“George, the same can be said of the entire 1st Armored Division. Looks like you’ve talked yourself into playing second fiddle.”
“Not on your life,” said Patton. “I’ve already pushed Eddy’s 9th Infantry through Charpinville and on up to Sidi Amour. That opens onto a valley heading due east. Hell, I could press on to Thala, and all the way to Bou Aziz. Look, we can pick up Highway 4 there, and it goes all the way to Tunis. Either that or we could swing north for Le Kef and Souk al Arba, right around Monty’s flank. There’s a damn good airfield there that I would love to get my hands on.”
“True, but don’t forget Rommel. We stopped him, but he’s still down near Kasserine. Air recon shows the Germans are still holding the passes screening both Thelepte and Kasserine. They’re still dangerous down there, and I wouldn’t go sticking my nose out until we know more about Rommel’s intentions.”
“Well enough, Brad, but just the same, I’m going to do a little recon here and there to see what might develop. We’ve been sitting on this ridge for too long. I want Terry Allen’s 26th RCT and Blade Force to push out to the next ridge. We’ll occupy that and see if Rommel still wants to pick a fight. In the meantime, Allen can swing the other two regiments up to Thala and have a look around. We can flank Kasserine Pass on that road.”
“Well if you know that, then Rommel knows it too.”
“Of course,” said Patton. “Now let’s see what he wants to do about it. That’s how you play the game, Brad. You don’t win by sitting on the scrimmage line and pounding out two or three yards at a time like Montgomery. You’ve got to throw the damn football sometimes, and have a good receiver out there to catch it. I’m ordering both armored divisions to get moving. Don’t worry, I can push out one combat command and hold CCB from each division in reserve. Fair enough?”
“Well don’t you think we ought to discuss this with Eisenhower. After all, he’s the boss out here.”
“Sure, sure. You go ahead and arrange a meeting. But by the time you do, I’ll have Thala, and a halfway decent road to Bou Aziz and Highway 4.” Patton smiled, cocksure and confident, as always. That was going to move the Americans in a direction that would soon set up a most remarkable plan, but it would not dawn in the mind of George Patton. In the meantime, the Germans had a lot on their minds that night as well.
* * *
What was Rommel going to do? That was the question of the hour. Von Arnim had pulled both his divisions into a tight defense of the passes leading to Souk Ahras. Montgomery would not get through easily, and the mountainous country he was in would not permit him to flank the positions the Germans had staked out. For him, it was going to be the running game, that grueling battle of attrition, both there, and on the coast. Yet Souk Ahras was an important objective, as it was right astride the rail, which first ran south from Bone before turning east to Bizerte and Tunis. If it were taken, the troops defending Bone would have to rely on the coastal road for further supplies.
Patton seemed to be probing his way forward into a void. The Germans had given up a good deal of ground, with the 334th Infantry screening the far end of that long central valley the American General was so keen to explore. Further south, Von Bismarck’s 21st Panzer Division still held the pass closed at Kasserine, but also had to send a number of smaller KG’s north to watch roads from Thala that lead into Sibiba and Rohia. 7th Panzer held at Thelepte, covering the two good airfields in that area for the Luftwaffe. Randow’s 15th Panzer was still holding a wide front in the far south, with one KG facing off the French Constantine Division southwest of Ghafsa, and another watching the American 34th Infantry Division.
The rain continued, dampening Rommel’s spirits as much as anything else. He realized that his command was now well dissipated, static, and waiting on defense. Gone were the three factors he had lived by through most of his successful campaigns: speed, concentration of force, and shock. It was as if his Yang had suddenly flipped to Yin, and his mind was equally beset with the dark side, his thoughts sullen and bitter.
How long can I sit here this way, he asked himself? O’Connor has already taken Medinine, and now he is attacking the Mareth line. I am told he hits my infantry with armor, then pulls out. He switches out one division for another, hammering at the gate.
That was a very apt description of what O’Connor had been forced to do by those orders from Whitehall. At this point, Rommel was not aware of how grave the British viewed the situation in Iraq, willing to pull forces from Burma, Australia, and now O’Connor’s 8th Army to build up strength in Iraq—willing to sacrifice Crete and withdraw there instead of the strongly contested battle that Churchill would have preferred. As far as Rommel was concerned, his last chance for glory was now slowly slipping from his grasp. In a fit of despair, the weary German General drove to Thelepte to board a plane bound for Tunis to see Kesselring, and when he arrived, he told him he wanted to fly home to Germany.
Kesselring was surprised at first, but he inwardly thought this would be best, and he said as much. “Your health has been in decline for some time now. It has been two long years here in some of the most forbidding terrain on the planet. Even a Field Marshal must take rest. Do not worry about your situation here. Nehring will take temporary command, and I will make sure the Italians don’t get their hands on anything.”
After the loss of Tripoli, the Italians had been pressing Kesselring to remove Rommel and replace him with an Italian General. Kesselring paid them lip service, but never seriously contemplated such a move. General Nehring had recovered from a wound he had received in a bombing attack, and was still ready for service. In the real history, he had openly voiced opposition to holding Tunisia at all, which saw him quickly branded as a defeatist and denounced by Goebbels. That had not happened here, as Nehring had time to recover from his wounds in Germany, and when he got word that Kesselring had asked for him, he was more than happy to go back to North Africa.
Rommel had worked with him, knew he was a stubborn and skillful defender, but questioned his dash on offense. “You will have a pair of cagey defenders on your hands,” he told Kesselring. “You may have to use the lash if you are to get them to pull your wagon on offense.”
“That is what I have you for,” said Kesselring, trying to build up Rommel’s spirits. “Yes, the Italians hate you, and will undoubtedly be glad to see you gone. Yet you have performed brilliantly here, under the most rigorous possible conditions, always short on supply, and facing heavy odds. Be proud of what you accomplished. The Army you leave behind loves you, and they will remember you as well. Go home, take your much needed rest, spend time with your dear wife, and when you are ready, we will be here, as will the army.”
“Will you?” said Rommel darkly. “Montgomery is pushing on Bone and Souk Ahras.”
“We’ve given him everything he’s taken thus far. Don’t worry about him. This American General Patton, he’s the one to watch. I’ll have Nehring keep him in check. We’ll fight the defensive battle while you rest. Let me share a little secret with you—there are still two divisions in France earmarked for Tunisia.”
“What, a pair of second rate infantry units?”
“Quite the contrary. One is Hans Hube’s old outfit—the 16th Panzer Division. It is in Marseilles this very moment, and I have only to obtain permission to begin shipping it over. The other division is infantry, the 337th. True, it is not a first tier division, but given the terrain advantage we have here, it will do nicely.”
“Why didn’t you tell me of this earlier?” said Rommel, somewhat exasperated. “One more panzer division would have made all the difference in Operation Sturmflut .”
“I could not get permission earlier, and in fact, I am not even sure if I can get permission now. Hitler is heady with his new Winter offensives, particularly this business with Guderian in Syria and Iraq. He was disappointed that our operation had to be called off, but I have used this to good advantage. I told him that the frontage was simply too great, and the lack of infantry forc
ed us to use two of the five panzer divisions in defensive roles. Then I suggested that things would have been very different if Hube’s old division were here, instead of minding the docks at Marseilles.”
“What did he say to that?”
“He told me he would consider it, and he has already released the 337th Infantry. Who knows, if we are lucky, we may get 16th Panzer Division in the same bargain.”
Rommel would get that division in time, but not in the way he imagined and hoped. “I’ll put in a good word for you when I make my report,” he said. “It will be humiliating to have to explain away yet one more failure here, but I am responsible, and so I should take the blame.”
“Do not be so hard on yourself,” said Kesselring. “In fact, I think Hitler has come to a new understanding of your trials here—at least that is what he said to me. He also spoke of a new tank that he wanted you to see. I don’t know what that’s about, but if it means we get more of the Big Cats down here, all the better.”
Two days later, Rommel would board a plane for Germany, feeling a strong sense of nostalgia to be leaving North Africa, and having the premonition that he would never return. Yet something deep within him knew his war was not yet over. He could see, far off in his mind, another battlefield, though he did not yet know where that might be. What did Germany do with its worn out war horses, he wondered? Particularly when they are Field Marshals….
As for Operation Merkur, the message received by Alanbrooke was just the first concerning Crete. Even as Rommel flew home, the elite German paratroopers of Student’s 1st Falschirmjaeger Division were leaping from the JU-52s over the northwestern segment of the island. It was now theirs to practice the art of offense that Rommel expounded. They would strike by surprise, with speed, and shock, concentrating as much force as possible on their chosen objectives the first day.
Kurt Student, and all his soldiers, had learned a very great deal in Operation Condor, and now they would put it to very good use.
Chapter 17
The lessons of Arrecife, Fuerteventura, and Gran Canaria were now going to pay the Germans good dividends. This battle for Crete would not be anything like the disaster it was in the old history. The Germans had learned that they could not land directly on objectives that were strongly held by the enemy. In the few instances where that had happened on Gran Canaria, particularly near the airfield they wanted, casualties had been very high. The units had been scattered, heavier weapons often out of reach of the ground troops. But Kurt Student had reacted quickly, ordering subsequent drops to be made on ground clear of the enemy, so his men could coalesce again as fighting units, under familiar officers.
This was the model that would be followed on Crete. Instead of landing directly on Maleme to try and take the airfield by storm, the battalions of 1st Falschirmjaeger Regiment, landed on ground some five to seven kilometers to the south. Further west, in the deep horseshoe Bay near Kissamos, the seaborne landing of the 5th Mountain Division would soon be underway. This time, the formidable presence of Admiral Raeder’s Mediterranean Fleet would not see the British cruisers lance through to the convoy and send so many troops to their doom.
Kissamos was 18 kilometers from the airfield at Maleme, some 10 miles. That morning, the pathfinders of the 7th Pioneer battalion would land there to secure the beach sites, set up beacons and guide the assault boats in. All the while, the first men on the ground could hear the deep booming rumble of heavy guns, and those close enough to the coast could look out and see the angry orange-yellow blast of Bismarck’s 15-inch guns. The big German ships were shelling Allied positions around Chania and Suda Bay, defended by the 6th Greek Regiment, and the British Naval Mobile Defense Organization, which included 1st Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
All the attacks were to be concentrated on the northwest coast of the island. 1st Falschirmjaeger Regiment was assigned to the Maleme sector, the 2nd Regiment would land east of Suda Bay and drive along the coast towards Suda and Chania, the Sturm Regiment under Meindel would land around Rethymnon to secure that small port and airfield, and finally, the 3rd Falschirmjaeger Regiment would land southwest of Heraklion to get that port and airfield. They were the farthest east on the island, about 70 Kilometers from Rethymnon over a winding, difficult highland road. It was expected that the British might try to land reinforcements there, or on the small ports along the southern coast, and they were to prevent that enemy buildup if at all possible.
Yet the defenders on the Island were much weaker in many ways that they were in 1941. Freyberg’s 2nd New Zealand Division was entirely missing, along with all the Australian troops. There were still six Greek Regiments, a full brigade of British regulars, and one prominent addition that was new to this history—the 3rd Polish Carpathian Brigade. It had fought in North Africa, becoming a tough and reliable force, and it had been one of the few reserves available to send to Crete, which seemed a forsaken outpost given all the many hot spots on every front.
The British had a contingency plan to quickly reinforce Crete by sending a commando group dubbed “Layforce” and the 1st and 2nd Parachute Regiments—Browning’s Boys, as they were called after their distinguished leader Sir Frederick Arthur Montague “ Boy ” Browning. The plan was to quickly land these units at the RAF controlled airfields, or along the southern coast, and then have them hump it north to join the fight, with Heraklion a major planned objective.
Yet the discussion, and decision, reached by Churchill and Alanbrooke would change those plans. Those airborne troops, if sent at all, would only be tasked with facilitating the speedy withdrawal of other units in the field. It also seemed that everyone was trying to get their hands on Browning’s Boys at the same time. Wavell had wanted them immediately when the Germans launched Operation Phoenix. Montgomery had laid out plans for them to drop behind the port of Bone, which he was now approaching after a long delay, and now they were figured into the rescue operation for Crete.
So this was not your grandfather’s Operation Mercury. Germans battalions, landing father from their objectives, would soon reform and begin their advance on the ground as largely intact units. They had naval gun support, just enough air support to tussle with the RAF and achieve parity over the island, and they had 5th Mountain Division landing intact over the first two or three days of the operation, with no real attempt by the Royal Navy to intervene. That is what the presence of the Bismarck, Friedrich de Gross, Prinz Heinrich, Kaiser Wilhelm and the Goeben did for the operation, it gave the Germans control of the sea north of the island from day one.
Yet it is said that no plan survives first contact with the enemy, and that was to be the case near Maleme. First off, Major General Heidrich and his headquarters staff landing west of Kissamos found that the British had posted a small garrison there near an air strip they had been working on, and it had been bolstered with sandbagged positions. He had to send in his HQ company, and then ordered the 7th Pioneer Pathfinder Battalion to attack those positions, which meant that several of the beaches would not be cleared and marked at dawn.
Then, when 1st Battalion of the 1st Falschirmjaeger Regiment landed in an area well south of Maleme, they were again surprised to find a Carpathian motorcycle company posted in the small hamlet of Voukolies. That would hold up the entire battalion as they deployed to surround and clear that town, and this would leave only two battalions left to make the initial attack towards Maleme, instead of the full regiment as planned. As they advanced, they soon encountered a solid defensive line put up by the 3rd Carpathian Brigade. The fight for Maleme, though not so bloody at the outset, soon promised to be very difficult.
At Rethymnon, the Sturm Regiment landed much closer to the town, which was held only by local Military Police Companies and the 2nd Argyll & Sutherland Highland Battalion. The problem there was that the port and airfield were widely separated, about 10 kilometers apart. The Germans seemed to make good progress against the port, but two Greek Regiments were sitting on either side of the airfield.
/> The Allied side was not without equal problems, and chief among them was the order sendt through Alexander’s HQ by Alanbrooke that every effort was to be made to withdraw units safely to ports on the south coast of the island to be taken off by the Royal Navy. The Greeks didn’t like those orders, and a few feisty Majors said they would flat out refuse to carry them out. As an example of the chaos this caused, Major Serhos of the 5th Greek Regiment obeyed the order and started his men marching south over Hill B near Rethymnon. Major Tryfon’s 4th Regiment, also at that same airfield, did nothing, staying put in their positions and deciding to fight when the first German units made contact.
A similar situation played out near Chania, with Captain Wolner’s 2nd Greek Regiment obeying the order and heading for the hills to the south, while Colonel Gregorio’s 6th Greek Regiment decided to simply sit and do nothing until runners could make contact with the British at Chania and sort the matter out. When the runner reached the city, he was surprised to see the British had no problems carrying out their orders.
The Welsh Fusiliers were already in column of march, abandoning Chania and heading south. Supplies that could not be carried were being burned or thrown into the sea at the harbor. Stevedores finished with that sad task were looking to quickly follow that infantry, and all of this was happening under the whine of Stukas coming in at dawn to bomb the whole area. Fires started by the naval bombardment of the harbor burned in the warehouses and dock yard, and a pall of heavy smoke hung over the entire scene. Chaos was not half a word for what was happening. Even the Greek King in exile, George II, found his entourage strafed by German planes as the 2nd Royal Engineers from Suda Bay tried to hustle him to safety. He had stubbornly refused to leave the Island after the Germans took the mainland, but now he had no recourse.
Stormtide Rising (Kirov Series Book 29) Page 15
