What was left of the 2nd Greek Regiment reached Sougia, some of the men openly weeping to realize the last free Greek soil was being lost, and they had not fought for it in any way. Their officers tried to buck them up by saying they must survive to join the Allied armies and fight on for Greece, but what they had seen of their allies, mainly their backsides as they retreated south, left them with little hope. That was the only Greek Regiment that got off the island, all the others fighting, or melting into the countryside to join what would become a long simmering guerilla war against the Germans.
The night of the 21st, two British Submarines slipped in close to the harbor at Chania, and they took on several AA gun crews that had been bravely holding their posts. The shore batteries were being spiked, but most of those men knew there would be no ship or submarine coming for them. They sat glumly near their demolished guns, some smoking cigarettes while they could, and contemplating the rest of the war as prisoners.
Shame was not reserved for the Greeks in their dilemma as to whether to fight or withdraw. When the British Ack Ack gunners saw Colonel Gregorio’s 6th Greek Regiment still doggedly trying to hold the line down near the seaplane base on Suda Bay, some looked for rifles to go and join them. They had fired at the German planes until their ammo ran out, then destroyed their Bofors guns to deny the enemy their use. Most simply could not just sit there as long as the Greeks kept fighting.
On the Afternoon of the 22nd of February, General Brooke called on Churchill to give him the news. “Well,” he said with a shrug. “Jerry’s got Crete—at least the main cities and ports. The 3rd Carpathians are still fighting for Maleme, and we still hold Chania, but it’s only a matter of time now—perhaps another day or two.”
Churchill was standing facing the warm hearth in his private chambers, his hands folded behind his back. “The relief convoy? He said quietly.
“It pulled off most all of the British regulars, but only one Greek regiment made it to the southern coast, and that was just battalion strength when it did.”
“The King?”
“He’s Safely aboard a submarine and bound for Alexandria.”
A moment of silence passed, and Alanbrooke knew Churchill was battling his inner demons over the decision. He waited respectfully for a moment more, then tried to put things in more positive terms.
“Alexander now had another good provisional brigade to lend a hand in Syria. And Boy Browning’s two Regiments can now safely be assigned to Iraq.” But Churchill’s mind was elsewhere.
“Brookie…” he began, “we let them down.” It was as if he hadn’t heard a thing Alanbrooke had said. “We let them down and they won’t forget this. God only knows if they’ll ever forgive us. I want everything done for the King, and I’ll get a letter off today with assurances that the British Empire will not rest until every last inch of Greek soil is finally liberated from German occupation.”
“I understand, sir,” said Brooke.
“Now,” said Churchill. “What about the Bismarck and Friedrich de Grosse?”
“Oh, they moved east into the Aegean. I can’t imagine that they would attempt to make a sortie against Palestine. If they do, we’ve enough air power there to make them pay for that indiscretion.”
“They aren’t going to shell Beirut,” said Churchill knowingly. “I’ve spoken with Bletchley Park again this morning. Those ships are headed for the Black Sea.”
“What? Up through the Bosphorus?”
“Indeed. BP thinks they want to pick a fight with the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Hitler seems keen on getting rid of it. He fiddled about with that Zeppelin raid on Novorossiysk a while back. This appears to be his coup de grace.”
“Well,” said Brooke. “A pity we didn’t get this earlier. We could have submarines waiting for them south of those narrows. And I daresay that’s what we’ll have to do if they ever get the notion of returning to the Med. In the meantime, I’ll take this as good news, Mister Prime Minister. What was left of the German Navy in the Med is now nicely bottled up in the Black Sea. All we have to do is make sure we keep the cork in the bottle.”
He smiled, but Churchill didn’t see him, and said nothing more.
Chapter 18
Operation Merkur would be a resounding success, and when Hitler got the news he was elated. All of the new offensives he had reinstated were going right according to plan. He was again filled with that heady adrenalin born of victory. With Crete taken, he would soon move in second line infantry to garrison the place, and turn it over to Goring for the movement of flak batteries and Luftwaffe personnel to work the airfields. He now had a good outer wall protecting the Aegean Sea, with his troops on both Crete and Cyprus, and small detachments on a few of the other Greek islands.
So the Führer was in high spirits when Rommel came to see him at OKW, saluting grimly, trying to force a smile, but averting his eyes with a sense that he had let the Führer down.
“Ah, Herr Rommel, my Field Marshal has finally come home.”
“It is good to be here,” said Rommel, “though I wish I could have come to you with better news concerning Operation Sturmflut. It was—”
Hitler knew a litany of excuses and complaints would soon follow, but that was not the conversation he wanted to have today with Rommel, so he cut him off at the pass.
“No need to explain,” said Hitler. “I have finally seen what you were up against, and frankly, I cannot believe that you prevailed so brilliantly given the odds and equipment the enemy had to put against you. Those heavy British tanks were most impressive. How many do you believe they had there in North Africa? Was it a full brigade as you reported earlier?”
Somewhat surprised by this sudden tack in the conversation, Rommel now recalled what Kesselring had told him. “ I believe so—a strong mechanized force, but—”
“Well, I can assure you that I now fully understand your situation. You tried to tell me all of this before, but seeing that captured enemy panzer you sent me finally made things clear to me. Herr Rommel, I must apologize to you for not supporting you. I should have sent you much more in the way of armor and supplies. Yet, having seen that new enemy tank, I think you would have still had the same hardships and difficulties you experienced. This is something that we must answer with solid German engineering. The British have a leg up on us, but we can and will respond. Come with me. Let me show you exactly what I am talking about…”
Rommel would soon see his first Königstiger, the prototype shipped to OKW HQ so Hitler could seed advice from others on how best to modify the tank. He was particularly interested in Rommel’s opinion, and seeing the largest main battle tank built by Germany in the war, he could not help but be impressed.
“This is but a prototype,” said Hitler. “As you can see, the main gun is inadequate, and so I have ordered it up-gunned to 120mm. The armor is not yet as strong as I wish, and the engineers are looking hard at the unique design used by that British monster. They tell me it is a composite of tiles, metal backing and other odd materials. Most unusual. I have ordered changes, and the engineers are working on them even now. Please, take your time and inspect this vehicle. If there is anything your trained eye spots that I may have overlooked, simply make a list and I will sent it directly to the engineers.”
“When might we see one of these in the field?” asked Rommel.
“I am optimistic that we can begin real production very soon, perhaps six months. This version is the Tiger II. I am also scheduled to see the newest Lion designs, so we will have a nice little competition. Oh, yes… Did I mention that Guderian has finally reached Baghdad? There is a man you could work with, Rommel. He’s run from the Turkish border all the way to Baghdad in a little over a month. It reminds me of the early days in Libya, when you were chasing the British to the Egyptian border. I have no doubt that you would have reached the Nile easily enough, were it not for that new enemy tank. That was the real problem in North Africa, and we must never allow the enemy such an advantage again.”