Now, with the collapse of British forces in northern Iraq, it seemed as though the Colonel’s hopes could be salvaged. To Help organize Arab resistance against the British, the Germans flew both Rashid Ali and the colonel to Kirkuk, where Ali formally announced a new Iraqi Arab government forming under the protection of Nazi Germany.
The news of the abandonment of Kirkuk and Baba Gurgur enraged Churchill, but eventually Alanbrooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, finally convinced him that General Wilson had acted prudently, taking an enormous risk to try and save troops that Britain could ill afford to lose in a siege of Kirkuk that could have only one ending.
“They were outnumbered three to one,” he explained. “So you can either trade the Germans Kirkuk today for the 5th Indian Division, or they will take both by next Tuesday and you’ll be standing there empty handed. Wilson did what was right and expedient in the situation, and I would have done the same.”
“Well how in blazes will we ever get it back?” Churchill railed.
“All in good time,” said Alanbrooke. “2nd Division has finished up in Southern Iraq. Your consolation for the loss of Kirkuk is Abadan. We’ve got the whole thing, lock, stock and oil barrel. Now General Gordon can take his men north to Baghdad, and the 7th Indian Division has landed at Umm Qsar to take over garrison duty and security patrols for Basra and Abadan. Yes, we’ve lost Kirkuk, but with the Germans already sitting on Haditha, those pipelines are useless to us now. Any oil we get from Iraq will have to go by sea, through the Persian Gulf and up the Red Sea to Suez. There will be a temporary shortfall, but Somerville is already arranging tanker support at Cape Town, and planning the convoy schedules.”
“What about the Japanese?” Churchill fretted. “They’re still sitting on Ceylon, with aircraft slowly building up week by week.”
“My dear Winston, it’s over 1,500 miles from Colombo to those shipping lanes along the Arabian coast, and Somerville has assured Admiral Tovey that we will remain masters of the Arabian Sea. The Japanese have no serious naval threat in that region. All they have done since taking Ceylon is ferry in food, supplies, and comfort women for their soldiers there. Frankly, I think they’ve overreached themselves. The Americans have been going at them with hammer and tongs, and there’s been no incursion of enemy carriers into the Indian Ocean since their initial invasion.”
“Let us hope that remains the case,” said Churchill glumly. “Somerville didn’t come off very well the last time he faced the Imperial Japanese Navy.”
“True, but we weren’t prepared. We’ve never fought an action like that, where the carriers became the principle striking force. The Royal Navy has always relied on our battleships, and there were three in that action, but they were nothing but a distraction and nuisance to Somerville. Carriers, Winston. Admiral Tovey and I had a good long chat about them last week. He’s sent our very best to Somerville, the Ark Royal and Victorious. Along with Indomitable, Somerville has a very strong force there now. Carriers are the order of the day. The battleship is history.”
“Well at least I can agree on that point,” said Churchill. “It may interest you to know that I’ve been conspiring with Admiral Fraser on some very clever projects along those lines. And I’ve wrangled the planes to make a real difference as well—the American F6F Hellcat. A bit of a bawdy name, but I’m told the plane is very capable. It was tailor made for carrier operations, and with it, our ships can carry many more planes than before. The next time the Japanese come calling, they’ll get a real surprise if Somerville is on his game.”
“There,” said Alanbrooke, “that’s the spirit. You have it exactly. Now then—I think we can safely say that our lines of communications through the Arabian Sea are secure for the moment. Iraq is now our primary concern. Alright, we’ve lost Kirkuk, but we still hold Baghdad, and the Germans really can’t do anything more unless they take it. First off, it’s both a political and logistical necessity that they control that city. This Rashid Ali can crow all he wants from his new would be throne in Kirkuk, but as long as we control Baghdad, Iraq is ours. The Germans can’t move south to threaten Basra and Abadan without first clearing their lines of communications by taking Baghdad.”
“So it must be held,” said Churchill. “I agree completely.”
“Yes, and now that 5th Indian Division has been saved by Wilson, we’ve a fighting chance there. This General Guderian is no slouch. Alexander’s counterattack from Homs was a good spoiling attack, and it forced the Germans to leave one of their two Panzer divisions behind. Now, however, the Germans have brought in more infantry. We’ve identified three new divisions, the 31st, 34th and 45th Infantry Divisions. They’re putting them on the line opposite General Quinan, and the latest report indicates Guderian has now pulled that panzer division out and sent it east. This means the Germans will have their full mobile corps available for the Baghdad offensive, which is undoubtedly what they planned all along.”
“Damn,” said Churchill. “Just when I’m consoled with the carriers and sea lanes thing, you go and pour salt into my tea. Can Wilson hold out?”
“He’ll have four Indian divisions, and the 2nd British Infantry is arriving in just a few days.”
“Will that be enough?”
“It might,” said Alanbrooke. “But just to be on the safe side, we could send another good British Infantry Division in, and more armor, if we can find it.”
“My good man,” said Churchill. “Infantry divisions do not grow on trees! Most everything we have here in the Kingdom is still training up, and it would be two months to get a division from here to Basra.”
“Not quite…” said Alanbrooke. “You’re forgetting the 18th Infantry at Perth.”
“What? You mean the troops Montgomery evacuated from Java? Well pinch me, I have forgotten about that division. Didn’t it go to Burma?”
“It was scheduled, but Slim has the situation in hand, and the Japanese show no signs of any further offensives into India. So the 18th Remained at Perth, and it’s been fleshed out with Aussie volunteers, and brought up to snuff in terms of the Artillery and other equipment. It’s right there, Winston, and was training up for the counterattack on Ceylon. Given the circumstances, oil is more valuable to the empire now than rubber. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Precisely,” said Churchill, a light of battle blooming in his eyes.
“It’s 5,600 nautical miles from Perth to Iraq by sea; less than half the distance from Liverpool to the same destination. That’s just three weeks at sea to move the 18th Division, as opposed to six weeks or longer to send anything from here.”
“Splendid!” Churchill immediately approved the plan, even though it meant that the attack on Ceylon would have to be postponed. And so the British would pull yet one more rabbit out of their hat, and hopefully enough to foil the German plans to seize Baghdad and storm into southern Iraq.
“Thus far they’ve had it all their way with this dirty business,” said Churchill. “We thought we’d settled affairs in Iraq and Syria two years ago, but now you see what Turkey’s infidelity has cost us.”
Which brings us to another matter,” said Alanbrooke. “Alexander believes we have to take the gloves off concerning Turkey, and put the RAF onto those rail lines sustaining this new German foray into the Middle East.”
“Do you agree?”
“It would be very risky,” said Alanbrooke. “Thus far Turkey has been consorting with the Germans, but they’ve maintained a cautious stance in all these affairs. They’ve permitted the Germans to transit their territory, including the Bosporus and Dardanelles, and this new German push into the Kuban region is likely to keep them quite on edge for some time. The thing is this. Turkey really want’s nothing to do with Germany. We showed them the folly of that alliance in the First War, and by god, I think they remember it. Yet as long as Germany remains a viable force in the region, particularly with support from Orenburg now, the Turks have had no choice but to cooperate. We should have invaded Iran long ago and put that threat to rest. It would have made our wedding proposal to the Turks much more appealing. As it stands, they don’t see that we’ve any dowry to speak of, and so they’ve given us the cold shoulder. Unless we can show them that we can fight and win in the Middle East, they’ll have no good reason to throw in with us.”