I regret does not exist at the present time. Here I must emphasise the need of a new start and vehement action to animate the whole of this vast but baffled and somewhat unhinged organisation. The War Cabinet will not fail to realise that a victory over Rommel in August or September may have a decisive effect upon the attitude of the French in North Africa when “Torch” begins.
The War Cabinet accepted my view about drastic and immediate changes in the High Command. They warmly approved the selection of General Alexander, and said that he would leave England at once. They did not however like the idea of reorganising the Middle East Command into two separate Commands. It seemed to them that the reasons which led to the setting up of the Unified Command were now stronger than they had been when the decision to do so was taken in December 1941. They agreed that Montgomery should take Alexander’s place in “Torch”, and had summoned him to London at once. Finally, they were content to leave it to me to settle the other appointments.
The next morning I sent a further explanation of my proposals. The War Cabinet replied that I had not entirely removed their misgivings, but that as I was on the spot with Smuts and the C.I.G.S., who both agreed with the proposal, they were prepared to authorise the action proposed. They strongly represented however that the continuance of the title of Commander-in-Chief Middle East if General Auchinleck were appointed to command in Persia and Iraq would lead to confusion and misrepresentation. 1 saw this was right and accepted their advice.
I spent all August 7 visiting the 51st Highland Division, who had just landed. As I went up the stairs after dinner at the Embassy I met Colonel, now Sir Ian, Jacob. “This is bad about Gott,” he said. “What has happened?” “He was shot down this afternoon flying into Cairo.” I certainly felt grief and impoverishment at the loss of this splendid soldier, to whom I had resolved to confide the most direct fighting task in the impending battle. All my plans were dislocated. The removal of Auchinleck from the Supreme Command was to have been balanced by the appointment to the Eighth Army of Gott, with all his Desert experience and prestige, and the whole covered by Alexander’s assumption of the Middle East. What was to happen now? There could be no doubt who his successor should be, and I telegraphed to Mr. Attlee: “C.I.G.S. decisively recommends Montgomery for Eighth Army. Smuts and I feel this post must be filled at once. Pray send him by special plane at earliest moment. Advise me when he will arrive.”
It appeared that the War Cabinet had already assembled at 11.15 p.m. on August 7 to deal with my telegrams of that day, which had just been decoded. Discussion was still proceeding upon them when a secretary came in with my new messages, stating that Gott was dead, and secondly asking that General Montgomery should be sent out at once. I have been told this was an acute moment for our friends in Downing Street. However, as I have several times observed, they had been through much and took it doggedly. They sat till nearly dawn, agreed in all essentials to what I had proposed, and gave the necessary orders about Montgomery.
When sending my message to the Cabinet telling them of Gott’s death I had asked that General Eisenhower should not be told that we had proposed to give him Montgomery in place of Alexander. But this was too late: he had been told already. The further change of plan involved a consequent dislocation of a vexatious kind in the preparation of “Torch”. Alexander had been chosen to command the British First Army in that great enterprise. He had already started to work with General Eisenhower. They were getting on splendidly together, as they always did. Now Alexander had been t
aken from him for the Middle East. Ismay was sent to convey the news and my apologies to Eisenhower for this break in continuity and disturbance of contacts which the hard necessity of war compelled. Ismay dilated upon Montgomery’s brilliant qualities as a commander in the field. Montgomery arrived at Eisenhower’s headquarters almost immediately, and all the civilities of a meeting of this kind between the commanders of armies of different nations woven into a single enterprise had been discharged. The very next morning, the 8th, Eisenhower had to be informed that Montgomery must fly that day to Cairo to command the Eighth Army. This task also fell to Ismay. Eisenhower was a broad-minded man, practical, serviceable, dealing with events as they came in cool selflessness. He naturally however felt disconcerted by the two changes in two days in this vital post in the vast operation confided to him. He was now to welcome a third British Commander. Can we wonder that he asked Ismay, “Are the British really taking ‘Torch’ seriously?” Nevertheless the death of Gott was a war fact which a good soldier understood. General Anderson was appointed to fill the vacancy, and Montgomery started for the airfield with Ismay, who thus had an hour or more to give him the background of these sudden changes.
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