“We’re set up well if they hit us from the west,” said Wilson.
“A little too far from the city for my comfort,” said Kingstone. “I was at the airport just now, and the Germans will certainly want that bang away so they can fly in fresh ammo and supplies. Then they’ll want the rail line open to Mosul. After that, then the real fighting starts here.”
“Logical,” said Wilson, tamping down his pipe. “Well, when Blaxland comes up, we’ll have three divisions here. At the moment, 2nd British Infantry is getting after Abadan, and they may take it in another day or two.”
“The second?”
“My old outfit,” said Wilson with a smile. “Damn good troops.”
“That’s a step in the right direction,” said Kingstone. “I thought they were with Slim in Burma.”
“They were, but that front has quieted down and Wavell suggested that the stakes here were a little higher than holding the border against Tojo over there. So we’ve got the 2nd Infantry, and 7th Indian Division right after it. That will wrap things up down south, and then they can come forward to settle this business. They’ll have 7th and 9th Armored Brigades with them when they come.”
“Armor? Bloody marvelous!” Kingstone smiled for what seemed like the first time in the last month, the lines of his face deepening as he grinned.
“Forgive my manners, General,” said Wilson. “Would you care for a brandy?”
“No sir, another time. I’ll want to be getting back to the Brigade. We’re coming in right at the aerodrome. Where do you want me?”
Wilson looked at his map. “Well now, you’ve a fast outfit there. Why don’t you bring your boys on into the city and cross the Tigris to the Barracks site. If Jerry does what you suggest, you’ll be in a good spot there to parry any thrust from the northeast.”
“Very good sir, but if it’s all the same to you, I’d prefer to take the column around the city. My lads have had little more than a mouthful of desert for the last two weeks, and marching them by the bars and brothels will be a tad rough on morale.”
“Well enough, Joe. Get some rest, will you? You deserve it.”
“I’ll rest a good deal easier once we get that armor up. Oh… One thing more. There were two battalions of French Foreign Legion with our column. I left them in Karbala.” Kingstone saluted and was on his way.
The two Turkomen divisions hit the ridgeline defenses north and west of Kirkuk that morning. They had been informed that the German 78th Sturm Division was approaching the city from the west, which was the trigger for this assault. It was meant to pull in as much of the defense as possible, and it was a classic “Russian Style” infantry assault, the rifle battalions swarming forward as a mass and trying to overwhelm the more isolated battalion outposts on the ridge.
As dogged as the Turkomen infantry was, the 5th Division held its ground. They had spent the last two days digging trench lines, sewing mines and wire, and registering the three battalions of division artillery, and they made the enemy pay for climbing that rocky slope. In two places, it came to fighting right at the trench lines, hand to hand, with the Turkomen fighters brandishing curved swords, and the Indian infantry mounting countercharges with fixed bayonets. Here and there, clusters of regular British infantry that had been salted into the division stood unmoved, their Vickers MGs exacting a heavy toll. By mid-day the enemy attack had faltered, and the battalions were falling back down the slope, still harassed by artillery fire. Discouraged and badly beaten, the Turkomen Divisions decided to wait for the Germans, and there would be no further fighting for that long ridge aside from desultory artillery exchanges.
Near Baghdad, General Schneider took his 4th Panzer Division as a whole and threw it at the city of Taji, about 16 kilometers north of the capitol. It had been defended by a brigade of the 6th Indian Division, but they could not hold in the face of that attack. The crack Panzergrenadiers dismounted, fanning out into the town, their halftracks and mobile flak guns behind them in support. Two full battalions of panzers were committed, and that was simply too much.
Brigadier received permission from Wilson to withdraw, but as II Brandenburg Regiment was already between Taji and Baghdad, they had no recourse but to cross the Tigris River near Hammamiyat, and then move south on the east bank, where they would eventually come to Brigadier Kingstone’s lines. When he saw the lorried infantry coming through, the last trucks carrying the wounded and dead recovered from the fight, he shook his head.
“You can move right through our lines,” he told Brigadier Jenkins of the 17th Indian Brigade. “Set your men up as a second echelon, and you can stand as a tactical reserve. I think they’ll hit us here soon enough.” He expected an immediate attack from the north, but it did not come that day. The Germans seemed to be collecting themselves, and husbanding supplies. They were already 185 Kilometers from their depot at Hadithah, and 450 kilometers from Dier-ez-Zour. Their main depot up north on the Turkish border above Ar Raqqah was now a full 680 kilometers away. These were the kinds of lengthy supply lines Rommel had to deal with in Libya, and now Guderian had a much better appreciation of that man.
At present, his situation was not bad. There were a few battalions down to 30% to 45% supply, and he decided to rest them at Fallujah and await the next deliveries. He was also waiting on 10th Motorized, which was only now beginning to arrive on the road to Fallujah. On the 18th, he had tested the enemy defenses west of Baghdad by putting in a strong attack at Abu Ghraib. Defended by elements of the 8th Indian Division, the Punjab Battalions fought well, yielding some ground but doing so in good order, and rallying when they reached the dugout lines of the British 5th Queen’s Own Rifles. It was a well prepared position, and the Germans were stopped near dusk, when Guderian called for a pause to discuss options.
“They are going to fight us here,” he said. “Thus far we’ve identified two full Indian Divisions, one west and one north of the city.
“My men had no difficulty in Taji,” said Schneider. “We ground our way right through them.”
“That is what this may take,” said Guderian. “My every instinct here is to avoid a lengthy battle of attrition, but now I think I must revise my last order to you. With Taji in hand, I now want you to assemble your entire division, but east of the Tigris. You will attack over this ground here.” He pointed to the place where Kingstone had been forming his lines since the previous day. “If you can get in the back door, I will keep them very busy on this side with four of the five Brandenburger Regiments. The last, under Konrad, I will send north in place of that KG I spoke of earlier. They will make contact with the 78th Sturm Division, and clear the rail line to Mosul. It may be five days before we can get trains down from the depots there, so we must plan accordingly in terms of our supplies. We will probe the enemy, conduct active patrolling, but otherwise rest until the morning of the 20th. Then we make a coordinated attack from two sides.”
That rail line to Mosul was the key for Guderian. He simply had to get it open and get rolling stock moving on it at the earliest possible moment. Without it, he would have but two or three days hard fighting in terms of ammunition. Food was not an issue, nor fresh water, all things Rommel had to plan for. It was ammunition he needed most, and fuel wherever he could find it.
So what do I have on my hands here, he thought? Will this be another Volgograd on the Tigris? This is an enormous city, with a lot of concrete buildings that can serve as good strong points for the enemy. It is a warren of narrow streets, alleyways and souks. House to house fighting here could be very difficult, but that is what the Brandenburgers do best. There is no better force for this sort of fight in the world. As soon as Schmidt gets here with 10th Motorized, I will throw his two regiments right at the airfield. Then, the following day, the Brandenburgers go in full force.