“The ports and airfields aren’t as good on Sardinia,” Admiral King put in. “They would have to be expanded. And if those airfields put our fighters in range of Southern France and Italy, then the inverse is true. Wouldn’t they be subject to enemy interdiction?”
“No more than our fields were in Tunisia,” said Eisenhower. “They couldn’t lick us there, and they won’t control the skies over Sardinia either, or Sicily, for that matter. Hap, isn’t that right”
“Well,” said Air Force General Hap Arnold. “To hold fields secure on Sardinia, I think we’d also need to chase the enemy off Corsica.”
“I’m all for that,” said Lord Mountbatten. “Getting airfields on Sardinia and Corsica is a major advantage. It also lets me plan commando raids anywhere along the coast of Italy, for what that’s worth.”
“Well, gentlemen,” said Tovey. “We’d better reach some decision soon. If we go with General Montgomery’s plan, then the landing craft will have to be transported all the way around the cape, because we’ll be staging from Alexandria, Benghazi and Tobruk, now that we’ve got that cleaned up. If, however, we go for Sardinia, we can bring the landing craft in through the eastern Med to the ports I mentioned earlier, and much sooner.”
“I didn’t like Brimstone earlier,” said Marshall. “The Joint Chiefs didn’t like it either. But then again, they aren’t exactly keen on the need to knock Italy out of the war, as we see France as the main objective. As I said earlier, I favored Sicily as the first objective—a quick hop from Tunis. But this Malta business complicates that considering the plan Montgomery has devised. That issue concerning the landing craft is important. In the States we have a saying: Time is money, gentlemen. It will take both time and shipping resources to clear Malta, putting all that shipping at risk not once, but twice before we get boots on the ground in Sicily, and probably another month to clear that island. I can then see two or three more amphibious operations before we get north of Naples. In that light, I’m starting to agree with Eisenhower and others here. The road to Rome is much shorter through Sardinia.”
Montgomery folded his arms, lips pursed, giving Admiral Tovey a look. He knew that he might have to tussle with Patton here over where to land on Sicily, but he never thought that someone in his own camp would shift the whole strategic plan to another island, particularly the Navy. Marshall continued.
“Look… Both Sardinia and Corsica are very lightly defended now. If we were to move quickly, they could be had for a few Shillings, to put it in terms our British friends will easily grasp. But as for landing on the toe of Italy and fighting your way north, you’ll have to invest Pounds Sterling to do that, and a lot of time. Consider taking Sardinia. Then we’re poised to strike north of Rome, and we can move in air power on those islands to hammer Toulon, Marseille, Genoa and La Spezia. Those ports will all be within our fighter radius.”
“Yet you’ll be leaving the Germans, with strengthening air power, in our rear.” Montgomery pointed out the obvious.
“You can look at it that way if you want,” said Marshall, “but both Arnold and I think Tedder would probably say they can neutralize that. Yes, we’d be leaving Sicily on our flank, just as you do with any major offensive that penetrates the enemy line. Once we get fighters thick as fleas on Sardinia, then Sicily is cut off. Your Admiral Tovey put his finger on that rather nicely.”
Brooke gave Montgomery a sidelong glance, and decided he had better step in. He knew that his own war planners had also favored Sardinia, and he had to put them in line to give Monty free reign to devise this plan. Now it was meeting a strong challenge from the Americans, and it was not the battle he, or Montgomery, thought they would be fighting. He decided to broaden the focus of the discussion to another consideration.
“There is one other option,” he said. “It’s one our Mister Churchill is particularly fond of, and I told him it would be given a fair hearing. Knocking out Italy is a fine political objective, but Hitler will be quick to occupy the place, as General Marshall pointed out. Then, from a military standpoint, the quick punch at Rome from Sardinia flanks what is likely to be a long campaign in the south. Yet we have other difficulties, and General’s Alexander and Wilson will speak to those. Rommel is in Damascus, and Guderian is in Baghdad, and they can only be there for one reason—Turkey. While not a declared member of the Axis, Turkey is certainly cooperating with Hitler, and German supply lines to both Rommel and Guderian rely on the rail lines through Turkey. Mister Churchill believes that if we could convince Turkey they’ve made a grave mistake, their support might shift to our side, and that would see the Germans forced out of Syria and Iraq in short order. Therefore, the Prime Minister proposes we revisit Crete, with the aim of then jumping right into Greece.”
“Yet if we tee that up first,” said Montgomery, “then Mussolini is likely to remain in the fight, and the terrain in Greece is no more inviting than that in Italy.”
“I suppose it will come down to which we see more desirable—Italy knocked out of the Axis, or Turkey welcomed into our Alliance. General Alexander? General Wilson?”
“We were hard pressed a month ago,” said Alexander, “but Rommel has stopped at Damascus, and Guderian has stopped at Al Hillah. In both cases, we’ve seen the withdrawal of vital mobile forces from those theaters. The Germans pulled out their number one unit, the Brandenburg Division, and that gave Guderian pause, and it was of great relief to Jumbo Wilson.”
“That’s putting it lightly,” said Wilson. “They had us on our back foot, though I thought we could hold out and keep them from taking Basra and Abadan until help arrived. Getting in those fresh troops from Perth and Burma helped us immensely. Then, when Guderian lost his Brandenburgers, things started looking a good deal better.”
“The same can be said for our situation in Syria,” said Alexander. “Hitler has taken the Wiking Division from Rommel, and in fact, we’ve learned that Rommel has even been recalled to Berlin. Intelligence does not think he’ll be returning. Frankly, I think they’ve seen their highwater mark, and the initiative will be shifting our way soon. If, however, anything could be done to persuade Turkey to shut down the Bosphorus, the German position in both Iraq and Syria collapses immediately. They will have no recourse but to withdraw.”
“And where will those divisions go?” said Montgomery. “To my mind, they would then use them to reinforce France and Italy. At the moment, we have them at a disadvantage. Now is the time to strike Italy and knock her out, and not after we chase Rommel and Guderian from their ill-conceived pursuits. Those campaigns have already run their course. They’ll dry up all on their own.”
“Will they?” said Brooke. “Hitler is very reluctant to give up territory, as we have seen. He could issue a stand fast order for both theaters, and that will mean we’ll have to maintain a good many divisions in Iraq and Syria that could be put to much better uses. I should also say that that Prime Minister considered Iraq as the most serious threat to the Empire of the war. If Guderian ever should get to Basra and Abadan, even if he can’t stay there, then he would certainly wreck those facilities and refineries if we push him back. The image of those oil fields burning has haunted Mister Churchill, and a good many others, for some time. He is somewhat relieved now that Guderian has halted his advance, but that could change along with Hitler’s whims. He could, for example, go over to the defense in Syria, and then send two more Panzer Divisions to Guderian.”