Sir John Valentine Carden Survives. Part 2.

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5 June 1942. Tripoli, Libya

Once the RAF’s Desert Air Force had cleared the North African coast of Italians and Germans, a degree of relaxation had been allowed to let the men rest and the aircraft be serviced. Some Squadrons and their support had left for the Far East, but there was still a strong force, especially of the South African Air Force, which had been strengthened over the last couple of years. Two South African Wings had now been created, No 4 Wing SAAF was made up of the fighter squadrons (2nd, 4th, 5th, and 15th) which were all now flying Curtiss Kittyhawks. The bomber squadrons (12th, 21st, 24th), along with the Reconnaissance squadrons (15th, 40th, 60th), formed No 3 Wing SAAF. Two of the Reconnaissance squadrons were flying Martin Marylands while 40th Squadron using single seat fighters including Hurricanes and Tomahawks for reconnaissance. All the SAAF bomber squadrons were equipped with Boston III bombers.

The two SAAF Wings had been moved to Tripoli, along with three RAF Squadrons (38, 162, 221) equipped with Wellingtons, two with Beaufighters (46th, 27th) and three fighter squadrons (73, 112 with Kittyhawks, and 145 with the first Spitfires in the theatre outside of Malta). To keep up their levels of training and combat experience the bombers and fighters regularly attacked the Italian islands of Pantelleria, Lampione, Lampedusa and Linosa. Thousands of tons of bombs had been dropped and strafing runs by fighters had been undertaken. Along with the Royal Navy as well as aircraft from Malta, a tight noose had been placed around these islands, which as far as Signals Intelligence could gather were all now short of water.

The success of the amphibious attack on Rhodes in April, along with the blockade of Pantelleria, gave General Wavell the confidence to order an attack on Linosa and Lampedusa, followed by Pantelleria. No 8 (Guards) and 11 (Scottish) Commando of the Special Service Brigade, carried in HMS Ulster Monarch, sailed from Malta, with a strong Royal Navy escort of cruisers and destroyers. Along with the Commandoes, two LCTs carried two troops of Tetrarch DD tanks, though there was great dubiety about whether the terrain would be ‘tank friendly’. Each troop had two gun tanks and two close support tanks.

The arrival off the coast of Lampedusa of the British fleet was met with an Italian radio signal requesting a delegation to be sent to receive the island’s surrender. Major David Stirling, second in command of No 8 Commando, with a shore-party, went ashore in an LCA and took the surrender of the Italian Governor who handed over his sword to the British officer. A small detachment was left on the island to detain the Italian garrison, who were transferred onto one of the Royal Navy Destroyers and returned to Malta. The Governor had informed Rome that the lack of water caused by the British blockade was the reason that the garrison could offer no resistance.

When the British ships arrived off Lampione, they were somewhat taken aback as the Italian garrison crowded into boats, many unseaworthy, and made their way to the British ships. Captain Geoffrey Oliver of HMS Hermione was all set to issue the order, ‘stand by to repel boarders’ when it became clear that the Italian garrison were surrendering en masse. This wasn’t quite the way the capture of Lampione had been planned for, and the commandoes were keen to go, so Vice-Admiral Maund, CO of the operations gave permission for the plan to go ahead. The Italian garrison Commandant (who had been incommunicado at the time of the arrival of the British) was subsequently found and the official surrender was finalised. When the Commandant (with his mistress) were transported out to HMS Hermione, he was told in no uncertain terms by the Italian POWs what they thought of him (and her). Captain Oliver ordered that he should be kept separate from the other POWs, and from his mistress, who became a guest of the wardroom, or officers' mess.

Pantelleria was by far a harder nut to crack. There was a defiant response to the request to surrender, and so the bombardment began, the fleet covered by the fighters from Malta. The Italian air force did attempt to intervene, but between the RAF on Malta and the predominately South African fighters at Tripoli, the Italian pilots were unable to make any serious attack on the British, and suffered heavily in the process. The bombardment covered the approach of the landing force, which, due to the lack of suitable landing places, was approaching one beach on the northern side of the island.

As there were so few landing places, much of the Italian beach defences were concentrated on this particular area. It was necessary for a destroyer to approach close to the beach to provide direct fire support as the first wave of commandoes were bogged down. The arrival of the naval gunfire support and the DD tanks broke the deadlock, and the second wave were able to break through the crust of the Italian defence and begin to move swiftly towards the airfield and the main town.

After the battle was finally won, the British interrogators of the surviving Italian commanders discovered that Mussolini had insisted that the garrison fight to the last man and last bullet. There was an implied threat that the families of the officers and men would suffer consequences if the men gave up too easily. This became something of a propaganda coup subsequently, with Mussolini’s orders being broadcast to the Italian population over the BBC World Service.

 

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9 June 1942. Moscow CCCP

Timoshenko’s news to the STAVKA was not only unwelcome, but as far as Stalin was concerned, following the loss of Sevastopol and the whole of Crimea, close enough to treason.

Comrade General Fedorenko (Chief of the Armoured Forces Administration) had resurrected combined-arms mechanised units. Four Tank Corps had been created, each consisting of three tank brigades, a truck mounted infantry brigade, a reconnaissance battalion, a battalion each of mortars, multiple rocket launchers, anti-aircraft artillery, as well as combat engineers and eventually a transport company. Each Tank Brigade was equipped with 32 Medium T-34s and 21 Light (BT 7 or T60). With an authorised strength of 7800 men, and 168 tanks, the tank corps were thought to be similar to the weakened German Panzer Divisions. Fedorenko intended it that way, and had plans to combine these tanks corps into tank armies that would allow the deep operations that Soviet operational doctrine called for. Of the first two of these, 5th was operational and 1st would be by July.

Timoshenko brought the unwelcome news that 21st and 23rd Tank Corps had been totally destroyed, along with three Rifle Armies, by the Germans, who were now pushing forward towards Voronezh on the upper Don River. The problems they faced were that the intelligence had underestimated the size of the German presence. Movements of German reinforcements had been totally missed, so the attack towards Kharkov had been doomed from the start. The loss of Crimea meant that the Luftwaffe had concentrated both the 2nd and 4th Air Fleets which gave them total command of the skies, making aerial reconnaissance impossible.

Stalin was convinced that once the Germans had crossed the Don at Voronezh they would turn north to once again attack Moscow. He therefore denied requests for reinforcements to be sent south to aid Timoshenko’s Southwestern Front. Timoshenko added his worry that the German troops who had captured Crimea would be in a position to either cross the Kerch Strait and threaten Rostov from behind, or be added to the attack, giving the Germans the capacity to head both north to Moscow and southeast towards the oil fields of the Caucasus.

This did nothing to convince Stalin to change his mind, the Germans were coming for Moscow, that was obvious. Timoshenko would have to make do with what he had. The lessons of the previous summer had been learned to some degree. The Germans would attempt to encircle the Red Army wherever possible. Timoshenko had permission to pull his forces back in a timely manner to prevent them being lost. Once the Germans turned north, then Southwestern Front would be in a position to attack the German flank and rear.

Timoshenko knew that his most competent and effective mobile force had already been lost, even before the full German attack. The ability to make effective withdrawals in the front of the enemy, without air superiority would be nightmarish. He needed to get back to his HQ and start working on a realistic plan of trading terrain for time.

 

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10 June 1942. London, England.

General Alan Brooke had prepared a statement to be made at an interview with the Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov who was on his way through back from the USA to Moscow. The demand for a second front from Moscow were getting deafening. Brooke had finally managed to convince Churchill that Allied forces should not land in France in strength except to stay there, not just to raid the coast. Secondly, unless German morale is deteriorating, then an invasion of France is considered impossible. (1)

What could be done perhaps, at the risk of once again playing the part of perfidious Albion, would be to get Weygand to follow the Syrian example and come over to the Allies. Eden and the Foreign Office were supporters of De Gaulle, but Brooke argued that if Weygand became the voice of Free France, firstly the Germans would need to occupy the whole of France. That would take forces that might overwise be committed to Russia.

The successes in the Mediterranean also provided a possibility of returning onto the European Continent either in Greece (the Prime Minister’s preference) or Sicily (Brooke’s preference). If Hitler could be convinced that an allied invasion of southern Europe was possible, he would again have to consider moving forces from Russia. It was becoming more and more likely that Mussolini would be sidelined. In that case the Germans would be likely to occupy the whole of Italy, again pulling troops away from the eastern front.

The Royal Navy were calling for a halt of the convoys to Russia. In addition to aircraft and U-boats, the Germans now had "Tirpitz", "Admiral Scheer", "Lutzow", "Hipper" and nearly a dozen big destroyers at Narvik and Trondheim. With continual daylight, the previous convoy (PQ 16) had lost six merchantmen to aircraft and one to U-boat attack. Already Home Fleet had lost the cruisers HMS Edinburgh and Trinidad, and HMS King George V had been damaged after ramming and sinking the destroyer HMS Punjabi. If the German fleet sailed to attack the convoy the Royal Navy would be hard pressed to protect the vulnerable merchant ships. (2)

Politically it was impossible for Churchill to stop the next convoy due to leave Iceland at the end of June. He had requested that a full review of the losses in previous PQ convoys be made and suggestions for improvements made. The close escort of the merchantmen was to be increased. The next convoy was to be accompanied by the longer-range destroyers of the Home Fleet. Along with the close escort force of anti-submarine and anti-aircraft ships, the fleet destroyers would be able to confront a sortie by German ships with the threat of a massed torpedo attack. A strong force of cruisers would be shadowing the convoy, ready to intervene and help the destroyers. HMS Victorious, with HMS Duke of York and HMS Renown would be the main covering force. As there was expected to be a large number of American flagged merchant ships in the convoy, Task Force 39, including the carrier USS Wasp and the battleship USS Washington, would join the distant covering force.

The two carriers would be in a position to support the convoy from a distance and HMS Archer, which had been undergoing repairs on the Clyde, would join the convoy itself. It was expected that the presence of the escort carrier with ASV radar equipped Swordfish and Martlet fighters would make life for the Germans harder.

Air Chief Marshall Philip Joubert, AOC Coastal Command, having looked at the problems of PQ 16 had offered to send eight Catalinas and two Squadrons of Hampden torpedo bombers to the Soviet base at Vaenga, along with some photoreconnaissance assets to offer some kind of coverage in addition to the limited Soviet help. This offer was accepted, and the planning for it was expedited.

The Free Norwegians had attempted to put a landing force onto Spitsbergen in May, but it had been attacked by the Luftwaffe and therefore partly failed in its mission. Under the cover of PQ 17 a second attempt would be made to land a force to occupy Spitsbergen and evict the German weather station. The possibility of using the area during the summer months to support the convoys had been considered. Although basing patrol aircraft was rejected as impractical, it was decided to try to place a couple of Royal Fleet Auxiliary tankers to refuel the short-legged escort ships there.

This was one of the first joint operations between the Royal Navy and the US Navy, with American ships under British command. Brooke noted that Admiral Pound had been persuaded to delegate overall command to Admiral Tovey who had been working with TF 39 and built up a good relationship with the American officers.

When Molotov left for Moscow, he had taken with him the assurance that Allied support would not be lacking, the 200000 tons of aid coming on the next convoy was an expression of that. While Stalin might not appreciate it, the sheer scale of naval power employed to protect the convoy was no small matter.

(1) Alan Brooke war diary 10 & 11 June 1942
(2) There is no Pedestal Convoy TTL.

 

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12 June 1942. Rabaul.

The casualties taken to capture of Rabaul had made the South Seas Detachment incapable of any further meaningful progress. It was decided to convert 36 Division, from 1st Army North China Area, to an ocean division. As it was the replacement for the South Seas Detachment, it was named the 5 South Seas Detachment under the command of Lieutenant General Izeki Mitsuru. The force was made up of three Regiments (222nd, 223rd 224th), with attached engineers, tanks and artillery.

The presence of strong Australian forces on New Guinea had made the Solomon Islands a more attractive direction for expansion of the Japanese defensive perimeter. Elements of the Special Naval Landing Force had carried out reconnaissance by force, finding little or no resistance. Among the places that had been earmarked for the construction of airfields was on Guadalcanal and seaplane bases on Shortland Island and Tulagi. The completion of the airfield at Lunga Point on Guadalcanal was imminent, and the seaplane bases were both operational.

Beyond the Solomons the severing of the connection between America and Australia was desirable. The New Hebrides, New Caledonia, Fiji and Samoa were all good places to cut the route, and therefore the American reinforcements going to Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the desire to cut the links between the USA and Australia, the islands of Naura and Ocean had good phosphate deposits, which were desirable natural resources.

The Army planners' concern of the possibility of an attack from the Soviet Union was looking less likely as the progress of the Germans. This gave the Imperial Army Headquarters some reason for optimism that such an attack remained unlikely, even with American support. More resources were earmarked for the Army in Thailand and Malaya, and General Homma’s successful campaign in the Philippines allowed for the Southern attack to continue.

The Imperial Japanese Navy were still looking for the decisive battle with the American fleet, and the increasing British Eastern Fleet. The attacks on New Caledonia, Fiji and Samoa would probably give the Americans no choice but to commit their surviving fleet units, and so allow the IJN to overwhelm them.

Once the link between America and Australia was cut, then finishing off the American, British, Dutch and Australian forces on the Malay barrier would be completed, and the natural resources of the area be available to strengthen the Japanese economy.

There had been a discussion about bringing the American fleet to battle at Midway, with a diversionary attack on the Aleutian Islands. The advantage of this FS Operation however was that it was much closer to the bases on Truk and Rabaul, and had the advantage of some land-based airpower to supplement the 1st Air Fleet.

Getting enough transport ships together to carry part of 36 Division had been one of the planning constraints, but Rabaul harbour was packed with both transports and escorts as the operation was about to get underway. The main carrier and battleship force was gathered at Truk, and would rendezvous with the invasion fleet at the appointed hour.

 

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15 June 1942. Salisbury Plain, England.

The Baron II’s trials were complete and a group of Officers, Other Ranks and civilians were having a cup of tea while trying to work out what needed to go in to the report. There was an unusually informal aura at the meeting, particularly in view that the one pouring the tea was a Major-General.

Major-General Percy Hobart had been doing wonders with the various ideas for developing a selection of vehicles to overcome the kinds of obstacles that might prevent tanks from doing their jobs. He had recently flown back from North Africa where he’d had a look at his old 7th Armoured Division’s experience. Obviously, the battlefield in the desert was always going to be different from Europe. The particular difficulty that had been shown up was dealing with minefields, and that would be the case in any theatre of war.

One of the other officers drinking tea was the South African born Captain Abraham du Toit. He had been working with AEC to develop his idea of clearing mines by using a flail. Before leaving the Middle East, he had begun working on the idea and, when recalled to England, his idea had been taken over by Captain Norman Barrie of the RAOC. With the help of the Royal Engineers, and a team from his own Regiment, Barrie had taken over the local Middle East Command’s attempt to put together a version, which they called a ‘Thresher’. Hobart and du Toit had gone to see what their progress had been, and compare it with their own progress.

The main problem was that the car engines driving the Threshers had struggled to cope with the vibrations caused when a mine exploded. The fact that Barrie’s engines were mounted on the side of the Matilda and Valiant tanks, with the operator’s position also in the vulnerable side mounting, didn’t look as if there was much room for improvement. The threshers were having to be mollycoddled as much as possible. du Toit’s AEC Baron I (based on a Matilda II hull) had basically the same problem as Barrie’s thresher, the car engine’s power to rotate the drum which swung the chains wasn’t powerful enough.

In some ways the Baron II was a better machine than the Middle East’s Thresher. A Bedford six cylinder engine had replaced the original Chrysler, the arms holding the drum were now powered by hydraulic rams rather than working off the turret’s traverse system. The thing that the Thresher was better at was hitting the ground at a flatter angle, and so the Baron II had repositioned the arms lower. There were still problems over rough ground, where mines in furrows could be missed. Having some kind of contouring device was something that would have to be looked at.

Both versions of the flail struggled because of the weight at the front of the tank. The heavy chains and drum on the long arms projecting from the front of the hull meant that counter weights had to be added to the back of the tank. The Matilda, already underpowered, struggled to cope with the extra weight. The Valiant versions had a bit more power to play with, and coped a bit better. Getting the flail right was the first thing, then the best tank or tanks to fit it too would be next.

The fact that the team could sit around having a cup of tea and each person, from Major-General to private to civilian, were able to speak and be taken seriously was one of Hobart’s principles that made his work progress so well. Everyone was encouraged to put forward bright ideas, from whole systems to improvements to existing ones. This was paying dividends time and again.