Stormtide Rising (Kirov Series Book 29)

by Schettler, John

  Westhoven would have two choices in the morning. One would be to go right at Kingforce, trusting to the weight of his division. But he knew the enemy had just brought up a fresh infantry division, and did not know what might lie in reserve.

  Behind that settlement, there was an important rail junction where the line came down from Baqubah and joined the Basra Baghdad line. If Westhoven could take that, no supplies could come by rail into central Baghdad. So it was on his mind.

  His second choice would be to continue to move southeast around the marshland, and then figure how to bridge that large canal. He would be down there on his own if he did that. The 78th Sturm could not extend its lines any further south to maintain contact with him. Hube knew this, which is why he had made that remark about needing a couple good infantry divisions.

  Things were coming to a point where some strategic decision had to be made on the part of the Germans. They had won their tactical battles, but strategic victory had eluded them in spite of that. Guderian had instincts for battle that were as good as any General in the field, and he could sense the campaign had reached a high water mark here. The British had decided to fight for this city, come what may. He did not have enough divisions to effectively encircle it, nor could he bypass it and just continue south.

  While we were running through Syria, and down the Euphrates, our battle of maneuver made us invincible, he thought. Yet I knew the moment I laid eyes on this city that all that was over. The campaign transitioned to a battle of attrition here, a city-fight that I wanted nothing to do with, but one I simply could not avoid.

  So what now? Do I persist here? They’re pulling the last of their troops out down south, and that makes me master of the west bank of the Tigris. Yet there they sit, behind their berms and bunds and canal lines, on good defensive ground, a city that is nearly nine miles long on the east banks of the river. And then there’s another big airfield where they’ve husbanded their fighters to harass us by day. It would be foolish to send Westhoven down there unsupported.

  What to do with the Brandenburgers? Assaults across those bridges would be very costly, and not likely to succeed. This river is now a major obstacle, very wide in places, and I have only so many assault boats. There is one good objective in the south—the oil bunkerage—but I would have to send the Brandenburg Division around that big bend in the river to get after it. That is undoubtedly why the British pulled out in the south—to screen that bend and prevent any envelopment from that direction. If I tell Beckerman to do this, he will surely get there, but then what? I can sit on the oil, if the British don’t set it all on fire first. Even if I do take it, there’s the damn river again, and no bridge anywhere on that lower segment.

  The thought of the oil burning stuck in his mind for some reason, and now he remembered Moscow, the terrible conflagration ignited in the southwest quadrant of the city. The more he thought about that, the more something dark and sinister emerged from his unconscious to surround his reasoning mind with the vapors of heedless abandon and wanton destruction.

  Fire….

  This is a city of water, the river, canals, and marshes are everywhere. Yet those closely packed city districts have many wooden buildings…. He thought about that, but Guderian was a man of principle. He knew the Luftwaffe had already dropped incendiary bombs on London long ago, and that the Allies certainly had these weapons as well. They are weapons of terror more than anything else, he knew. And they are directed more at civilians, with the aim of causing so much misery that it will spill over and have an effect on the military.

  No. We did not start the fires in Moscow, nor will I start them here in Baghdad. There must be a limit to the measure of violence in this war. The British chose to stand here, knowing that they would invite my panzers into that city, so they bear half the burden for any harm that comes to the civilian population. Thus far, the damage west of the Tigris has not been significant, but this central city is very dense, and the fighting may be intense if I persist here.

  He decided.

  There will be no incendiary bombing. Westhoven is in position, and his division is even reinforced with the addition of KG Kufner from 4th Panzer. The largest gap in the marshland in that sector is the Kayam Quarter. So I will order him to attack there in force, and take the East Rail Station. That cuts the rail line to the south and prevents them from getting in new supplies. That area is defended by British regulars. Let us see how much fight they have in them.

  In the south, I will order Schmidt to take his entire 10th Motorized Division and pursue the British forces retreating there. Duren’s 3rd Brandenburg and the Lehr Regiment will clear the ground south to the river, and then follow Schmidt.

  In the pre-dawn hour, Westhoven bridged a small canal and threw a strong Kampfgruppe across to strike at the easternmost section of Kayam. If he could get through, there was a swathe of open ground, some 700 by 300 meters, and it might allow his panzers to flank the main settlement.

  It was just the luck of Brigadier Kingstone that Kayam was the place he had chosen to defend when he pulled off the outer bund. Wilson had called him to confirm it was a good decision, but now he would reap the whirlwind. A company of the Wiltshire Yeoman was watching a gap in the marshland and it was the first to be hit. The dull growl of motorized equipment left no doubt as to what was happening. German troops were also moving up to the base of the stony hill on the north edge of the town, but there was no concerted attack there yet.

  “The bastards are trying to flank me, by God,” he said. “Turn the guns on them!”

  As if in answer, the German artillery began to fall along his lines before his gunners could even get into action. He couldn’t see the German tanks yet, but he could hear them, the metallic clanking of the treads, the deep rumble of the engines. Then the telltale sound of MG-42’s buzzed through the cool morning air, and he knew he was in the fight of his life. He rang up Wilson to inform him.

  “I hope you’ve got something to backstop my lines,” he said. “It’s a bloody Panzer division over here.”

  “Grover is already up with his 2nd Division,” said Wilson. “He’s already posted men on your right and rear at the east barracks. I think he’ll have a battalion or two in reserve.”

  “Well I hope they brought their 6-Pounders. What about tanks? Where’s our armor?”

  “I’ve posted them to watch the bridge crossings, at least the 7th Brigade, but I’ll see about finding infantry for that and get you some help. Hold on Joe. We can’t let them through.”

  “Right sir. We’ll hold.”

  Chapter 26

  The German attack on that flank was put in By KG Hansen, with two companies of tanks, armored cars and a full Panzergrenadier battalion. It was then strongly reinforced by two battalions of the 238th Sturm, 78th Division. Against this, Kingstone’s armored cars were not enough to hold. They backed off, guns firing, across that open ground Westhoven was after. Behind them there were marshy pools interspersed within the settlement, and Brigadier Hawking of Grover’s 5th Brigade had sent 7th Worcestershire Battalion to occupy those gaps.

  So Kingstone ordered his armored cars, along with the Blues and Royals cavalry recon units, to fall back on that position. He knew that would compromise his position on the northern fringe of the Kayam Quarter, and after seeing the cavalry falling back in good order, he began pulling his infantry off the line. This compressed his position, as there was limited ground in those gaps between the marshes, but it also strengthened it considerably. The enemy could now only attack those gaps, and he could hold them with a good tactical reserve behind each one. Panzers or no panzers, he remained cool under fire and determined to hold that rail station, which was now no more than 500 meters to his rear.

  While this was going on, in the north Schneider continued to press his attack all day against the northern palace grounds near the ferry and rail bridge. The Germans had KG Rosenfeld, and a strong KG from 1st Brandenburg, and they fought their way through the palace grounds, tak
ing the Fine Arts building, which had already been stripped of any valuable artwork long ago. When they had pushed to within 250 meters of the bridge, two companies on the west bank joined the attack and charged across. They hit a company of the Queen’s Cameron, and intense fighting ensued, with the Germans putting their panzerfaust teams to good use, blasting away at the sandbagged MG positions at the far end of the bridge.

  There were heavy casualties on both sides, but the Brandenburgers prevailed, pushing the British back 100 meters to the Ginning Mill that overlooked the Ferry landing. Brigadier Reid of the 29th Brigade, 5th Indian, immediately ordered a counterattack, turning his guns on the landing. Behind that mill was the Al Karkh hospital, which was already crowded with the wounded and dying from two days bitter fighting for that palace sector. Reid managed to grab platoons here and there from a number of intermixed companies, and threw together a force to make that attack. All the while, British guns continued firing on the ground north of the bridge near the river, where the Germans had been pushing hard to reach that bridge.

  Reid’s attack succeeded in driving the Germans off the landing, back to the approaches to the bridge, but they had two more fresh companies on the west bank, and a counterattack was already in the works. This sector was undoubtedly the most intense of the whole campaign, with Rosenfeld and Schaefer keeping up constant pressure. The Germans wanted that bridge to link to all their forces on the west bank, and both Briggs and Thompson knew they had to hold to prevent that.

  The Germans would retake the ferry landing near dusk, but Reid had nothing left to throw at them but artillery. Now his battered companies were barely clinging to the Ginning Mill, and at the Al Karkh Hospital, they were breaking out windows, and the walking wounded were taking positions there. There was one battalion of the 9th Armored a little over a kilometer to the northwest, and Reid called up Brigadier Currie and told him he needed help.

  “Alright,” said Currie, “We’ll have to give a little ground here to tidy up the line, but I’ll send what I can.” A veteran of the Desert war, Currie had fought in O’Connor’s Operation Supercharge, and he was a gritty warrior, with good experience. He had 18 M3 Grants and six light Mark VIC’s in the Royal Wiltshires, and he got them moving to the bridge. Those heavy tanks, well gunned, were not expected, and they were enough to again eject the German companies from that ferry landing, with casualties mounting.

  It was just as Guderian had feared. Attacking across those bridges was the last thing he wanted to do, and now he felt as though he had his arms around a great bear. There the British sat, behind their rivers, canals and marshes, and he could feel the prospect of victory here slipping from his grasp with each passing hour. His enemy had managed to find a reserve to parry each thrust, and now Westhoven radioed Hube to say that the enemy had a very strong position in the Kayam quarter, and the marshland pools were major obstacles.

  “I sent Hansen in, and I still have afresh Kampfgruppe, but the situation here looks fruitless. We pushed them, but they brought up several more battalions to back up their line. Do you want me to persist with this?”

  “Can you get around the flank with that second KG?”

  “We’ve scouted it. There’s a big network of smaller canals forward of the main one—and another elevated bund behind that. It extends all the way south to that airfield; over six kilometers. That’s as far as we went. The British are still flying from that field too, and it’s defended. Unfortunately, given those canal obstacles, it just can’t be overrun with a quick movement in that direction.”

  “Very well,” said Hube. “I’ll inform General Guderian. Stay where you are and rest your men tonight. I’ll get a supply column headed your way.”

  That was bad news that Guderian didn’t need that hour, for he had just been informed by the Luftwaffe that they had seen and attacked yet another division that was moving north by rail from Basra. That was a hard night for the General, for he knew in his bones that he could not take this city—not with the forces he now commanded.

  I have the equivalent of five divisions here, he thought, but the enemy will have six, the river, and the city providing him the best defensive ground he will probably see anywhere in this whole damn country. Given this situation, I have no recourse but to inform OKW that I cannot proceed south; not without more support, particularly infantry to relieve my mobile divisions and allow me to re-establish a fast moving mechanized force while the infantry holds here at Baghdad. That was, of course, nothing that Hitler wanted to hear.

  * * *

  “What is wrong with my Generals?” he shouted. “Guderian is doing the same thing as he did in Russia. He achieved remarkable results in Operation Typhoon at the beginning, but when it comes down to taking the really difficult objectives, then we hear the excuses. We have already sent him five infantry divisions!”

  “Yes,” said Keitel, “but only three regular infantry. The others are all mountain divisions, with only two regiments each, and all but one are holding the line in Syria. Guderian only has the 78th Sturm Division at Baghdad, and then his three mobile divisions. The enemy has six divisions entrenched in that city, and he simply cannot hold the line there while attempting to proceed south.”

  “Then why doesn’t he take it? Destroy those enemy divisions!”

  “My Führer, that is more easily said than done under these circumstances. Look what we had to do at Volgograd? At one point we committed twelve good German Divisions there, including the Brandenburgers, and three SS divisions. City fighting drains the life from a good mobile division in a matter of days. Manstein certainly knew that, which is why he pulled those divisions out and replaced them with infantry. Guderian could do the same. We have only to find him the necessary troops. According to the schedule General Zeitzler set up, there is still another infantry division you have assigned to Operation Phoenix that remains uncommitted—the 45th.”

  “What? Not yet committed? Why not?”

  “The rail system is functional, but becoming burdened. We are now trying to supply eleven divisions in Syria and Iraq. It is simply a matter of logistics, and that division is scheduled to move soon.”

  “Advance the schedule. It must be sent immediately.” Hitler’s eyes played over the map. “Given that Crete has been secured, what about Student’s troops? See what can be done there. I want no more excuses. Tell General Zeitzler that he is to find whatever is necessary to permit Guderian’s panzers to move south. He may choose whatever units he deems appropriate.”

  “Any units? Even those assigned to the Leningrad Operation?”

  “Have you read the weather reports from the Russian Front? It is 40 below zero! We won’t get that operation mounted until at least May at this rate. Now is the time to finish the job in Iraq. So yes, Zeitzler may take anything he wishes.”

  * * *

  The 45th Infantry had been part of the Austrian Army, subsumed into the Wehrmacht when Germany occupied that state. It had gained good fighting experience in Operation Barbarossa, and was now under Generalleutnant Fritz Kühlwein with three good regiments. Its arrival, a week later, would make a great deal of difference, as its fresh battalions could take up positions to relieve KG Rosenfeld and Schafer, and also on the west bank where two full regiments of Brandenburgers had been simply watching the west end of the bridges and patrolling the riverbank. It was going to allow Guderian to concentrate the Brandenburg division and move it down around the river bend with 10th Motorized. At the same time, Hube could now have the full establishments of both 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions on the east bank free to maneuver. A meeting was called the night of the 27th to discuss options.

  “I’m told we will soon have the 45th Infantry Division,” said Guderian. “In that event, do you feel we can press a double envelopment of this city?”

  “Prospects look better in the south than they do in the east,” said Hube. “I would have to move my panzers another twenty to thirty kilometers south to find ground suitable for an advance. But there are no bridg
es over the Tigris down there. The closest bridge is 50 kilometers to the southeast as we approach As Suwayrah.”

  “Could you get there?”

  “If I could use both divisions, yes, that should not be a problem.”

  “Alright. General Beckermann, what about the south?”

  “I can push now with what I have in hand. They have four brigades there, with their line anchored on the nose of the river bend. But if I send 10th Motorized down towards the Euphrates, they will have to extend their front in that direction. Then, when the rest of my Brandenburgers come down from the west bank sector, we will break through.”

  “Then this would effectively surround the city,” said Guderian, “though we don’t know what they might do in response to these moves. I still like this better than trying to grind our way forward, block after block, through the whole nine mile length of that city. I do not think we could succeed that way at all. We must find a way to turn this into a battle of maneuver again. This means that we may not want to completely close the door behind them. What I want is to precipitate their withdrawal. That is the key.”

  “But they have been very stubborn,” said Hube. “What if they just sit, even under the threat of envelopment?”

  “Then we will have no choice but to complete that envelopment, and I will tell Hitler that I have the entire British Army in Iraq trapped in Baghdad. In that event, if I can get at least one more division, then I could build a mobile force strong enough to send south. It’s the only plan I see that has any hope of bearing fruit.”

  “So how do we proceed?” asked Beckermann.