Kirov Saga: Hinge Of Fate: Altered States Volume III (Kirov Series) (25 page)

For
their part, the British destroyers had acquitted themselves well, finally
chasing off the pesky French destroyers.
Devonshire
and
Cumberland
had minor damage, though
Cumberland’s
aft Y turret was out of action.
Resolution
had taken three hits and a torpedo, but
Barham
got the worst of the
beating with four 15-inch gun hits, the loss of an aft turret, and two
torpedoes to the body, both on the same side of the ship. She was listing badly
and her Captain Cooke was counter-flooding to try and stabilize the ship.

Resolution
moved ahead and took her in tow, and with the two heavy
cruisers in attendance, the British squadron limped south, bound for Freetown.
De Gaulle fumed when he received word that the planned landing at Dakar would
have to be cancelled, and his troop convoy was turned about as well.

“Operation
Menace” was over, or so it seemed, but the French also had one last parting
shot to administer. Hidden beneath the sea, a doughty knight named Lancelot was
peering through his periscope at the ponderous retreat of the British
battleships. He quietly turned the nose of his sub, the
Beveziers
, and
fired a pair of torpedoes at the trailing ship, like a wolf singling out a
wounded water buffalo. They would both strike home on the badly damaged aft
quarter of the ship, and it would be the final blow for old
Barham
that
day.

Already
foundering,
Barham
began to ship more water heavily aft, and the damage
was so severe that it was soon evident the venerable old ship would be lost.
Captain Cooke got the bulk of his crew off to be pulled out of the heartless
sea by the British cruisers. The destroyer squadron churned up the area looking
for Captain Lancelot and
Beveziers,
but to no avail. All things considered,
the French Navy would soon realize it had scored its first victory against its
old nemesis since the days of Napoleon, when a French squadron in the Indian
Ocean, under Guy-Victor Duperré achieved a victory over a British Royal Navy
squadron commanded by Captain Samuel Pym in August 1810.

Britain
now concluded that it was facing a dangerous new foe with the French squadrons
based at Casablanca and Dakar. This threat, and the shadow looming over the
Rock of Gibraltar, now became the focus of the war.
When First Sea Lord Dudley Pound learned of the setback, and
the details of the battle were forwarded, he immediately began looking for a
head to chop off.

The
reinforcements Vichy France had sent to Dakar had played a prominent part in
the battle. While the light cruisers
Georges Leygues,
and
Montcalm
were badly beaten, with the former sunk, three large destroyers that had joined
Admiral Plancon’s task force had ended up causing considerable harm after
finding their nerve. Pound insisted the ships should have been intercepted as
they transited the straits of Gibraltar, and fixed blame for this failure on
Admiral North, who was Somerville’s nominal commander at Gibraltar.

As to
the conduct of the battle itself, there was much ballyhoo in the reports, and
the actions of Christopher Wells were roundly praised. It was decided that his timely
air strike had perhaps prevented the loss of the battleship
Resolution
as well. Wells had received no orders to mount his strike at that time, and did
so on his own initiative. While Vice Admiral Cunningham received some criticism
for his conduct of the battle, his head did not seem big enough to put on the
chopping block. Instead the conduct of Wells was used as an example of proper
initiative in time of dire threat, and became the whip the Admiralty used to
flay Admiral North for failing to intercept the French reinforcements.

The
word soon went forth from Whitehall: “
Their Lordships cannot retain full
confidence in an officer who fails in an emergency to take all prudent
precautions without waiting for Admiralty instructions
.” North was soon packing
up his desk at Gibraltar, but before he could catch his plane home, other events
of a much greater magnitude would overtake him.

* * *

News
of the French victory echoed in the halls of Berlin, and
Hitler’s last reservations over adoption of Operation Felix were put aside. “The
French put their battleships to good use,” he crowed as he signed the final
orders. Plans for the operation were then given the highest priority, and a
meeting was convened with all the principle commanders to finalize matters. At
that time, Admiral Raeder emphasized the importance of the Atlantic island
outposts in the Azores, Cape Verdes and Canary Islands.

“These
must be also considered as primary objectives,” he urged. “They should be one
of our main blows against Britain.”

“And
how do you propose we get the troops there, Raeder?” Hitler’s question was an
obvious one. “You cannot even promise me command of the Denmark Strait! Must I
go to the French for naval support in such an operation?”

Raeder
reddened under the insult, though the truth behind it was the real sting. The
French had just turned back a British operation aimed at Dakar. Might they not
then provide the perfect covering force for the extended operations from
Gibraltar to Spanish Morocco and the Atlantic Islands? He stiffened as he
regarded the map on the conference room table, swallowing his pride and
thinking strategically to give the best advice he could.

“What
you say is obviously true, my Führer, but the French cannot conduct such an
operation alone. The British have just suffered a humiliating defeat, and they
will be keen to avenge it. I have little doubt that they are planning reprisals
even as we speak. Certainly they will have their eyes on these Atlantic islands,
even as we do. The seas around the Azores, for example, are a black hole. That
region is too far away for them to provide air cover, and so it makes good hunting
grounds for our U-boats. They will want to redress that.”

“Canaris?”
Hitler looked at his intelligence chief now. “What do you know about this?”

“We
have developed some information that the British have such operations planned.
One is aimed at the Azores, under the code name “Accordion.” Another is aimed
at the Cape Verde Islands under the code name “Sackbut.”

“Sackbut?
What in the world is that?”

“I
believe it refers to a musical instrument of the renaissance era, my Führer, a
trombone.” Canaris pantomimed the instrument as he spoke. “The name literally
means push-pull.”

“Yes?
Well if the British have such operations planned then push may soon come to
shove. I will direct the Luftwaffe to see to the possibility of air lifting
troops to these islands. Once they get there it will be Raeder’s responsibility
to keep them supplied.”

“In
this the French forces at Casablanca and Dakar will prove most useful,” said
Raeder. “Once the first phase of the Gibraltar operation is concluded, and that
port is secure, then we will see what we can develop in the way of naval support
for this extended thrust to the islands. Once secured, they will prove invaluable
to our U-boat operations and force the British convoys to traverse the deep
Atlantic. This is an operation that could decide the war. I will therefore
consider it a top priority that heavy units of the Kriegsmarine break out for
deployment to this region. We are working round the clock to prepare adequate
facilities at Brest and Saint Nazaire, and also to move enough anti-aircraft
defense to those ports to protect them from inevitable attack by the R.A.F.”

At this
Goering spoke up, his cheeks red, eyes alight, for here was finally an
operation his Luftwaffe could undertake with every hope of success. “Now that
the direct attack on Britain has proved to be more challenging than we expected,
I will be able to relocate fighter assets to protect these ports and support
our Mediterranean strategy. I can provide one fighter wing and two bomber
wings. Our initial air raid will be launched from Bordeaux. While this is
underway the other fighters will transfer to bases near Seville.”

“Yes?”
said Hitler, his eyes dark and unfriendly. “I hope you put them to better use
here, Goering. Do not think I believe those inflated statistics you have sent
me on British losses over England. I have it on good authority that your air
offensive has been a disaster! That said, I can perhaps believe what you say
now. The British have very little in the way of fighter defenses to oppose Operation
Felix.”

“Now
that we will have access to airfields in Spain, that will remain the case,”
said Goering.

“Very
well,” Hitler concluded. “With Gibraltar secure, we will continue the
operation, occupy Spanish Morocco, and then immediately move troops by any
means possible to the Western Sahara.”

“A
preliminary appraisal of good basing areas has already been prepared,” said
Goering. “Certainly we can gain access to the French bastions there at
Casablanca and Dakar, and the Rio de Oro area south of the Canary Islands has
been selected as good ground for an aerodrome.”

“What
troops will be assigned to the operation?” Hitler looked at Keitel now,
representing OKW and the Army.

“My
Führer, the Sturmdivision is now ready for action. The 98th Regiment of First
Mountain Division will be commanded by General Hubert Lanz, and his men are
hardened veterans from South Bavaria. They have been joined by Count von
Schwerin's motorized Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland. The elite
Brandenburgers will spearhead this attack on Gibraltar.”

“And
what if the British land in Portugal?”

“Two mobile
divisions will prevent that—the 16th Panzer and 16th Motorized.”

“And
the islands under discussion?”

“Once
Gibraltar is secured I have earmarked three infantry divisions for support and
follow up. Goering has assured me he can move men by air if need be.”

“I have
been collecting transport aircraft required,” said Goering. “The 22nd Luftland
Air Landing Division performed admirably during the invasion of the
Netherlands. They are the right men for the job. Infantry Regiment 16 of this
division is ready for immediate transport to Spanish Morocco. It will be
accompanied by the Division Reconnaissance Battalion, and Pioneer Battalion
22.”

“Reliable
men,” said Keitel. “Once they are on the ground and the Royal Navy has been
sent packing, then we can begin the follow up phase and move infantry to the
African Coast. From there, we will be able to execute the planned operations
against the Atlantic islands.

“And
what is the planned start date?” Hitler tapped the table, an eagerness in his
eyes now.

“September
16th,” said Goering.

“The
sixteenth?” Raeder seemed surprised. “That is a full moon.”

“Of
course,” Goering smiled. “My bombers need to see what they will be aiming at.”

“But
the British will see your planes as well, Goering.”

The
portly Air Marshall clucked, shaking his head. “Don’t worry, Raeder. There is
only one small airfield at Gibraltar, with no fighters assigned. I will smash
the place in three hours.”

Chapter 23

Admiral
Tovey sat at his desk with the reports on Operation
Menace, a blight of typewritten pages that became a litany of excuses and
finger pointing. He shook his head, again realizing how unprepared Britain was
for the task of launching offensive operations that relied on combined forces
from the army and navy. The operation had been problematic from the start.
There was confusion from the very first, on the docks at Liverpool when the
stevedores reported they had not adequately planned for the stowage of all the
equipment and supplies required by the land forces. Truckloads of equipment were
wheeled in, stowed, yet without any proper accounting of what was going on each
ship. Cargo vessels were stuffed to the gills when it was found that tonnage
remained on the docks that had been allocated to ships that were too full to
take on even one more crate… And on it went.

In
typical British understatement that Tovey knew carried much more weight than it
seemed on the surface, the Admiralty had noted that “the present organization
for combined operations is not satisfactory.” If the German planners knew just
how unsatisfactory Britain’s combined operations and sealift capabilities were
in the late summer of 1940, they might have been even more assertive. It was
not surprising then that early consideration of the Atlantic islands Raeder had
been keen to occupy came to a lukewarm recommendation that they should not be
occupied, unless it was believed that the enemy was about to do so.

The
troops assigned to the failed Operation Menace were returned to Freetown,
Sierra Leone, arriving there on the 20th of August, 1940, along with the Royal
Navy covering force.

“Well
Mister Brind, It appears that we are going to have to spread the butter a
little thinner in the weeks ahead. With
Barham
gone and
Resolution
getting ready to limp home to Rosyth for repairs we’re no better off now than
we were two months ago, even with the new battleships coming off trials and
ready for duty.”