The Last Great Cavalryman

by Richard Mead

  Dick decided that local negotiations should be left to Harding and his opposite number, Lieutenant General Drapsin of the Yugoslav Army, relations between whom were for the most part cordial, but the Yugoslavs continued to cause trouble elsewhere. Churchill and President Truman became directly involved and, in order to demonstrate visibly that the British and Americans were standing shoulder to shoulder, Clark placed Keyes’s II US Corps under Dick’s command, the only American corps to serve in Eighth Army,1 and 10 Mountain, 34 and 91 US Divisions took up position between XIII Corps and the Austrian border. With 56 Division, 10 Indian Division and 2 Armoured Brigade reinforcing XIII Corps itself, Dick now had a powerful force at his disposal.

  At a more strategic level than the Harding/Drapsin talks, negotiations were being conducted by ‘Monkey’ Morgan, who drew a line, then called the Blue Line but later the Morgan Line, which ran down from the Austrian border between Tarvisio and Kranjska Gora along the east bank of the Isonzo River, before taking a wide sweep round to the east and south of Trieste. All the territory to the east of the Line, including Istria, was to be under Yugoslav control and the final border was to be fixed by a subsequent peace treaty. Tito baulked at this, but on 22 May Eighth Army, led in person by Clark and Dick, advanced unilaterally towards the Morgan Line, taking up positions in strength along its length. ‘Jugs v. annoyed over yesterday’s events’ recorded Dick in his diary on the following day, but the fait accompli was totally successful and, although there were a number of incidents in the ensuing weeks, the Yugoslav crisis in Italy was effectively at an end.2

  A similar situation had developed in Austria, where the Yugoslavs coveted the southern part of the province of Carinthia, which like Venezia Giulia had a significant Slovene population. Eighth Army entered the country on VE-Day, 8 May, when Nap Murray crossed the border at Tarvisio with 6 Armoured Division. Horsburgh-Porter was given all the petrol that could be scraped together for the 27th Lancers and ordered to get his armoured cars as far to the east as possible, sweeping right through Klagenfurt and meeting the Russians on 9 May at a point west of Graz, where a temporary boundary was established between the two armies. The lancers were followed by the 7th Rifle Brigade, which occupied Klagenfurt 4 hours before the Yugoslavs arrived. Dick flew in his Expeditor to Klagenfurt for the first time on 10 May.

  The southern part of Carinthia was now full of Yugoslav soldiers, who were at best highly obstructive. Dick decided to bring in Keightley to take control with V Corps, 6 Armoured Division being followed into the country by 78 Division and later by 46 Division, recently returned from Greece. Dick’s own personal communications were now much more difficult, with his forces dispersed over wide distances and the north separated from the south by the Julian Alps. He moved his Main HQ to north of Udine, on the road from Trieste to Klagenfurt and close to a good military airfield at Rivolto. If the weather was suitable he would use his car, a very comfortable blue-grey Mercedes convertible ‘liberated’ from the Germans south of the Po, as this gave him great flexibility. He normally drove himself and on one occasion was thrilled to exceed 100mph on the road to Trieste. Otherwise he would fly to Klagenfurt, where he established a Tac HQ. Generally he flew in the Expeditor, but soon after the British arrived in Austria an RAF plane was forced down by a Yugoslav fighter and, for a short time, Dick used a Boston bomber. With no passenger accommodation, he was forced to sit under the mid-upper gunner and on one alarming occasion the gunner’s ear suddenly fell down at his feet, torn off by the turret turning mechanism in which the poor man had become entangled!

  While the presence in Carinthia of the Yugoslav Army presented Dick with a military problem, there was a much greater potential humanitarian crisis, due to the huge numbers of surrendered enemy troops in the area. In many ways the easiest to deal with were the 150,000 German prisoners of war. These were highly disciplined and, subject to being screened for involvement in alleged war crimes, were largely awaiting repatriation, although in the meantime they needed to be fed and watered, which put a huge strain on resources. To Dick’s relief, Eisenhower agreed that they should be evacuated to the 12th US Army Group area in southern Germany, which took place at the end of May and beginning of June.

  Much more concerning were the soldiers of various other nationalities who had retreated into Austria in front of the advancing Russians and Yugoslavs. A very large number of these were themselves Yugoslavs, both Croat nationalists, who had been vigorously pro-German, anti-Tito and anti-Serb and whose Ustaše movement had been responsible for a number of atrocities, and Chetniks, Royalists led by Draza Mihailovic who were notionally anti-German, but who had frequently collaborated with the occupying forces in pursuit of their internal feud with Tito’s communist partisans. There was also a smaller number of the Slovene Home Guard, a collaborationist militia. Most were compelled to surrender directly to the Yugoslav Army, but some 16,500 were taken into British custody.3 Tito demanded that all of these should be handed over to his forces.

  The second group originated from the Soviet Union. The large majority were Cossacks, so numerous that they had been formed into XXV Cossack Cavalry Corps, largely German-officered at a senior level. They numbered over 50,000 and had with them 20,000 horses4 and in many cases their families. A minority of White Russians had served with the Germans, some being long-term émigrés. There were also about 9,000 Russian POWs. It had been agreed at the Yalta Conference that all ‘Soviet citizens’ should be handed over to the Russians.

  A difficult and, to many of the British soldiers, a highly distasteful process now took place which has subsequently become the subject of considerable controversy and about which there remain conflicting opinions. What is certain is that on 17 May the Western Allies sent a demand to Tito that he should withdraw his forces from Austria and on the following day he issued an order that this should be done. A quid pro quo was that the British would hand over all the Croats and others who had fought or collaborated with the Germans. Over the next ten days this took place, many of those involved believing that they were being taken to Italy rather than delivered to Tito’s forces. A number were killed immediately at Bleiburg, where they were handed over: some historians claim that a general massacre was organized there by the Yugoslavs, others doubt that it ever happened. Whatever the truth, the fate of the returnees was at best imprisonment, at worst execution.

  The Cossacks were handed over to the Russians at Judenburg between 28 May and 7 June. Some managed to escape into the hills and many committed suicide rather than be sent back, but the majority passed into Russian hands. Their fate, apart from their senior officers who were executed, was to be sent to the gulags, from which only a small minority eventually emerged. As with the Croats, deception, and in some instances force, had to be used to persuade them to go. The inclusion of the White Russians and émigrés who had not been Soviet citizens since before 1930 created yet more controversy subsequently.

  The orders for the repatriations, all too often contradictory, emanated from AFHQ, but were executed by V Corps. Keightley himself took a tough line. He was, after all, charged with maintaining order in a large area of Austria and avoiding a confrontation not only with the Yugoslav Army, but also with the far stronger and better equipped Red Army, which was firmly established to his east. His divisional commanders, particularly Arbuthnott at 78 Division, voiced their considerable distaste and that of their men for the orders, but were told to do their duty. The only latitude was a blind eye towards security at the Cossack camps, though relatively few of the internees took advantage of this. With the Eighth Army’s Tac HQ close to the V Corps HQ at Klagenfurt and with Floyd spending a lot of time at the former, communication was good and there is no substance to the allegations made by some that Dick was kept in the dark. He toured the area on 14 and 15 May, when he had meetings with Keightley and saw the Cossacks on the move, and he flew there yet again on 16 May. He had many other problems on his mind at the time, notably the potentially far more serious stand-off with the Yugoslavs
further south, but as the situation developed he became very concerned about the mood in V Corps and decided to see for himself what was happening. On 24 and 25 May he visited a number of the internment camps and all three divisional HQs, meeting the GOCs and the senior commanders who would have to carry out the repatriations. Dick’s approach was straightforward, that the orders to Keightley from AFHQ would be followed to the letter, although on 13 June he did issue an order forbidding any further forcible repatriation or deception. The moral aspect of these events might be debatable, but militarily and politically the British had no option.

  One of Dick’s major concerns at this time was morale, not in any way enhanced by the events in Austria, and driven to a new low largely by expectation amongst the troops that they would soon be going home on demobilization. The huge demands placed on Eighth Army to hold a line against potential incursions by the Russians and Yugoslavs, to keep the peace in north-eastern Italy, where the partisans were taking revenge against former fascists, and to bring order to Austria, meant that this would be impossible for some time, but Dick was determined nevertheless to implement very quickly a home leave scheme. He hoped to send parties back to the UK by train, but the destruction of the bridges over the Rhine and the priority accorded to the Americans in Germany meant that this was impossible. Instead, long convoys of 3-ton lorries were put together, with transit camps set up en route. AFHQ ordered that the period of home leave should be only eight days, but with the tiring journey in mind Dick fought for and obtained an extension to fourteen days. He saw off the first leave party in person on 15 June.

  Dick’s mind was now turning increasingly to the future of Austria. The post-war occupation of the country differed in one major respect from that of Germany, in that the Allies had agreed that it was to be treated as a liberated victim of Nazi aggression. In practical terms this meant that there was to be an indigenous Austrian Government as soon as this could be arranged, but independence was to be limited for the time being and the country was to be under Allied occupation, divided, like Germany, into sectors controlled by the British, Americans, French and Russians. The final decision on these sectors was not reached until July, but it was already clear that the British sector would be in the south of the country. In due course the British were formally allotted, as they expected, the provinces of Carinthia and Styria,5 together with East Tyrol.6 Like Berlin, Vienna was divided into sectors.

  Dick had already been nominated as C-in-C British Troops in Austria (BTA) once Eighth Army had been disbanded and it was proposed that he would simultaneously take on the role of British High Commissioner within the Allied Commission for Austria. The civilian side of the British element of the Commission had been set up in Rome in late 1944 under Henry ‘Hal’ Mack, a senior Foreign Office official who had acted as an adviser to Eisenhower in North Africa. In the spring of 1945 he was joined by Major General Jack Winterton as his military counterpart, both holding the title of Deputy Commissioner. The other officials, both civil and military, had also been selected and trained for the job ahead and were ready to take up their positions.

  At the end of May the three Western Allies put together J Mission, whose purpose was to resolve the allocation of districts of Vienna to each of them and to the Russians and to designate airfields for their use. Under the overall leadership of an American general and with Winterton as the British head of mission, a convoy of vehicles arrived at Klagenfurt on 30 May, though it was 3 June before it was permitted to enter Russian-controlled territory. For the next ten days there were difficult negotiations over both the sectors, with the Russians insisting on full control of the Danube, and the airfields, to many of which on the east side of the city the Russians refused to permit access. There were also intense debates over common access to utilities and quadripartite control over the historic centre of Vienna. After the ten days relations became more cordial and initial agreement was reached, but it was not until a second mission under Gruenther visited the capital in July that the details were settled. The British did well, taking control of some important industrial and residential zones in the south and south-west of the city, with the Schönbrunn Palace as their headquarters, the Sacher Hotel as their base in the International Zone and, most importantly of all, Schwechat as their airfield, one of the best available.7

  The major changes signalling the move to a peacetime footing took place during the summer of 1945. Eighth Army was formally disbanded on 29 July, not quite four years since it had been formed in the Western Desert. Dick had given a large and highly successful farewell party a month earlier, as many of the key figures would be departing in the meantime. It was held at Schloss Wasserleonburg, which had replaced the villa at the Venice Lido as his country retreat. Described by Dick as ‘a lovely old house with a courtyard and beautiful furniture’, it was located up a remote valley north-west of Villach and had been the home of the pre-war German ambassador to France. It was a fine, warm evening and the surrounding mountains were lit up by two searchlights. The guests, who were brought up the hill by a train of 30 jeeps, included Clark, Gruenther, most of the formation commanders, unit COs and senior staff officers of Eighth Army and representatives of the Desert Air Force. Most importantly, Dick had invited a large number of women, nurses from the field and base hospitals and members of the Red Cross and WVS. Joe Divers had somehow obtained 200 bottles of champagne, music was supplied by the band of the 4th Hussars and a specially imported Hungarian Gypsy group, whilst the pipes and drums of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders beat the retreat. Freyberg was one of many who wrote to say that they could not remember a better party.

  On the following day a special parade was held in Klagenfurt, at which Clark presented Dick with the Distinguished Service Medal, whilst Arbuthnott and Murray were made Officers of the Legion of Merit. The DSM was the highest American award for foreigners, made only in wartime and requiring the express approval of the President. In respect of the Second World War it was presented in total to little more than a dozen British officers from all the services. Clark himself must have had a major hand in its recommendation, demonstrating very clearly that the differences between the two men were, if not forgotten, now history. A week later Dick also received a second knighthood when KBEs were awarded to him and his British corps commanders.

  On the same day as the medal presentations Harry Floyd left, much to Dick’s regret as he had done a sterling job. HQ Eighth Army closed in Italy and a much smaller HQ BTA was formed on the site of the Tac HQ by the Wörthersee near Klagenfurt, with Bill Stratton, who had commanded 169 (Queen’s) Brigade in 56 Division, as its chief of staff. V Corps became the nucleus of BTA and the corps HQ was disbanded, Keightley leaving for a new appointment, whilst XIII Corps was transferred from Dick’s command to the new Central Mediterranean Force. Among the changes at a more rarefied level, Alexander departed to become Governor-General of Canada, to be succeeded as Allied Supreme Commander in the Mediterranean by Morgan. 15th Army Group was also wound up, Clark being designated Dick’s opposite number as US High Commissioner in Austria.

  Chapter 25

  High Commissioner

  On 11 August Dick made his first trip to England since February. He was able to snatch three days at Stowell, where the boys were on their school holidays, but he had to wait until the end of the month for his first proper post-war leave. The rest of his week in the country was spent in briefings with his two new political masters, following the Labour Party’s victory in the General Election, and with their senior officials and staff officers. In his capacity as a C-in-C he would be responsible ultimately to J. J. Lawson, the Secretary of State for War (‘a good, sound man’ according to Dick), whilst as High Commissioner his allegiance was to Ernest Bevin, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, who impressed him very favourably. Over the ensuing months he was able to reconcile the not necessarily identical views of the two departments of state with great skill.

  Dick, Clark and the French High Commissioner, General Béthouart,
had met for the first time at Lake Garda on 3 August to agree as far as possible their joint position. The Russians were still reluctant to allow full access to Vienna so, accompanied by Mack and Winterton, Dick flew to Salzburg in the American sector on 19 August for the first quadripartite meeting. This was a relatively informal affair as the Russian High Commissioner, Marshal Ivan Konev, was unable to attend, sending in his place his deputy, Colonel General Aleksei Zheltov.1 After the meeting and a concert by the Vienna Boys’ Choir the delegates were entertained to a dinner at which each of the leaders made speeches. Dick referred to his past relationship with Clark and said how well the British had got on with both the Americans and the French, leading Zheltov to complain in his own speech that the Russians were being made to feel isolated. This was Dick’s first experience of the Russians’ propensity to take offence, whether real or pretend, which he was to encounter on a number of occasions.

  Four days later Dick travelled to Vienna for the first time for a C-in-C’s meeting. Though little of substance was discussed, he found that he warmed instantly to Konev, one of the great leaders of the Red Army and a notably down-to-earth character. The visit also gave him the opportunity to inspect his new headquarters at Schönbrunn. He was delighted to find that his office was the Napoleonzimmer, in which the French Emperor’s son, the unfortunate young ‘King of Rome’, had spent his last years, and his desk was that of the late Emperor Franz Josef. The palace was otherwise almost unfurnished apart from some tapestries and a few paintings, but the fine arts division of the Control Commission eventually located some of the furniture which belonged there and moved it back. The heating consisted entirely of wood-burning Meissen stoves. The fine gardens were in a dreadful state and Dick, entirely in his element, ordered work to begin immediately to restore them to their former glory. He also saw his residence, a very comfortable modern house situated close to the Wiener Wald and built by Ernst Heinkel, the German aircraft designer. From now on he would be spending the majority of his time there, rather than in his other house on the Wörthersee near Klagenfurt.