yesterdays war

by gerald hall

  Harold made a mental note that he would have to invite Billy Hughes to visit Derby after Harold’s return from England. Harold hoped that by showing the former Australian prime minister all of the progress that Harold had made, he would solidify his relationship with the still influential politician.

  Harold still didn’t know how easy or hard that it would be to sell Minister Hughes on what Harold’s industries had to offer. Harold just knew that he had to succeed.

  Now, Harold just had to prepare to put on a convincing enough show.

  Cavill Tractor Factory Derby, Western Australia March 19, 1938

  Billy Hughes flew into Derby aboard one of Harold’s growing fleet of small airliners at Harold’s request early that afternoon. An Australian-built Ford Model 48 Roadster Utility was waiting to take the former Prime Minister out to the Cavill Tractor Factory’s main warehouse.

  Harold and Dorothy were already waiting outside the building with a small army of employees from the factory. The employees from the Tractor Factory were all busy working on or driving a variety of vehicles.

  “Welcome to Derby, Minister Hughes. We are all very pleased to see that you were able to come here. We have something to show you that we are all very proud of.” Harold told the former Australian prime minister immediately after Billy got out of the roadster while at the same time shaking the latter’s hand.

  “So you make farm tractors here?” Billy asked, wondering what was so special about such an ordinary industry that he would be asked to fly over halfway across a continent to see it.

  “Yes, among other vehicles, large trucks being the most noteworthy example. But we have been branching out into other products as well. We will show you some new examples if you will please wait here for a few minutes, Minister Hughes.” Harold requested.

  Shortly afterwards, the sliding door on one of the buildings opened to allow a small tracked vehicle to drive out. The vehicle appeared to have its engine mounted in the front of the vehicle to the right side of a heavily sloped forward glacis plate. The driver’s head protruded up out of a hatch on the left upper hull next to the engine. Towards the rear of the vehicle, there was a small two-man turret with a machine gun and a long-barreled automatic cannon mounted in it.

  “So this is supposed to be a tractor?” Billy Hughes incredulously asked.

  “Actually, it does have a tow pintle on the back of the vehicle so that it can tow trailers.” Harold said with a sly smile.

  “It also appears to have a turret containing a machine gun and a cannon on it. That makes it look a lot more like a tank to me.”

  “This is also true. But the basic chassis is still also a tractor that can be used for commercial and farming uses.”

  “OK. Tell me more about this ‘tractor’, please.” Billy said with a serious look on his face.

  “This ‘tractor’ weighs five and a half tons. It is powered by a one hundred and fifty horsepower diesel engine and can travel at speeds up to sixty kilometers per hour. The vehicle’s hull is constructed of high strength steel and varies in thickness from ten to twenty millimeters. As many surfaces as possible are angled to make the armor steel even more effective in deflecting projectiles. This offers excellent protection against machine gun fire and artillery fragments for the crew.”

  “Well, Mister Cavill. This still looks to me very much like a small tank. But I am quite interested in this ‘tractor’ of yours. So tell me about the other features of this vehicle, if you would.”

  “Alright, you can see the three large road wheels on each side along with the drive sprocket at the front of the vehicle and an idler wheel at the rear. The main road wheels are attached to the vehicle by torsion bars. Our designers have borrowed heavily from John Christie’s basic design. He is an American engineer who has done a considerable amount of work on armored vehicle design. The Christie-pattern chassis is being incorporated in vehicles being built by both the British Army and the Red Army already.

  As you can see, this is a light scout vehicle that is slightly larger than the new Vickers Mark IV light tank. But instead of using a heavy machine gun as its main armament, this vehicle uses a modified Hotchkiss twenty-five millimeter automatic cannon and a co-axial .303 Vickers machine gun. The cannon fires using a five-round ammunition clip and will be able to punch through the armor of any existing Japanese tank. It can also penetrate the sides and rear of most other tanks in existence currently.”

  “It can’t possibly carry very many soldiers inside with such a small size.”

  “The vehicle doesn’t need a large crew. It has a driver that sits in the forward hull beside the engine. The rest of the crew consists of the tank commander and the gunner. They sit in the turret along with the radio. The gunner also serves as the loader for the cannon and machine gun.”

  Harold then showed Billy around to the rear of the tank. There was an armored door in the center of the sloped rear hull. On either side of the door, there was an armored twenty gallon fuel tank mounted outside of the hull. One of the tank’s crewmen opened to back door so that Billy could look inside. Looking inside, Billy could see the guns, the radio and a large battery sitting in the turret bustle as well as racks for ammunition on the vehicle floor and along the sides of the turret.

  “I had no idea that it was so cramped inside of one of these vehicles.” Billy said after pulling his head out from within the vehicle.

  “The interior has to be small so that the overall size of the vehicle is reduced. A small vehicle is much harder to spot. It also means that we can provide better protection with the same weight of armor. We do have external storage bins located on the vehicle’s hull and turret for the crew’s kit. These bins are also made of thin armor steel to add to the overall protection of the vehicle.”

  “This is all very interesting. I am assuming that this is the only copy of this design?” Billy asked.

  “Actually, no. We have twelve more under construction presently.”

  “What were you planning on doing with a baker’s dozen of tanks, Mister Cavill? Start your own war?”

  “No, Minister Hughes. We were hoping that you would convince the Australian Army to purchase these vehicles and then order more in order to create the beginning of a real armored corps. It will also be the first of several new armored vehicle designs that we are in the process of designing and building. Of course, if the Army declines to purchase our tanks, I’m sure that we can find other customers for them like perhaps the French. With the growth in importance of their colony in Indochina, the French could certainly use some armored support there.”

  “I hope that selling your first tanks to the French doesn’t become necessary at this point. So, what are you going to call this armored vehicle of yours?”

  “For now, we are calling this the ‘CAT’ for Cavill Armored Tractor. This name keeps our armored vehicle design program somewhat less obvious to the rest of the world.”

  “I will see what I can do. Is there anything else that you would like to show me while I am here?” The diminutive former prime minister asked.

  “Of course, we have a great many things to show you.” Harold remarked before beginning to take Billy on a tour of some of the heavy trucks that were also being built at the assembly plant. Then Harold drove his truck to take Billy to visit the shipyard facilities. Finally they ended up at the new aircraft assembly plant that was located in one of the underground buildings. Of course, Harold didn’t show the former prime minister the ordnance works and especially not the ‘special project’ behind the berm and trees at the far side of the shipyard.

  Some things needed to be kept hidden even from ‘allies’ until the time was right to reveal them. This included the new CR-1 assault rifles that were already filling one of the underground warehouses. They were being stockpiled there in preparation for use by the new militia that Harold had organized under the legislation sponsored by his allies in the Australian legislature. Only a few CR-1’s were readily visible to the public so far. That
’s the way that Harold wanted. But increasing numbers of the militia were being trained to fire the CR-1. It would not be long before all of the militia would be trained and equipped with the new rifle.

  Harold did not want Australia’s adversaries to be able to counter what he had created. Sometimes politicians with the best of intentions can say the wrong thing to the wrong people. Harold also wanted to minimize any other unintended consequences to the new timeline as well. But he needed for Minister Hughes to see at least some of the preparations that were already being made to produce ships and other tools of war for the defense of Australia.

  One of the first areas that Harold took Billy Hughes to was the site along the King Sound shore where excavation for four additional dry docks was underway. There were also an additional half-dozen covered slipways for the production of lighter vessels under construction as well.

  “Mister Cavill, do you really anticipate having enough orders to keep all of these slips working?” Billy asked.

  “I certainly do, Sir. We have had success with several of our civilian merchant ship designs already. I have no reason to believe that success will not continue. However, all of these facilities can easily be utilized for military construction purposes if the need were to arise. They are as modern as anything afloat in the world. As you already know, we have already been contracted to build several destroyers for the Royal Australian Navy. The new slipways will allow us to expand production quickly if necessary.”

  “You obviously anticipate the need for that increased production, Mister Cavill. I wonder what you know that I am not already aware of.” A very curious Billy Hughes noted.

  “I have simply been paying close attention to world events, Minister Hughes. With everything that is happening in China and Europe, the winds of war are certainly blowing. I fear that they will be arriving here soon. In any event, I will still need your help as well as that of others in Australia’s military and political leadership.

  “I know. You want me to keep the bureaucrats off of your back because of your dealing with the aborigines and to continue to encourage the government to purchase military equipment from you.” Billy growled as he turned from being curious to being rather annoyed.

  “You could say that, Sir. But I would like to think that we continue to have common interests here.”

  “We do have some common interests, Mister Cavill. But I hate it when some rich bloke tries to twist my arm in order to get something from me.”

  “I do understand, Minister Hughes. I am not terribly fond of those sorts of coercion either. I just don’t know any other way under the circumstances. Still, Sir. Will you help?” A sympathetic sounding Harold asked.

  “Of course, I will. I can’t say that I am all that fond of the Abos. But if you need the extra bodies to do all of this work, then I don’t have a hell of a lot of choice then, do I?” A still testy Billy Hughes responded.

  “No, Sir. I’m afraid that neither of us has much of a choice. But we both know what needs to be done as well.” Harold grimly said.

  “Alright then, Mister Cavill. You have shown me all of the things that you wanted to show me. Now, I need to get back to Sydney to resume my work. Thank you for the tour.” Billy said before turning and heading back to the waiting Ford Model 48.

  “Well, that went well.” Harold sarcastically said to himself as he watched the Ford roadster utility drive away.

  Harold’s aborigine assistant Thomas had been standing nearby during the entire time that Harold had been showing Billy around that day.

  “Do not worry, Mister Cavill. He will do as you have asked. As Mister Hughes himself said, you really gave him no other choice.”

  “I hope that he will do the right thing then. Otherwise, we will have to use our new militia for purposes other than what we had originally intended.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four: O’Malley’s Tavern Sydney, Australia May 30, 1938

  In the back room of a local beer hall, a large group of men, fueled by beer, liquor and anger, were listening to a man named Tony Mallen talk about how unfair the situation in the country was to working-class men.

  “We need to do something about all of these rich blokes stealing from our mates. The last twenty years have been very rough for all of us except the wealthy.” Tony told the crowd.

  “What can we do about this though?” Someone yelled out.

  “I saw that we take the fight to these greedy blokes and demand that they give us jobs with decent wages that we can raise a family on.”

  “That sounds all well and good, mate. But unless the people that you want us to confront are close enough for us to ride a horse to, we aren’t going to be able to do very much.”

  “I have a few friends who might be able to help if you blokes are willing. They have a few coastal steamers that can bring a lot of you over to Western Australia. I can also arrange for some of you to go there by rail. There’s a mate of mine working at the railroad who owes me a couple of favors too.” Tony explained.

  “Western Australia? What’s over there that’s worth a damn?”

  “There are a bunch of mines, factories and farms out there….and they are all owned by just one man, a greedy little parasite by the name of Harold Cavill.”

  “And what do you propose that we do once we meet this Cavill fellow?”

  “We demand that he share some of his ill-gotten wealth.”

  “What if he refuses?”

  “Well, then we have to be a lot more convincing. Most of you blokes own a gun, don’t you?”

  Most of the men nodded in agreement, while a few opened up their coats to reveal a hidden pistol or two on their person.

  “Very good. Now, if you don’t have a pistol or other firearm, I will bring along some extras that I will share with those who need something to help ‘convince’ this Mister Cavill. Now, are you with me, mates?”

  One of the men burst to his feet and shouted out.

  “Hell, yea. I’m with you. I used to work for that bastard but he fired me. He is always putting the darkies ahead of the white men that worked there at his factories. I have been waiting for a long time to get some payback from Harold Cavill.” Billy McGuire told the other men there.

  Clearly, Billy had more than a little to drink as had many of the men there. But his outburst was quickly echoed by a growing number of the men there until they were all shouting. Some were even calling for Harold Cavill to be lynched.

  Tony Mallen was very pleased to see how things were developing. He had received messages from Alexander Chapin with instructions to recruit as many disaffected Australian men to go to Derby and attack Harold Cavill’s base of operations. What these recruits did not know was that Tony’s real name was Anton Mallenovich. Anton was an agent provocateur that had been sent by Stalin’s secret police along with Aleksandr, two other men and a woman more than a decade earlier to Australia to stir up unrest in that nation. This unrest was meant to weaken Australia’s ability to defend itself against the Bolshevik revolution that they want to instigate at the direction of the Soviet Politburo.

  New instructions had been received by the Bolshevik agents from Moscow. They needed to act now against this Harold Cavill.

  The various groups were being coordinated without any of them being aware that agents from the Soviet Union were behind the movement. While some used classic Marxist rhetoric, others had joined purely due to racist motivations. In any event, it would not be long before all of the groups travelled to Derby for a final confrontation with Harold Cavill. The countdown to conflict had now begun.

  Cavill Industries Manufacturing Plant #3 Derby, Western Australia

  July 15, 1938

  The problems that day started nearly two weeks earlier. Few people had noticed the small groups of men coming into Derby. Some of them arrived on the usual steamers that brought supplies and people into town and left with products manufactured by Harold’s various enterprises. Others had arrived via train. Most people thought that the newcomers we
re simply people coming in for the plentiful supply of jobs available at Harold’s various industries.

  By the time that the incident occurred, these men had occupied every spare lodging house room in town. Things started early in the morning with individuals quickly moving from one lodging house to another. Others made their way to the port to a ship that had arrived two days before.

  Shortly after this, scores of men began to come out into the streets. Within an hour, a crowd of at least two hundred men was formed in front of Harold’s office adjacent to Manufacturing Plant Number Three. Most, if not all of them, were armed with a variety of firearms that they readily brandished in public. One of the Australian men that had been recruited by Tony Mallen, Terry Cowell, was standing at the front of the crowd and started calling out for Harold to step outside. Terry had brought in a group of toughs from the city of Perth at the direction of Tony. But Tony and Alex both stayed in the background. They wanted to ensure that the crowd had an ‘Australian’ face to it.

  Harold’s assistant Thomas heard a commotion from his desk and looked out the window at what appeared to be a mob outside of the building. Thomas then knocked on Harold’s door, walked in and explained.

  “Mister Cavill, there’s a problem happening in town right now.” Harold quickly looked out of the window at the armed crowd of men massed outside the building.

  “Thomas, please call the police station to let them know what is happening. Please also call the militia station and let them know that we need to call up all of our local militia personnel here in uniform as quickly as possible. They will also need to draw weapons, ammunition and equipment.” Harold said after a few moments.

  Terry Cowell stood up in front of Harold’s main office at the head of the mob.

  “We just want to have a little chat with Mister Cavill here. We have some grievances that we want to discuss with him.” He called out.

  Harold started to walk towards the door when Thomas tried to stop him.

  “Mister Cavill, you should wait at least until the police arrive. We do not want anything to happen to you.” Harold’s assistant told him.