“They’ve snookered me,” he said to his able Chief of Staff, Sir Francis Wilfred de Guingand. Those around him simply called him Freddie de Guingand, a long-time friend of the general who had been given a leg up to get into the saddle on more than one occasion by Monty. Freddie had failed his entrance exam to the Staff College, but Montgomery saw that he was admitted. That meant nothing, for the close working relationship between the two trumped all. Monty said he had a quick and clear brain, a responsible man to work out the details of his plans and leave the broad stroke thinking to the General. He would serve at Monty’s side for the duration of the war.
“It seems so,” said Freddie. “But why in the world would they give up such a well prepared position like that? It doesn’t make any sense. They can’t be throwing in the towel before we’ve even had the match.”
“I see more in this than meets the eye,” said Montgomery. “It’s no tactical withdrawal. RAF is seeing columns heading east to Tunisia, but it’s mostly the infantry.”
“Interesting,” said Freddie, thinking. “Yet these are some of their best troops here, the parachute units that took Malta and Grand Canaria from us.”
“Good riddance,” said Montgomery, but de Guingand put that thought in his pocket, and he would be later responsible for whispering in the right ear and suggesting that the Army have a look at the garrison strength on Crete. A good chess player, he was given to plotting out his moves well ahead in his mind, thinking out any contingency. When he learned the Paras were not simply redeploying, but were mustering at Tunis and Bizerte, he raised the matter with Sir Alan Brooke. It was very timely advice.
“Patton will be happy,” said Monty. “I’m told the Germans pulled those mountain troops off the ridges to either side of Batna. Now he’ll try to bluster his way through and get to Tebessa. I want to be at Bone when he does that. Understand?”
“Of course,” said Freddie, thinking again about those mountain troops, light infantry, but very tough in rugged country.
Further south, the American 9th Infantry Division advanced cautiously through the town of Setif, taking the airfield and finding it had been hastily abandoned, with empty fuel barrels and hoses strewn about the field, which had also been subjected to demolition. There were three wide craters at intervals along the landing strip, no more than a few hour’s work for bull dozers, but enough to prevent any landing by Allied planes there in the short run. The first real resistance would be met at Saint Arnaud, astride the main rail from Algiers to Tunis. There, two battalions of Panzergrenadiers from the Hermann Goring Division had set up a hasty blocking position.
Below the 9th, the 3rd Infantry was pushing for Merouana, a town near Batna in the high country that was needed to flank the main objective, expecting a hard fight there, but pleasantly surprised to be able to take the place with no resistance on the first day. Batna, however, would not be given up by von Arnim without a fight. There he positioned three small Kampfgruppes, KG Luder’s mechanized Panzergrenadiers, a battalion of motorized infantry under Hudel, and Hauptmann Hansen’s small tank battalion, with a number of Pz IVF-2s and Marder IIIs.
‘Terrible Terry Allen’ sent his 26th Regiment to flank Batna in the highland country near Qued El Ma, then he pushed the 18th Regiment right up the rail line to Batna, through the pass where he expected heavy fighting. It was going to be infantry work in those mountain passes, with the armor coming along behind to offer fire support. There the 18th Regiment met and drove back KG Luder, but Hudel’s tanks came up to halt the attack at dusk, and that night the Germans would pull out to move to their next delaying position further east. The Hermann Goring Division would fight briefly, then quickly pull out to take up its primary defensive position just west of Constantine.
Meanwhile, the 15th Infantry Division was hastening to Bizerte and Tunis by sea. They would land on the 6th of January, moving quickly by trucks that had been prepositioned by Kesselring. All in all, the administrative and logistical skill of both Kesselring and von Arnim was clearly demonstrated, after years of practical experience planning such moves. It was a masterpiece of maneuver, like that of a skilled boxer dancing about the ring, keeping his heavier opponent at bay with the occasional jab, but mostly the strength and surety of his legs.
It is always more difficult for the advancing force when moving into territory that was formerly held by the enemy. Kesselring could move his units east with little caution, save for the occasional attack by Allied planes. Monty and Patton had to advance not knowing whether the next house or farm would be hiding a Pak 50 AT gun, always wary of mines, and other small ambushes staged by detachments the Germans would leave behind. Suspected enemy positions had to be scouted, patrols leading the way as the Allied columns probed forward.
By January 6th, the 9th Infantry would reach the airfield at Telergma, and Terry Allen’s 1st Infantry took Batna. That was the place where Patton wanted to set up his first new forward depot, and he gave orders to get the supply columns moving immediately. 1st and 2nd Armored followed the infantry until the highland country was cleared and the ground began to descend into the lowlands beyond. Ahead there were places with famous names—Kasserine, El Guettar, Faid…. Patton was thinking about them even as Freddie de Guingand was looking ahead in his own mind to consider what the Germans were up to.
As for Patton, the game was football, and he was the halfback, scanning the defensive line to see what he would soon be up against when he got the ball. One thing he inherently knew about war was that ‘victory required payment in advance,’ with the determination of his iron will, the sweat of constant effort, and the blood and guts of the men he commanded in battle.
It was time for some ‘broken field running.’
Chapter 8
“We’ve got Batna, Brad. Now’s the time to rattle Harmon and Truscott and get that armor moving up. I want the two divisions side by side when I go for Tebessa.”
“Tebessa? You’re supposed to take Constantine first George.”
“That’s work for infantry,” Patton waved his hand dismissively. He was an old cavalryman at heart, and he loved those armored divisions, particularly the 2nd, which he had commanded from late 1940 in the States, until January of 1942.
“Look here, Brad. There’s a few rats in the cellars at Batna, but once I clear them out, I want to push right up to Ain Beida. There’s an airfield there we can use, and the pass just south of that town lets me dash right on through towards Tebessa.”
“But Montgomery is expecting you to go for Gulema in a left hook. You know how difficult the ground is on the coast.”
“If he wants me to do that, then he ought to send a division up to get after Constantine himself. Then I can swing 3rd and 9th Infantry right around that southern flank, and they can take Gulema for him. Meanwhile, I’ve got business at Tebessa.”
“Have you cleared that with Ike?”
“Well hell… If I do that he’ll just start talking logistics again. Look, the Germans have pulled out, and we’ve got them on the run. Now’s the time to gain some good ground. I can be in Tunisia in ten days!”
General Bradley scratched his head. “Eisenhower said we’d talk about Tebessa after we had Constantine. If you split your force now, and send both armored divisions down there…”
“Now don’t get all wishy washy on me Brad. I know you’re spying for Eisenhower, but goddammit, you’re also my Deputy Commander. We’ve been sitting there waiting for Montgomery to stockpile his tea leaves for well over a month. Now that we’re finally moving again, that’s exactly what we should do. In this war, you move fast, hit hard, and never look back. That’s what the Germans showed the Brits in France, and I intend to show them they aren’t the only ones out there with a crazy old horse cavalryman in the saddle.”