THE FORESIGHT WAR (9 page)

They were attending the beginning of ten weeks of manoeuvres involving three-quarters of a million men.
 
Hitler had been keen to see the first of the new armoured formations which Herrman had persuaded him to create.
 
As ever, he insisted on taking Herrman with him.
 
The firing suddenly stopped and the soldiers jumped to their feet and stood to attention.
 
Hitler and the generals strode down from the platform to inspect the nearest men.

‘All hand picked,’ observed Stadler.
 
‘Aryan supermen with perfect teeth.’
 
As ever, his dark, brilliantined hair was perfectly slicked back, his black leather coat immaculate, his patrician features set in a complex expression that Herrman could only describe to himself as a varying mixture of boredom, arrogance, disdain and watchfulness.
 
At the moment, bored disdain predominated.

‘Göring won’t allow this little show to pass without response.
 
We’ll be at an airfield within a week.’

In fact it took ten days before they stood on a bleak, windswept airfield, admiring the new Heinkel He 177 as it prepared for flight.
 
Standing with a group of senior Luftwaffe officers was Vuillemin, the Chief of the French Air Staff, who was being impressed by the strength of the German military preparations in a calculated – and successful – attempt at intimidation. Herrman looked at him with interest, knowing that his worried report of his visit would influence France against going to war over Czechoslovakia. The Daimler-Benz engines roared into life, four propellers slowly accelerating in turn – Herrman’s anxious pleas had led to the rapid abandonment of the plan for coupled engines, as well as the need to strengthen the plane for dive-bombing.
 
The huge plane bristled with turrets mounting the new Rheinmetall-Borsig MG 131 machine guns.
 
It was clearly in a different league from its predecessor, the He 111.

‘I’ve just realised,’ remarked Stadler over the thundering engines, ‘why the Kriegsmarine has so little influence.’
 
Herrman waited for the punchline.
 
‘Their toys don’t make enough noise!’

They watched the big Heinkel lumber along the runway before lifting off and climbing away with surprising speed.
 
As it disappeared into the distance, an assortment of other aircraft roared low overhead.
 
Herrman automatically identified formations of Messerschmitt Bf 109s, Junkers Ju 88s, Focke-Wulf Fw 187s, Dornier Do 217s and the sole prototype of the new Focke-Wulf Fw 190.
 
They circled the airfield then all landed in neat sequence, pulling off the runway to allow the He 177 to land, which it did with immaculate timing just as the Fw 190 took its place in the line-up.
 
As the Heinkel rolled to a halt, the crews of all of the planes jumped out and stood to attention beside them.

‘Trust
Göring
 
to
put on a show,’ Stadler commented as the portly General strode jovially beside Hitler to view the aircraft.
 
‘Somehow I can’t see Raeder getting the Führer to look at submarines.’

Spring 1939

Judging by the volume of tobacco smoke, the Oversight Committee had been in session for some time when Don was invited to join them.
 
They were no longer surprised when he immediately opened a window, despite the slight chill in the spring air.
 
Chairman gestured genially at him, and Don judged that the atmosphere was more relaxed than before.

‘It might be helpful for us to review our discussion.
 
I understand that so far there has been no deviation from your predictions?’

Don leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful as he reviewed the last few months.
 
The latter part of September 1938 had seen frantic diplomatic activity, sparked by a Nuremburg Congress speech by Hitler in which he demanded that ‘the oppression of three and a half million Germans in Czechoslovakia shall cease and be replaced by the right of self-determination’.
 
Three days later Chamberlain, alarmed that Germany was on the point of starting a European war, had flown to Munich to see Hitler at Berchtesgaden; the first of a rapid round of shuttle diplomacy involving the French and Italian leaders as well, and culminating in the Munich Conference in which the other European powers acquiesced to the transfer of German-populated parts of Czechoslovakia to Germany.
 
This outcome had been greeted with widespread relief in Britain, despite Winston Churchill denouncing it as a servile act of appeasement.
 
On 1st October, German troops had marched into Czechoslovakia and met no resistance.

Several months of uneasy peace had followed in Europe, punctuated in November by the savage German reprisals against German Jews following the shooting in Paris of von Rath, a German diplomat, by a Polish Jew.
 
Mass emigration of Jews from Germany had resulted, encouraged by the Nazis (who confiscated their property) but limited by the willingness of other nations to absorb large numbers of refugees when they were themselves still suffering from unemployment.
 
The Jews’ favoured destination of Palestine was no help to the British who had been given a mandate by the League of Nations to manage the country; violent clashes with the resident Palestinians were intensifying.
 

    
Then on March 10th, less than two months ago, the Czech crisis had erupted again.
 
Dr Tiso, the Slovak premier, was arrested on orders of Dr Hacha, the Czechoslovak president, for attempting to establish an independent Slovakia.
 
Tiso visited Hitler a few days later; as a result, Hacha was invited to meet Hitler and forced to sign documents turning the Czech lands of
Bohemia
and
Moravia
into German protectorates.
  
Prague was occupied by German troops on March 15th.
 
Czechoslovakia had finally been dismembered.
 

    
Last of all, the long and bitter Spanish Civil War had finally ground to a halt on 31st March with the capitulation of the Republican government to Franco’s forces, much to the jubilation of the supporting Italian and German governments.

Don was jolted from his thoughts as Chairman impatiently cleared his throat.
 
‘Yes, I haven’t noticed any changes in the pattern of events so far.’

‘Good.
 
Now Czechoslovakia’s out of the way, Hitler’s beginning to shape up to Poland.’

Don nodded.
 
‘I read of his Reichstag speech the other day, denouncing the non-aggression pact with Poland and calling for the annexation of Danzig.
 
On top of his demand for the return of German-speaking regions of Poland, he’s on course for an invasion in September.’

‘Is there nothing we can do to warn the Poles?’
 
Don was amused to note that Creamed Curls had somehow retained his hopeful optimism.

‘They know about the danger, all right,’ said Military Man, ‘I was over there the other week with the military attaché.
 
The trouble is that they are banking on their alliance with France to deter Germany, or if the worst comes to the worst, they think they can hold out against the Germans until the French can come to their aid.
 
Unfortunately, they don’t appreciate the speed of the blitzkrieg they are about to face so they don’t realise that they won’t have time to mobilise their forces properly.’

‘Can’t we at least get them to mobilise in advance?’

‘The problem with that is that it would raise the level of tension considerably as it’s the final stage before a declaration of war, so France is pressing Poland not to do it.
 
In any case, it would only delay the inevitable.
 
The Poles simply don’t have the modern equipment, tactics or trained manpower to hold out for long, despite their undoubted courage and determination.
 
Whatever we were to do at this stage, it’s too late to save them from their fate.’

‘At least we’ve managed to dissuade Chamberlain from guaranteeing their independence this time, which was quite a struggle.
 
There’s a lot of political pressure to be seen to be taking action to stop Hitler’s escapades.’
 
This from Diplomat.
 
‘He wanted to give guarantees to Rumania and Greece as well, after the Italians invaded Albania. He’s becoming very irritated with us, but of course we can’t yet tell him about Dr Erlang – it would be difficult to do so, bearing in mind that he needs to step aside once war commences.’

‘What about the Soviet attitude?’

Diplomat shrugged.
 
‘We have been trying to involve them in some sort of agreement for collective security, but they remain as impenetrable and paranoid as ever.
 
They won’t believe anything we tell them as they’re convinced, not without cause, that we’d like to see them and Germany fight each other to a standstill.
 
One side benefit of refusing to guarantee Poland is that we’ve thereby avoided annoying the Russians, but persuading them to commit themselves to an agreement is another matter. The Poles, of course, are in any case refusing to co-operate over any plans which would involve Russians moving into their territory to help defend them.’ He sighed. ‘Then there’s the Finland problem. We know that Russia plans to invade later this year, and that there will be strong pressure to go to Finland’s aid, but we must resist that at all costs – it would be disastrous to be drawn into a war against the USSR.’

Chairman intervened.
 
‘France is still shaky, despite the failure of the general strike last autumn.
 
They are uneasy about their treaty with Poland, and would be very reluctant to get involved without us.
 
They’re much more worried about Italy’s territorial claims against them. And Spain has no interest in anything other than recovering quietly from their civil war.
 
As for Italy – did you say it was next month they’re due to sign a treaty with Germany?’

Don nodded.
 
‘Mussolini will be determined to link Italy with Germany.
 
The Albanian coup, following on from his Ethiopian success, will have boosted his confidence. He seems to be spoiling for a fight with France.’

‘Let’s turn to Ireland.
 
Our first real change in policy was the decision to refuse to hand back the Irish bases.
 
That took a lot of work with the politicians, who wanted to keep the Irish happy.
 
And now we have IRA bombs going off in London.’

Don was unconcerned.
 
‘As I recall, that happened anyway.
 
Nothing will appease some sections of the Irish while partition remains in force.
 
And the bases will be very valuable in a year’s time.’

Chairman sighed.
 
‘Very well, then.
 
What about outside Europe?’

‘No real change in China,’ commented Military Man, ‘the Japanese are continuing with their invasion despite constant harassment by Chiang Kai-Shek’s forces and the Chinese Communists.
 
It’s just guerilla warfare,
though,
they can’t stand up to the Japanese in open battle.’

‘And the American attitude?’

Diplomat looked thoughtful.
 
‘Roosevelt’s speech to Congress in January was a hopeful sign, but it doesn’t seem to have had much effect on the generally isolationist view.
 
And the Nazi sympathisers have a high profile there.’

Don recalled that Roosevelt had warned of the dangers from aggressor states and suggested that the possibility of America’s remaining isolated from the troubles of the rest of the world had become much reduced.
 
On the other hand, right-wingers such as Charles Lindbergh, the pilot who had become a national hero after his solo transatlantic flight, had a lot of influence.
 

    
Chairman looked at Don dourly.
 
‘There is, of course, one other possibility which we have so far not considered.
 
What if other countries have been blessed with visitors from the future?
 
Russia? Japan? America?’

    
The Committee looked at Don in consternation.
 
‘That has occurred to me,’ he said slowly, ‘but so far I have seen no evidence to support the idea.
 
On the other hand, we might well not find out until the fighting starts.’

Chairman surveyed the Committee intently before bringing the meeting to a close.
 
Don was aware of a heightened tension – shared in it, in fact – and realised that they were all beginning to brace themselves for what lay ahead.
 
The time for theorising was coming to an end.
 
The necessary preparations were well in hand.
 
Europe’s inexorable slide to war had become a free fall.

Summer 1939

‘I still don’t think this is a good idea.’
 
Don was feeling grumpy, probably because he had been standing in the rain in a crowded Hyde Park for the past two hours.
 
Dunning was more philosophical.

‘It’s the price we have to pay,’ he said.
 
‘Chamberlain was most annoyed that we dissuaded him from giving his guarantee to Poland, and he insisted that the King’s review of the National Defence Forces went ahead in order to try to frighten Hitler.
 
Extended the scope, in fact.’

Don grunted irritably.
 
An apparently endless stream of first aid, fire service, ARP and other civil defence volunteers had marched through the Park past the King’s saluting stand.
 
What bothered him most, however, was the grand finale.
 
He didn’t have long to wait.
 
A growing roar, partly mechanical, partly from the cheering crowd, preceded the arrival of most of the 1st Mechanised Division.
 
The two observers watched with mixed emotions as the first reconnaissance units came into view, pennants proudly flying from the aerials of the little Daimler Dingos.
 
Hard on their heels came the big Humber armoured cars, two-pounder guns poking menacingly forwards.
 
Last, filling the air with their
thunder,
came rank after rank of Crusader tanks.