Breakout (Kirov Series Book 38)

by Schettler, John

  “Ah, well that’s not entirely true,” said Browning. “And don’t worry, I’m prone to speaking a little French now and then myself—mostly because I’ve been stuck in the UK, and with a perfectly good Airborne Corps sitting there with nothing to do. We’ve discussed this with General Clark, and he’s of the opinion that he can collect all his Armored Cavalry regiments and they’ll serve well to do exactly what you propose. They can screen those flanks as our General Adair takes his Guardsmen north.”

  “Yes, they can screen the flank, but I don’t think they can hold it.”

  “Well, General Clark also tells me your 95th Infantry Division has just been put ashore at Dunkerque. That is a very timely arrival, and it leaves all the transports we might need for the amphibious shot at Walcheren Island. As soon as our own 11th Armored arrives, that should be more than enough to secure our right flank. Your worries regarding Brussels should clear up nicely.”

  “I’m not so sure,” said Ike, worried about that long open flank if he gave the go ahead here. “The 95th can’t take Brussels by itself.”

  “Perhaps not, but it will be able to watch that flank, yes? There’s one further contingency,” said Browning. “We’ve got four excellent airborne divisions but only enough planes and gliders to lift two divisions at any one time. That means the landings will take place over three days, but it leaved us with plenty in the cupboard to reinforce the flanks.”

  “Alright, how do you plan to make this attack?”

  “Antwerp is the prize, but we can’t pull the ribbon off the box until we clear the Scheldt. For that we’re going to need both Walcheren and Beveland Islands. Without them, Antwerp is useless. So the main LZ north of Antwerp can also be used to put troops onto the Isthmus of Beveland, and guard that entrance to prevent enemy reinforcements. Jerry hasn’t done much in the way of flooding that island, except in the Rilland area.

  “What about Walcheren?” asked Ike.

  “At the moment, the latest recon photographs show no extensive flooding, but a number of our own staff planners suggested we bomb the dikes ourselves. It would flood the low ground of the interior, leaving only the higher ground on the perimeter near the dikes for the Germans to hold the place. Basically, that would eliminate any defense in depth. If we break the outer shell, the egg is ours to fry.”

  “But we can’t put our airborne troops into that mess.”

  “Agreed,” said Browning. “That’s why we’ve detailed the attack on Walcheren Island to be made by amphibious assault, as General Montgomery suggested earlier. The Buffalo amphibious troop carriers will be able to move through the flooded areas easily enough. So we’ll want to make every effort to reach the Scheldt, particularly at Breskens and Terneuzen. Those small ports can be used to support the main operation, which will be staged from Dunkerque by Commandos, Royal Marines and Rangers. If we do get Breskens, then we can send support troops over in smaller craft.”

  “Alright, show me the airborne division assignments.”

  Browning produced a second map, this time with all the proposed drop zones penciled in.

  “The way I’ve planned it, the we’ll make the main drop north and of Antwerp, and on South Beveland island. Our two Para divisions have eight brigades between them, so we’ll have ample force. Now then, your 82nd will be dropping here northeast of Ghent. You were correct to see that as a trouble spot, what with all the canals and rivers in that area. So Your General Ridgeway will secure the city and canal bridges before the Guards get there, and General Adair can roll right on through.

  “What about the 101st?”

  “They’ll put in one or two regiments as needed south of Antwerp to seal that area off, with the remainder of that division in reserve. If needed, we’ve also got General Sosabowski’s Polish Brigade. The amphibious operation will stage at an appropriate moment for Walcheren. Thus far, the only German forces we’ve identified on that island are the 70th Division. They call it the ‘White Bread’ Division, because it’s composed entirely of men with stomach problems restricted to a simple diet.”

  “I see… Well, let’s hope they have a stomach ache the day we make this assault.”

  “As for the main ground element, General Adair’s Guard’s Division leads the charge, with General Roberts following to watch that right flank and lend support if necessary. If your 11th Armored can finish up with the Germans north of Ghent, then they can also lend a hand. The Guards will roll right through the 82nd at Ghent, and on to Antwerp where they’ll link up with elements of your 101st south of the city. Then they bull on through that fortification line and into the city. There’s your plan, Ike, and its sound. Monty has reviewed it as you asked, and he’s given it his wholehearted approval, even if he was a bit ruffled when we filched his 11th Armored Division and the Canadians.”

  “Oh, he’ll get over it,” said Ike, looking at the plan for some time. The ground element looked weak, and he wished he had a couple more infantry divisions to secure the flank of its advance. He had five more US divisions ready to make a big move into the European Theater of Operations. These were the 63rd, 99th, 100th, 102nd, and 104th. But they wouldn’t reach France until July, even on Marshall’s accelerated delivery schedule. The vanguard of that group, the 95th, had been the so called “timely arrival” Browning had seized upon to watch his flank, but Ike did not think that was enough.

  “I’m still not certain about this,” he said. “We haven’t considered what the German reaction would be to an offensive like this. They’ll know what we’re after the moment those airborne troops drop, and they’ll certainly try to stop us. What’s on their side of the fence?”

  “At the moment, they seem to be worried about Lille. We’ve spotted another of their own para divisions moving up to defend that city. Nothing else has been noted in any position to threaten that right flank, and Brussels is empty at the moment. As for the principle objectives, we’ve noted their 70th Division on Walcheren, which was formed from the older 165th Reserve Division. Beveland appears to be lightly held, as they don’t see it as vulnerable as long as they still hold Walcheren. There are three divisions further north in Holland, the 347th Fortress Division at Rotterdam, the 719th Coastal Division in that same area, and 16th Luftwaffe Field Division. They’re watching everything to the north, and we’ve come up with a deception plan to make it appear as if we’ve got forces at sea intending a landing near Amsterdam. We hope it will keep those divisions where they are.”

  “And what about Ghent and Antwerp?”

  “They’ve formed a line with three divisions from the coast, along the Leopold Canal, to Ghent. These are the 48th here between the coast and Brugges, then the 19th Luftwaffe Field Division, and finally the 712th, a coastal division they’ve moved towards Ghent. They’re not much to speak of, and your 11th Armored should be able to push them back away from the city, with the 2nd Canadian Division. Antwerp is garrisoned by nothing more than a few third rate security units, all understrength. The whole lot wouldn’t amount to a regiment.”

  Eisenhower nodded. “Very well,” he said with a shrug. “Of course, I’ll want to discuss this plan with Generals Clark and Dempsey. What do we call the damn thing, Plan 15?”

  “No, we’ve finally given it a proper code name,” said Browning. “The amphibious plan to hit Walcheren Island on the south coast is being called Operation Undergo . It’s rather plain, but to the point. As for the airborne operation, we’ve a perfectly good name from the previous plan, Operation Comet. We’ll stick with that, unless you have another suggestion.”

  “Good enough,” said Eisenhower. “Now the only question is how to time this thing. I’ll see what Clark and Dempsey say about it, and give you my final decision soon. Thank you, General Browning. You’ve done a fine job with this. Please don’t mistake my reservations for anything more than a proper sense of caution. After all, throwing 35,000 men 60 miles behind enemy lines is no small affair.”

  It certainly wasn’t….

  Chapter 29

/>   The first thing Eisenhower wanted to change about the plan was the assignment of the 95th Infantry Division as the flank guard. It was fresh off the boats from the states, trained, but green tomatoes. He wanted to give them some time in theater before he put them into a critical spot like that. Instead, he was going to relieve Terry Alan’s 1st Infantry Division, the best he had in theater in terms of experience and sheer grit. So they would move up from the Boulogne area while the 95th relieved them on the line.

  Job number two was George Patton. He had been using the transport aircraft to airlift gasoline to the front, and he would certainly howl when he learned that those planes would all have to return to England for this operation. He flew down to Lucky Forward, now situated at Bernay, to see Patton personally. True to form, Patton argued that keeping his armor moving now by far outweighed the value of any airborne plan, particularly when he learned that that Montgomery had spoon in that pot.

  “Hell Ike, you wanted a bridgehead over the Seine at Rouen, and that’s exactly what I gave you” said Patton, “along with all of Normandy, including Cherbourg, in the bargain. You give me the gasoline and I’ll take Amiens and push right up to kick the Germans 15th Army in the ass.”

  “George, you’ve worked miracles here, and it was an outstanding job, but we need Antwerp. Cherbourg was a nice plum, but it will support no more than 15 to 20 divisions. I need something that can keep the whole front running for the drive to the Westwall, and that’s Antwerp. Besides, you have to admit that this is one hell of an audacious plan. If it works, you’ll have all the gasoline you could possibly use. For the time being, I want you to keep pushing to expand that bridgehead, and get as much as you can north of the Seine. ”

  And that was that. Orders were orders, and Patton would have no choice other than to fall in line, as would Montgomery. Ike had promised him support as well, but it was all going to take time to get Cherbourg up and running and bring up the necessary supply. Operation Thunder had rolled right up to the Seine. Monty and O’Connor were across in force, because the Germans had decided to fall back to the Marne to straighten their line. Feeling he finally had caught up to Patton, Monty was now busy planning his effort to get over this last major water barrier.

  O’Connor already had a small bridgehead about 50 kilometers east of Paris at La Ferte Jouarre. There the British 6th Armored Division had secured a bridge and had crossed against stiff resistance from Student’s Paratroops. Just east of that action, 5th British Infantry had crossed, only to find they were up against the 12th SS Panzer Division, weakened but still s potent force in the field.

  With the front shaken loose after this big German withdrawal, Monty had tipped his hat and returned to his 10th Army further east. His lines would begin at Epernay and run east along the Canal de la Marne-Rhin to Chalons, which he occupied on June 10th. Just east of Epernay, the men of his 1st British Infantry Division found a weak spot and surged over the river and canal that day. The Marne itself was only about 150 feet wide at this point, and the canal about half that at 75 feet. So both could be crossed by assault boats or rafts, and the Germans had not been able to form a cohesive front all along that river yet.

  Both Guderian and von Rundstedt were under no illusions about the situation they now faced. While they still had some good, solid units in the field, most notably the Brandenburgers , Panzer Lehr , SS Nordland , the Reichsführer Division, and 12th SS, their infantry was always a weak point, and only Student’s tough I Falschirmjaeger Corps could be relied on to stand and securely hold the line. The front from Le Havre to the French Alps now stretched some 600 kilometers. More worrisome was the situation in the 15th Army sector, something von Rundstedt had long feared.

  The two men looked over the map, seeing one inroad after another being pressed across the Seine and Marne. Patton’s bridgehead at Rouen was slowly expanding, and Bradley had forced another big bridgehead at Vernon with Corlett’s IX Corps. The French finally let go of the women and wine in Paris and they were beginning to organize again north of the city, and now both O’Connor and Montgomery were pushing bridgeheads over the Marne.

  “Half the army is still in column of March,” said von Rundstedt. “This business with von Salmuth is most disturbing. They pushed armored units through Roeselare and Thiet towards Ghent.”

  “They are after Antwerp with that operation,” said Guderian, “but if they do attempt to exploit towards the port, then they must either go through Ghent, up the road through Lokeren, or turn east to swing up on Antwerp from the south.”

  “Von Zangen had been given command of that entire sector now,” said von Rundstedt. “Is Antwerp defended?”

  “I read the position reports this morning,” said Guderian. “The 59th and 64th Divisions are arriving from Germany, one north of the city, the other south. That should be enough to hold, and at the moment, the enemy doesn’t seem to have a strong force moving into the breakout zone. Besides, we still have Walcheren and Beveland, and without those, Antwerp will be useless to the Allies at this point. I’m a little more concerned about Brussels. If they turn in that direction, they would only be 155 kilometers from Aachen. And if they push through Lille, then they are breaking out into our deep rear areas.”

  “Von Salmuth is screening Lille well enough,” said von Rundstedt. “He has sent Leibstandarte to Brussels. The city was wide open yesterday, but I think that fills that gap for the moment. Besides, we sent them 9th SS days ago.”

  “In exchange for 9th Panzer. I think we got the best end of that stick. The SS divisions have fought well, but they’ve been at it for months now, and they need time to rest and refit.” Guderian was always looking after his Panzer divisions.

  “Von Salmuth cancelled his counterattack towards Poppering,” said von Rundstedt. “He is now adopting a mobile defense strategy, at least until he can find more infantry to restore that front. There must be more OKW can send.”

  “Yes, a number of new divisions are being s formed. They’re calling them Volksgrenadiers now, but OKW wants them on the Siegfried line.”

  “A wise precaution,” said von Rundstedt. “If they do land more forces in the lodgment in the north, then the close proximity to our borders is worrisome.”

  “I think we must continue the withdrawal here in the south,” said Guderian, eyeing von Rundstedt cautiously. “Patton is going to keep pushing at Rouen, and he’ll cut off everything to the west if he gets loose. Demolitions at Le Havre are being seen to this time. Frankly, I still believe that your entire 7th Army is much too far to the west. We should continue folding back the line there.”

  “What do you suggest?”

  “Abandon Le Havre,” said Guderian. “Then continue this withdrawal and fold back the line to anchor it at Abbeville. From there it would run southeast through Amiens and then on to Laon and Rheims. At present, the front from Le Havre to Rheims is 300 kilometers. If we redeploy as I have suggested, we cut that by a third, reducing the front to 200 kilometers.”

  “And your sector?”

  “I’ll lock elbows with you near Rheims, and then re-establish a line running through Nancy to the border near Freiberg. If necessary, I can run it through Metz because we’ll be able to hold the line easily from the vicinity of Karlsruhe south to Freiburg. We’ll have the water barrier of the Rhine and good mountains right behind it. Then I think we can toughen up, and perhaps have troops freed up that we can send to von Salmuth. At the moment, that breakout in the north looks worse than it is, but rest assured, they will do everything possible to exploit it.”

  “What about our miracle workers?” asked von Rundstedt.

  “Kluge spoke to me about that yesterday. Like every other unit, the air strikes have taken a toll with them. But the real worry is ammunition. Those wonderful new tanks only have so many rounds in store, and they have gone through half of all they carried. If we ever want to be able to use them in any decisive situation, then they have to be pulled off the line. Kluge agrees, so we are sending them north by rail whil
e this bad weather holds. They move tonight.”

  “Where are they going?”

  “Kluge suggested the rail line through Charleroi, Namur and Liege. I think they will be posted at Aachen, just in case the Allies have more bulls in the pen up there than we’ve been able to count.”

  “That sounds like a wise precaution,” said von Rundstedt. “Yes, let them stand on the Westwall, and be our ace in the hole. Very well, I agree that we should continue to roll back 7th Army in the west, and the line you suggest is perfect. I will issue the necessary orders immediately. But my, we’ll be giving this Patton a few more headlines, because he’ll surely follow us like a dog nipping at our heels.”

  “We’ve already given him three quarters of France,” said Guderian glumly. “I don’t think a few headlines will matter now.”

  * * *

  Getting north of the Seine was not as easy as it may have seemed. Having a bridgehead in one area might allow units to cross there, but elsewhere, divisions were scrounging up boats, rafts, and anything else they could use to get the river ferry sites operational. The Germans had destroyed and sunk most of the big river barges, but the ferry landing sites were still intact. Yet it would still be a slow process getting troops across that way on boats and makeshift rafts.

  Collins was able to get most of his 94th Division across and push elements towards Le Havre. He scratched his head when he learned that the lead elements were not meeting any stiff opposition. Then he put two and two together and called Patton.

  “General,” he said. “I think they’re pulling out north. I’ve got a regiment outside Le Havre already, and I think we can get in there tomorrow morning.”