Brinkmann VS King Part V (Chapter 6) The conclusion of Brinkmann VS King (although certain elements of the battle of the Atlantic will get separate updates later)
Lanzarote, Canary Islands May 1942
The Germans, and the axis as a whole had conducted a brutal self review (including Manstein's court of honor which discovered that Enigma was compromised) after their disasterous assault on Malta. Firstly, they expected to be assaulted at night, so their troops where on a high state of readiness. Second they wanted no chance of being caught by any surprise bombardments, so air patrols had traveled far and wide looking for any potential allied ships that might want to visit the island; and Tirpitz, Scheer and other heavy warships cruised around the islands to eliminate anyone who might want to sail through to the Canaries.
The sort of tactical circumstances that allowed Force H to tear up the 7th fleiger and the 7th panzer and evac most of the commonwealth forces off of Malta just didn't exist in this scenario for several reasons.
1.
Lanzarote, and the Canaries as a whole where much more isolated from allied held mainland territory than Malta was
2. Axis air control over the airspace was much more organized and now better adapted to night fighting than it was the year before
3. The Royal Navy had been severely depleted by Japan and by Brinkmann's actions and just couldn't risk the resources for another major battle in the Atlantic for the time being (even quick destroyer runs where out of the question, because so many had been lost in the climatic naval battles, and combined with minimum requirements for convoy defense, the RN had nothing to spare at the moment)
It was against this backdrop that Major Owen tried to assault the Wacht bridgehead. His situation was already hopeless before he even tried to leave his start line though. Two of his companies had already been consumed in doomed battles against the Wacht, and the three that remained had suffered the effects of massive Axis bombing and where not anywhere near the strength they where, when he first landed on Lanzarote. Also disturbing reports continued to come in that English speaking Germans where ambushing his forward patrols and savagely killing them.
Oberstleutant Michael Sproessner of the 1st Battalion Wacht regiment had no such problems with his command. His reinforced battlegroup of 3000 elite men was in tact and due to their heavy and continuous fire support. He planned to eliminate the element of night altogether (even though his troopers where well trained in night tactics, and several of his companies had been through Bastico's new school of street fighting which put heavy emphasis on night combat). JU-88's and SM79's cruised over the island equipped with the lasted ground mapping type radars, whilst ME-110's and 210's circled peacefully, dropping parachute flares that would light up the sky for long periods and firing the occasional colored smoke rocket when they identified one of Major Owen's positions outside the perimeter. Brinkmann had his own part to play with his flag aboard Prinz Eugene. His vessel and Galacia stood by close off shore, pounding established targets in conjunction with Skorzeny, Sporessner and the Luftwaffe. Meanwhile his destroyer escorts pumped star shells and flares above the battlefield from close range to turn night into day.
Sproessner exploited his advantages to the fullest. He tasked his tanks along with a reinforced company of mechanized infantry and a battery of towed 75mm anti tank guns to burst out of the perimeter along backroads and hills to flank San Bartolome from the west, which would effectively cut Owen's position in half and doom his presence on the island. The Seawolves already caused severe chaos along their lines of advance and Bix's tank platoon burst ahead overrunning terrified infantry and using their own guns, plus the towed AT guns to leapfrog each other and eliminate recognized positions. Wacht infantry hopped down from their carriers to collect prisoners and secure territory for follow up supply convoys. The battlegroup mad progress of nearly 8 miles in the first two hours, and eliminated 200 of Owen's remaining troops. Desperate, he called upon his squadron of 12 A-12 cruiser tanks to counter attack and hurl the Germans back so they could be boxed in.
This ended up being a disaster as the moving tanks kicked up large amounts of dust and made themselves detectable to the prowling JU-88's overhead which engaged them with high explosive bombs and 20mm cannons. 8 of them where destroyed or disabled before they could close on Bix's battlegroup. The remaining 4 did elude to get within gun range of Bix; but then something he hadn't seen in two years of armored combat against the British happened; the tank crews opened their hatches and started waiving white flags. In all his experience the British always fought to the last round before they surrendered; he could feel something had changed, something was different. Bix collected his prisoner's and the battle group completed their knife across the center of the island without even encountering more of the enemy.
When the tanks had been knocked out, word spread around 5th battalion fast and more and more troops went forward to surrender to the Germans rather than be bombed or shelled into oblivion
Owen was shocked, but he had been a soldier long enough to know a losing hand when he had one. His message to London was devastating on a nation sorely needing good news
Situation on Lanzarote tactically and strategically impossible, troops surrendering due to heavy bombardment and situation. Will ask German ground forces commander for terms
God Save the King
Maj Conner Owen
5th Battalion 9th infantry
Most Secret
Owen didn't even get the chance for terms as his command fell apart from below, and he and his command where rapidly encircled and compelled to surrender.
This had a profound effect on the other islands defense. When Lanzarote fell, the Luftwaffe and other Axis airforces now had a major airbase from which it was possible to fly 5 bombing sorties a day from which made their positions completely untenable. The remaining six islands surrendered with hardly another shot fired at them. When the battlegroup from Wacht or San Marco arrived they where waiting to be carted off. Brinkmann couldn't believe it, he had finally shaken the morale of the British so much that they expected destruction.
The 9th division's loss sent shockwaves through London and the allied alliance. The newspaper's where stinging, calls for treason charges went out. Again questions about the government's competence where brought to the table; why had such a small force been allotted when the mission most certainly called for at least a corps if not a field army. Why had the Navy been risked again within range of axis land based air. American promises of aid where not winning the war... and many more charges where leveled against Attlee and his government. Furious conservative members of parliament went forward with a no confidence vote which he just barely squeaked out of and even this required shameful placing of blame on the previous government and the Americans and Admiral King. The vote was so close that Attlee felt crippled and unable to govern effectively; and after lengthy negotiations not even a proposed cabinet reshuffle would allow for any more confidence or stability.
In the end the Canaries was the exclaimation point on a 2 and a half year non stop series of disaster for the British empire. Every defeat was bad and inflicted serious moral and financial burden; but the battle of Lanzarote and the Canaries was utterly shameful, no other battle had called into question British courage before, and this one did. Such catastrophe's had happened before and countries had recovered... Italy had done so three times; Caporetto, Compass and Greece. The French had recovered from the savage blood letting at the battle of the frontiers to make a valiant stand at Verdun. Attlee brought in a new command hierarchy in the hopes of finally turning the war effort around, in his heart he realized his margin for error was essentially zero, the people's patience for the war was wearing thin, and more than one cabinet member who wasn't named Halifax had suggested it was time to ask Herr Hitler for terms
The war hung in the balance...
to be continued...
your thoughts?
British prisoners where transported back to Germany after being taken on Lanzarote
The Wacht regiment disembarks to assault Lanzarote
The JU-88 patrols over the Canaries made the British position there impossible to defend
Prinz Eugene gets to add yet another battle star to her pennant
