Chapter 253
The first thing that he had noticed upon setting foot on Italy was the large number of different allied Countries and the even larger number of Soldiers. General William 'Bill' Slim had commanded the fortress of Singapore since long before the Sons of Nippon had entered the war, and he simply wasn't used not only to to units with the most modern and plentiful equipment that was to be had anywhere. In Singapore twelve Mathila II were still soldering on briskly, while here in Europe their modern descendants would literally run rings around them with total impunity. He missed taking care of his boys in the Fortress, but getting an Army Command and knowing that Air Vice Marshal Browning would be more than able to defend the Fortress soothed his soul. It had caused a mild stir within the the Army when an RAF Officer had been given this most prestigious of postings, but Slim was well aware that Singapore was in essence a Career ender, chances of promotion where next to non-existent when one served in a Fortress under Siege, and for that reason now-Air Commodore Dashwood and most of 633 Squadron's pilots had joined slim on the outbound Dakotas.
He had spent the last three weeks in Palermo trying to learn a whole new form of warfare (to him) that didn't rely on the skilled use of a smaller number of Infantry but was rather full on 20th Century mechanized warfare while Air Commodore Dashwood was busy getting his qualification on the Spitfire Mk. Vk.
General Slim still felt a certain anxiety when facing the combined Soviet and German Armies but the classic British Stiff upper Lip prevented him from showing it. Mind you, unlike the French and British Forces in 1940 he knew that the Axis Forces weren't invincible, far from it. That they would be a difficult and tough enemy was something he could deal with, the Nips might be using outdated stormtrooper tactics that smelled of the trenches, but they were very tough fighters. And to be perfectly honest it would be nice not to have to ration even anti-aircraft and Artillery ammunition to the degree that he had in Singapore.
Right at this moment he was sitting in his Quarters in a small town forty miles from the Austro-Italian border in the Hotel that served as 9th Army Headquarters until the breakout into Austria, tentatively dubbed
'Operation Lightfoot' started in a few days. Originally the Offensive had been scheduled to start on the 17th, with the 1st Irish Division fully in place, but now that London and Aldershot had changed their minds about going into Yugoslavia the adjustment of the plans had delayed things for another week, now the jumpoff date was the 5th August 1942. Unlike previously, 9th Army was on the Allied right flank, with the 1st Canadian in the centre and the British 8th Army to the north. While there would be no major offensive aimed at liberating Yugoslavia at least until after Vienna was taken (one wanted to keep his options open, not that the Yugoslav Government knew) 2nd (ANZAC) Army was to go through northern Yugoslavia, liberate Lubljana, move north of Zagreb to either draw the Hungarian Army into open battle or at the very least threaten their homeland and hopefully prompting Budapest to call the majority of it's forces home. The 11th, 5th and 6th Armies were in Reserve, both to save manpower that was precious to the Dutch and the Belgians and later to provide a flank guard once the 8th, 1st Candian and 9th wheeled north towards Vienna and hopefully into Germany while the still forming Indian and African British Forces would secure the lines of supply and engage the enemy in South-Eastern Europe.[1] 1st and 2nd Cavalry Divisions had been formed into the ad-hoc I Cavalry Corps, and the additional Infantry Division had been attached to XL Corps, which was one of the Army's primary subunit, the other being XLI Corps and of course I Cavalry Corps. This additional Infantry Division though was what was making him slightly uneasy.
The problem wasn't the reaction of the other Allied forces even though rumblings had gone through the Alliance, but rather how the unit would react when it was unleashed on the Germans, for it was the King's Jewish Legion.
The KJL had been born out of the 5th (Jewish) Brigade after the theatre in North Africa had been wound down, and the Brigade had found itself not only without a commanding Officer (Brigadier Ernest Frank Benjamin, formerly of the Royal Engineers had been killed shortly after Tripoli had officially surrendered) but also without a mission as it had been formed to boost Middle East Command for as long as there was a threat to Palestine, this being now eradicated with the capitulation of the last remnants of the Italian 5th and 10th Armies. However instead of disbanding, going back to Palestine, joining the Haganah and becoming semi-legal Paramilitaries it had been decided to revive a concept from the Napoleonic Wars and World War One. The 5th Brigade was to be expanded by a second Jewish Brigade and joined by organic Artillery. The expansion to a full three-Brigades Division with attached Artillery and the Divisional troops came ironically only after the Palestine Riots that had prompted Jewish, Arab and British Authorities in Palestine had actually started to negotiate. Now the Legion had not only grown to Division size but was been endorsed by the King and now shared it's name with a similar unit of World War One fame.
A knock at the door drew Slim's attention. He motioned for his aide to show the Officer in.
“Pray be seated, General.”
The younger man saluted crisply and sat down in the chair opposite Slim. The Office was not much different from the spartan low-class hotel room it had once been, and it suited Slim.
“You wanted to speak to me, Sir?”
Slim spent a few moments to study the other man in his Office.
“You lost that eye at Tripoli I understand?”
With the eyepatch still itching whenever he thought of it, Major General Moshe Dayan thought of the crazed Italian Corporal with a hand grenade and a serious lack of talent for cricket.
“Yes Sir, courtesy of an Italian hand grenade.”
Slim looked Dayan in the face as both men stared each other down for a few moments.
“Let me ask you this, General. How will your men react when we send them against the Germans?”
Slim saw that Dayan was trying to find an answer that wouldn't be seen as insubordination, and instead of waiting he simply asked another question.
“No one can doubt their motivation and no one does, rest assured. We all know that they are itching to fight, and with good reason.” Slim sighed and rephrased his earlier question. “What I would like to know is what your men will do when that desire clashes with orders.”
Dayan had to admit that while he hated being doubted, he knew that the question had merit.
“They will do as they are told, I can vouch for my Officers and men.”
“Good,” Slim said with a nod, “then I want to know from
you if your men will adhere to the rules of war.”
Before Dayan could reply, Slim raised a hand to keep him quiet and continued.
“Or rather I do bloody well order you to make them. Are we clear?”
“Perfectly, Sir.”
“And consider this, General Dayan. There is no reason for you to descend to their level...”
Dayan interrupted Slim as politely as he could under the circumstances.
“With all due respect Sir, we will adhere to the rules of war as much as the British troops, after all we do have a country to fight for now.”
Dayan was referring to the partitioning plan in Palestine that, while being condemned by the most radical Zionists was fulfilling a wish the Jewish Diaspora had had for centuries, while giving the other major group with a claim on the area a country of their own. How this worked out in the long run was unknown but at the very least both sides were too busy to be killing each other which was what London had intended with suggesting the plan in the first place.
Slim smiled and then said:
“That is all I wanted to know, General. Now get back to your command, we have a war to win.”
“Yes, Sir.”
[Notes: I can't take credit for the inception of the KJL, that Idea is borrowed with permission from another alt-Hist WW2 on another Forum. And of course the KJL is supposed to provide a cadre of Officers, NCOs and men with combat experience for the future IDF.]
[1] That's the plan for Operation Lightfoot at least, how it will turn out in the end is any one's guess.
[2]The closest picture I could find, please ignore the Rank Insignia.