Part II
Operation Chariot
“Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms, and with thee I will destroy the horse and rider.”
Chapter 4
“Time for the main event,” said Montgomery, taking the podium. “The rains have finally relented, and the ground is much better. Now it’s time for the final big push. We’ll want to go all the way to Tunis and Bizerte this time.”
“Here, here,” said O’Connor. “Sorry we’re a bit late, but Alexander pilfered 1st and 7th Armored from me, and Jerry can be stubborn when he wants to.”
“We all know that,” said Monty. “Progress up the coast has been hammer and tongs, but they’ve retreated to Cape Rosa, and we think another good push will move them again. The real news is that they’ve had to pull out their 10th Panzer Division and move it to Le Kef opposite General Patton’s new position. That means my 6th and 10th Armored Divisions can double team the Hermann Goring outfit, and we’ve been further reinforced on the right with the arrival of 4th Infantry. The new Army boundary line is the Mellegue River, flowing from Souk el Arba south, to pass Le Kef to the east of that town. Seeing as though the American 3rd Infantry Division is still west of that line, General Eisenhower has graciously put it under my command.”
“A good outfit,” said Patton.
“Yes, well let’s hope so. The 34th has had some difficulty, but then we all have. In any case, Souk el Arba is my number one objective, and I plan to drive right up Highway 6. When I get there, I can send a group north towards the coast at Tabarka to unhinge any further defense west of that position.”
“And then your entire northern corps will finally be inside Tunisia,” said Patton with a smile. Montgomery had been slugging it out with two German infantry divisions for months.
“Well, I’m afraid the going along the coast only gets tougher as we approach the Tunisian border just east of Tabarka. We’ll be up off the marshy plain and there will be rugged country in front of us again.” Montgomery indicated the mountains on the wall map with his pointer. “That’s why we’re counting heavily on the inland push from my armor, and that’s why you’ve moved your two armored divisions to the center as well. Now then…. Once I take Souk al Arba, I’ll push right on through to Bedja as my next objective. General Patton, your 2nd Armored Division will push them out of Le Kef, and then drive right up Highway 5. Your 1st Armored will be moving parallel to that advance up the main rail line to Tunis, and hopefully, the two divisions can meet here—at Medjez al Bab. I should be at Bedja by then, and I’ll push on through Sidi N’sir to Mateur, which will put me right on the doorstep of Bizerte. You’ll continue right up Highway 5 to Tunis.”
“A good plan,” said Eisenhower. “We’ll have four armored divisions hitched to the chariot, and intelligence has indicated they’ll be short one panzer division. The Russians kicked up quite a stir near Kharkov last month, and the Germans look to be building up for a big counteroffensive in that region. That means Hitler has been forced to make a few margin calls. They’ve withdrawn their 7th Panzer Division to Tunis, and it’s already been shipping personnel back to Sicily. The tanks were distributed to the other four panzer divisions here to replace losses. Our interdiction efforts will be ramping up. We want to prevent any further transfer of units here back to Italy with increased naval pressure in Operation Retribution. I believe Admiral Cunningham said it very well with the message he transmitted to his Captains: ‘Sink, burn, destroy. Let nothing pass.”
“Now that’s a man with my kind of eloquence,” said Patton. “But Ike, don’t you worry. We’ll get to Tunis alright. My men are razors now. They’ll get the job done. So what’s this big push going to be called? I rather like the phrase Ike coined—four armored divisions hitched to our chariot. Since we called the last one Gladiator, why not call this one Operation Chariot?”
There were nods all around the room, and Montgomery spoke up. “We were going to call it Operation Vulcan, but I rather like that, General Patton. Chariot it is. If we keep those four horses abreast of one another, they won’t be able to stop us.”
“What about us laggards on the east coast?” said O’Connor.
“Ah, yes Richie,” said Monty. “We’ll want you to keep up strong pressure there. The Germans have moved both their 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions onto the line in that sector, so your job is to keep them there, and prevent them from reinforcing their center. The same can be said for General Truscott’s Corps—unrelenting pressure. Gentlemen, this one is for the prize. We plan on kicking everything off on May Day, 06:00 hours.”
“Good,” said Patton. “That will give me the whole day to get to Medjez Al Bab.” That got laughs, but General Bradley leaned in and spoke quietly to Patton.
“George, I almost think you meant that.”
Patton just smiled.
Eisenhower’s intelligence briefing was right on the money. The Germans had moved all 7th Panzer personnel to Italy, with plans to ship the unit directly to Germany. There they were to receive all new equipment; one of four panzer divisions now being upgraded in the homeland. The margin call would also fall on Rommel and Guderian. Hitler could see that further operations aimed at Egypt would not succeed unless Rommel was strongly reinforced, and he was simply not prepared to do that. His favorite general had kept his promise, but he looked at the photograph of the Nazi war flag flying over the ruin of the Parliament building in Damascus, and said nothing. He was in Damascus, but the Führer knew he could not leave Rommel there, nor could he support him with more panzers.
He sent word asking Rommel to fly directly to OKW Headquarters, and planned to break the news to him there, and with the offer of yet another new post. “Herr Rommel,” he said. “You have done what I asked of you, only this time, I cannot support you further. I wanted you to hear this from me directly, for I must ask you to send me back the Wiking SS Division. It is needed on the Ostfront.”
“That is my strongest division,” said Rommel. “What am I to do in Damascus without it?”
“Nothing,” said Hitler. “You will not get to Egypt through Damascus and Jerusalem. So what is the point of leaving your forces at Damascus? I am usually most reluctant to give the enemy back ground our soldiers have won with steel and blood, but in this case, I may have to withdraw all the panzer divisions from Syria. Do you realize that the Soviets had an army across the Donets last month? We pushed them back, and now we must push harder. There are big things in the offing, and I have a new assignment for you.”
“On the Ostfront?”
“No, I want you to rest first. You had too little time after Tunisia, so take at least a full month. Then, I would like you to assume command of all forces in the continental west, France, Belgium, the Low Countries, and even Norway. Italy and Tunisia I leave to Kesselring, but all the rest is yours.”
“I see…” said Rommel quietly. “So, the old warhorse is being put out to pasture at last.”
“What? Not at all, Herr Rommel. Not at all. I neglected to include Germany in that list. Yes, you will oversee all divisions presently building and refitting in the homeland, and that now includes the entire 24th Panzer Korps, and your old favorite, the 7th Panzer Division as well. I want you to go directly to the factories and inspect the assembly operations for our new tanks. See that they are built correctly, Rommel. You are the man for that now, as Guderian is still in Iraq. On that score, do not think I dismember your command in Syria alone. I have had to ask the same of General Guderian. The Brandenburg Division is also being recalled, and I want you to personally direct the refit of that division back to a full Panzer division, and with all our best new tanks. All of this is in your capable hands. I am trusting you to build me these strong reserves, because believe me, we will need them, and soon.”