Stirling stood up. At least General Cunningham made ‘Major’ sound like a genuine rank. “Thank you, General,” he said. “Over Britain, the Germans launched a smaller air raid that normal, employing around five hundred aircraft of various types. Another attack is expected this afternoon, but we hacked down seventy of the attackers, in exchange for five Jaguars and one Tornado. There was no attempt to attack Edinburgh after what happened yesterday, when a pilot had the bright idea of deploying a FAE bomb against the flight.
“On the plus side of the ledger, we can now be certain that an invasion is… unlikely to be even attempted,” he said, displaying a map. “We struck all the invasion ports in Belgium and totally wrecked the places. Barges, E-boats, even the handful of transports; we killed most of them. That means that we can free up some of the army for duty elsewhere, such as the Mediterranean.
“The search for the remaining prisoners has drawn a complete blank,” he continued. “We took the risk of flying an AWACS close to the German coast and amplifying the standard mobile phone system, but there was no reply. We’ll keep probing, but I suspect that unless the Germans slip up or we get lucky, we won’t find them at all. On a similar basis, Hitler survived our attempt to get him; we intercepted a broadcast from him hours after the Reichstag was destroyed. I suspect that most of the Nazis have moved house by now; we seem to have injured Admiral Lutjens, but he might have been the only high-ranker to be hit.”
There was a slight snigger as his speech defect pronounced ‘ranker’ as ‘wanker.’ McLachlan coughed. “Major, can you be certain that it was Hitler broadcasting?”
“Voice print matches and he referred to the attack in detail,” Stirling said. “Unless he’s precognitive, he’s still alive.”
“Bother,” Hanover commented mildly. “Carry on.”
Stirling adjusted the map again. “From Admiral Turtledove, the Italians have been pushing into Egypt and heading for Cairo, having stripped most of their divisions to support a frontal attack at high speed. They’re moving troops and support equipment to Libya as fast as they can, despite our half-hearted interdiction efforts. The Germans have also moved several units into Italy itself; analysis suggests that they are intended to keep the Italians on side. General Sir Archibald Wavell would like to launch a counter-attack and has been preparing; unfortunately many of the units he was supposed to have got… lost when we arrived.
“In addition, the Italian forces are continuing into East Africa and pushing our Contemporary forces there hard,” he said. “I suspect that Hitler is trying to open as many fronts as he can; there are suggestions that the Germans have been strong-arming Franco to act against us in Gibraltar.”
He altered the display again; a summarisation of the briefing. “As yet, its impossible to be certain what Stalin knows about what’s happened, although the known presence of Soviet spies in Germany means that he was almost certainly know what the Germans know,” he said. “There has been some contact with American radio hams through radio – our own radio hams at work – but that depends on atmospheric conditions. The Oversight Committee recommended securing a relay station on Iceland, now that the prospect of Germany seizing the island has been negated.” He smiled wryly. “In conclusion, thank you for listening.”
“Thank you,” Cunningham said. “Prime Minister, the First Sea Lord and I have prepared a plan to conclude the war in the Mediterranean as quickly as possible,” he said. “Bernie?”
“Having ended the threat of invasion, the 2nd Armoured Division, the 1st Mechanised Division, the 15th Infantry, the 52nd Highland Brigade, and a handful of other units can be released from defence duty,” General Bernie Ascot said calmly. “As much of the expeditionary equipment has been pre-prepared for our NATO responsibilities, we can have that force in Egypt in five to six days, using a mixture of our own and Contemporary ships. In addition, No. 1 squadron of Harriers from the United Kingdom can be freed up and transported on merchant ships, as we did in the Falklands War. Once they’re there, under the command of General Robert Flynn who will be technically subordinate to Wavell, they will…”
“Excuse me,” Somerville said, who’d been tapping at his console, “but I believe that we should sort out the question of command. With all due respect to General Flynn, it is General Wavell who commands the forces in Egypt and holds the confidence of the men.”
“And a fine job he made of Operation Crusader,” Hanover said sincerely. “Admiral, I understand your concern, and I understand your feelings, but General Wavell knows nothing of the capabilities of the forces we possess. We have to smash the Italian forces, taking them prisoner if possible, and then push on into Algeria and cut the Germans out of North Africa entirely.”
“DeGaulle will make a stink,” Somerville said.
Hanover grinned. “He was in London at the time of the… Transition,” he said. “He’s gone. Dear me.”
“So, what are we going to do with Algeria?” Somerville asked.
“Politically, our objective will be to form a democratic government that will join the British Commonwealth,” Hanover said. “We might not get it, but our priority will be to stay long enough to establish a stable government and then leave. Besides, we’re doing the French a favour; no Algerian War in this timeline.” He smiled. “Admiral Grisham?”
“We expect to have the troops in Egypt on the 24th at the latest,” Grisham said. “By that time, we’ll have reinforced Admiral Turtledove with some extra Harriers and several submarines and frigates. On the 24th, we’ll destroy the Italian Navy and seal North Africa off from Europe, and then proceed on the ground.”
Somerville coughed. “We could do that now,” he said. “Why not interdict them now?”
Hanover smiled at Stirling, who’d come up with the idea. “We’re going to need some cannon fodder… ah, Free Italy Army,” he said, and chuckled. “The more they send over, the more who’ll surrender to us.”
“I see,” Somerville said thoughtfully. “Sir, what about the Japanese?”
“Good point,” Hanover agreed. “The sooner we handle the Mediterranean problem, the sooner we can prepare to face the Japanese. Admiral, please make the arrangements as quickly as possible.”
“Meeting adjourned,” Cunningham said quickly, as Hanover rose. “God save the King.”
Jackson Industrial Estate
Glasgow, United Kingdom
18th July 1940
The seven men in the room called themselves, when they were inclined to give themselves a name, the Legitimate Businessmen. The Jackson Industrial Estate, a modern computer-manufacturing plant, comprised a completely legitimate cover for the men, who handled one of the largest organised crime syndicates in Europe. More than a few of the ships owned by the Jackson Industrial Estate had been used to smuggle material; more than a handful of the staff of the Estate, who had very little to do with the companies that used the Estate for genuine reasons, worked for the syndicate.
Jim Oliver allowed himself a smile as he finally passed through the inner security fence and into the main meeting room. The ELINT check, fully as advanced as the best American equipment of their home era, revealed no sign of any surveillance devices; Oliver had half-expected the RAF personnel to have tried to bug him, but there was nothing. Even if they had, he was going to his workplace; he was one of the shareholders – and one of the directors of the Legitimate Businessmen.
“You have returned,” a man said. It bugged Oliver that he’d never been able to identify his origins; Allan Kasper seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. His career within the criminal underworld proved his bona fides, but Oliver still wondered. “I get nervous when you insist on doing the courier work yourself.”