Second Front (Kirov Series Book 24)

by John Schettler

  The Americans could not match the German Bf-109s, but they outnumbered them, and the new P-38 gave them very good long range coverage, and excellent loiter time. The Germans were seeing this plane for the first time, a combination of speed, agility, range and hitting power that would make it the excellent fighter they would come to call der Gabelschwanz-Teufel, “the fork-tailed devil.”

  Yet the Germans learned quickly, and their veteran pilots soon discovered the new enemy plane did not roll very fast, making it vulnerable in a dogfight with their excellent Bf-109s. When matched against the better German pilots, the P-38s often came out on the losing end, but combined with the other American aircraft swirling about the skies, the Allies had enough to control the vital airspace over the coast. Now the maxim that the British had learned in the Western Desert was proven here—where Allied fighters could control the skies, the Stuka was dead in any role it attempted to perform, be it close support or interdiction.

  Yet Kesselring was very cool on defense, and he knew he had sufficient force in hand to delay this attack until he could position more troops to the north. He sent the remainder of Student’s 7th Flieger Division up the rail line from Mekenes to organize a defense in depth. Then he fed those regiments of the 337th Division, now arriving from Casablanca, and used them to set up a defense against the drive by General Harmon on the main road, and the enfilading attack by Allen’s 1st Infantry Division further south. General Kubler’s 98th Mountain Regiment, finally arriving after two weeks hard march, would anchor the line well to the south, and as for the 22nd Luftland Division, he mustered these Regiments at the airfields around Fez, collecting all the Ju-52s he could find.

  The British Landings at Cadiz

  The British 6th Armored Division had pushed through Villa Real to link up with the landing of the 36th Brigade Group south of Huelva. Hube’s 16th Panzer was hard pressed when the 3rd Infantry Division came up to the north, flanking their defensive screen west of Seville. That was to be the first real battle in the north. The British had little trouble pushing across the border into Spain, as Franco’s troops preferred to withdraw rather than get into any hard defensive positions there. As Montgomery was keenly focused in driving south towards Gibraltar through Seville, the Spanish divisions were content to stay well north of that action, screening the frontier where the Portuguese were equally content to sit on their side of the border, unengaged.

  Yet Monty would face a tough and hardening defense around Seville. Well north, his 43rd Wessex Division was facing off against the German 327th Infantry, and on the 28th of September, the 15th Infantry Division arrived after a long rail journey through Valencia and Cordoba. They were just in time to begin relieving Hube’s screening forces, and the General intended to pull back his 16th Panzers, regroup, and use them to counterattack.

  South of Seville, there was only one good road from the beachhead near Huelva, and it was now being watched by elements of Himmler’s little surprise gift to Hitler, the SS Charlemagne Brigade. Troops landing on the beaches south of Huelva found they could not flank this defense due to heavy marshland that extended well inland between Seville and Cadiz on the coast further south. That port would now become the apple of Montgomery’s eye, and he contemplated sending in another seaborne assault.

  “Look here,” he said. “We’ve got Spitfires and Hurricanes on every airfield worth the name in Portugal now, and I daresay we’ll have the edge over the Luftwaffe—enough to cover a landing at Cadiz. That port can support my push on Gibraltar easily enough, but we’ve only the 27th Brigade Group left for infantry, and they’re at Lagos in Portugal.”

  “What about the Commandos, sir? We’ve had a good look at the Canaries, and Jerry had pulled out, lock, stock and barrel. They’ve only left a small garrison there, and Alexander reports he has sufficient force to go on the offensive when the shipping arrives. That leaves all those Commando Battalions, and Johnny Frost’s 1st Parachute Regiment as well. Might we use them at Cadiz?”

  That idea sounded very appealing to Montgomery, and he set about pulling the levers to get his hands on those troops immediately. The Commandos could move in under cover of darkness, seize the moles and jetties at both Cadiz and the smaller port of Rota to the north. Then they could be strongly reinforced with the 29th Brigade Group embarking from Lagos.

  That was the plan for the 29th of September, and Number 2 Commando had little trouble, storming the quays of Cadiz and pushing out a small, ill equipped German service battalion. Yet this battle would also become something considerably more than the lightning swift raid in Monty’s mind.

  Cadiz itself stood on a narrow spit of land extending up from the south near the town of San Fernando, and framing a wide bay. It was a perfect breakwater, and the landward side to the east, from San Fernando in the south to Puerto Real further north was backed by marshland broken by a web of small water canals. It was no place for armor, or any mechanized force, so the attack would have to be all infantry here. Further north, the bay stretched up past Santa Maria to the small port of Rita, where the Germans had occupied the airfield. Whether or not the British had air superiority, planes off that field would be a constant threat, and Admiral Tovey deemed it too risky to commit his valuable battleships in an attempt to close that field with naval gunfire. It would have to be work for the destroyers.

  The defense of the bay had not been adequately determined, though the easy landing made by Number 2 Commando got things off on the right foot. Now, however, they would either have to fight their way down that narrow spit of land, or take to their assault boats again and attempt to cross the bay. The swampy ground and salt pans there precluded that, and so the only option was to take the road south to San Fernando. They would be quickly reinforced by 10 and 12 Commandos, bringing their numbers to regimental strength by mid day.

  Further north, 4 and 9 Commandos would land at Rota, seize that German airfield, and then push through the light woodland on much better ground. Their primary objective would be to reach the larger town of Jerez, about 20 kilometers east of Rota. That city sat like the hub of a wheel, with roads extending out in all directions. If the enemy had mobile troops to reinforce this sector, that is where they would have to come.

  What the British did not know was that the Germans had already sent reinforcements to the area. The Pioneer Battalion of SS Charlemagne had arrived at Santa Maria between Cadiz and Rota, and Rota itself was already garrisoned by II/58th Battalion of that same brigade. These were Vichy French troops, but the best of the lot, and their ranks were well seeded with Veteran SS troops and officers. The Commandos were going to have more on their hands than they bargained for. Some 60 kilometers north on the road to Seville, I/58th Motorized Infantry could also take to their vehicles and get south to the Cadiz area in just a few hours time.

  Another thing that Monty had not taken into account was that Cadiz was only some 55 miles from Gibraltar as the crow flies, and the Germans would certainly react strongly to any attempt to take it. They would soon concentrate the bulk of their air power there, and move any available troops south from Seville to secure that flank.

  This would be the tale of two cities that would decide the outcome of the campaign in Spain. To get to Gibraltar, Montgomery needed Cadiz and Seville, and that was where the fire of war was now, burning hotter with each passing hour.

  Chapter 26

  Three British Commando units had been sent to take Rota. Number 4 and 9 Commandos landed north of the town, seizing a small lighthouse and breakwater and then pushing into the light woods. Number 4 Commando was late, and it came under enemy air attack soon after dawn. Stukas on the airfield north of Jerez were able to make runs from lower elevation before the Allied fighter cover thickened, and they caught the units approaching the shore, savaging it and inflicting heavy casualties. The men come in through the tall sea spray thrown up by the bombs, but many were flayed by shrapnel, and dead in the water before they ever reached the beach.

  By 09:00 on the 29th, Number 9
Commando was approaching Rota from the north and came under heavy MG fire. 4 Commando was also pinned down as they approached the small town of Barameda, as another German battalion had come down to bolster that flank.

  Only at Cadiz itself was any real progress made. Number 2 Commando chased out the German service troops, secured the docks and quays, but could not push into Puerto Real. The British therefore decided to try and flank the position through the hamlet of Chiclana de la Frontera south of the marshy salt pans, and met little opposition. Yet it was soon clear that this force could not push further inland without substantial support, and that would have to wait for the 29th Brigade Group of 78th Infantry, assembling at Lagos and planning to move by sea that night.

  When they landed at Cadiz under cover of darkness and heavy cloud cover, it dramatically changed the calculus of the entire battle in Spain. Thus far, only the motorized infantry regiment of SS Charlemagne had reacted to what appeared to be a strong raid on Rota and Cadiz. Now, with reports of British regulars on the road south of Cadiz and heading for Gibraltar, Hube was compelled to detach the Panzergrenadier regiment of SS Charlemagne, and hasten it south. To do so, he had to shuffle his entire defense of Seville, and under heavy pressure from the British 6th Armored Division backed by 3rd Infantry. He fed in arriving battalions of the 15th Infantry, using them to cover the withdrawal of his own 16th Panzer Division.

  Now the entire SS Charlemagne Brigade was rushing south, mostly by road, but II Sturm Battalion managed to find enough rolling stock outside Seville to go by rail. When it arrived at Algeciras near Gibraltar that evening, it was practically the only German unit screening the Rock.

  To make matters worse, the British had diverted yet another armored division that had been destined to go to 8th Army in Alexandria. There O’Connor was to receive both the 8th and 10th Armored Divisions, but he only got the 8th. Monty got the 10th, and he landed it at Lisbon, moving it quickly by rail across the frontier into Spain. That heavy reinforcement, along with the 43rd Wessex already on the line, was going to force the steady withdrawal of 327th Infantry Division. In just one day after committing to the raid on Cadiz, the entire situation in Spain had changed, and now Gibraltar was under threat of imminent attack.

  That night Royal Marines would make another daring landing at the small fishing port of Barbate, near Frontera on the main road to Gibraltar. They seized that town, and occupied hill 1024 overlooking that road, which now extended southeast through a lowland valley and then into hills leading to Tarifa on the southernmost tip of Spain. From there it would climb beneath the looming highland east of Algeciras, just a few miles to the Rock.

  Hube got on the phone to Kesselring, asking him if there was anything he had in the way of air mobile forces that could be sent to Gibraltar.

  “What happened to your panzer division?”

  “It’s been in a tough fight for days. We had 109 tanks when we entered Spain. Now I have 57 as of this morning. I’m relieving it with 15th Infantry to build up a mobile reserve. Can you send anything?”

  “I have two regiments of the 22nd on the airfields at Fez,” said Kesselring.

  “Then send one, at the very least.”

  “That will be a very hazardous affair. The Allies have fighters up every day now, thick as flees on a camel’s back.”

  “Try in any case, and if they cannot get through, then you must get something to Tangier, Ceuta or any other port so they can go by sea. The Führer demands that Gibraltar be held at all costs!”

  Kesselring tried, but while Ramcke’s Headquarters unit of the 16 Regiment got through, none of the transports carrying its troops would ever land at Gibraltar. They were pounced on by P-38s, and even though the German Bf-109s exacted a heavy toll, the resulting air battle forced most of the Ju-52s to abort and return to Fez. Those that persisted ran into the new British Seafires over the Straits of Gibraltar off the carrier Victorious, and many went into the sea. The remainder looked for any safe airfield in Morocco to go to ground.

  Ramcke got off his JU-52, feeling lucky to be alive when he saw the bullet holes in the tail where a fighter had taken a nip out of them. He stood there on the airfield, beneath the imposing stark cliffs of the Rock, waiting for an hour. At noon he took a car into the city, looking for the local commandant of the garrison, a Colonel Jurgen.

  “Greeting’s General,” said Jurgen. “Just in time to stop the British!”

  “Oh?” said Ramcke, “Sorry to say that none of my men got through. I suppose I can help a little with my service pistol, but first, I think I will need a stiff drink.”

  When Kesselring got the news he swore, throwing a briefcase against the wall of his headquarters in Fez. That was a waste of time and resources. The planes and men that made it back to Fez would now have to regroup, repair, and refuel—either that or the troops would have to find a way to go by road or rail as Hube had suggested. The rail line through Mekenes to Tangier was still open, but Kesselring saw that route as also subject to heavy Allied air attack. He could see that anything he sent that way would most likely have to de-train and move overland about 50 kilometers to the smaller port of Ceuta. Tangier was being watched by enemy submarines hovering off the harbor, and Raeder had no destroyers to go after them. That port was effectively useless to us, he knew. We hold it simply to deny it to the enemy, who would soon use it as a place to spring board towards Gibraltar.

  Yet anything I sent by that route will likely be too late to remedy the situation in southern Spain. And if I do send anything, it will likely find itself trapped up there, and forced to withdraw on Ceuta to have any chance of escape. As long as we hold the straits of Gibraltar, at least that port is still operational, but that could change soon. Raeder will not commit Hindenburg to the defense of those straits, and so everything relies on the defense provided by six U-boats, the shore batteries, and minefields. Tangier is outside that wall of defense, Ceuta well inside it.

  The telephone rang, interrupting his thoughts. It was Kurt Student calling from his position on the coast north of Port Lyautey.

  “The French are useless!” he complained. “My battalions are in good defensive positions, but the French collapse in the gaps between them, and if my men stand, they’ll be enveloped. I’ve been conducting a stubborn withdrawal north, but unless I get some reliable support out here, I cannot guarantee you anything. The Americans are pushing hard up the coast road, and it is covered by their damnable naval gunfire. Where are the Stukas?”

  “They can’t get through,” said Kesselring. “We started with 250 Bf-109s, and have already lost 25% of them.

  Then reports came in from Kubler, on the road south of Fez. He had been holding the extreme flank of the line of defense put up by the 337th Infantry Division, stretching from Mekenes on south. Primarily held by German troops, that line had held off the American 1st Infantry Division, but now, Kubler reported more enemy units on the road to his south. They had reached the road junction at the town of Ainleuh, where the main road ran northeast through Irfane to Fez, and a secondary road ran north to Kubler’s position and eventually Mekenes.

  “These troops have to be coming up from Marrakech,” said Kubler on the radio. They are only half a day’s march from the airfield at Irfane. I’ll have to pull out now to have any chance of getting Back to cover Fez. Either that, or you must use those last battalions of the 22nd Luftland Division. They were behind us as we came north, and must have reached Irfane by now.”

  “Yes,” said Kesselring. “That is where I’ve been mustering every JU-52 I could get my hands on. But moving them by air may be out of the question now. Look Kubler, we must now see this situation as nothing more than a delaying action. The French are useless, just as you say. Half their troops want nothing to do with this fight, and the half that remain aren’t enough to do anything worth mentioning. On top of that, Hube is asking me to send troops to Gibraltar! It is clear that we will not be able to hold this front long, and so we will have to begin a fighting withdrawal. Play for
time. Your division, and the 22nd are the only effective troops in French North Africa between here and Tunisia!”

  “Nothing has been sent from Germany?”

  “Oh, we are promised the 334th Division, green troops for the most part. Rommel has two good divisions on the way, but they will not get here in time to save Morocco. Algeria is another matter. A number of small units are forming up in Tunis, and some are already on the rail lines heading west. Koch is there.”

  “You can rely on him,” said Student. “Those were troops I was culling to build my next Flieger Division, a good brigade.”

  “I’m sending them to Oran, and Raeder has seen fit to move the Hindenburg there. It arrived this morning, along with those two aircraft carriers and the Kaiser Wilhelm. That may keep the French Oran Division in line for a while, but Koch should also be there tonight… which is where we will be headed soon in my judgment. Morocco is not defensible with Gibraltar under pressure like this. We must either put all our units into the defense of Gibraltar, and likely lose them here, or play for time. If I get everything I was promised, I can delay the Allied advance on Tunisia for months. So this is the plan. If I get word that Hube cannot stop this attack on Gibraltar, then we are finished here in Morocco. Get your men back to the rail line and secure rolling stock now. I’ll keep the line open through Mekenes to Fez, and we will fall back on Oran. The Führer will not want to hear anything about withdrawals, and if he does, it will likely be my head on a platter, but we must do what we must do. See to it.”