“For the moment, sir, I would recommend considerable discretion concerning that. We can discuss it later, but it would be best to keep things quiet.”
“Well they’ll have to know, Captain. This isn’t exactly news that will be in any way easy to explain or deliver.”
“I understand… Come with me on the helicopter. I can leave my men here if you suspect any foul play, though I assure you, I am your friend and ally, perhaps the best friend you will have here. I can help you, General, and you can help us all—immensely. Come with me. You’ll get good situational awareness, and I can discuss all this further.”
Kinlan waited, thinking, then decided.
Chapter 3
While Fedorov’s team had been waiting out the storm at Bir Basure and making these encounters, events in the north became more precarious for the British with each passing day. O’Connor’s disappearance left the ragtag 2nd Armored to fall back on Tobruk, and when he had been reported missing Wavell gave a quiet order that the tough 6th Australian would go no further. They would dig in along the strong fortified lines outside Tobruk and make a stand there. Two light motorized brigades of Indian troops covered their southern flank, and all the remaining armor drifted back towards Bardia, along with the 9th Australian Division.
Rommel took one look at Tobruk’s fortifications on a map given to him by the Italians and made a fateful decision. He would not stop and commit his German troops to a static battle of attrition here, though he had no confidence that the Italians could take the place on their own. Even so, he invested the port with four Italian infantry divisions, Pavia, Pistoia, Bologna and Savona. The Sbratha division was held in reserve, and the remaining two Italian divisions, being more mobile, would continue east. These were the Trento Motorized Division, and the Ariete Armored Division, which alone possessed more operational tanks than the British had in all of Egypt at that time. In fact, the British 2nd Armored had taken to fleshing out its thinned ranks with captured Italian tanks taken during O’Connor’s whirlwind drive in Operation Compass.
Now, however, the compass needle was pointing the other direction, and Wavell was trying to throw together the semblance of a defense along the Egyptian border. His first thought was to position the Australian 9th Infantry Division in a wide arc covering Bardia and Sollum, and place the armor on the southern desert flank, but the German buildup on the border seemed more than a single division could hope to contain. Like a poker player stolidly throwing chips onto the table with a bad hand, he first thought to yield Bardia, shortening the 9th Division’s lines at Sollum, then finally realized his best play was to fold and hold the narrow defile near Halfaya Pass instead. The ground was so constricted there that he might post a single brigade on defense and have the other two available for other duty.
From Sollum and Halfaya Pass the rugged escarpment stretched south and east for nearly 80 kilometers, ending about 25 kilometers south of the coastal town of Sidi Barani. The escarpment was a godsend, like a stony castle wall that could not be outflanked by the fast moving German columns. So into this castle Wavell moved the bulk of the 9th Australian Division, and all the service and support troops that had been clustered around the ports. He knew he was yielding the small advantage of using Bardia and Sollum to supply his troops, but knew that if he had left them there, they would have been invested along with their brothers in Tobruk.
Even as he made these dispositions, Wavell was hastening the remainder of his ANZAC Corps west in the 2nd New Zealand Division. Instead of making the dangerous sea transit to Greece, he now had this division to stand on a defensive line well south of Sidi Barani, but it was his last full division reserve of any strength in Egypt. He might cobble together one more division sized force with the Carpathian Infantry Brigade, and the British 22nd Guards that were now mustering to the defense. Added to the 2nd Armored, no more than a brigade, this was all that he had left, and that unit would be lucky if it could muster thirty operational tanks.
Rommel invested Tobruk on January 25th, and then showed every intention of crossing the border soon after he was satisfied the Italians were in position. He now had two strong German units at hand, the 5th Light being reinforced by the early arrival of the 15th Panzer Division. Keitel had made good on his promises to Rommel in more than one way. He had sent him that second division, and was even now gathering elements of what would become the 90th Light Division, and sending them to Tripoli.
At the same time, the Fallschirmjagers on Malta had been slowly building up strength, enough to clear most of the northwest quadrant of the island, occupy a defensive position known as the Victoria Lines there, and seize the vital airfield at Ta’qali. This allowed the Germans to land much needed supplies there, and move troops onto the island more rapidly. The Italian Folgore Paras had also landed on the smaller island of Gozo to the north, and were preparing to take the main town of Victoria. The remainder of the defenders had fallen back on the vital port of Valetta to make their final stand. The meager air defenses had been pounded to dust by the intense combined German Italian air campaign, and what remained of that force was now grounded or evacuated.
To speed the battle there along, the Germans decided to send a single regiment of the 1st Mountain Division, which landed at the small fishing ports in the north between Gozo and Malta. From there they quickly moved south to join the Fallschirmjagers, which were building up to near division strength on the island by nightfall on January 28th when Rommel made the decision to cross into Egypt. That was the day Fedorov had organized his rescue mission for General O’Connor with Popski, and the fleet put to sea on the 29th.
The following day, while Fedorov’s group hunkered down in the desert sandstorm, Rommel was pushing his two divisions east with the two Italian motorized units. 1st Battalion, 61st Motorized of the Trento division were the first troops to reach Bardia, jubilantly reclaiming that coastal fortress for El Duce. The Armored cars of the 7th Bersaglieri Battalion pushed on ahead and swept into Sollum by mid day on the 29th of January. They still had 23 operational Autoblinda 41 armored cars out of the 30 they had started with way back at Agheila on the Gulf of Sirte, a maintenance feat that was seldom equaled in this harsh terrain.
On their right, the tanks of the Ariete Division pushed quickly through the undefended fort at Capuzzo, and reached Halfaya Pass. There they stopped to refuel and repair while they waited for the divisional artillery to come up. A reconnaissance had shown them the Australian Brigade digging in just beyond the pass, and they knew that they would need those guns before any attempt could be made to storm the narrow defile.
And so, positions that might have proved very difficult to take if adequately defended were all in hand by the morning of the 30th when Fedorov made his fateful encounter with Lieutenant Reeves of the 12th Royal Lancers. They would take that whole day to sort the situation through, but Brigadier Kinlan finally decided to take Fedorov up on his offer to use the KA-40 to have a look around. If nothing else, he would either prove or disprove the impossible premise he had been led to believe. Fedorov had one final trump card to play in that game. He thought they could have a quick look at Giarabub Oasis. If it was held by the Italians, that would run the table. The evidence of a hostile force there with old WWII equipment would be incontrovertible, but what they saw there was far more than Fedorov expected.
* * *
O’Connor had been steaming like dry ice where he waited with one of the command vehicles. The men posted with him were respectful, and followed full military protocols as per Brigadier Kinlan’s instructions. He did not want the man any more ruffled than he already was, and knew one question would quickly become three then five, then seven. So he assigned a staff adjutant to see to the General’s needs, serving tea and other refreshment, which O’Connor found most welcome. The Earl Grey went a long way towards soothing his temper, and he felt like a civilized man again for the first time in what seemed like many long weeks.
Then the weariness of the hour, the long desert trek a
nd fatigue overcame him, and he drifted off to some much needed sleep on a cot set beside a large tracked vehicle. Some hours later he awoke, finding a Sergeant Major in attendance and ready with boiled eggs, muffins and jam, and more tea. It was very near dawn, or so he came to feel, his instincts well honed after months in the desert. He was grateful for the warm woolen blanket he found draped over him, as the mornings were quite cold before the sun was up to heat the day.
He seemed a bit groggy for a time, yet soon remembered where he was, blinking, bleary eyed. In spite of that, his mind was taking in everything he saw around him, with a mixed feeling of suspicion and wonderment. He had never seen a vehicle like this one behind him, let alone the Scimitar tanks he had encountered earlier. Kinlan had discretely ordered the two HQ Challengers to be moved during the night so, when O’Connor got up to stretch his legs, they were no longer there to be seen.
Now he was in a circle of odd looking new vehicles, two FV432s, and a pair of Sultan Armored Command Vehicles, which looked much like oversized light Mark VI tankettes. One had a large vertically displayed map next to a retractable side desk, where three men sat on a bench making notations on the map board, their heads and ears covered with headsets that were obviously for local area radio communications. There was other odd looking equipment about, which was actually a battery of the 16th Regiment, Royal Artillery, a Rapier air defense system protecting the headquarters.
“See here,” he said to the Sergeant Major standing by for security. “You chaps seem to have things well wired here. Has there been any word from Alexandria?”
“I haven’t been informed of anything sir, but I would be happy to check with the comm-shack.” Sergeant Dilling had been told to see to the General’s comfort, and by all means to keep him safely where he was, and out of trouble. He had no idea who this visitor was, or why he would be decked out in such an archaic uniform, but he did his best nonetheless—for the third time—returning a few minutes later to report that they had no recent communications of any note.
At this O’Connor exhaled, frustrated and eager to be up and about his business again. He needed to get to Alexandria, but this unit was quite a mystery to him.
“Just who do you say you are out here, Sergeant?”
“Sir?”
“What unit are you, man? Are you out from Siwa?”
“No sir,” said Dilling politely, answering the second question while ignoring the first. He had been told to say as little as possible about the business of the brigade, but he could see that this man was getting up a good head of steam and seemed restless to be up and about, which would be his problem. Thankfully he was reinforced by a Major from Brigadier Kinlan’s staff and was able to recede, off the hook for the moment.
“Ah, there you are General,” said Major Isaac. “I have been asked to inquire on your wellbeing, sir. I trust you managed to get a few hours sleep.”
“Quite so,” said O’Connor, “and a better breakfast than I’ve had for a good long while.”
“Splendid. Well, sir, if you would be so good as to accompany me, we’ve arranged for a local area reconnaissance. Brigadier Kinlan would be very pleased if you would come along.”
That sounded better. Reconnaissance was an art O’Connor strongly believed in, but he wondered what this was about, and asked as much.
“Well sir,” said Major Isaac, “that storm could have masked a host of unpleasantries out here, and it’s standard procedure to have a good look around before we move the column out. General Kinlan was most eager to have you along. Then we can see about getting you to Alexandria. Right this way, sir.”
At last, thought O’Connor. Things were starting to feel just a bit more normal now. For a moment there he had the distinct feeling that he was being treated like an outsider here, an interloper, and even came to feel he was being considered a prisoner! The questions that had succumbed to the weariness of the night were all with him again now. Who were these men? Why were they dressed so strangely, and by god, where did they get all these odd new vehicles? He had seen two tanks the other night, but they were gone now, and for a moment he doubted what he had seen. It must have been the bloody sand storm, a trick of light and shadow in the wind.
Yet what he saw next did little to still his mind. He was politely ushered aboard a vehicle, where two curious looking soldiers sat with unusual looking rifles, and the hatch was closed, obscuring everything from view. Yet O’Connor had a good pair of ears, and he knew the sounds of a military unit waking up in the desert, shaking off the cold, warming up and getting ready to move soon.
“You’ve obviously just come off the boat,” he said to the Major. “Yet I can’t imagine why, or even how you managed to get the ten or twenty odd vehicles you have here this far south, and it sounds like there’s a good deal more here. Just what are you up to out here, Major? A reinforcement sent to Fergusson at Siwa?”
Like Dillings, the Major had been told to divulge as little as possible and simply get the General into a secure vehicle, with no windows, and get him out to the Russian helicopter. So he fell back on the one thing that he knew might allow him a brief holding action here, and punted.
“Well sir, I haven’t been fully briefed on the situation. Brigadier Kinlan has simply asked me to convey his invitation, and stated he preferred to brief you in person.”
“Good enough, Major.” That made sense to O’Connor, and so he let the matter go, but one question after another was waking up in his head again and, when the vehicle finally stopped and he stepped out into the pre-dawn darkness, he got yet another surprise to be standing in the shadow of a massive mechanical beast, a huge metal locust, with long bladed wings.
* * *
Fedorov was there to greet him, along with Brigadier Kinlan, who saluted. The two men had conferred over how they would handle the matter with O’Connor. The only question now was whether they could pull it off.
“You can’t just come out with this cockamamie tale about time travel,” said Kinlan. “Yes, you’ve managed to drag my horse’s ass to the water, but it’s rather brackish and unpalatable. I at least had some understanding of what you tried to convey. I know what nuclear weapons are, and the strange effects they give rise to, but this man hasn’t even heard of something like radiation, let alone EMP or this fracturing of time you’re arguing. He has no framework whatsoever to understand any of this.”
There it was again, thought Popski. What in bloody hell was EMP? What was this talk of nuclear weapons? The two seemed right chummy on the subject, but I’ve no idea what they’re talking about.
“Tell him in the short run we’ll have to take things easy,” said Fedorov. It was a real dilemma, and he had to think what to do here. They could just spirit O’Connor away to Alexandria and get him out of the picture. That would be the safest bet, but it would only postpone the inevitable. One day he would have to see what was down there, massed on the desert floor in the fighting steel and Dorchester Chobham armor of the 7th Brigade, and one day he would have to know the truth. But yet he still felt that secrecy was best for the moment. The bear would wake up and get out of his den in due course.
His mind went round and round about it. Could they say this unit had been sent from England, a highly classified war secret, with new weapons and vehicles being deployed for the very first time? This was a lie that would soon become the thin veil it was, for one look at a Challenger II up close, or a good look inside the command compartment of any of these vehicles, would reveal more than he could explain away with that line. There were touch screen digital panels, technology and equipment that would amaze and dazzle any man of this era. He remembered the look on Tovey’s face when they brought him aboard Kirov and showed him the missiles and radar stations up close. And Tovey had a whole other life to prepare him for what he saw there. In fact, he had come to the truth about the ship they had once called Geronimo all on his own, albeit with the able assistance of Alan Turing.
Telling O’Connor the truth would be like thro
wing the man in ice water just now, but he would have to know, just as Kinlan had to know. The future would have to meet the past here, shake hands to reach a mutual understanding somehow, and it was up to him to make that so. But how? How could he wade in gently, and slowly lead this man to the truth?
Part II
Awakening
“And so it is, that both the devil and the angelic spirit present us with objects of desire to awaken our power of choice.”
― Rumi
Chapter 4
“Russians? This is a Russian aircraft?” O’Connor gave the KA-40 a good long look, amazed. “I had no idea they were working on helicopters.”
The idea had been around for centuries, and several British thinkers had experimented with designs for such aircraft. Even Jules Verne had brought one to life in his book The Clipper of the Clouds, and Thomas Edison had modeled helicopters in the United States long ago. So it was something O’Connor could grasp without undue difficulty, yet there had never been an engine powerful enough to make the dream a reality—until now.
“We’ve been working on these for quite some time,” Fedorov had Popski explain. “Ever since Igor Ivanovitch Sikorsky and Boris Yur'ev experimented with designs in the early 1900s. Your own Westland Corporation is also interested in this kind of aircraft.”
“When they see the likes of this one their eyes will bug out,” said O’Connor.
“It’s a very good platform for search and rescue,” said Fedorov. “And it is excellent in reconnaissance. Let’s get up there and have a look around.”
Small steps, thought Fedorov. Get the man airborne and see what develops. Every bird learns to fly in due course. He would have to take things one step at a time, and see if O’Connor would eventually come to the same conclusion Tovey did—that there were things in front of him that no man could build in this world. That would be the moment to ease him over the final line to the real truth. For the time being they would tell O’Connor that Kinlan commanded a detachment sent here to reinforce Siwa, and leave off the details, which would become apparent over time.
Grand Alliance (Kirov Series) Page 3