“Apparently Operation Scimitar wasn’t enough,” said Churchill.
“It might have been, but Hitler had a strong force poised on the Turkish frontier, and just 120 miles from Istanbul. We cleared the Vichy French out of Syria, but never really finished the job after Scimitar. We let Jerry keep those mountain divisions in Northern Syria and the Turks could not help but notice.”
“It was all we could do at the time,” said Churchill. “And we were fortunate that we had our guests at hand to even do what we did with Scimitar.”
Those ‘Guests’ were the men and machines that had come out of the deep desert in Egypt, from a future Churchill and Brooke could scarcely imagine now. Yet now they were gone. Only the barest kernel of the force remained, hidden away on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, where British engineers had been learning all they could about the amazing Challenger II. While Hitler had the broken carcass of one such vehicle, the British still had a few fully functioning tanks, and Lieutenant Reeves, now made a Colonel by the British Army, was right there to explain how everything worked. It was leading to a whole new way of thinking where the design and production of British tanks was concerned, and it would soon have a dramatic impact on the war when a new British challenger appeared to counter the alarming advances in German tank design.
“We’ve stopped Rommel,” said Alanbrooke, “but the Turks know we’ve still not beaten the Germans. It may be months or longer if we can beat them in Tunisia, and even if we do, that does nothing to make the Turks more secure. Given the razor’s edge they’re sitting on now, I would have to come down against direct RAF attacks on Turkish soil. It could be the last straw for them, and send them right into Germany’s camp if we bomb. They have 50 divisions, and a million men under arms. Yes, they aren’t up to snuff compared to our forces, and they’ve no armor to speak of, but we have enough to contend with as things stand.”
“Agreed,” said Churchill. “Yes, we must be very cautious. I’ve barked at the Turks for allowing the Germans to use those rail lines, but biting them is quite another matter. There will be no bombing of targets on Turkish soil. As for the rail lines in Syria and Iraq, they are all fair game. We can achieve the same result there without forcing Turkey to make a very difficult choice that we’d all regret. The problem seems to be that the RAF is also stretched thin. Sir Arthur Harris still holds to his strategy of big raids over Germany and general area bombing. That won’t do in Syria and Iraq.”
“Yes,” said Brooke. “We need precision bombing, and it’s not something our Wellingtons do with any real effectiveness. It’s work for fighter bombers. They have to get after the locomotives, rail depots and receiving stations, yet Coningham has his forces split between O’Connor on the one side, and now this new affair in Syria. That has left very little to send to Iraq. Thankfully, the Luftwaffe is in no better shape. They’ve managed to deploy three fighter squadrons, and a few squadrons of Stukas and other aircraft, but it’s been a wash. Neither side has air superiority over Iraq now, and unless we can find the planes, that’s the way it will stay. The Germans hit Baghdad last week, thinking to take it by storm, but we held. Now they’ve paused to clear the main rail line north to Mosul. That’s their lifeline. Kirkuk gives them fuel and such for local operations. Hitler can brag all he wants about it, but the rail line to Mosul is the real jugular. If we can cut that, we can foul their entire operation.”
“Aside from finding more fighter-bombers,” said Churchill, “what could we possibly do? Wilson is holding out, but he certainly can’t go on the offensive.”
“No, that would be a direct attack in any case, even if he could take the fight to the other fellow now. This has to be work for special forces. That raid we mounted on Habbaniyah and Palmyra was rather stunning during Operation Scimitar. Those fancy helicopters might come in very handy now.”
“Shall I go to Fairchild and enlist her support? They did a bang up job with that raid at St. Nazaire.”
“True, but I think we can do the job well enough ourselves. I was thinking more of Browning’s Boys, and the SAS.”
“General Browning?”
“We have two Airborne Brigades in the Med, and a good number of Commando units as well. We might consider raids into Northern Syria and Iraq, all with the aim of disrupting and sabotaging the enemy rail lines. They’ve done the same against us. Old Glubb Pasha has had his Arab Legion out after the Brandenburg Commandos. So we have to get thinking along those same lines.”
“Do whatever is necessary,” said Churchill, determined. “I don’t have to tell you that I now view this theater as the most crucial battlefield of our war effort. It trumps anything we are planning for Tunisia, though I’m gratified from the news we’ve had from there. Iraq must not fall. The Germans have taken half the country as it stands! We simply must hold on to the rest, and then build up the strength there to push them back again. This is bigger than Ceylon; bigger than Burma, which is why I did not hesitate to take troops allocated to those theaters for deployment to Iraq. Now I think we may have to do whatever is necessary to gain the upper hand in the Middle East. If It means we gut the British 8th Army and order General O’Connor to stand on defense there, so be it.”
“He’s just kicked off his attack on the Mareth Line,” said Alanbrooke. “Surely you don’t want me to call that off.”
“Hasn’t it already had the effect we counted on? Hasn’t it forced Rommel to look over his shoulder and call off his own offensive? I say we let O’Connor get himself to a favorable position with this attack, but then I think we should move more armor back to Syria. He can get it there faster than we can ship it from the Kingdom. It follows the same logic you presented concerning the 18th Division at Perth. Do get those troops moving at once, and then tell General O’Connor that we need more from him, and make it stick. I know we’re robbing Peter to pay Paul, but we’ve no other choice.”
There came a knock on the door, and a Staff Officer came in with a message, handing it off to Alanbrooke, who read it with one raised eyebrow. “Well,” he shrugged, “we’ve another fine mess on our hands. Bletchley Park was correct. The Germans sortied with their Mediterranean Squadron last night. It was seen in the Tyrrhenian Sea this morning.”
“What’s it doing there?” Churchill set down his teacup, obviously concerned.
“Hut Four picked up signals that it was bound for Italian ports. The Germans think Toulon is too vulnerable. Yet one analyst thinks that’s just rubbish, our Mister Turing.”
“He’s a better explanation?”
“Yes sir. Turing thinks the Germans are going to hit Crete, and to my mind that is the most likely reason for this deployment. That would explain why all those German transport planes went to Athens—not for Syria as we first thought, but for Crete.”
“Damn,” said Churchill. “And it could not come at a worse time. We both know the garrison on Crete isn’t strong enough to last a week if the Germans attack there in earnest.”