At last he faced Chief of Staff Antonov who had been quietly waiting his turn.
“A Russian Home Army, what is this propaganda, Comrade General? “
“It is all we know at present Comrade Stalin,” Antonov usually stuck to technical issues but this news had come up via his channels. “Elements of the 3rd White Russian Front took what they believed to be German prisoners during their advance towards Kaunas. These prisoners who were wearing German uniforms or rather something so similar as to be almost indistinguishable turned out to be traitors former members of the Red Army who have now enlisted in something they call the Russian Home Army“
“Is this the crowd of renegade bandits that that traitor Vlasov gathered?” Stalin remembered the 1943 announcement on German radio when Vlasov had issued his first manifesto. “This must be misinformation, the Germans would never trust Russians to fight for them. Are these not renegade Ukrainians or some other ethnically-base clique.”
“Comrade Stalin all we have at present is the summary report from the Front Commander who was as outraged as you are at the prospect of traitors to the Motherland wearing the uniform of our enemy. The men are being flown to Moscow for further interrogation as we speak.”
“I want an update on this daily.” Stalin stood up slowly , signalling the end of the meeting. Suddenly he felt very tired. He was so close to success. A credible anti-Communist Russian alternative could endanger it all again. It could be a rerun of the first few years of Lenin’s regime when the western allies, had sponsored reactionary forces in the Russian Civil War. Now the Balkans were falling into his orbit. The British in Greece lacked the will or the power to protect their puppet. Soon Greece would fall to him. Then Tito too would fall into line. He was so close. Traitors like Vlasov, properly resourced could undermine it all. That’s why he had purged the officer corps of men capable of independent ideas in the 1930s. It was clear that that had not been enough. He himself had signed off of Vlasov’s promotion to Army commander, the hard-bitten Zhukov had recommended him, his record as a cadre and an officer had been spotless. Now this, rage welled up in him.
The Greek situation is getting more and more confused. … The military have badly underestimated the strength required and should send more troops at once. This is exactly what I had been predicting from the very start.
Field Marshall Lord Alanbrooke
Entry in War Diary, December 5th, 1944
November 4th
Athens, Greece
Meanwhile the ELAS blockade was gradually choking all life out of General Scobie’s forces while his Greek clients quarrelled among themselves and tried to murder their adversaries. All the promises from London had come to nothing. And after the disastrous, and to his mind half-hearted attempt at forcing a landing in Piraeus and taking the airport, morale among his forces had plummeted. ELAS had cleverly used its irregulars, hidden among the Athens population, to frustrate any British attempt at open battle. This had had a debilitating effect on the British soldiers, notably the infantry in the Piraeus bridgehead. It was as if they suddenly realised that they could not fight a former allay, no matter what he did now. The Piraeus force had just sat tight while a few major Royal Navy vessels continued to hang about menacingly just outside the harbour. Posturing but serving no other purpose until the landing craft returned with a group of light tanks. Upon hearing of the fate of the first ill-fated foray into Piraeus, they promptly refused to budge until a larger force could be assembled to overwhelm the ELAS guerrillas.
For their part ELAS cleverly avoided building fortifications or confronting Scobie’s forces directly, safe in the knowledge that time was one their side. While the stalemate held in Athens civil war raged in the countryside and with the help of Colonel Popov’s supplies ELAS systematically cleared its opponents from most of rural Greece except the Peloponnesus, where EDAM stubbornly clung on. Within weeks more than 10 000 Greeks would perish at the hands of their fellow countrymen.
In Athens, the parachutists had fortified the airport rather quickly but lacked the heavy equipment, notably tanks to clear and hold a road to the centre of Athens where Scobie remained holed up. And although, following the arrival of another two companies of Skyrats, the paratroopers had steadily expanded their perimeter towards Athens’ center, it had all come to nothing. There was simply a point beyond which ELAS guerrillas would not let the British move: houses taken and secured during the day would be infiltrated at night, the British occupants throats slit. Despite Churchill’s continued exhortations, Britain, without American support, also could not supply such a force by plane from southern Italy and Egypt, while continuing her steady advance into northern Yugoslavia. Not when America was diverting transports to other purposes.
In the end it came down to tanks. With nearly 3000 men and 18 light tanks crammed into their small bridgehead a foray was at last launched to secure Piraeus. But this time ELAS, emboldened did not hold back. The British column was harassed at by small arms fire at every step. Incendiaries flew at the tanks as they pushed aside barricades, casualties mounted as British troops had to clear house after house. British ships and Royal Air force pilots from the newly deployed Spitfire wing that had taken up residence at Athens airport watched impotently as the column bled to death from a thousand of pinpricks. Even for the British wounded there seemed no respite from small arms fire. Unable to identify any Greek positions, the Spitfires strafed the areas ahead of the column’s advance inflicting civilian and guerrilla casualties in equal measure. The Royal Navy actually sailed a destroyer into the harbour entrance where it raked the piers with machinegun and anti-aircraft ordinance. Under the destroyer’s covering fire two of the Special Boat Squadron commando detachments tried to seize a pier by coup de main but soon found themselves locked into vicious hand to hand combat where the numbers of ELAS guerrillas quickly told over the experience of the British commandoes. Despite valiant support from the Spitfires who raked the harbour grounds with small cannon fire on an almost continuous basis, the SBS teams only managed to secure a pier by nightfall. Disregarding all rules, a light transport carrying a battalion of Indian troops steamed into the harbour and docked, seeking to land its veteran troops under a hail of ELAS sniper fire.
With darkness closing in ELAS recovered and only 250 men were able to disembark before small arms fire from forced a stop. Two sorties by the Indians to dislodge a particularly troublesome machinegun nest whose gunner seemed to be able to see in the dark came away with heavy losses. It later transpired that the gunner had attached a night vision sniper scope to his weapon and used it to prevent the Indians from using the cover of darkness to disembark. In the end a frustrated Ajax commander lobbed three salvos of carefully aimed … shells into the harbour area to subdue opposition. This brought temporary respite for the Indians but soon fires started from the bombardment proved to be almost as helpful to the guerrillas as the machine gunner’s night vision sniper scope had been.
Morning light laid bare the civilian cost of the fighting. Nearly 150 Greek civilians had perished in the cross fire along with somewhere over 500 ELAS combatants. The British for their part had over 200 dead and more than 350 wounded. More significantly ELAS infiltrators had during the night, managed to set alight four of the British tanks, damaging their engines beyond repair and torched one of the airfield’s two vital fuel depots.
By midday the British had secured a part of the harbour large enough to disembark all their forces, but still their advance choked on the need for merciless house to house fighting. Even a series of well-aimed shells from the Navy did little to help as ELAS simply melted away only to return once the first troops had passed.
Nevertheless it would have been only a matter of time until the British had ground their way back into control of central Athens and its harbour. ELAS commanders had
recognized this at a command meeting during the night and with some prodding from Colonel Popov had massed groups of their men around the center of town where Scobie and his anti-Co
mmunist Greek allies held a small area around the central square. Their attack came at exactly 2 pm, a time when many where napping - and achieved complete surprise. Within half an hour the size of Scobie’s territory was reduced by a third. While most of the Greek Security Battalions fought tenaciously one of the British detachments, its men weakened by incessant diarrhoea, gave way and was taken prisoner. As ELAS fighters surged onto the Square, Scobie was himself nearly taken prisoner. Although ELAS was beaten back. his position had become untenable. While ELAS and the Security Battalions clawed away at each other, he informed London that his position had become hopeless and that he would seek to break out to either the airfield or the harbour depending on opportunity. Out of food and almost out of ammunition, he found that evening that neither option seemed viable. Two attempts by the RAF planes based at the airport to drop in food and water had ended in ELAS receiving most of the supplies.
A more determined man might have used the cover of night to beat a fighting retreat but Scobie was not that man. As ELAS fighters slipped into his perimeter under cover of night and hand to hand combat raged sporadically across his command, the general lost heart. He too had been worn down by poor diet, disease and lack of sleep. His growing awareness of the ruthless methods of the Greek factions, including his ‘allies’ had also weakened his determination to shed British blood in their cause. When one of the Security Battalion commanders informed him that ammunition would last for only a few more hours, he gave up without verifying the information. By morning a British captain waiving a white flag walked into the Square. By noon Scobie and his men were walking towards Piraeus harbour under ELAS escort
Blankly surveying the lines of ELAS troops that escorted his men out of the center of town, the General did not realise that he was leaving Greece with scarcely more knowledge about the place than he had entered it a few months earlier. The ELAS irregulars who lined the streets of the harbour where he and his men were to embark had a quiet self-confident feel to them. Scobie was glad there was no jeering. He and his force marching down this lane, represented the end of the line in Greece. No matter what the troops at the airfield or in Piraeus now did, they would be coming as invaders against an opponent emboldened by victory. Colonel Popov had argued hard with ELAS commanders to secure the release of Scobie and his troops and in time the strategy would pay off. Images reminiscent of the surrender of Singapore flashed across the world’s newspapers showing Scobie’s beaten force deprived of their weapons but carrying all their injured heading down to Piraeus harbour under light but visible ELAS escort. Behind them the abandoned members of the security Battalions made a last desperate stand or simply melted away into the city. The propaganda value of the image outweighed the presence of the Piraeus bridgehead; the British had been beaten.
With the Commonwealth troops in Saloniki, Athens airfield and in Piraeus all effectively bottled up, Britain would now face a choice of quiet ignominious withdrawal or full-scale war against Greece. Nervously the scrawny general tugged at his uniform, too large after his weight loss due to a serious bout of diarrhoea brought on by polluted water. But there was no way he would be able to cast a dignified figure on his way out. His men were unbeaten but defeated and so way he. Not since Tobruk had the Empire suffered such a setback.
As he embarked the light transport, Scobie and his entourage did not recognize the diminutive uniformed figure lurking in the shadow of the harbour masters building photographing their departure. Colonel Popov quickly ran out of film but he was sure Comrade Stalin would be pleased. For the cost of the equipment of two rifle divisions and a reasonable amount of stale food supplies looted from Bulgaria and Romania, he had won Greece for the progressive cause. The Colonel was hoping that a promotion would follow in due course. If ELAS continued on this path, the Soviet Black Sea Fleet would be passing the Straits of the Bosporus for the first time in centuries.
3pm November 8th
Whitehall
London
Alanbrooke hated dealing with Churchill when the latter was agitated and the setback in Greece had sent the British Premier into a state of near apoplexy. The only way for the British Marshall would be to write off his anger in his war diary at a later stage. For the moment he sought to keep British policy on track and in line with its resources.
Churchill’s first response had been to talk about a renewed, larger landing to take back Greece. Only by pointing out that there were neither the planes nor the ships available to support a large-scale landing within the next two months was Alanbrooke able to squash the scheme. For the moment, Churchill still insisted that the Imperial General Staff study the matter and report back with some options within the week. Alanbrooke resolved to edit that report personally.
Churchill’s aggravation was followed by a descent into depression. Only when Alanbrooke managed to redirect his interest towards Yugoslavia did his spirits lift. With all of Italy occupied since the middle of October, British forces reinforced by an American infantry division had penetrated into Austria where they had not met any resistance. Most of the allied push however had been eastward into northern Yugoslavia and they were within miles of reaching Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. The British forces involved were small and would never stand up to any determined resistance, but the small bands of Tito’s partisans they encountered cautiously and steadily co-operated with them. Croatia had been a fascist ally and the partisans had struggled to gain a large foothold in the region. For the moment both sides were feeling each other out, while the partisans sought to settle old scores.
Eden, who had been detained elsewhere joined the meeting during Alanbrooke’s presentation on Yugoslavia, began looking increasingly uncomfortable as it progressed. The Foreign Secretary knew exactly what spontaneous acts Churchill was capable of.
And he was not disappointed. “Alanbrooke had barely finished when Churchill enquired about the remaining British airborne forces. “Should we not drop the 1st Airborne on Zagreb to secure it before civil war breaks out between the remnant Croat fascists and Tito’s partisans. “ Immediately he warmed to the idea “Actually they would be better placed dropping on Belgrade, now that there is no use for them in Greece.”
“What will we do in Serbia PM, it was Eden. Quietly hoping to let Churchill’s overactive mind turn to reason.
“Occupation of Serbian territory is a bargaining chip dear Anthony,” Churchill was so worked up he was patronising his protégé. “Tito understood that he got weapons from us because he was killing Nazis. Now we must help stabilize parts of his territory so that he realises that he cannot have everything his own way. When I spoke to the Pope in Rome he voiced particular concern about the Catholic nation of Croatia, which admittedly hardly exists now. Nonetheless if we were to bargain a bit with Tito about the issue of a political landscape that does not merely include his men, we would have wider support.”
“I doubt very much PM that President Roosevelt would see it that way.” Eden sounded very doubtful.
“Possession is nine-tenths of the law. CIGS talk to Alexander, see what troops he can push forward. I think we should have a presence not merely in northern Yugoslavia but also along key coastal positions. If Greece is to be denied to us, except for Crete, then, such footholds will become all the more significant.’
“I would counsel communicating the limited nature of our intentions to Marshall Tito in order to avoid ‘misunderstandings’. “ “Oh very well Anthony. Your point is valid. But let’s be clear about the possibility that Croatia will have to explore its existence as a separate state if we do not get some concession or nice noises from Marshall Tito. I am convinced he is a nationalist as much as a socialist but I could live with such a combination, provided we are not shut out from the area or threatened from there. …” He took a long puff on his cigar” And that is why” he turned to Alanbrooke” we need a significant Serbian airfield. The troops who were too busy cleaning their weapons to get around to taking Athens will be redirected to whatever strategic targets a
re within reach on Serbia. Even if we ask their permission to drop a battalion of parachutists onto some field near Belgrade, it would make a powerful point. Why don’t you ask Randolph about what would be acceptable for us to do. My son has spent enough time with Tito to know what will impress and what will offend. However we must do something; I do not want us to have to sit at a table with Marshall’s Stalin and Tito having to negotiate access to the Adriatic in a year’s time. We need to control some towns and harbours. “
Alanbrooke departed the meeting relived. Churchill had talked policy but issued no firm instructions. Nonetheless as CIGS he too chaffing at the strangulation that the redeployment of American resources to the Pacific was imposing on his troops. To avoid any misunderstanding he went straight to the Commander of 1st Airborne and gave the man 48 hours to get his division moving into Serbia. He also told him to expect a visitor and fellow traveller to deliver safely into Belgrade – the PM’s son.
5:30pm November 8th
Whitehall
London
When Lindemann and Alanbrooke together met the PM later that afternoon regarding the German secret weapons files, their recommendation was unanimous. For the moment Britain would keep the key German secrets to herself. Lindemann’s cloak and dagger mentality had also come up with an insurance policy. From the four folders, his office would copy those projects that were the least viable or presented only limited advances in weaponry. This folder would be passed immediately onto Washington.
“That is a very elegant solution.” The PM smiled. He could not know that one of the trusted men tasked with selecting and assembling the sanitized file for the Americans was the same MVD spy and prominent bankers family scion who had already forwarded a copy of the most interesting material to Moscow. By the time a copy of the sanitized file was heading for Washington, another copy was arriving on the doorstep of a German émigré physicist, working for the MVD in America and on the desk of Niels Bohr, the great Danish physicist who more than most others was the well-connected pacifist who could be relied upon to spread the word. Having seen the jewels of the packet, Beria had taken a unilateral decision to led word of British betrayal seep out. If Roosevelt pulled the British back into line and it led to something, he could still claim credit for it. If not leeks happened. Sitting in his Lubyanka office the spy chief already had someone in mind who would take the fall for the failure. It so happened that that someone, a colonel in Beria’s own service had a very beautiful wife who had caught the eye of Stalin’s henchman.
The Valkyrie Option Page 58