Grand Alliance (Kirov Series) (38 page)

Paulus nodded. “And no more
medals for Herr Rommel. Well, don’t fret about it. This is merely a setback.”

“Don’t put such sweet icing on
the cake,” said Rommel. “I can do that with my letters home to Lucie, but we
were soundly beaten, and for the first time in this war. If I had left my
divisions in place they would have been destroyed. Casualties were heavy, and I
will be lucky to have material for one good division between both 5th Light and
15th Panzer. We left the rest in the desert south of Bir el Khamsa. That’s what
they’re calling it now—the Battle of Bir el Khamsa. I suppose I will have to
live with it, our first major defeat.”

 Paulus folded his arms. “You thought
we would win every battle, did you? That seldom happens in war, Rommel. A good
defeat can actually be healthy for an army, as long as morale is strong and the
officers and men learn from the loss they suffered. I will speak with the
Führer and get him to understand why Mersa Brega is the best defensive line
now, but learn a good lesson from this. You will have to re-think your tactics
here. We were masters of maneuver warfare, but this new enemy armor has changed
the whole balance. You may have to rely on defensive tactics until we can
better assess this situation. This position at Mersa Brega looks strong. Dig
in, Rommel. No more dashing off on the southern flank. Dig in behind mines and
wire, and site your artillery well. I don’t care how thick the armor is on
these new British tanks. They won’t like a hit from a 150mm HE round. The
concussion alone will knock the men senseless.”

“True, if they hit anything. They
are not the most accurate weapons, Paulus, as you well know.”

“I understand, but you will have
to use saturation fires at the point of the enemy attack. I’ll see about
getting you some good heavy nebelwerfers. We have rocket munitions too.
Pre-register your guns! Think like an infantry division commander now.
Infantrie
Greift!
Did you not write such a book? You cannot resort to blitzkrieg
tactics with your tanks now.”

“At least not against those heavy
tanks I saw. We might be able to hurt their infantry carriers.”

“Yes? Well, if the 88s cannot
stop their heavy tanks, then use your artillery and infantry. Scissors, paper
and rock, my friend. In war there are always alternatives. You cannot use the
sharp, cutting scissors in your Panzer Divisions against this new British rock,
so use paper—Infantry! I will see about getting better air support from
Goering, which reminds me, he has also offered to send his brigade to bolster
your forces here. It’s in Italy as well.”

“The Goering Brigade? Good. Tell
the fat oaf to come along as well, and I’ll put him right on the front line.
The British will take one look at him and run the other way!”

Paulus smiled. “You are too hard
on the man. That brigade has some tough men in it, good equipment, and we will
need Goering’s cooperation to make certain you get the air support. With his
own brigade here, I can assure you he will be more than willing to send the
Stukas
our way. There is your answer to these new British tanks—500 pound bombs and
good artillery, minefields in well prepared defensive positions. Mersa Brega is
a narrow place. Dig in there, and if they try to push through, we’ll see how
things go this time. As for the supplies, I will get you everything I possibly
can.”

Rommel shrugged. Think like an
infantry commander! His stock in trade had been that of the dashing Panzer
leader, but he knew that Paulus was correct. He would have to adapt his methods
and tactics to face this alarming new enemy armor. It could not be a very large
force, and how they managed to get it positioned there on his deep right flank
was yet another mystery, but it might be solved by tactics like those Paulus
suggested.

“What about the Italians?” Paulus
moved to a new subject. “You don’t really mean to leave them in Cyrenaica, do
you?”

“The Italians… Yes, they are
another problem,” said Rommel. “Those that manage to get east will be little
more than mouths to feed here. If I had my way I’d have them all shipped back
to Italy. I can use a few of their motorized divisions—or at least use their
trucks, but the infantry is useless. If the Führer insists I hold Benghazi,
then I’ll post the Italian infantry divisions there and we’ll see how long they
last. O’Connor rounded up over 30,000 the last time he came west. Our best
strategy might be to send them all the rest, and then let the British feed
them!”

“Very well, defend Benghazi. The
British will take it, but it will delay them and buy us some time to bring up
fresh German divisions. Then, when they do take it, we can blame it on the
Italians. If the Führer asks why no German troops were posted there, I will
tell him we had to secure our main supply line back to Tripoli. That is the
prize for the moment. Hitler sent you here to stop the British from invading
Tripolitania and capturing Tripoli! Lose that and the Italians may soon lose
their stomach for this war. After what happened in that naval engagement off
Malta, Mussolini is on pins and needles. They lost several battleships!”

“That’s
Raeder’s watch,” said Rommel. “I hear
Hindenburg
is in the Mediterranean
now, so he had better be careful. It seems the British have more than these new
tanks to bedevil us. What is this business about naval rockets?”

“Another surprise,” Paulus
frowned. “I heard the rumors, but was never really briefed on the matter.
Raeder is having fits! Thank God
Hindenburg
made it safely back to
Toulon. I also hear Hitler was none too happy about the damage to the ship. In
fact, he’s beginning to question this whole strategy in the Mediterranean
again, and looking east at Kirov’s Soviet Russia. You were too quick with your
boast about taking the Suez Canal in 90 days, Rommel. Be more realistic.”

“You heard about that?”

“Who didn’t? Tell the Führer
things like that and he will actually believe you! That was a mistake. The
British have proven to be a stubborn and resourceful foe. They will not give up
easily, and we may have a long slow grind of it in the months ahead. I know
that doesn’t suit you, but you will have to adapt. This war here will be won by
the supply columns, on either side.”

“And the tanks,” said Rommel
darkly.

“True, but considering logistics,
we have two birds in hand now, both Gibraltar and Malta. That dramatically
improves our prospects for supplying you here. To bend an old maxim, those two
birds are worth more now than that single bird in the bush you were running
after—Suez. Take your time! We had no idea the British weapons programs were so
advanced—new naval rocketry, new heavy armor that can stand up to an 88. At the
moment these new weapons do not seem to be widely deployed, or reaching the
front in any great numbers. Doenitz will have to concentrate heavily on the
convoy routes south. That is the only way the British can send Wavell any more
of these tanks, eh? Time in battle, wear and tear, maintenance issues will all
take their toll. So do not be so crestfallen. This is a new rock in the stream
for the moment, nothing more. If we can solve the logistics problem, we’ll get
you the troops to sweep right over this new British armored brigade. Just you
give us the time. Be stubborn now! Fight a good delaying action and get on that
defensive line you’ve chosen. Then dig in. Your war of maneuver is over for the
moment—understand?”

“Only too well,” Rommel said
sullenly. “They called my division the Ghost division in France, Paulus. Well
that’s what we have on our hands here now, a ghost of what my Afrika Korps once
was. This new British brigade is an apparition from the darkest corner of hell!
But I have been to hell and back, Paulus, at Caporetto as a young man of only
25 years.”

During that war Rommel had
distinguished himself as a young officer with the Wurttemburger Mountain
troops. In difficult and rugged mountain country, he energetically embarked on a
campaign that involved stealthy infantry marches, infiltration behind enemy
lines and flanking maneuvers that once saw his detachment, no more than a
battalion in strength, capture five Italian regiments. He had removed 9000 men
from the enemy order of battle, losing only 6 men, with 30 wounded. He had an
uncanny ability to see the possibilities in any situation, foresee enemy
intentions and dispositions on the ground, and guess their probable reaction to
his maneuvers. In most cases he specialized in making attacks from unexpected
directions, demoralizing his enemy and unhinging their defense.

“Well,” said Paulus, “we’ve taken
good stock of our situation here. I’ll do what I can to persuade Hitler. But
you must do what you can to restore order here now. None of us are getting any
younger. You must find a way to deal with this.”

There was a glint in Rommel’s eye
now, and his hand strayed to the prominent Blue Max on his breast pocket.
“Yes,” he said. “Even in hell I found a way to beat the devil.”

Chapter 32

Paulus
made good on his
promises. The German buildup in North Africa accelerated with the infusion of
fresh troops and equipment. The 90th Light Division had not been formed until
late June of 1941 in the old history, but was already arriving at Tripoli in
February of that year. The other units Paulus had mentioned were also being
diverted to staging ports in France and Italy. The 90th Light had been motorized
with the trucks provided by the Vichy French, as they had promised. The two
other motorized formations were both brigade sized units, Grossdeutschland and
Herman Goering. As for the new Panzer Division Paulus had mentioned, it would
be 10th Panzer, but the unit had not yet been released. Paulus still had the
difficult task of convincing Hitler this campaign still offered the prospect of
victory.

The Führer leaned over the map
table that day, the red swastika armband contrasting starkly with the drab brown
of his coat. His eyes had a distant harried look in them, as if he were seeing
things in some far off future, the struggle and conflict of a war that was only
now threatening to take a dramatic new turn. He was not happy with the sudden
and unexpected reversal in North Africa, and he let Paulus know this in no
uncertain terms.

“What was that man doing
galloping off into Egypt with only one division like that? The 15th Panzers
only reached him a few weeks ago!”

“It seems he believed he had a
promise to fulfill, my Führer.”

“You mean his boast about taking
the Suez Canal? I knew that was not likely.”

“He might have done exactly that,
were it not for this new force that appeared on the southern flank.”

“I have read the reports,” said
Hitler. “What do you know of these new British tanks that seem to be impervious
to our guns? Have you seen this, Paulus?”

“Not personally. I know only what
was reported to me by the officers I interviewed. From all descriptions the
British must have been building on the success of their Matilda heavy tank, and
they have delivered another model with considerably more power. Troops say it
is twice the size of the Matilda, and with a gun on it that is as big as a 25
pound artillery piece. Yet in spite of its size it was very fast—very agile.
The troops say it could fire on the move, and hit with amazing accuracy. And
nothing they used against it was able to harm it in any way.”

“How many of these new tanks do
the British have?”

“This we do not yet know, and our
operatives in Cairo have been unable to even confirm the existence of this new
unit. How it came to reach its position south of the main battle area is
somewhat of a mystery. Halder suggested it must have deployed by rail here, to
the railhead north of the Al Farafrah Oasis, and then moved by road to Siwa.”

“That is a long march. Why not
simply deploy it in the north, along the coast?”

“We do not know. Perhaps they
meant to achieve surprise by this maneuver.”

“It seems they have done that
well enough!” Hitler folded his arms, an elbow in each hand in the guarded posture
he often took when unhappy.

“Reports indicate that no more
than ten or fifteen of these new tanks were actually engaged,” said Paulus, “so
this may be a special Schwere Panzer unit that is only recently arrived. Donitz
should see that no more arrive, because this new tank could unhinge the balance
of power in a mobile battle, just as it did at Bir el Khamsa.”

Hitler frowned at the mention of
the name. “Our first major setback,” he scowled. “I can see the British kicking
the Italians out of Egypt, but not German troops!”

“Yet we had just two divisions
there, my Führer. That is hardly a force capable of driving all the way to
Cairo and beyond. Unless Rommel is strongly reinforced, you should expect he
can do nothing more than hold on defense.”

“At Benghazi? We will need that
port.”

“It will be held, but not by
German troops.”

“Then by who? You do not expect
the Italians to hold it for very long!”

“That will be up to Mussolini. Yes,
Rommel has posted six Italian divisions, largely infantry, in positions all
along this line. Granted, these are not reliable troops, but there are 50,000
men there now, and if the British want Benghazi, they will have to commit
several divisions to invest it and take the time to plan an offensive. At
present they do not have sufficient forces in theater to do this while also
building up a strong front opposite Rommel at Mersa Brega.”

The delicate moment had come, for
Paulus knew Hitler had ordered Benghazi held, and nothing had been said about
any further withdrawal to the west. He folded his arms behind his back, with an
almost casual air, as if the dispositions he was describing now were
contemplated all along.

“Mersa Brega?” said Hitler. “That
far west? What about Agedabia?”