Part 17
The end of the beginning
May – June 1941
Chamberlain had allowed Deverill to continue in his post long after he was due to retire, due mainly to the war breaking out where it was felt a change at such a point might be detrimental. That authority had expired at the end of April, and Churchill pressed for someone new at GHQ. Deverill would continue in his post as Chief of Staff until the end of May, but as of 1st May, Gort took over at GHQ, where it was felt his emphasis on offensive operations and mobility would be passed down the chain. At the same time, Alexander, the bright and upcoming leader of 1st Infantry division was moved across to take command of II Corps, where he would cut his teeth at this level before perhaps moving on to even higher command. Wavell took over Gorts post at 2nd Army, and Dill was moved sideways from 9th Army to take command of the new 5th Army, then forming up in South Wales. These were the decisions taken by Churchill
9th Army had been formed for future operations in Northern Europe, and whilst that opportunity was considered some way off, it was to remain on the order of battle and be built up for 1942.
The 5th Army was formed for operation in the Mediterranean by taking the experienced III & XVIII Corps and adding XXIV Corps, together with 2nd Armoured division. It was to be strengthened still further by the addition of divisional artillery brigades as they became available. It would begin moving out to theatre during July.
In the Med meanwhile, the Navy added to its score by sinking the Italian cruiser RM Taranto off Cape Matapan. British supremacy in the Med was getting closer with each day that passed, but Backhouse warned that the Reggio Marine was still capable of action and that vigilance should not be allowed to slip.
The Kreigsmarine however was a different matter. The Graf Zepplin put in another appearance in early May, but was intercepted by Tovey’s Battle Group and an inconclusive fight took place before the Germans slipped away. They were then picked up by HMS Resolution and her group, which almost resulted in KMS Admiral Scheer being sunk before the Germans escaped. However, it was noted, not for the first time, that the Germans had put to sea during the movement of British Garrison troops up the coast. It appeared that every time troopships put to sea around the British Isles, the Germans appeared. Backhouse came to the conclusion that the Kreigsmarine had possibly more advance decription than the RN, and that they could read some Admiralty codes. Rather than panic, Backhouse decided that next time, a trap would be laid for the Germans.
Meanwhile relentless bombing and submarine warfare against the forces on Rhodes revealed that the defenders were in pretty poor shape. The date fixed for Operations “Sugar” and “Spice” was 2nd June. It was not anticipated that the defenders would last very long in such condition.
The following week, British submarines sent to recon the possible landing areas for “Tempest” 2 made a rather alarming discovery. German forces, including parachute formations, had based themselves on the Vichy French controlled island of Corsica, directly overlooking the assembly areas for the upcoming operations. This presented another problem. If British forces were sent onto the island to clear them out, it might bring Vichy France into the conflict against Britain, and it wasn’t like Britain didn’t have enough enemies already. The War cabinet mulled over what to do about this in the event of “Tempest” getting the go ahead. The draft for “Tempest” 1 was already on Churchill’s desk awaiting his approval, and his answer was needed before the end of the month to allow preparations to be made.
In Northern Burma, I and X Corps began their assault on Myitkyina on 21st May, but the Yunnan forces were weak and in poor supply. The battle, if it could be called such, lasted barely a day, before the enemy were in full retreat.
V Corps left Alexandria on the evening of 1st June to begin Operation “Spice” the next morning. The landing was virtually unopposed, the Italians being in such a poor state of supply and being subjected to constant bombing over the past three weeks. The Dodecanese Islands ("Sugar") were taken 3 days later, again with virtually no resistance. All told the two operations yielded a further 31,000 prisoners, among them several thousand Germans, taking the overall tally in British hands to nearly 200,000 men.
As British troops landed, the Italian ships in harbour were forced to flee, and a running battle then ensued all the way back to Italian waters as the Royal Navy sought to finish off this sizable chunk of the remaining Italian fleet. First, Swordfish from HMS Courageous attacked, doing serious damage to several ships before the new Battleships HMS Howe and Prince of Wales arrived. After two hours of fighting, the RM Francesco Caracciolo was hit in quick succession by four 14 inch rounds from HMS Prince of Wales and became dead in the water. More Swordfish torpedo bombers from HMS Eagle then quickly moved in and she was hit again by 2 torpedo’s, which eventually caused her to roll over and sink. As the Italians tried to escape into the Ionian Sea, they found the way blocked by HMS Barham and Royal Oak, allowing the vengeful British to fall on them again. In a storm the British lost contact and they narrowly escaped again, but not without the loss of another submarine flotilla, and every ship in the force badly damaged. By 9th June, it was all over, and the Italians had been driven out of the Eastern Mediterranean.
1. RM Francesco Caracciolo, hit by a second torpedo, 7th June 1941
2. HMS Eagle with escorts, May 1941
3. A disorganised rabble. The defenders of Rhodes.
Anthony Eden arrived back from his gruelling trip to Siam in mid June. Edmund joined a meeting with Churchill, Eden and the Chiefs of Staff the day after he got back. Eden reported that the Siamese had been polite, yet unhelpful. The questions he really wanted resolved had gone unanswered. There had been little constructive to bring back save some promises to trade for resources and a vague “reaffirmation” of mutual interests. Eden felt that Japan was tempting the Siamese into an alliance of which the prize was Britain’s Far East possessions. There was little positive he could add.
Churchill asked many questions, asked for information on Spain, Greece, the USA, the Soviets and of others. The question of Vichy France then came up. The regime could hardly resist their German masters, and it seemed likely that if Britain did encroach on Vichy territory, war would probably follow. Even if Britain did not, the German’s might push them into such a situation. All this had a bearing on operations against Italy. If the Army were engaged on the Italian mainland, and Vichy France then joined the conflict on Libya’s open border, or if Greece were invaded or worse, joined the Axis, the situation would be back to square one. But a decision had to made and a strategy had to be set so that operations could be organised for the summer. Churchill went around the room and asked all those present their choice. Sit tight and await events? Press ahead with “Hammer”, the invasion of Sicily? Or go the whole 9 yards and set “Tempest” in motion?
Backhouse went with Tempest, with no hesitation. The Navy was strong enough. Newell went with Hammer. The RAF would struggle with range to protect the initial landing of Tempest until airfields could be captured, and even then they would lack the capacity unless Rome fell swiftly. Gort went with Tempest. To take Rome might cause Italy to collapse. It was a risk worth taking. Eden was unsure. He went with Hammer, because Tempest might precipitate a conflict with Vichy France. And so it fell to Churchill to sum up and decide.
The chance to knock out Italy had to be taken, he said. Because if they waited much longer, the situation would only get worse. Time would make Italy stronger, and Japan would soon enter the war. Greece and Vichy France were eventualities that had to be covered as best as possible, but the risk must be taken. He had already been told that the earliest date for “Tempest” 1 was 5th August, and, subject to its outcome, the earliest date for “Tempest” 2 was 1st September. All things being as planned, Tempest would go ahead on those dates.
Jake had arrived in Burma in late April. The journey had been long and arduous, down the coast of Spain, through the Mediterranean and the Suez canal, then on across the Indian Ocean. He thought it would never end. They arrived at Bawli Bazaar, and at once it was the heat that got to them. 38 degrees on average in the sun, an intensely humid heat which Northern Europeans were not used to. They went first to acclimatisation camps for two weeks, where to begin with they did very little. Then each day the tempo was raised a little, then a little more. Until they were once again digging holes and heaving around heavy loads like the soldiers they were. Then it was the insects that got to them. The mosquito’s and flies that never left you alone. Jake wondered if they would send him mad. He wrote Annie after a week. It was a strange letter, but he had to write it. He said he had wished he had asked her to marry him. And that if he came home, that was what he was going to do. On one knee, like it should be done. He didn’t realise that were he was going, there were no post boxes, and that mail took months, sometimes years, to catch up with its addressee.
At last, they were told they were going up to join the division in Northern Burma, and 48 hours later they were moving out. It soon became clear that the “heat” they thought was bad relatively near the sea, was much worse as they marched inland. And “marched” was the operative word. They were put on a train to start with and everyone assumed this would take them where they had to go. But it came to railhead after 60 miles, and from there it was on foot. Mandalay was over 400 miles east, and Rangoon 700 miles to the south. 10th Division was in the jungle, over 250 miles away.
There was no transport. All equipment, mortars and base plates, ammunition, food, water, it all had to be man packed or carried on mules. There were no roads, only tracks, which were frequently overgrown and encroached on by the jungle. The further they went, the more mountainous and difficult the country became. They were either climbing over steep ridges or wading through river valleys. They got used to walking through ankle deep water as normal, because if it wasn’t that, then it was knee deep mud. Many of the men had already begun to come down with the maladies of the jungle. Malaria, beri beri, dysentery and yellow fever. Then they had to be carried too. And he wondered that if it was this hard just to move in the jungle, how on earth were you supposed to fight in it. But like all the men of his generation, he just got on with it. That’s what you did back then.
4. The unforgiving jungle.
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