“No further attack on Singapore?”
“It will fall now by the indirect approach. Our next move there is Sumatra and Java, where the enemy is hoping to retain valuable airfields to defend Singapore. Once we have taken those, the place will fall like rotten fruit. So be glad you are here! This is where the real action is now. The Siberian attack has opened a second front, and one we did not expect to have to consider in our war plans. All our resources have been thrown into the Southern Offensive, but now we must fight with two swords. So you will take command of the newly reconstituted Northern Army.”
“What army? There is only one division here in Harbin, and it does nothing more here than watch the rail lines.”
“And for good reason,” said Sujiyama. “Those rail lines are now the life lines of the Empire. Three more divisions will be assigned to your command. First, the 8th Cedar Division will be pulled from pacification duties in Manchukuo, then the 14th Shining Division will be recalled from Qiqihar in Mongolia. I cannot think of a more distant and useless place, and so those troops will come to you. Finally, the 28th Abundant Division, is presently stationed north of Harbin for internal Manchukuo security. It is yours, along with the 10th Iron Division, which has its headquarters right here in the city.”
“Four divisions?”
“Precisely. So you will have an army to command after all, General, and one almost twice the size of the force you so ably led in Malaya. The enemy has just made his next move. Those obsolete Siberian airships are now landing troops in Kita Karafuto, the far northern tip of the place they called Sakhalin Island. Do not concern yourself with that. The Navy has troops on Hokkaido that will be moved to reinforce Karafuto. But we have learned that the Siberians also plan a move up the Amur River. They plan to take Bo Li!”
That was the old Chinese name for Khabarovsk, and Yamashita raised his eyebrows as he studied the map between them. “You will, of course, stop them from doing this, and then plan their complete destruction.”
“But Bo Li is nearly 400 miles from these landings in Kita Karafuto.”
“Yes, but that is what they are planning. We have this from the network of spies and informants established by our friends in Orenburg. They are going to move along the Amur River. See how it runs up from the south, parallel to the coast? In Kamchatka they moved great distances by using ski troops, and those infernal balloons of theirs. We believe they plan a similar move, while the river remains frozen. But it will take them a good deal of time to build up forces to do this. Their airlift capability is known to us, and it can move no more than a single brigade. So that gives you time to plan your own moves, and we have the roads and rail lines. When your divisions arrive, begin moving troops to Bo Li. Some could move overland by road, but it would be faster to use the main rail line through Urajio, and then go north from there. We expect they will attempt to sabotage that line, but it is well guarded, so you should not incur any major delays.”
“And once I am there?”
“That is up to you, General. You may wish to push a division up the Amur river to see what they are up to. Follow that river and it will eventually lead you to Kita Karafuto. Our counterattack will come from the south on that island, and then your forces can join from the Amur River axis.”
“This terrain looks very difficult.”
“No more difficult than the jungles of Malaya,” said Sujiyama. “ I am sending you the God of Operations. Masanobu Tsuji served you well in Malaya, so put his mind to good use here as well.”
“How soon should I begin?”
“As soon as you are ready. I have every confidence in you, and I will relate the same to the Emperor when i meet with him in Tokyo next week.”
“Tojo won’t like that.”
“Tojo doesn’t like his own shadow. Forget about him as well. Focus your mind and energy here. You are Tomoyuki Yamashita, the Tiger of Malaya, and now you are the flashing sword of the north. I will see that the Army provides you with everything you need, transport, supplies, air support. You have only one thing you need to concern yourself with now—the destruction of our enemies.”
Part X
Cover of Darkness
“So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.”
― T.S. Eliot
Chapter 28
The fighting on Gran Canaria continued, with the Germans tantalizingly close to their main objective. II Battalion of the 7th Flieger Regiment had been joined by a small company of armored cars and the newly arrived 327th Pioneer Battalion. They were just south of San Jose, a small hamlet below La Palma, and soon they began to receive artillery fire from the British guns located some miles to the north, on San Lorenzo Ridge. Their attempt to push on up that road did little more that morning than to burn out those pioneers. The British defense was simply too stubborn.
General Kübler was pouring over his map, seeing that the British had more strength here than he initially believed. “They have good troops on the line now,” he said to General Leutnant Hubert Lanz. The two men had been with the 1st Mountain Division for some time, and Lanz was supposed to be leading it on the East Front now, but that had never happened. The mountain troops had gained so many laurels after the successful storming and capture of Gibraltar, that they were now seen as a kind of elite force by Hitler, and kept in the Mediterranean where they participated in the Syrian intervention, and fought with Rommel’s Afrika Korps.
“That position near Tafira will be very difficult,” said Lanz.
“So I think it is time we move the regiment west into the high country,” said Kübler. “Send the Engineer Battalion up this road and take this place—San Mateo. The remainder of the regiment will attempt a flanking movement between that town and Santa Brigida to the east near the foothills.”
“The troops are rested now after the initial fighting,” said Lanz. “I can be ready to attack at mid-day.”
That attack would find another good British unit on the line, 1st Battalion, 1st Para, under Colonel John Frost. He had his troopers dug in well, and an intense firefight was soon underway. The mountain troops advanced in small groups, making rushes, but the ground was very difficult. The Germans followed furrowed ravines due west, climbing along the flanks of the high country, but when they turned north they found the British deployed on the far side of a wandering barranco, one of many cutting their way down to the lowlands.
The Pioneer Battalion had followed the winding road up to San Mateo, and infiltrated into the town unopposed, but they soon found themselves facing a strong British counterattack. 3rd Para Battalion emerged from the woodland to the north, and from the west, on the road leading up the mountain, No. 2 Commando put in an attack to try and flank the town. Kübler had thought Santa Brigida was the end of the British line. Now he realized it extended much further inland.
“This envelopment cannot proceed under these circumstances,” he told Lanz when they met again that afternoon. “With at least three British battalions on this flank, the regiment will not be able to make the turning move I had anticipated. I’m afraid the main effort will have to remain on the coast road. If we had the rest of our division here, things would be different.”
“Yes,” said Lanz with a wry smile, “different for Herr Rommel. At least it is good to be out of that god forsaken desert and with some decent high country under our feet. You should consider sending our men higher.”
“We will have to see what develops. At present, we must hold this ground until relieved.”
“But you are in overall command here. Why not have the Luftland 65th Regiment extend their lines to hold here against these Red Berets. Our business is in those mountains.” He pointed with a stiff finger, taking a deep breath and appreciating the cooler temperatures at elevation.”
“I will consider it,” said Kübler. “Another regiment of the 327th Infantry is landing tonight. That should improve the situation. Until then, hold San Mateo. We’ll need that if we take to the highlands.”
Unfortunately for Kübler, No. 2 Commando had other ideas, and they put in such a persistent and ferocious attack, that the Pioneers were forced to pull out of San Mateo that night under cover of darkness. This prompted Kübler to pull back two of his three battalions, and reposition them to try again the following morning.
In the meantime, the Germans were building up strength and sending more units up the main road towards La Palma. Further down the line, in the rugged country near Bandama Hill and Tafira, No. 4 Commando’s brave defense had been reinforced by 8th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the last of the forces that had been safely extracted from Fuerteventura. The 2nd Lancaster Fusiliers of 110 Force were on the coast at Vegueta, blocking the main road into the city, and two miles inland, the village of San Jose was defended by the 5th Northumbrian Battalion. Between them, General Alexander had taken a company of 2nd East Surrey, which was mainly guarding the city and harbor, and ordered it to fill in the gap to prevent any German infiltration.
That was where the Germans tried to push through that night, with an attack led by I/7th Flieger Battalion, and supported by some fairly accurate fire from the French destroyer L’Audacieux off shore. But it also failed to make any headway. The British were dug in deep, with good, well motivated infantry, and they were fighting hard. The only question was how long supplies would hold out. Artillery stores were already running extremely low, and 10th Field Battalion reported it had no more than a few rounds remaining per gun. Some of the lighter artillery batteries were better off, but the fact remained that the advantage in heavy weapons would soon shift dramatically to the Germans.
General Kübler knew this, a hard wiry man, with features chiseled as sharp as the stony mountains he had trained to conquer. He knew the Luftwaffe ruled the skies, the presence of Jean Bart and Dunkerque off shore had gone unchallenged, and he had already landed as much artillery as the enemy had from the sound of their gunfire.
Time may deliver what the force of arms cannot yet take, he thought. If I just keep up the pressure on their line, and see what Lanz can do in the highlands, they must eventually run out of supplies. This is a real turning of the tables. With Raeder’s ships all out to sea or sitting at docks for repairs, I am still enjoying command of the sea here, thanks to the French. I can continue to land troops and supplies, but the enemy can only use the small ports to the south and west. If they are landing supplies there, then they will have to be using that coastal road to the west.
He tapped a weathered finger on the map, seeing that as the key to strangling his enemy. I must interdict that road, by one means or another. The French will not move their ships off that coast out of range of land based fighter support. Goering’s boys are finally setting up at Gando. If Lanz cannot get through those mountain roads, then it is time for another daring leap, Rösselsprung. We could put Falschirmjaegers on those planes, fly over those mountains in a few minutes, and drop here, near Galdar on the northwest coast. Why am I wasting those troops trying to take these bloody ridge lines?
He had seized his bridgehead, established a strong lodgment ashore, built up troop strength and supplies, and now he believed he had determined the main line of the enemy defense. Now it was time for something lightning quick, a Knight’s move.
“Leutnant Himmler!”
“Sir.”
“Get orders out to the Flieger Regiment. I want them back at Gando airfield as soon as possible. They will be relieved by 327th Infantry.”
* * *
The following afternoon saw the Germans mount yet another strong attack up the main road, this time led by armored cars. The road ran right through the village of Vegueta, where 2nd Lancs had been holding doggedly. But soon the boom of heavy naval guns rippled like thunder from the sea. Jean Bart had returned, with Dunkerque at her side this time, and now both ships were putting heavy rounds on the position, with several destroyers also lending support.
It was simply too much firepower. MG positions were blasted by direct hits, mortar teams cut down, and the infantry was hugging the ground behind shattered adobe houses and fragments of low stone walls. An hour under those guns was all it took, and when the German armored cars rattled up that road, the defensive fire was far less spirited. 2nd Lancs were pushed back, with II/47th Luftland taking the town in a strong, determined attack.
General Alexander had no choice but to recall the men he had sent to reinforce the commandos on Bandama Hill. “I think they’ve had more than enough from us there,” he said. “Recall the 8th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders. It’s the only reserve I can move.”
“So it’s down to the Thin Red Line,” said a staffer, for that was the nickname that regiment went by, ever since Balaklava on 25 October 1854, when a single battalion had held the line against a determined enemy cavalry charge in the Crimean War. Some of the men in the unit today were the great grandsons of the soldiers that had fought at Balaklava, and they were determined to hold the line here as well. They moved into position on the outskirts of Vegueta, faces grim and set.
The General got on the radio to Madeira, asking if there was anything left in the cupboard there. He learned that there was one more battalion available, presently acting as a garrison for Madeira, the 1st Battalion 102nd Royal Marines.
“Get them on ships or planes for a move here tonight. I shouldn’t expect the Germans to attack Madeira anytime soon if at all. We need those men here.”
As Generals often do, he would get his way, and so that night the Royal Marines were lining up on the planes, ready to make the flight south in under cover of darkness. From Tenerife, two more companies of Royal Engineers would move over by sea, and Duke of York would arrive to bolster Force C with some heavier guns. Her Captain, Cecil Harcourt, had orders to preserve the fighting ability of his ship, for it was one of the few battleships available now. King George V had gone home to Scapa flow. Hood was out on her regular patrol off the east coast of Iceland, and everything else was either on convoy duty, or laid up in splints and crutches.
General Alexander sent a message near dusk hoping to get the navy to finally intervene. “CONSIDER PRESENT SITUATION NOW REACHING CRITICAL PHASE. WHERE IS THE NAVY?”
Something had to be done to break the enemy power at sea, and so Captain Harcourt decided the stakes were now high enough to risk another operation. Yet with the German air power a grave threat, it would have to be a night sortie. He would take Duke Of York, with five light cruisers. Nigeria had been sent to Madeira for repairs, and Fiji had arrived to relieve her and join Kenya, Trinidad, Naiad and Dido. The Tribal class destroyers Somali, Bedouin, Maori, and Cossack would serve as the advanced screen. Some of these ships would not be present in Fedorov’s history, but the altered reality here saw them still afloat, notably the Fiji, which was sunk after the battle for Crete that never happened here, and Cossack, which was sunk escorting a convoy from Gibraltar that never sailed.
Opposing this fleet that night were mainly the ships of the Toulon Group under Admiral Gensoul aboard battleship Jean Bart, with battlecruiser Dunkerque under Captain Deramond. The French also had heavy cruiser Algerie, and destroyers, Le Terrible, L’Audacieux, Le Triumphant, Le Malin, and Le Fantasque. The British would have a slight edge in ship numbers, ten to eight, but the French had a good deal of firepower in those three capital ships leading the task force. They would bring eight 15-inch guns on Jean Bart, and eight more 13-inch guns on Dunkerque, with eight 8-inchers on the Algerie. All of that would face off against the ten 14-inch guns of Duke of York, but the British light cruisers combined for thirty-six 6-inch guns, and eight 5.25 inchers. The Tribal class destroyers were not as fast as the French, but they were well gunned, with four twin QF 4.7-inch turrets compared to the French five single 5.4-inch gun turrets on their destroyers.
Pound for pound, the two sides looked fairly well matched, but there would be other factors that would come into play during this night action. Experience at sea, fleet handling, the British edge in radar aboard Duke of York, all weighed
in their favor.But the performance of the main 14-inch gun turrets on that ship were suspect, particularly the newly designed quad turrets fore and aft, which had been very unreliable. Prince of Wales had experienced difficulties in the first big engagement off Fuerteventura, and that ship was now at the bottom of the sea.
Captain Harcourt had some idea where his enemy was, as troops ashore had reported their positions at dusk off the main harbor. As night fell, visibility diminished, with occasional light squalls. The British decided to make a run for it, racing in at ahead two thirds, with most every ship capable of 30 knots or better, except Duke Of York. They rounded the north coast at 24 knots, unseen by the Germans, which had very few planes up after dark. The Type 279 radar was the first to spot the enemy, a screen of 3 destroyers operating with Algerie.
Now the cloak of night would be the key to bringing his fire and light to battle, and in that stillness his ships would dance on the roiling seas of war.
The British fleet would sail round the northern coast of Gran Canaria with the intention of engaging any enemy force operating in the waters off La Palma. The stakes would be high also for the Germans, as that same darkness was to mask their own move to unhinge the enemy defense. The last regiment, and all the heavy artillery of 327th Division, was scheduled to land at Gando Bay, and the Flieger Regiment would be on the airfield there ready to make its daring leap across the island—night moves on either side, about to collide in the chaos inherent in all battle.
“Let’s give them a hard knock on the door,” said Harcourt. “Nothing like unexpected guests after dinner.”
Knight's Move (Kirov Series Book 21) Page 24