Hammer of God (Kirov Series Book 14) (27 page)

“As
to ammunition, sir,” said Laws, “Any restrictions?”

“Tell
your men to be judicious, but don’t hold back, particularly if it comes to
protecting your men and vehicles. I want you to knock the fight out of these
characters and let them know who their dealing with. Understood?”

“Aye,
sir, the lads are spoiling for a good fight. We’ll get the job done, that’s for
sure.”

“See
that you do,” said Kinlan. “Very well, gentlemen, dismissed.”

The
men saluted and left the briefing, leaving Kinlan with his Chief of Staff, Sims.

“They’ll
be expecting us this time,” said Sims. “It won’t be like Bir el Khamsa when we
hit them completely by surprise. That recon battalion we brushed aside will
have given their CO an earful by now.”

“True,”
said Kinlan, “but aerial reconnaissance yesterday indicated that they aren’t
fully concentrated here. They’ve only one mechanized regiment up in the center,
and perhaps a single battalion of tanks.”

“And
that second regiment?”

“Probably
on the trains heading our way as we speak, along with the rest of their
Panzers. This is where a couple squadrons of Tornadoes would come in handy,
wouldn’t it. Well, we won’t have them. The British are lucky to scrape together
ten or twelve Wellingtons here for any strategic air interdiction on that rail.
They won’t close it that way, so we’ll have to expect the Germans will continue
to reinforce their positions to the north. For my money, I expect they’ll
deploy south of Homs.”

“What
are we getting ourselves into here, sir?” asked Sims, a warning in his
question. “None of this happened in the real war.”

“The
real war?” Kinlan smiled. “You mean the one we read about in the academy? You
can forget all that now, Sims. This is as real as it will ever get for these
men, and they’ll know it before this is over. We’ve two good battalions here,
and the Gurkhas. This is a fight we’ll win easily enough, but this lot in front
of us is just one of over 300 German divisions out there, and it’s only 1941.”

Neither
man said anything more.

Chapter 27

Generalleutnant
Gustav
Anton von Wietersheim stepped off the train at Homs, slowly pulling on his
leather gloves to chase the early morning chill. Spring was at hand, but March
in Syria still produced cold nights with mid-day temperatures eventually rising
to about 65 degrees. A longstanding member of the General Staff, von
Wietersheim was glad for his first real wartime command, and lucky to have it
given his reputation as being “too outspoken” in strategy sessions with the
Führer. An aristocratic officer who had come from a well placed Prussian
family, von Wietersheim had been in the Reichswehr since 1902, having mostly
non-combat oriented staff roles throughout the great war, but distinguishing
himself enough to earn two Iron Crosses and other notable honors.

On
two occasions, however, he had the temerity to openly question, and even
criticize the Führer himself at General Staff briefings before the incursion
into Czechoslovakia and the invasion of Poland. On both occasions, he endured
the ire of Hitler, who was already very sensitive to questions from the senior
officers concerning his directives. On the latter occasion, Keitel commented
that Hitler was so upset that he subsequently forbade any senior officer to
openly disagree with him at a strategy briefing. It was partly this perceived
insubordination that saw him assigned here, to a post many others deemed a
secondary role while preparations were hastily being made for the ‘big show’ in
Russia.

Von
Wietersheim was the commander of the XIV Motorized Korps, one of three assigned
to Panzergruppe 1 in Army Group South. His Korps had been slated to be part of
the big push to sweep to the Don and stop Sergei Kirov’s Caucasus operation
against the Orenburg Federation, but the situation in the Levant had come to
Hitler’s mind as a preliminary operation that might be easily concluded before
Barbarossa launched in a few months time. When von Wietersheim learned that his
Korps was to be assigned there he again shook his head, thinking it a most
inappropriate use of his motorized divisions.

“I
thought Kübler’s Mountain troops had the job in hand,” he complained to his
Army Group commander, Eric von Manstein. The two men knew each other well, as
Manstein had followed von Wietersheim, taking over his job as
Oberquartiermeister
of the General Staff. Once junior to von Wietersheim in ranking, von Manstein
had risen high to assume the new post as Commander of Army Group South,
relieving von Rundstedt, who subsequently moved to command all German reserves
for the coming eastern campaign. It was a move that had not happened in the
history Fedorov knew, a strange quirk where Hitler had seemed to find some
special relationship with Manstein. When asked what troops might best be sent
south, it was Manstein who had directly asked for von Wietersheim’s Korps.

“Don’t
complain,” said Manstein, holding up a finger to admonish von Wietersheim.
“Your main operations will be in northern Syria, where a couple good mobile
divisions will prove very handy. And you will get good combat experience there
before anyone else, and by the time I send for you to join us in Russia, your
Korps will be well seasoned.”

“Kleist
wasn’t happy either,” said von Wietersheim. “He loses a third of his motorized
divisions with this move.”

“You’ll
rejoin him soon. Just get down there and stop the British before they overrun
the whole damn country. Secure this airfield complex here.” Manstein had
pointed to the vital aerodrome at Rayak. “Now that the Turks have granted us
free passage on their rail lines, you can move your tanks and vehicles easily.”

“Rolling
stock is limited,” said von Wietersheim. “I’ll be lucky to even get a regiment
in place before the British get to that airfield. They are already in Damascus
according to the latest reports.”

“If
you cannot get there, then assemble your troops further north and Homs, and
then go take it.” Manstein wanted results now, not arguments. “We have already
moved much of the 22nd Luftland Division by air. And the 6th Mountain Division
is coming by sea. Your job is to prevent the British from pushing into northern
Syria, so it may mean you will have to use your motorized brigades piecemeal.
There is fighting here,” he pointed to Palmyra on the map. “Wolff is there with
a regiment of the 22nd Luftland Division, and he’s stopped the British in the
fighting so far. But you will have to keep the road to Homs open, and get him
supplies. Now is your chance, Generalleutnant. Shine here and Hitler may forget
that you disagreed with him before.”

“Oh?
I thought he ordered me here to get me out of the Russian operation—to punish
the man who dared question his orders.”

“Not
so,” Manstein said quickly. “I sent for you—because I wanted a man I could rely
on to get the job done. So do not disappoint, either me or the Führer. A man
doesn’t get a chance to deliver an entire country to the Reich very often, but
that is exactly what you have here in Syria.”

This
seemed to strike a note with von Wietersheim, and he put his misgivings aside.
After all, he would be overall commander of the entire German presence in
Syria. With Rommel idle at Mersa Brega in Libya, this would be the only command
actively engaging the enemy. He now began to see the opportunity Manstein had pointed
out.

“One
more thing you should know,” said Manstein with a note of caution. “The British
have new tanks. Rommel had a real problem with them in Egypt. The Panzer IIs
are useless against them, and he reported his Panzer IIIs fared little better.”

This
got von Wietersheim’s attention. “Another Matilda?”

“Yes,
a heavy tank according to all reports, but much bigger. Even the 88’s couldn’t
stop them.”

“I
find that hard to believe.”

“As
did I, but it is right in Rommel’s report. Then there is another cruiser tank,
lighter, very fast, with what appears to be a fast firing gun in the range of
30 to 50mm. Those we can handle, but this new heavy tank had a lot of senior
officers talking at OKW. Be cautious. Use your tanks in a support role until
you can learn more, and let me know what you find out. For the moment, get in
there and take up a good defensive line. Once you have your entire Korps in
hand, then you can decide on offensive operations.”

Twenty-four
hours later von Wietersheim was stepping off the train in the railway station
at Homs. With him, in the long grey line of cargo cars, he had the bulk of the
11 Panzergrenadier Regiment, and the 2nd Battalion of the 30th Panzer Regiment,
mostly the better PzKfw IIIs, with 50mm guns. By nightfall that day he would
have the whole of 9th Panzer Division in hand, and behind it, the three
motorized regiments of the 5th Viking SS Division were still in transit. It was
a strong force, more than enough to do the job, thought von Wietersheim, but he
had not yet heard the disturbing reports from south of Rayak, where a battle
was now underway with the advanced elements of the 9th Panzer Division.

That
night the clouds were low, and no air operations were scheduled from Rayak. A
single squadron of BF-109s had flown in to assist the French there, who were
operating with one small fighter squadron of their own, and an assortment of
perhaps twenty antiquated bombers. They had been enough to harass the British
advance, particularly against the desert columns as they approached Palmyra.

All
in all, von Wietersheim thought he had a good position. His 9th Panzer Division
was now complete, arriving well ahead of schedule, and would be on the line by
dawn occupying a central position in the Bekaa Valley well south of Rayak. Each
flank would be anchored by mountain troops, the 5th division on his right, and
the newly arrived 6th division on his left. Palmyra was well garrisoned now
with the 47th Regiment of 22nd Luftland, and the 65th Regiment of that
division, and elements of the Luftland Sturm Regiment from Cyprus, had been air
lifted to Dier ez Zour, where another battle seemed to be shaping up against
Indian troops that had pushed up the Euphrates from Iraq. Soon the 5th SS
Viking Motorized Division would complete his Korps, though he had received one
report of an attack on the rail terminal in Istanbul, and wondered what had
happened.

As
for the French, they had fallen back to Damour south of Beirut on the coast,
with only a narrow coastal region good for any offensive by the enemy, and
steep rugged mountains on the landward flank. To the east, Damascus had been
abandoned, and the French were now consolidating at Nebek to the north. The
British and Free French were still mopping up pockets of resistance in the
city, and for the moment, that flank was not threatened by any aggressive enemy
advance. It was only in the center that things seemed loose and fluid. The
recon battalion of 9th Panzer had run into trouble and retreated north, but
soon he would have the whole division on the line.

We
will see what dawn brings, he thought. Let’s see how much fight the British
really have in them, now that they are up against a real army.

* * *

At
04:00
Colonel
Rana Gandar got his Gurkhas up and moving through the foggy night towards their
infiltration points. The hard fighting for Aartouz, Mezzeh, and then Damascus
had not been concluded without losses. While they had lost only a single
Scimitar tank, his aggressive soldiers were not so well armored, and there had
been casualties. His first Company had taken the brunt, with only 8 of twelve
squads now ready for action. The other two companies still had ten of twelve
squads available. He decided to hold 1st Company in reserve, and sent the other
two forward with strong fighting patrols. Their mission would be to occupy the
high ground on the right flank, a task they were well suited for due to their
experience in mountain warfare. But there were other mountain troops in the
hills that night.

The initial probe surprised a few
outlying sentries, the flash of the Kukri knives in the dark coming like a
whisper of death. Yet as the Gurkhas worked their way silently into the
lowlands above the small village of Masnaa, it was soon evident that the enemy
was in much greater strength than anticipated. They gained the top of a long
ridge and sent reports back that the Armenian town of Anjar was the anchor of
the German defense against the hills. An ancient site dating back to the
Umayyad Dynasty of the 7th Century, its ruins were abandoned only to be
resettled by Armenians fleeing Turkey in 1939. The old Umayyad palace was still
there, now the headquarters of the 1st Panzergrenadier Battalion of the 10th
Regiment, and the Gurkhas could see from the high ground that the German line
was much more extensive than previously thought.

Sims came in with the report for
Kinlan, an unhappy look on his face. “Gondar has men up on these heights,” he
said.

“That’s well south of where I
wanted them.”

“And with good reason,” said Sims
hastily. “The German line starts here, at Anjar, and they can see lights from
troop encampments all the way to the river. He estimates the Germans have at
least four battalions between Anjar and the Litani. And there are infantry in
the mountains to the east of those hills, in the region leading up to the
gorge—at least two more battalions. To take his objectives he’ll have to push
right through those positions first, and for light infantry, that’s a tall
order. ”

“Those are most likely the same
troops that were screening the gorge earlier,” said Kinlan. “So they’ll
outnumber us two to one,” “That shouldn’t stop us, not with our speed and
firepower. But you are right about the Gurkhas. Tell Gondar to just screen that
flank with his infantry companies. Then let’s put in the main attack as
planned, I doubt if the Germans have guns on that high ground yet. But get word
out to expect the main line of resistance much farther south, and make sure the
Bravehearts know of these positions before we start that artillery barrage.”

It was a reasonable assessment
given the information available, but what Gondar’s men had not seen in the misty
morning, was the two battalions of German tanks consolidating behind the German
lines in tactical reserve, or the battalion of Pioneers that had come in to
join with the remnant of the recon battalion. Those troops were beyond another
ridge, the thumb of high ground Gondar was tasked with sweeping earlier. But it
was clear he could not get anywhere near that position in two hours—not with a
couple battalions of German mountain troops to his front and flank.

Kinlan’s three battalion force
was not outnumbered two to one, but more like three to one in the Bekaa Valley
east of the Litani, and the mountain troops were not those of the single two
battalion regiment that had been screening the gorge earlier. Those troops had
been moved west of the Litani to join the rest of the division arriving from
Beirut. Instead the whole two regiments of the 6th Mountain Division had come
down from Tripoli! The Gurkhas would actually be outnumbered six to one.

The British did not entirely know
it at that moment, but after the fall of Damascus, the drama of Fedorov’s
thrust to Palmyra, and Kinlan’s lightning breakthrough in the center to
approach Rayak, the enemy defenses were stiffening in every sector now. The
British were encountering strong resistance in Dier ez Zour, Palmyra, along the
coast near Damour and now the center looked to be steeling up with Panzer troops.
The scent of a stalemate was wafting on the ‘an’s and ifs,’ and it was going to
take a strong whiff of bravery to break through and prevail.