Sir John Valentine Carden Survives. Part 2.

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Continuation of the thread Sir John Valentine Carden survives.

13 June 1941. Operation Battleaxe. Day 6.

During the policing of the battlefield the previous day the men of 7th Tank Brigade were keen on discovering what it was that had killed so many of their tanks from long range. The discovery of four 88mm Flak guns, well emplaced, and with lots of empty ammunition cases all around were found to be at least part of the cause. One of the guns was mostly intact, it looked as if the crew had been killed by a shrapnel blast, which had also damaged the gun, but not as completely as the other three. They also discovered an anti-tank gun which they had been previously ignorant of. From the intelligence gathered it was called 5 cm Pak 38 (L/60), and seemed to have only recently become operational. The recovery of the 88mm Flak and Pak 38 were something of an intelligence coup, and the guns were salvaged along with their ammunition. At some point they would be tested to see just how dangerous they were, and what kind of armour, and tactics, British tank formations would need to defeat them.

The Australian 9th Division were arriving and keen to get into the fight. Major-Generals Morshead and Creagh (7th Armoured Division) were keen on joint exercises to hone the skills of infantry and tank cooperation. Many of the men involved in Operation Compass still had many of those skills, but it was important to sharpen them again. The last full Brigade of Australians was due to arrive the next day, and so Lieutenant General O’Connor was expecting that the next phase of the exercise would begin on 16 June at the latest. The fact that there had been no enemy contacts west of Wadi Harawah until the approaches to Sirte meant that it was important to keep up the pressure as soon as possible. Other than Luftwaffe interference, the British had been able to reorganise and bring up enough supplies to make the push to Sirte possible.

Once again, the Royal Navy had been an enormous support. The Inshore Squadron had been escorting the coastal vessels to Ras El Ali, and during the night two vessels had arrived at Nofilia to unload directly onto the beach with lighters. The strength of the anti-aircraft forces around Nofilia had prevented the two coasters damage being too dangerous. The RAF fighter squadrons were still not fully able to provide overhead cover, but once their new fields were established in the vicinity of Ras El Ali that would change.

The significance of Nofilia was the water well in Wadi Umm al Jirfan. This had been examined by Royal Engineers and cleared for use. Having a source of water meant that some of the problems of having to transport large quantities of it over land or sea was mitigated. The immediate effect was that it was possible for the rest of 4th Indian Division to move forward to Wadi Harawah to re-join 11th Indian Brigade.

Captured Italian maps and papers had been carefully examined, as the British had very little information about this part of Libya. XIII Corps staff were doing the calculations necessary to organise the push onto Sirte and what would be necessary. The build up of supplies at Ras El Ali had presumed that the Corps would need at least two weeks of all supplies to complete the move to and capture of Sirte. As this was now day six, General O’Connor didn’t want to delay too long.

The fact that the army was now in a strong position at Wadi Harawah, forty miles further towards Sirte, meant that Field Supply Depots would be established closer to Harawah than Nofilia. The RASC were keen on finding as much of Trento Divisions motor transport as possible. Having the extra vehicles would help replace some of the British lorries and trucks that were, as usual wearing out fast. One of the things that surprised them was that a number of the trucks used by the Germans were made in Britain. On examination they were found to have been left behind in France in 1940. Despite orders for all vehicles to be destroyed or made immobile, obviously some hadn’t been too successful at carrying out the order. Once the German markings were removed, they were back in the British army.

 

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14 June 1941. San Francisco, USA.

The stevedores noted that the ships they’d just loaded were raising steam. Another day’s work was coming to an end and their efforts would be sailing with the tide to some far off place. The men, as they left the waterfront, didn’t really care where the ships were going to, just that they had been paid.

On board the ships were sixty-nine brand new M3 Light Tanks destined for the Middle East. The rest of the cargo included a large number of trucks, some of which had been shipped down from Canada, but most had come from the USA with all sorts of spares and tools. The stevedores noted that most of the Canadian boxes had been locked pretty well, obviously someone was concerned about pilfering, the American packing was less rigorous.

If any of the stevedores were interested, and there was usually a few who kept count of things, these weren’t the first ships carrying military supplies since the Lend Lease Act had been passed. Ships started sailing in April to the Middle East from the West Coast of the United States, taking the long route over the Pacific. April had been the first month that the Americans thought it had been safe to send ships through the Red Sea. Nine had sailed that month, and with a stop at Sydney, Australia, to deliver some goods there, the first ships would be arriving at the Suez Canal within days.

Those sailing on the tide tonight would make sixteen just this month, and it wasn’t just tanks and trucks they were carrying. Fighter and bomber aircraft in crates, anti-aircraft guns, and a large amount of machinery, tools, plant for roadwork, engineering and signal equipment, as well as general stores were on the ships pulling away from their berths.

 

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15 June 1941. Benghazi, Libya.

Between Operation Tracer and Rocket 84 RAF Hurricanes IIs had been flown off HMS Ark Royal, Victorious and Furious to reinforce Malta and the Middle East. While the majority of these would stay in Malta, the last of twenty-four touched down at RAF Benina, and was quickly rolled into a revetment by the ground crew. The fighter aircraft had been configured for the ferry mission and while the pilots were resting and eating, the groundcrew were getting the planes ready for action. Having a complete extra squadron of fighters added to the RAF’s capability was sore needed after all the efforts to support the first phase of Operation Battleaxe. No 229 Squadron RAF would play an important part in the days to come, especially in covering the movement of the Royal Navy’s Inshore Squadron, alongside the Fulmars of 806 NAS.

With the second phase about to begin, the Marylands, Wellingtons and Blenheims had been busy attacking Luftwaffe bases and known supply dumps. All the fighter squadrons had been rested for a few days at various points. The aircraft had been fully serviced and the pilots given time to recuperate from their efforts. No 3 Squadron RAAF, had joined No 2 Squadron SAAF, Nos 250 and 112 Squadron RAF equipped with Tomahawk fighters and these four would have to provide the lion’s share of air cover. The arrival of 229 Squadron added to the Hurricane equipped squadrons Nos 46, 238, 260, 213 and 249 RAF which would be used primarily as escorts for the bomber squadrons. Most of these Hurricanes were still the Mark I, so a lot of people were interested to see how the Mark II would perform.

Another interesting development back at Ismailia was how the Hellenic Air Force were progressing on the thirty Grumman F4F-3A that had finally been delivered to them. The Fleet Air Arm had been hoping to take these aircraft on, but with the Greek Government still active on Crete, the pilots and ground crew evacuated to Egypt were being trained on them. Once fully operational, it was planned to base them on Crete as part of the defence of the island. The Yugoslav Squadron had inherited Hurricanes from No 112 Squadron RAF, an aircraft they were familiar with, and were working up alongside the Greeks in No 71 Squadron, the RAF’s fighter Operational Training Unit in Egypt. The fact that these aircraft were available meant that some of the RAF squadrons defending the Suez Canal and Delta were available to support Operation Battleaxe.

The 9th Australian Division, having had some time to exercise with 7th Armoured Division had joined the Armoured Division at Wadi Harawah. The 4th Indian Division had moved forward to the village of Sultan, some ten miles west of the Wadi, and had been joined by the much reduced 22nd Armoured Division. There had been no attempts by the Italians or Germans to oust them from that position, other than some Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica raids. The road was the primary target, and anything moving by day was taking a risk. There was no such risk at night for the most part.

The work done by the RASC and RAOC had once more been exceptional, with the Field Supply Depots being set up a mile east of Wadi Harawah. There was Royal Artillery Light Anti-Aircraft emplaced to protect them, though most of the protection came from good camouflage and false depots being set up as decoys. The night before a battle is taken up with many activities, with the hope of some sleep being just one. Hot meals, religious services, final briefings, checks on equipment were all going on as the time drew nearer for ‘going over the top’.

 

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16 June 1941. Operation Battleaxe. Day 10

The attack on the Italian positions at Sirte began before dawn, once again with a strong showing from the RAF. The Italians, who had guessed the attack was imminent, had put up a strong maritime strike force because of the previous naval bombardments, but the Royal Navy hadn’t sailed towards Sirte that morning. The Italian airfields were struck heavily by the RAF and some of the Italian aircraft were damaged and destroyed as they came in to land. Once again, the Wellingtons, Marylands and Blenheims struck at known defences, concentrating on probable artillery positions as well as the airfields.

During the night, the 7th Armoured Division and 9th Australian Division began moving west to join 4th Indian Division. Lieutenant General O’Connor had kept the assault on Sirte relatively straightforward, with the usual armoured flanking movement, while the infantry moved straight up. The terrain around Sirte didn’t really suit the defender, the best ground was just west of the town. The Italians had dug plenty of anti-tank ditches and it looked from aerial reconnaissance that the pattern of fortifications weren’t dissimilar to those experienced previously at Bardia and Tobruk. The one of remaining understrength regiments of 7th Tank Brigade moved up along with the Australians. Before dawn the Australians arrived at the village of Sultan where the 4th Indian Division had been concentrated.

The 11th Indian Brigade, supported by the other understrength Tank Regiment of 7th Tank Brigade, had set off as the leading element of 4th Indian Division, the other two Indian Brigades (5th and 7th) were following along the coast road in extended order to prevent too many losses to aerial attack. The plan was to travel as much of the thirty miles to Sirte in the dark. The 9th Australian Division would follow them so that both Divisions would be able to attack the Italians in a coordinated manner.

The Valiant I* tanks of 4th CLY Sharpshooters, the only Armoured Regiment of 22nd Armoured Brigade at full strength, led the other amalgamated Armoured Regiment (RGH/3rd CLY), with 3rd Indian Motor Brigade, advancing on an inland route to take them past the end of Wadi Tilal, and hopefully the end of the Italian defences. 7th Armoured Division would follow 22nd Armoured Division on a reasonable track that would take them about just about 12 miles inland. The LRDG and 11th Hussars had traced this route and found it to be good going. The route would bring the tanks to Qasr Abu Hadi, where there was an abandoned Italian landing field. Intelligence believed that the Ariete Division was part of Sirte’s defences, and they would probably be a mobile counterattacking force. If the Italian tanks did engage, it was believed that this would likely be the area they would be protecting.

The 22nd Armoured Division, as understrength as it was, would act as flank guard for the 7th Armoured Division, and if the Italian position was defeated, 22nd and 7th Armoured Division planned to advance towards Beurat, to try to take the position that was most defensible, before the Italians and Germans could make the most it. This last part of the plan was more in hope that in expectation. If the Italian defenders held out against the Indians and Australians, the 7th Armoured Division would likely be required to help the Infantry Divisions break through.

As usual the operational plan was subject to the variables that no planner could ever control. The leading element of 11th Indian Brigade (2nd Battalion, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry) ran into a minefield which had been missed by previous reconnaissance. While they toiled to extricate themselves, and waiting for the Division Engineers to come forward to clear paths through the mines, a strong raid by the Luftwaffe got through the RAF cover and bombed the now stationary Brigade. The numbers of casualties, just under 100 killed and wounded, wasn’t critical to their fighting ability, but a lot of their transport had been damaged or destroyed primarily by strafing fighters. The delay had a knock-on effect on the other two Indian Brigades, and therefore on the 9th Australian Division. With the timetable disrupted, and only one Division at a time able to use the coast road and the track closer to the sea, the chances of 9th Australian Division arriving to support the Indian Division any time before late afternoon looked unlikely.

The signal to 22nd Armoured Division that the Indians had been held up wasn’t received for some reason, and so that formation continued to advance as before, drawing ever further apart from the main force. 7th Armoured Division, which did get the message still had further to go anyway, and so carried on towards Qasr Abu Hadi, with the probability that they would arrive there at much the same time as the Indian Division arrived at Sirte.

With the expectation that the Italians would have liberally sowed mines in the approaches to their positions, probably covered by artillery; the British Empire infantry and tanks would lay siege to the Italian positions. Under the cover of XIII Corps artillery, the Royal Engineers would clear paths, which would likely take much of the night. The next morning, all three Divisions would assault the Italian positions simultaneously.

As the day wore on the three Divisions took their places and an artillery duel, and aerial battle, took place to try to disrupt the other side’s plans. Communications with 22nd Armoured Division were re-established and Major-General Gambier-Parry had his force halt for the night. The gap between 22nd and 7th Armoured Divisions was about ten miles. This gap had been noted by aerial reconnaissance, the Italian General commanding the Ariete Division, Ismaele di Nisio, requested permission to exploit that gap. While his tanks wouldn’t be a match for the British Valiant I tanks, they would be able to get round behind the British through the gap and attack the support and supply troops behind the main British position. General Carlo Spatocco, commanding the Sirte defences, refused di Nisio’s request. He couldn’t help feel that there was a trap set, and throwing away the Ariete Division wasn’t an option. Spatocco’s plan was to hold up the British for as long as possible, then, with the Ariete Division covering the retreat, the 27th Division (Bresca) and 17th Division (Pavia) would fall back to Beurat.
(Detail of map showing the area the Indian and Australian Divisions will be working.)

 

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17 June 1941. Operation Battleaxe. Day 11

The attempt the day before by the Regia Aeronautica to intercept the Royal Navy hadn’t been attempted again, which was fortunate for the Inshore Squadron which appeared during the night offshore and began a bombardment of the southern part of the Italian defensive line. The 9th Australian Division had arrived the evening before and prepared themselves for the assault. The Divisional artillery, along with the 4th Indian and 7th Armoured Divisions’, had been hard at work for much of the night, bombarding the Italian positions. The engineers, along with groups of volunteers, had been checking the approaches for mines and clearing them when found. Once again, the RAF bombers appeared in force and began a south to north bombing run behind the Wadi Tilal.

The artillery began a timed creeping barrage behind which the Australian 20th and 26th Brigade in the south, the Indian 5th and 7th Brigade in the centre advanced in concert with the remaining tanks of 7th Tank Brigade. To the north of them, the 1st and 45th Bn RTR and 2nd Bn Rifle Brigade led the 7th Armoured Brigade’s attack. For most of the day all three assaults made little progress. The Italians has organised their defensive positions very effectively, providing interconnected fire and the liberal use of mines which the tanks had no answer to. The Italians had little, other than mines that could effectively stop the tanks, and although the Italian infantry gave an excellent account of themselves, by 16:00hrs, all three British assaults had gained ground and had begun penetrating the defensive line.

It was the Australians who made the breakthrough, the naval bombardment in the morning had caused serious damage to the secondary line of the Italian positions. Once the 26th Brigade had cleared the flat killing ground of the abandoned airfield, and began hitting that secondary line, it became clear that this was where the breech was going to be made. Major-General Morshead ordered the reserve Brigade (24th) to push through the other two Brigades which had reached a state of exhaustion. All the remaining tanks of 44th Bn RTR (7th Tank Brigade) concentrated with the lead battalion (2/32nd Bn) and, almost along the beach, were able to round the Italian positions.

General Spatocco could see that his command wasn’t going to be able to hold much longer. He gave the order for the Ariete Division to counterattack the Australians, to allow 27th Division (Bresca) time to recover and reorientate themselves against this breakthrough. General di Nisio’s Division was fully equipped with the Carro Armato M13/40 whose 47mm gun was about equal to the British 2-pdr, though with an effective HE shell, but its protection was much weaker than the British Valiant Is. The M13/40 tanks of X Tank Battalion, accompanied by the XII Auto-transported Bersaglieri Battalion, were first the elements of the Division to clash with the Australians. The way which the Italians hit the Australians meant that the whole of D Company of 2/32nd Battalion were cut off and reduced until they had to surrender. The rest of the Battalion were thrown back, but reinforced by two Companies of 2/24th Battalion and a battery of 2-pdrs from 2/3rd Anti-Tank Regiment, they finally held. The Valiant I tanks that were still running added their guns to the defence, so that much of X Battalion were knocked out. With the rest of 2/24th and 2/23rd Battalions moving up the Italian counterattack stalled.

With the Italian focus on their left flank, and the movement of the Italian tanks towards the sea noted by aerial reconnaissance, Major-General Gambier-Parry committed his 22nd Armoured Division to a full attack. His Division had continued around the right flank of the Italians and his attack came very close to the rear of the Italian positions. The mines protecting those positions caused the British tanks and Indian motorised infantry problems, but this blow at the opposite end of the line started a panic in General Spatocco’s HQ. Misinformation about where and how strong the attacks were was sent to subordinate units, which meant that reserves were moved without cause towards flanks that were still secure.

When news of the Australian gains on the coast was passed back to XIII Corps HQ, Lieutenant-General O’Connor urged each of his Divisional Commanders to make one more big effort. 4th Armoured Brigade and 11th Indian Brigade, the reserve Brigades for each Division pushed forward together, which coupled with the 22nd Armoured Division’s assault, made the Italian 17th Division (Pavia) positions crumble. All day the Italian soldiers had endured everything the British and Indians had thrown against them, but this assault in the evening was the final straw. The reserves, now out of position, were the first to flee, and then the cry went up for a general retreat. With Spatocco’s HQ unable to control what was happening, it became a case of everyman for himself.

Seeing this, fresh heart was put into the three British Empire Divisions. Men who’d collapsed exhausted were urged to their feet and a general advance and chase was begun. The Ariete Division was now in a difficult situation. With the collapse of 27th Division (Bresca) around them, and increasing pressure from the Australians, General di Nisio ordered his men to attempt to conduct a fighting withdrawal west-ward towards Beurat. If they could keep themselves at a distance from the pursuing British, then darkness would hopefully give them the cover they needed to pull back, in relatively good order.

There were Italian soldiers who hadn’t been able to abandon their positions, and seeing that the fight was over, more and more white flags appeared. A couple of times shots were fired against the Indian troops in the centre from under the cover of flags of surrender. These casualties, after such a day, were enraging, and some violations of the Geneva Convention took place in the aftermath.

The fighting spirit of the Ariete Division remained, even though their tanks were extremely vulnerable to the British tanks and anti-tank guns. The fact that most of the Australian and Indian troops were already tired, and as darkness fell, on unfamiliar ground the pace of the chase slowed to a stop. Except in the case of 4th Armoured Brigade, which along with 7th Support Group, which joined forces with the remaining tanks of 22nd Armoured Brigade and the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade. The combined force, put under the command of Major-General Gambier-Parry, were urged on, even as darkness was falling.

The normal practice for the Armoured Regiments was to retire before dark to refuel, rearm and rest. Night marches were inherently dangerous in the desert for vehicles. 4th Brigade had made a couple of night marches to be in position to attack Nofilia, but these had been marked out for them by the LRDG. The 22nd Armoured Division had less experience, but some of the officers were keen to trying to bag as many of the Italians as possible. Gambier-Parry therefore gave permission for 4th CLY Sharpshooters, with a squadron of 11th Hussars, the lorried infantry of 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry from 3rd Indian Motor Brigade, and two batteries of artillery from 3rd RHA to pursue the Italians. Since air attacks at night by the Luftwaffe were rare, the pursing force would travel with their lights on. It was hoped that in the confusion, any Italian unit they encountered would believe that they were fellow Italians.

From captured Italian maps and aerial reconnaissance there was a landing ground marked near the Wadi Tamet. This would be the objective. If the reinforced Armoured Regiment could cut the road, some 20 miles west of Sirte, it would cut off whatever retreating Italian forces were still on the road. It would also give the rest of 4th Armoured Brigade and 7th Support Group a starting point in the race to the defensible bottlenecks at Beurat.

The positions of the two Italian divisions is poorly shown here, but it is meant to be a rough guide to what is going on. The map is from here

 

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18 June 1941. Operation Battleaxe. Day 12

Because of the flow of movement during the previous day’s fighting, the RAF didn’t make any raids during the night, a rest for which the crews were grateful. Dawn however was a busy time as fighters and light bombers climbed to altitude in preparation for their morning’s work. Some Marylands and Lysanders had taken off during the night to be over the field of battle and beyond at first light to do the first reconnaissance of the day. The RAF liaison with 22nd Armoured Division had gone forward with the 4th CLY battle group. He was able to establish communications with the Lysanders to note that the British and Indian troops had arrived at the abandoned Italian airfield at Tamet.

With this knowledge the RAF focussed its attentions on the area near Beurat which looked as if a line of defence had been established. The extra 60 miles was a strain for some of the fighters which were operating from landing fields further back. It did mean that some squadrons had very limited time on station to protect the bombers. This was something that the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica took advantage of. The losses, especially among the Blenheim squadrons, increased to a dangerous level.

The men of the 4th CLY battle group were all tired, the journey overnight through unknown territory had been slow and difficult. The route they had taken was dotted with lorries with either broken axles or bogged down to their axles. Almost twenty tanks were scattered along the route, most with broken tracks, which the crews were working to repair, or suspension problems that would need the Light Aid Detachment to get to them. The navigation by the main force had been off and so they had ended up on the coast road about ten miles east of the landing ground, closer to Sirte. Once they knew where they were, they had then followed the road and had arrived at their objective just after dawn. By this time the majority of the Italian Ariete Division had already withdrawn past them. The initial roadblock the British had made on the coast road did bag some retreating Italians, but these tended to be small units and groups of men taking advantage of the last hours of darkness to make their way west.

For Lieutenant-General O’Connor this led to a dilemma. The main objective of Operation Battleaxe, which was to capture Sirte, had been successful. The 9th Australian and 4th Indian Infantry Divisions had done extremely well, but the previous day’s fighting had been hard on them. Likewise, 7th Armoured Division and 22nd Armoured Division were reaching the end of their tether. There was no question that if he stopped the advance where it was, the British could celebrate it as another victory.

The fact that 4th CLY was only 25 miles from Beurat, maybe another ten more to the probable main line of resistance, offered a real temptation. His forces had two more days’ worth of supplies at hand. To get 7th Armoured Division and at least one of the Infantry Divisions to Beurat would take one of those days. If on the second day the two Divisions could take the narrows where the Italians had a prepared line of defence, then Operation Battleaxe would be an even greater success than it was already. Once the booty of captured Italian supplies at Sirte was taken into account, it could well eke out the time for another day if it was needed to break the Italians.

XIII Corps would have a much easier time starting at Beurat than from Sirte when the supplies had been built up for the next phase of the advance towards Tripoli. A battle tomorrow could possibly prevent a much more difficult battle in a month or two. The fact that 7th Armoured Division’s efforts in Cyrenaica had taken them far further than expected, in poorer tanks they had now, convinced him to gamble on continuing the advance. When advised of his intentions, General Wavell, who was less sure, especially as air cover would be problematic, nevertheless gave his permission. Major Generals Creagh and Morshead were asked if they thought their men could keep going for another few days. Both answered affirmatively, but noted both Divisions were at much weaker than when they had started. Major-General Beresford-Pierse, CO 4th Indian Division was somewhat relieved that, other than his Division’s artillery, his men would stay at Sirte and consolidate that position. Major-General Gambier-Parry (CO 22nd Armoured Division) would be asked to make greater sacrifices.

The two main objections to the plan came from the RAF and the Corps' Quartermaster General. As Wavell had thought, the RAF couldn’t guarantee anything like the kind of support that Operation Battleaxe had had up until now. That was indeed a concern for O’Connor, but not so much to lose the opportunity that had presented itself. The supply situation was indeed of concern, but the captured Italian fuel, food and water had to be taken into account. If this was used, and the fact that a smaller force was involved, then a day to travel and prepare, and two days to defeat the Italians would be enough.

O’Connor had to admit that it wasn’t just the 9th Australian and 7th Armoured Division he was proposing to send. He had already asked for most of 22nd Armoured Division’s running tanks, artillery and whatever the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade had that was still capable to be attached to 7th Armoured Division. While the three Infantry Brigades of 4th Indian Division would stay in Sirte, he wanted all the artillery and engineer units to be attached to the 9th Australian Division. O’Connor was aware that the logistics might be a close-run thing, but worth the gamble.

Some of his staff, playing devil’s advocate noted that if things went badly, and the two Divisions took heavy casualties or even failed to break through the Italian positions, they would be in a very isolated and difficult position. Failure would put all future attempts to get to Tripoli in real danger. O’Connor was sure the Italians would be at a disadvantage if they were attacked as quickly as he planned. Giving them weeks and months to prepare, especially as the terrain was much more suitable for defence, would probably lead to a much harder battle later. The risks, in his opinion were manageable, and he gave his orders to be disseminated to all subordinates.

Since Major-Generals Creagh and Gambier-Parry had already known that a potential shot at Beurat was possible, when they got the message from XIII Corps, they’d already called for all senior officers to gather to report their current situation, and be briefed on what was to happen next. The previous night 4th Armoured Brigade and 7th Support Group, had joined the remaining tanks of 22nd Armoured Brigade and the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade. General Gambier-Parry agreed to place the combined Regiment (RGH/3rd CLY) under the command of Brigadier John Caunter’s 4th Armoured Brigade. Likewise, the two remaining Regiments of Indian 3rd Motor Brigade would be joined together, and added to Brigadier Gott’s 7th Support Group, as would all of 22nd Armoured Division’s artillery units. Signing over the 4th CLY battle group to 7th Armoured Brigade effectively meant that 22nd Armoured Division ceased to exist.

When Brigadier Hugh Russell (CO 7th Armoured Brigade) was informed of his orders, he requested that Major-General Creagh approach Brigadier Reginald Naesmyth to ask for any remaining Valiant I tanks left in 7th Tank Brigade be ‘lent’ to his Brigade to bring it up closer to strength. Naesmyth agreed, though what he had to offer was only two squadrons worth. 7th Tank Brigade did have more of the tanks that had supported the Australians and Indians, but these would only become available in a day or two once they were repaired or recovered. These squadrons were distributed to the Royal Tank Regiment Battalions in 7th Armoured Brigade. Once this had been completed, the men briefed, fed and the tanks sorted, the Brigade set off following the coast road to the landing field at Tamet to gather 4th CLY's battle group.

The 9th Australian Division had finished most of their fighting the night before, though patrols had been sent out and some of these had an exciting time. The rest of the Division had been busy all morning: burying the dead; repairing equipment; sorting out some of the Italian prisoners; and enjoying some of the booty they’d captured. When their officers returned from the briefing, the news that the Division was on the move was received with mixed emotions. The discipline and training took over and within short order the three Brigades were prepared to move.

The 4th Indian Division troops, when they received the news that they’d be staying where they were was also met with mixed emotions. Like their Australian comrades the morning had been busy with all the things that needed done after a battle. Those units, including the Divisional Artillery and engineers, that were joining the Australians were just as disciplined and well trained in sorting themselves out and getting ready to move.

For much of the rest of the day the coast road was clogged with vehicles and tanks moving west. This was a tempting target for the Italian and German aircraft, which threw as much of their strength at the road as they could. The RAF did their very best to keep fighters over the road, but all too often the gaps in coverage gave the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica clear runs at the vehicles. The Light AA Regiments deployed at various points of the road to give some answer to the enemy planes. Despite their best efforts they were spread too thin to cover everywhere.

The losses taken because of air attacks didn’t endanger the operation. They did cause delays and extra stress on the vehicles that had to dodge bombs, bullets and go off road to get around craters on the road. Before darkness each of the Divisions had identified two areas where they would spend the night, between ten and twelve miles from Beurat. As each element of the Divisions arrived, the Provost Companies showed them where to pull off the road.

Major-General’s Creagh and Morshead had spent a large part of the day sorting out their own Division’s needs and movement plan. However, in the evening they had met, with some of their Staff Officers, to plan just exactly what they were going to do the following day. In Lieutenant-General O’Connor’s thoughts today should have been spent closing with the enemy. In fact, the time it took to get everyone moving, meant that they would need at least the following morning to actually close with the positions on the other side of Beurat.

The Intelligence Sections of both Divisions, with help from XIII Corps had put together a fairly good estimation of the problem they would face in completing the objective. Plenty of Italian maps and prisoners had been studied to gain as much information as possible. Aerial reconnaissance was also giving some clues about what to expect. The problems that were identified were many and complex. Hours were spent poring over maps and various types of attacks were played out to think through how best to approach the problems. Eventually the two generals agreed on their strategy, and once O’Connor had agreed to it, the Staff Officers were finally able to try to get some sleep, after the orders for next morning had been typed up and distributed.

 

[allanpcameron]

19 June 1941. Operation Battleaxe. Day 13.

Much of the daylight hours were spent getting the 7th Armoured Division and 9th Australian Division moved forward towards Beurat. Once more the progress of the British divisions was held up by mines and the occasional Italian attempt to interfere with their advance. The problem of Italian and German aircraft attacking the coast road had the more significant effect on slowing down progress, and causing the most casualties.

It was the Divisional Engineers that took the brunt of providing a safe passage for the men and machines of the two divisions. Once more a number of officers saw that the requirement for mine clearing, and mobile anti-aircraft artillery as being critical to the success of an advance against an enemy who had time to prepare their defences and with control of the air.

As darkness fell, the first British force finally made it into Beurat, little more than a collection of poor dwellings. The 2nd Tower Hamlets Rifles, 7th Support Group’s infantry battalion, deployed off their lorries and moved into the village. A troop of engineers from 4th Field Squadron RE checked for mines and other booby-traps. These were covered by two squadrons of tanks from 7th Hussars of 4th Armoured Brigade. Half of these Valiants were Close Support versions, the HE shells provided by the 3-inch gun had proven much more valuable in these situations than the 2-pdr. To their rear, a battery each of 25-pdrs and 2-pdr anti-tank guns, deployed to support the move through the village.

Brigadier Gott had moved his Support Group HQ as near the front as possible. With the more powerful radio trucks he had, he’d found that communications between the front, provided primarily by the tank radios, and with Brigade and Division HQs was enhanced by doing this. The news that the Italians had excavated one the local Wadis into a tank trap, which was obviously covered by their artillery. As the Support Group approached it, they were quickly engulfed in enemy fire. The battery of 4th RHA 25-pdrs began to seek out the Italian artillery positions, but it was clear that this was going to be a more complex job than the current force could cope with.

Major General Michael Creagh, (OC 7th Armoured Division) when notified that the next line of Italian defences had been identified, ordered 4th Armoured Brigade, the leading element of his Division, to halt for the night, and to prepare to attack at first light. Receiving the same information, Major General Morshead ordered his 24th Brigade to move up to support 4th Armoured Brigade’s attack. This was pre-planned, with the Australians following the Armoured Brigade in the line of march. The problems however began to mount.

From what could be gathered from 7th Support Group, a frontal attack, without much reconnaissance across the Wadi, under the Italian fire, with the likelihood of the enemy aircraft striking at dawn, would be too costly. The ground to the north of the village was unsuitable for vehicles, and problematic for infantry. The option of swinging to the south and around the end of the Wadi was a much more attractive proposition. Unfortunately, the reconnaissance of that area had run into another seemingly extensive mine-field. The lack of RAF support was apparent, and reconnaissance photography of the area had missed some the Italian preparations.

For Lieutenant General O’Connor this was an expected problem. Sending the Australians and 7th Armoured Divisions forward to unseat the Italians was always going to be a gamble. He ordered Creagh and Morshead to concentrate their Divisions. He wanted them to get the majority of the artillery to have a reasonable time to be able to counter the Italians. While 4th Armoured Brigade and two of the Australian Brigades demonstrated in front of the Italian positions, 7th Armoured Brigade and 20th Brigade, with the 9th Divisional Cavalry Regiment, would head into the desert and seek a path around the Italians. Captured Italian maps had some ‘dubious tracks’ marked, at least it was a possibility to find a way to outflank the Italians by aiming for El Gheddahia.
Map from here

 

[allanpcameron]

20 June 1941. Operation Battleaxe. Day 14.

Gunner Robert Bryant of E troop, 8th Battery, Australian 2/3 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, and the rest of the gun crew had become experts with the Italian 20mm AA gun during their time at Benghazi. He, and the rest of the men of the regiment, were dog tired. They’d arrived during the early hours of the morning and had spent the remaining hours of darkness getting their guns set up, with some of the men digging gun pits, slit trenches, and a protected dugout for the ammunition. The last few minutes before dawn had seen them throw up some rudimentary camouflage and attempt to make themselves ready for the expected air raid that was expected.

Just as the water for their tea was coming to be boil, the alert was sounded, and as Frank Nicholson ran to the gun, he knocked over the billy can. Cursing his mate, and the Italians and Germans who wouldn’t let a man have a cup of tea in the morning, Bryant settled himself with the ready ammunition. Nicholson was ready with his foot on the firing pedal, while Sergeant “Mac" McGillivray gave directions on where the air threat was coming from. The Sergeant told Bryant to shut up and concentrate, as his cursing of Nicholson, there was more to worry about than spilt tea.

For the next hour the gun, along with the rest of the regiment, engaged enemy aircraft, until the barrel was red hot, and much of the ready ammunition was fired off. Nicholson was sure he’d scored a couple of hits on a couple of aircraft. The Regiment had been deployed to protect the Divisional artillery, a job they’d managed to do with a degree of success. There were four burning wrecks of aircraft scattered around, for the cost of five 25-pdrs and their crews.

The withdrawal of the Italian aircraft gave the gunners time to bring up more ammunition and stack more sandbags around their positions. The 9th Australian Divisions artillery had been doing their best to keep up their rate of fire, even during the air raids. 2/43rd Battalion were pushing forward towards the Italian defences, and needed all the support they could get. Somewhere over to the Australians left, the 7th Support Group were also closing with the Italians.

Bryant had been focussing on bringing forward more ammunition, and with the help of a couple of gun crew, getting the trays loaded up. He was surprised when Nicholson handed him a cup of tea, thick with sugar and condensed milk. Even better was the fact that someone in the Battery HQ had managed to make up a big pot of Weet Bix boiled in milk and sugar. The men suddenly realised that even with the temperature well over 100° they were famished as well as having throats as dry as the dust that got into everything. With everything wolfed down, the expectation of another air raid grew, and so the men went back to work quickly.

The air raid the Australians were expecting didn’t come, at least not until later when the Italians reappeared. Recognising what the British had done, time and again, the Luftwaffe had been seeking any columns that were moving inland. The 7th Armoured Brigade and Australian 20th Brigade were the unfortunate recipients of the Luftwaffe’s attention.

General Rommel had been recalled to Berlin to give an account of why he hadn’t followed orders to help the Italians hold their ground. The remains of the 15th Panzer Division had been added to the remains of the 5th Light Division. As General Walter Neumann-Silkow was the senior officer, he had retained command of a much-reduced force, whose morale was particularly low.

Between Panzer Regiments 5 and 8, Neumann-Silkow was able to create one understrength Regiment, with two battalions made up of three companies: one Medium and two Light. The Medium Companies had all the surviving Panzer III and IVs. The Light companies were all equipped with Panzer IIs. Each of the companies were missing up to three tanks, a few, as many as six. The Infantry Regiments of both Divisions had also been merged, so that 5th Light Division had four battalions of infantry in two Regiments. The only unit in the Division that was overstrength was the Reconnaissance Battalion. Having amalgamated the two Division’s Battalions, it consisted of two Armoured Car Companies, as well as four Motorcycle Companies. The Division’s artillery only had one Battalion, as well as one anti-tank company, and one anti-aircraft company. The Engineers had suffered heavily and all the rear areas had been stripped of as many German troops to bring the numbers and capability of the 5th Light Division up as much as possible.

The expectation that the British would once again try to outflank the Italian position had led General Garibaldi ordering that the 5th Light Division position itself to be the flank guard for the main Italian position to the south of Beurat. The Luftwaffe, chastened by earlier failures, had indeed found the British columns moving, and the Reconnaissance Battalion now had them under surveillance. Neumann-Silkow had an accurate picture of what the British force consisted of, a Brigade of tanks and a Brigade of Australian infantry, with artillery and other support. This was about the same strength as his own Division, but the British Valiant tanks were far better than his force of mostly Panzer IIs whose 20mm cannon would be ineffective against the British armour.

Without the artillery and anti-tank guns that had been lost in the previous days, fighting a purely defensive battle would be suicidal. All he could hope for would be to try to crush the Australian Brigade, stripping the British tanks of their infantry support. In the earlier fighting, the German generals had noted that the British tactics were poor, it was only their numbers and better tanks that had allowed them to get away with what should have been a humiliation. It seemed however that the British were learning. According to the reconnaissance battalion, which was now being engaged by an Australian covering force, the deployment of the British column mirrored the way in which a German panzer division would travel.

Lieutenant Colonel Hector Bastin (CO 9th Divisional Cavalry Regiment) reported that his forward squadrons were beginning to encounter German armoured cars and motorcycle troops. Brigadier Hugh Russell (CO 7th Armoured Brigade) met with Brigadier John Murray (CO 20th Brigade [Australia]). Russell had command of the column, which had been slowed by the need to check for and clear mines, regular visits from the Luftwaffe, and the terrain which was giving the tanks and lorries some trouble to negotiate. The fact that Bastin’s men were already confronting German reconnaissance troops, and the activity of the Luftwaffe, it was clear that there was no surprise to be had. The question now was how best to proceed. The fact that it was German troops that were being encountered was surprising. After the licking the 5th Light and 15th Panzer Divisions had had, the intelligence suggested that they’d be further back trying to recover and rebuild.

Either more Germans had arrived, which Intelligence had missed, or it was the survivors of the previous encounters. Murray and Russell agreed that it was more likely to be second, and they guessed that the two forces would likely be evenly matched in terms of size. The nature of the fight between the Cavalry Regiment and the German reconnaissance, meant that it would be unlikely for Bastin’s men to give the two Brigades too much information about the German positions. There was little chance of the RAF being able to do reconnaissance in a timely manner. The only real option was to deploy into an attacking formation.

Before they’d set off Russell and Murray had decided that when they were attacking. they would do so in three combined units, moving forward like three arrowheads. Each arrowhead would consist of one of the tank regiments, with one of Murray’s Battalions, all the men carried in lorries, in close company. The HQ of each Brigade would join together for better coordination, and would travel with the artillery. They had decided against splitting up the artillery between the three arrowheads, it would be better for it to remain together to provide its full support where it was most needed. On the other hand the anti-tank batteries would be split up and travel with the infantry battalions. The aim was not so much to fight a set piece battle, but to try to find the enemy’s weak points and exploit them with speed and manoeuvre.

The three British armoured Regiments, (1st Bn RTR, 8th Hussars, 45th Bn RTR) and the three Australian Battalions paused to get themselves into position, fill up the fuel tanks and prepare themselves. This pause caught General Neumann-Silkow by surprise. He had moved up with Panzer Regiment 5 and half the infantry, expecting to find the flank of the British advance. Instead, they almost blundered into the two British Brigades as they started to move forward. The left-hand column, 1st Bn RTR and 2/17th Battalion, were almost immediately on top of the German panzers. As soon as battle commenced the middle column, 45th Bn RTR and 2/15th Battalion, moved to support them.

The British Armoured Regiments were, like the Panzer Regiment, understrength. On the other hand, the two British regiments brought 70 Valiant I Infantry Tanks Mark III to the fight. The Panzer IIs that made up the majority of the German tanks, armed only with 20mm cannons attempted to get round the British tanks to get among the Australian infantry. The Panzer III 50mm and Panzer IV 75mm guns were capable, at the ranges involved, to knock out the British tanks. The 2-pdrs on the British tanks were more than capable of destroying all of the German panzers. The sheer weight of numbers, the advantage of thick armour, and the superiority of the 2-pdr gun all contributed to the destruction of Panzer Regiment 5. Without the normally solid anti-tank gun screen to fall back behind, the panzers were picked off almost with ease by the British gunners. The Australian infantry did take casualties, but their anti-tank gunners, mostly armed with Italian Cannone 47/32, took a toll of the Panzer IIs.

With two of the arrowhead formations having pushed aside the Panzer Regiment, the third arrowhead formation, (8th Hussars and 2/13th Battalion) advanced to engage the German infantry, which had been under sustained fire from the British artillery. With no answer to the infantry tanks, closely supported by the Australians, the German troops put up a spirited defence, but were overwhelmed, with the Hussars only realising they’d advanced through them when they reached the German artillery line. A few tanks were destroyed by direct hits from over open sights, but the artillerymen were swiftly dealt with. General Neumann-Silkow was captured by the Australian cavalry, as the remainder of his Light Division pulled back toward El Gheddahia.

General Garibaldi was informed that the German forces were arriving at the Italian positions, and that it was becoming clear that they had been defeated. With his flank now exposed to the British, and the heavy attacks to his front, Garibaldi felt he had no choice but to pull whatever was left of his force back towards Misrata. He was confident that the British wouldn’t be in a position to follow him, as their supplies must now be just about exhausted. Under the cover of night, as much of the Italian force as possible left their positions and headed to Misrata, a journey of about 100km.

In one way Garibaldi was right, the British 7th Armoured Division and 9th Australian Infantry Division were indeed exhausted. By the extraordinary effort by everyone supporting XIII Corps, Operation Battleaxe had thrown the Italians and Germans back about 200 miles. Two German and three Italian Divisions had been destroyed. The British had captured more German and Italian weapons, much of which would go to rearm the Greek Army. The process of bringing up more supplies to begin to prepare for the next phase of clearing the North African coast had already begun. The railway from Alexandria had been expanded well beyond Marsa Matruh on its way to Bardia and then onto Tobruk. The RAF, now reinforced by RAAF and SAAF squadrons were able to provide cover for the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy to ship directly to Benghazi. While the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica were still active and dangerous, the airfields that were being strengthened around Benghazi allowed better access to Malta. This allowed the British bomber squadrons to be even more attentive to the German and Italian lines of communication, as well as giving the Royal Navy a relatively easy passage to and from Malta.

For the Australians at Beurat and El Gheddahia, the task was to go over to the defensive. With the summer weather bringing extremely difficult conditions, the chance to rest and recuperate was much appreciated. The surviving tanks of the 7th Armoured Division would need some repair and renewal before the next phase of the operation. It was hoped that 22nd Armoured Division, or possibly 2nd Armoured Division being re-established, with new tanks, would take the lead in the push towards Tripoli. More and more Canadian Pattern trucks were pouring into the Delta area, allowing the RASC and RAOC to move forward the supplies which would allow a further push, at this stage, planned for October.

 

[allanpcameron]

1 July 1941. Ministry of Supply. London, England.

Lord Beaverbrook and Sir John Carden stirred their cups of tea and made small talk until the secretary left and closed the door behind her. Having taken on the role of Minister of Supply, Beaverbrook was meeting with many of the industrialists and designers to get a grip of the current state of tank production and what were the problems.

The invasion of the Soviet Union, with the vast, sweeping movements of the German army, had raised the stakes in terms of British production. The first meetings between Ambassador Ivan Maisky and Anthony Eden had led to the warning that Britain would likely be sending tanks to help the Soviets. The losses to the Soviet tank force were rumoured to be extensive, and, along with fighter aircraft, those were two of the priorities that the Soviets were asking help for.

Beaverbrook wanted Carden’s opinion about how to increase production to meet this new need, while, at the same time, equipping the British and Empire Divisions. Carden’s answers mostly confirmed what Beaverbrook already expected. Carden argued that the Vickers designed Valiant I & II, were the best tanks currently being produced. The Matilda II and the new A22, which should replace it, were Infantry Tanks as were the Valiant I and II. Three different types filling the same role, with the Matilda and A22 not having much room for improvement. The Valiant I* & II*, were Cruiser tanks, which, as was Nuffield’s A15 which was being produced, but again had limited scope for improvement.

Carden's argument was that the Victor which was getting towards production was a satisfactory tank for both of these roles, creating a Medium Tank. The Light Tank program was, in Carden’s view a waste of time, as the feedback from the desert was that good armoured cars would be preferred. Therefore, in his opinion, work on the Matilda II should cease as soon as practicable, that the numbers of A22s planned should be reduced, likewise the Tetrarch Light Tank. The Victor should be the main effort of most of the tank shops.

All of this resonated with Beaverbrook. When he had taken over as Minister of Aircraft Production, he had concentrated all the firms on producing as many as possible of just five types of aircraft. It seemed to him that there was too much effort going in to producing too many types of tanks, but not enough actual tanks. If tanks had to be sent to Russia, as it stood, it would slow the build up of the British Armoured formations.

Carden wondered if the Soviets would take the A15 and A22? At this point, discussions were still at an early stage, but Beaverbrook believed that they were looking at mature designs, rather than something still under development. Carden knew that meant that the Valiant would be their preferred tank, especially if they could get the Mark II with the 6-pdr gun.

What Beaverbrook hadn’t heard before, but that Carden emphasised was that each of the current parent companies, Vulcan, Nuffield and Vauxhall, didn’t have much experience of building tanks. Unlike the Shadow Factories that had been planned for the Ministry of Aircraft Production, each of the companies had set up tank shops that were just too small for large production. Carden cited the American efforts in Detroit, where huge facilities had been created. Britain’s heavy industry was too used to small shops and ‘Skilled Workers’. His suggestion was for a new Royal Ordnance Factory to be created, perhaps not on the scale of Detroit, but certainly bigger than Vickers’ biggest tank shop. If all the companies now gearing up for the A22, A15 and Victor were to collaborate, creating components locally and shipping them to a central factory, the tanks could be assembled on the Detroit model. The danger from Luftwaffe attacks had always mitigated against this, but with the war spread to Russia, the mass attacks by German bombers was less of a threat.

Obviously, the Army would want to have their say about what tank was produced in such a factory, but Carden was confident that the success of the Valiant I & I* in North Africa would put the Valiant II, and its successor, the Victor, as the main contender. Carden made two more pleas. The first was that production of the Meteor engine for the Victor would need to be increased alongside the tanks. Secondly, the tank gun problem had to be resolved, one way or another, as quickly as possible.

Beaverbrook was enthusiastic about the idea of a Royal Ordnance tank factory. It seemed totally sensible. Nuffield’s organisation was using eight factories to assemble 60 tanks per week. The biggest of these factories were only producing ten tanks per week, the smallest, five. Building a factory that could assemble 100 tanks per week, even just 80, would indeed increase productivity enormously. Likewise, the various engine companies that were currently making the various different engines for each different type of tank, by coming together and using the latest mass production techniques could make sure each tank had enough spares.

The problem of the tank gun was something that Beaverbrook assured Carden that he would look into. He currently was still getting to know all the issues that he had been appointed to resolve. He would take Carden’s idea to the Cabinet, and give it his strongest backing. If all the firms currently involved in tank production could concentrate their efforts, supplying experienced workers and machine tools to a new assembly line, it could be up and running possibly by Spring 1942.

Carden, as he was leaving, remarked that getting someone over from Detroit, with first hand knowledge of mass production techniques, might help streamline its implementation. Beaverbrook shook Carden’s hand as he left, if only everyone was as far sighted, Beaverbrook’s job would be so much easier.

 

[allanpcameron]

20 July 1941. Salisbury Plain, England.

The men of 1st Canadian Army Tank Brigade had arrived by sea at Greenock on 30 June. Most of them arrived at their new camp at West Lavington Down, and then, having set it up, were given their disembarkation leave, reporting back on 14 July. While the tented camp was reasonably comfortable, though short of bathing facilities, the men knew that any heavy rain would likely make things very difficult.

Their Valiant Mark IA* tanks had arrived in the slow section of their convoy. Once the tanks had been unloaded, a cadre of NCOs had stayed on to supervise the removal of everything that had been used to make them waterproof for sailing across the Atlantic. They had also to try to make sure that nothing went ‘missing’ between shipping and arrival at Salisbury Plain. Once this had been done, the tanks had been loaded onto flat cars, and moved by a number of trains to Lavington Station.

The tanks for the 14th Armoured Battalion Canadian Armoured Corps (Calgary Regiment (tank), arrived first, followed by those belonging to the 11th Armoured Battalion CAC (The Ontario Regiment (Tank)). Lastly, the Valiant IA*s of 12th Armoured Battalion CAC (The Three Rivers Regiment (Tank)) were driven off the trains and brought to the Brigade’s camp. The last few days had been hectic for all of the men, getting their tanks ready for the exercise that was about to begin.

The tanks had all been built in Montreal by the Angus Shops of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, and the Brigade had the first 166 tanks off the assembly line. As the Canadian 1st Army Tank Brigade were shipping out of Camp Borden, the 5th Canadian Armoured Division was taking delivery of the tanks at a rate of seventy-five per month. The expectation was that the 5th Armoured Division would ship over to Britain towards the end of 1941.

The British 31st Tank Brigade (9 Bn RTR, 10 Bn RTR) was still undergoing training, and were waiting for a third Battalion to complete the Brigade. Equipped with Matilda II Infantry Tank Mark IIs, this unit would play the opposing force against the Canadians in the exercise. The 38th (Welsh) Division provided two of its infantry Brigades (113th and 114th) to take part in the exercise, one on each side. General Andrew McNaughton had arrived from London, as Commander of Canadian forces in Britain, to watch his first armoured formation in action. He was joined by General Sir John Dill, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, who was as curious about the readiness of the Canadian Tank Brigade as McNaughton was. The first action of the Canadian 1st Army Tank Brigade was therefore to pass in formation before Dill and McNaughton, and then to be inspected by them. Once that was done, the exercise could begin in earnest.

 

[allanpcameron]

31 July 1941. Kensington, London, England.

Brigadier William Fox-Pitt had led the Welsh and Irish Guards at Boulogne, and they had a great deal to be proud of. Holding the port as long as they did, slowed down the Germans, and gave the rest of the army a chance to get back from Dunkirk.

The 2nd Welsh Guards had suffered more, almost half their number had been left behind and taken prisoner. They, along with 2nd Irish Guards had now been given the task of retraining as Armoured Battalions. The Grenadier, Coldstream and Scots Guards were also facing having to retrain one of their Battalions to be part of the Guards Armoured Division.

Brigadier Fox-Pitt had retained command of 20th Guards Brigade which had been redesignated 5th Guards Armoured Brigade. This Brigade would consist of three Battalions (2nd Grenadier Guards, 1st Coldstream Guards, 2nd Irish Guards) who would become Armoured Battalions. The 1st Grenadier Guards, which included the King’s Company, the tallest Guardsmen, were to be the motorised infantry element of the Brigade.

The other Guards Armoured Brigade (6th) was commanded by Brigadier Allan Adair. The three Armoured Battalions would be created from 4th Grenadier Guards, 3rd Scots Guards and 2nd Welsh Guards. The 4th Coldstream Guards would provide the motorised infantry.

In addition to these two Armoured Brigades, the Guards Armoured Division would have the Guards Support Group, of which the 1st Welsh Guards would be the infantry Battalion. Command of the Support Group hadn’t yet been confirmed, but Brigadier Arnold Cazenove, whose 7th Guards Brigade was about to be split up, was already at the meeting called by Major General Oliver Leese.

Leese wanted to get as much of the griping out of the way. The Brigade of Guards considered themselves, with some reason, as the Elite of the British Infantry Regiments. The Battalions, like Fox-Pitt’s which had served in France and Flanders, had added more merit to their claims. The idea for a Guards Armoured Division, seemed to have originated from General Alan Brooke (C-in-C Home Forces). There had been rumblings of opposition to the idea, and the ‘Establishment’ had been aghast at the suggestion. Since Brooke’s background was from Anglo-Irish ancestry, and his commission was in the Royal Artillery, there was, among some, something of a ’he doesn’t quite understand’ kind of feeling.

The King had approved the plan, and so, whether they liked it or not, Leese had been given the task of making it happen. The transfer of the Battalions was due to take place in September, so Leese wanted to get his senior officers together to take the temperature and make sure everyone was up for the challenge.

Arnold Cazenove was the most vocal opponent of the situation. Less about the ‘rebranding’ as he called it, and more the fact that command of the Support Group, which was primarily an Artillery force, with just one infantry Battalion, wasn’t his strong point. He’d only just been given command of 7th Guards Brigade in August, after a time on the General Staff. To go from that to sorting out gunners, wasn’t something that he had any great desire to do.

Major-General Leese took note, and asked him, when the appointment came through to take it, and then Leese would do his best to get him an Infantry Brigade, once the dust settled and a suitable replacement could be found. Both Fox-Pitt and Adair were much more positive about the role they and their men were to undertake. Both of them had faced the German panzers, and both of them had seen the power of an armoured force. They both noted that cooperation between tanks and infantry, with artillery and air support, was a much bigger picture than simply leading an Infantry Battalion or Brigade.

Leese, Fox-Pitt and Adair had all visited Bovington where they had been led through the needs and capacity of a British Armoured Division. Their staffs had taken copious notes, and they’d agreed that they would need a lot of support from the Royal Tank Regiment. However, there was complete opposition to having to use the Cavalry designations of Squadron and Troop. The Guards’ Companies and Platoons had very particular histories that the Royal Armoured Corps could only dream of. The Household Cavalry Regiment would provide the Reconnaissance for the Guards Armoured Division. If the donkey-whallopers thought for a moment that the Guards would take on their names for things, they were very much mistaken. In this they had found some support from some of the men of the pre-war Royal Tank Corps, whose forced marriage with the Cavalry still rankled.

There was one thing that Leese had baulked at. When informed that his Division would be issued with A15 Cruiser tanks, the Major-General was very unhappy. As part of the visit to Bovington, Leese had been shown the tanks currently being used and entering production by the Army. He’d also, like the rest of the army, been following developments in North Africa very closely. The prototype of the Victor he’d been shown looked like a war winner, especially when it got the dual-purpose gun. The Valiant II* Cruiser with the 6-pdr gun would be good enough until the Victor came along. The A15 looked like a poor cousin in comparison. The brass at Bovington had been complimentary about it, at least, once the bugs were ironed out and there were enough 2-pdr guns for it. One of the Royal Tank Regiment officers had even suggested that the A15 would be a good starter tank for training, as the men would have plenty of experience of fixing broken things.

For Leese the question was to make sure that the Guardsmen who were having to retrain from being elite infantry felt that they were going to be the elite Armoured Division of the British army, and for that, Leese insisted on the best tanks. With all the rumblings around taking six of the finest Infantry Battalions in the world and putting them into tanks, what Leese wanted, General Brooke would do his best to secure.

For the rest of the meeting, the four men talked through their respective roles in putting together the training program. One of the biggest hurdles would simply be to train men as drivers, gunners, radio operators, mechanics. To train officers and NCOs with a whole new set of tactics and concerns. Later on, the Battalion Commanders, and the staff of Division and Brigade HQs, after lunch, would have a chance to talk through the issues they were concerned with, and how to plan creating an Armoured Division from scratch, the way the Guards would create an Armoured Division.

 

[allanpcameron]

6 August 1941. Singapore.

The arrival of WS9AX the previous day had brought with it the 11th Bn RTR and their 58 A12 Infantry Tanks Mark II. The Battalion had been raised in January 1941 and there had been talk of them training on some kind of secret new weapon. Instead, they had been designated to join the forces reinforcing Malaya and Singapore.

Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival had been somewhat surprised when informed that the War Cabinet had included a Tank Battalion among the reinforcements he was to receive. Some of his staff had doubts about the suitability of the tanks in the terrain, but Percival couldn’t help feeling that he shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Lt-Col Michael Hedderwick (CO 11th Bn RTR) was formerly introduced to his new Commanding Officer, who was full of questions about the capabilities and limitations of a Tank Battalion.

Lt-Col Hedderwick had been promoted and transferred from 7th Bn RTR, where he’d commanded a squadron of A12s in the battle of Arras (loaned to 4th Bn RTR on the day). Bringing that experience to Malaya Command was going to be a challenge. Hedderwick and his officers had spent long hours on the voyage looking at as much information as they could get their hands on. The questions about the suitability of the ground for tanks would only be fully answered once they were in country and had a chance to reconnoitre the area.

When he had the chance, Hedderwick asked Percival to allow him to do three things in the first month. Firstly, to have a number of his officers and NCOs to make a thorough study of the landscape, particularly after they’d seen the general plan to defend Malaya and Singapore. Secondly, it would take up to a month to make sure that all the tanks were fighting fit. The question of tropicalisation was something of a mystery regarding the Matilda IIs. There would likely be a need for some trial and error to get the tanks, and their crews adapted for the climate and geography. The need for his men to have some kind of rudimentary training in jungle warfare, even it was just to learn which snakes were most dangerous, would be much appreciated.

The third and final request was to keep the Battalion together. What had been learned in the war so far was that splitting tank forces up into penny packets was counter-productive. It had been shown in North Africa that the combination of Infantry Tanks and the Indian and Australian Infantry was very successful. Once everything was organised, Hedderwick’s Adjutant had prepared a training program to offer to the Infantry units on collaboration between tanks, infantry and artillery.

Percival’s Chief of Staff was furious that a Lieutenant-Colonel should have the gall to tell his superior what he wanted. It was up to Malaya Command to find something useful to do with these tanks, and there were plenty of senior officers who had requested some tanks for each of their particular needs. Percival however had read Hedderwick’s file, and knew that he had fought as a young officer at Cambrai in 1917 and again as a Major at Arras in 1940. Percival never had much to do with tanks at any point in his career. His inclination was the same as his Chief-of-Staff, to provide as many units as possible with a troop of tanks. Hedderwick however had made a good case. Percival agreed the first two requests without hesitation. Everyone coming to Malaya needed time to adapt, and tanks were an unknown capability in the country. As to the last request, Percival could see that providing his main infantry Brigades with training on collaborating with tanks would be worthwhile. As to keeping the Battalion together, he couldn’t promise anything, until he had a better notion of just what tanks would be able to do.

 

[allanpcameron]

14 August 1941. Canal Zone, Egypt.

Wavell’s requests for reinforcements were starting to build up. The 50th (Northumberland) Division had arrived in June on Convoy WS8, and had been acclimatising and getting used to desert existence. The 9th (Highland) Division, who had been acting as line of communication troop in the Canal Zone had hoped that they would be relieved of this role and move up to the front to get into action. General Wavell didn’t want to go through a process of three Brigades having to exchange with another three Brigades, with all the problems associated. 50th (Northumberland) Division had proven itself at the Battle of Arras, and had been brought up to strength having come back from Dunkirk. Wavell wanted O’Connor to have the 50th Division join 7th Armoured, and 6th Infantry Division as XIII Corps.

9th Australian Division would be replaced by 50th Division, allowing General Blamey to create an Australian Corps of three Divisions. 6th and 7th Australian Divisions were keeping the Vichy French in Syria honest. 6th Division were still recovering from their escapades in Greece, and 7th Division training and equipment levels were reaching completeness. The situation with the growing Japanese numbers in Vichy IndoChina was of deep concern to the Australian Government in Canberra. Wavell was waiting for word that at least one of the Australian Divisions would go to support 8th Australian Division already in Malaya. Both the 6th and 9th Divisions had been reduced by their efforts up until now, the 7th Division was as yet unbloodied. If Wavell was given the choice, he’d argue that he be allowed to keep 7th Division. This would give the men of 6th and 9th Divisions the chance for some home leave, and save reinforcement drafts to travel to the Middle East, only to return again.

The 10th Armoured Division (formerly 1st Cavalry Division) had received enough tanks in June to fully equip one of its Brigades. 9th Armoured Brigade (formerly 4th Cavalry) had been chosen to receive these. The 1st Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR) had taken possession of the first Lend Lease American tanks, Light Tank M3, which had been named for General Stuart of the American Civil War. The South Wiltshire and Warwick Yeomanry Regiments had the first 120 A15MkII Cruiser Mark VI shipped overseas. The discovery of the problem with the external mounting of the air cleaners had now been fixed and work had been done to sort out some of the problems with the cooling fan chain and the oil pumps, hence they were known as Mark IIs. Although these obvious fixes had been made in the factory, they hadn’t been fully tested. A list of potential problems, and their potential fixes, had arrived with the tanks, and the mechanics and crews were trying to get to grips with the problems.

8th Armoured Brigade (formerly 6th Cavalry) had taken possession of all the odds and ends of tanks that were still running after the campaign in Iraq. This was allowing them to quicken the pace of mechanisation. It was hoped that by the time the next convoy arrived with another Brigade’s worth of tanks, they would be fully prepared. 5th Cavalry Brigade, still acting in the occupation duties in Palestine, was facing becoming a Motorised Infantry Brigade made up of the Yorkshire Dragoons and Hussars, and the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry. Nobody in the Brigade was happy about this, but an Armoured Division consisted of only two Armoured Brigades, with one Motorised Infantry Brigade.

There was a growing concern about the German invasion of the Soviet Union. If the Nazis managed to reach the Caucasus before winter, there was a threat that they might send a force south, through Iran and threaten the Iraq oil fields, indeed the whole British position in the Middle East. Wavell’s opinion was any such attempt would be unlikely before April 1942, but General Auchinleck, as C-in-C India, whose responsibility Persia came under, wanted to pre-empt the problem. 10th Indian Division was already in Iraq, with 2nd Indian Armoured Brigade Group and newly arrived 8th Division. The Armoured Brigade were armoured in as far as they had a variety of light tanks, armoured cars, and universal carriers. Auchinleck believed that with the addition of 9th Armoured Brigade and some other forces, it would be a strong enough force to push up towards Tehran. The Soviets were keen on keeping the route from the Middle East open to receive Lend Lease material from America. They too were keen to make sure that Iran wouldn’t be a problem.

A joint request from Britain and the Soviet Union to expel all Germans from Iran had been delivered in July, and another was likely to be sent in a few days. General ‘Jumbo’ Wilson had been informed that 9th Armoured Brigade would be called upon to take part in an action in Iran. Wilson’s concern that the three Regiments wouldn’t yet be fully operational in their new tanks was considered, but Auchinleck was relying on their availability. The Indian Army had been reinforcing Iraq, so that the two Indian Divisions and 2nd Indian Armoured Brigade Group were available to take Tehran. 6th Indian Division was currently preparing to be sent to the Basra area, they were due to arrive in September.

While Iran was Auchinleck’s operational area, Wavell was concerned that once again forces under his command, not least the RAF, would be caught up in yet another operation. The numbers of vehicles that would be needed to support the forces moving from Iraq into Iran would have to come from the reserve that Wavell was trying to build up. The RAF’s expansion in Malta and in the Middle East was fragile. Wavell and Air Marshall Tedder were more concerned about being able to finish off Tripoli. Having to put more aircraft into Iraq to support an incursion into Iran would again mean that instead of strengthening their position, the RAF would be over extended. London had made it clear that they wanted Iran to be made safe, and so Wavell authorised those forces needed to the command of General Edward Quinan, who would have overall command of the project, with Major-General Bill Slim commanding the land forces.

WS8 had also brought enough Valiant I Infantry Tanks to bring 7th Armoured Division back up to full strength. Once they had been checked over in the Delta workshops, the were loaded onto Royal Navy A Lighters and sailed in convoy along the coast and delivered over the beach at Marsa al Berga. This was where the 7th Armoured Division’s workshops had moving to from Bardia and Tobruk. The advance of the British forces to Beurat meant that Bardia was far too far in the rear to be able to support the Division. All the tanks which had been disabled for one reason or another had been gathered there to be fixed up or cannibalised. It was 250 miles from the front line, and since no one wanted the tanks still running, to have to make a 500 mile round trip for servicing, the Light Aid Detachments of both 7th Armoured and 22nd Armoured opened workshops in Sirte to provide the tanks at the front a much closer base to have routine maintenance. The replacement tanks were carried on tank transporters to Sirte, where they were united with their crews.

The next convoy, WS9A, that had arrived in July, had enough Valiant I* Cruiser tanks to equip 1st Armoured Brigade. The men of 1st Armoured Brigade had been employed in various tasks. Some had been training the Greeks in using and maintaining armoured vehicles, if the Italian tankettes could be considered as such. Others had been sent up to 7th and 22nd Armoured Divisions or become familiar with the Valiant tanks that they would be equipped with. The Valiant I* was quite a different beast from the A13MkII they had been used to. The training they were doing would soon see them ready to match up again with 22nd Armoured Brigade, to re-establish 2nd Armoured Division. 3rd Indian Motor Brigade were being brought back up to full strength, and 22nd Armoured Brigade were due to receive the next lot of Valiant I* Cruisers, due to arrive on WS9B in August. By the end of August 2nd and 7th Armoured Divisions would be at full strength. The men of 7th Tank Brigade had largely been used as replacements for casualties in 4th, 7th and 22nd Armoured Brigades.

 

[allanpcameron]

21 August 1941. Chertsey, England.

The Minister of Supply had come to visit, and Sir John Carden was part of the reason. Publicly, the visit was to commend the workers at Chertsey for their valuable contribution to the war effort. Privately, Beaverbrook had a problem. The Canadian sat down and gratefully accepted a scotch and water. He had been told that the Prime Minister wanted him to go to Moscow to see the situation there and report back on what, realistically, Britain could do to aid the Russians. He was to travel with Averell Harriman, Roosevelt’s special envoy.

In a previous conversation Carden had suggested that something needed to be done to get the tank gun for the Victor properly sorted. He had also suggested some kind of large ROF factory was would concentrate on building the kind of numbers of tanks that would be needed.

After discussions with various firms and, between the War Office and Ministry of Supply, there had been a lukewarm response to the idea. While a new build tank factory seemed like a good idea, the reality was the growing pains of the war economy didn’t really have room for something quite so grand. There was still the fear of air raids which could dent production severely if the big factory was put out of action. It was more the workers that was going to be problem. Unemployment was non-existent for all intents and purposes. Those who were in reserved industries couldn’t just move when it suited them. The need for welding was also going to be a bottleneck.

Currently, Chertsey had the capacity to produce up to 120 tanks per month. Beaverbrook had talked with Nuffield and Vauxhall to see if they could agree to create out of their many small firms, one large tank shop. Moving workers and machine tools would reduce production in the short term, but hopefully make things easier in the longer term. Vauxhall could see the benefit, but felt that their premises in Luton didn’t have the space. Bringing all the A22 production together would be more efficient. They would, however, have to rely on the Ministry of Supply to get a site, build the factory, fill it with machine tools and workers, who would have to be trained. Nuffield argued that they were reaching the capacity to build 60 A15s per week despite being spread over eight sites. Therefore, to Lord Nuffield there was no great advantage for centralising everything.

The one thing that Carden noted that Lord Beaverbrook hadn’t mentioned was Harland and Wolff in Belfast. After the blitz there in April, tank production was being transferred to a new site in Carrickfergus. Belfast tank production of the Valiant I*CS currently was quite slow, only about 30 per month, less since the blitz. It seemed to Carden that if Harland and Wolff could be persuaded to expand what they were doing in Carrickfergus, perhaps increasing the capacity fourfold, it would provide another 90 tanks per month more than were currently being built. Shipping those 90 tanks per month would give the Soviets over a thousand tanks per annum, without stripping the British and Empire forces of the tanks they needed. The problem Beaverbrook saw was that someone would need to persuade the firm to open up their employment to Catholics. That would let the untapped labour force in the Irish Free State provide some of the extra labour required.

With regards progress on the gun for the Victor, Beaverbrook had found that there was pushback from the department overseeing the development and production of filled shells. They considered the 75mm an unusual size, especially as they were having to design AP, APC, APCBC and HE 75mm projectiles. It was taking up some considerable amount of time and effort. Then the Director of Artillery, Major General Campbell Clarke, was arguing that all that effort should not have to be repeated for the 17-pdr anti-tank gun, still under development.

The Royal Ordnance Factories for the filling of shells were already at capacity, and the ability to create new production to match the numbers of HV 75mm guns was a worry. More ROF factories were being opened, but these were already tasked with particular types of shell. Since the change-over to using the necked down 76.2mm x 420R for the gun, they agreed that production would be easier. Nonetheless there was some lobbying to change the Vickers gun to a three-inch gun, rather than 75mm. Since this would be the same as the 17-pdr under development, then the same shells could be used in both guns, as currently with the 2-pdr and 6-pdr.

The Vickers team liaising with the Ministry had insisted that waiting for the 17-pdr to be finalised would delay the introduction of the Victor. Even though the first tranche would be likely be armed with the 6-pdr, it was crucial to get the dual-purpose gun ready as soon as possible. The new HE shells for the 6-pdr were still thought to be too weak, only the dual purpose HV 75mm gun would suffice. The other problem with using the same projectiles as the 17-pdr would mean that the HE round, fired at the same velocity as the AP rounds, would need to be thick walled. The High Explosive charge would therefore be much reduced, making it less effective, just as the 6-pdr was currently. This would defeat the purpose of designing a dual-purpose gun, that was still an excellent ‘hole puncher’ but could also throw out an HE round with a reasonable buster charge.

Carden noted that if Britain was going to supply the Soviets with a large number of tanks, finding out what kind of gun they were using on their own tanks, and how they were getting on against the panzers, would be very useful. Perhaps, while he was in Moscow, Beaverbrook could ask about the possibility of one of the Soviet guns being brought over for examination, along with whichever shells they produced for it. Carden was sure that he could redesign the Valiant II turret to take the Russian gun, so that they could be shipped to Russia, and let the Soviets arm them with the same gun as the rest of their tank force was using.

It seemed to Carden that it was likely that with production of the 6-pdr still ramping up, that the preference of the Government would likely be to send the Soviets Matilda IIs or Valiant Is with the 2-pdr gun, possibly even the A15. The question was why would the Soviets want the 2-pdr armed tank? The 6-pdr, HV 75mm and 17-pdr are already planned to replace it. The fighting in North Africa had shown that a tank gun really needed to be dual purpose. The 2-pdr, and to a lesser extent the 6-pdr, and if Campbell got his way the 17-pdr, would all suffer from a lack of a proper HE shell. Shipping them tanks built for, but not with, the Russian gun would save a lot of trouble.

The other possibility that occurred to Carden was what would happen to the current order for 1250 Medium M3 tanks from America? The first of these had been manufactured and the expected date of delivery was towards the end of the year. From what he’d read from the British team in Washington, Beaverbrook didn’t think the M3 was going to be too popular with the British tank crews. It was too tall, and with the main gun in the side sponson, the fear was it wouldn’t be as effective in taking a ‘hull down’ position. The War Office was talking about the M3s going to the Indian, Australian, South African and New Zealand armies.

The Australians had entered an agreement with Canada to supply them with Valiant IIs, but it wasn’t clear when delivery might begin. The Indian Armoured Divisions would likely be happy enough with the American tank, at least initially. The South Africans weren’t going to be leaving Africa, and the M3 was certainly good enough take on anything on that continent that had tanks. New Zealand were talking about a Tank Brigade, and the M3 could fit with what they wanted. There was only going to be enough M3s for three Armoured Divisions at most. Two would be more likely, if they were going to keep back some tanks as battle replacements.

As Carden understood it, the Medium M3 had been bought as insurance against the failure of the A15 program, and to encourage the Americans to take tanks seriously. It occurred to Carden that it might be better for America to be main supplier of tanks to the Soviets through lend-lease. The Americans were still ramping up production, and already had the design of the M4 replacement for the M3 quite far advanced. If the M4 was as good as the rumours were suggesting, it might be a better fit for the Soviets, than the British Infantry tanks. The American 75mm would likely be similar to the Soviet tank gun, so maybe their tanks would a better match. Beaverbrook agreed that the idea that the Victor would be offered to the Soviets, even before it was accepted by the British army, wasn’t an option. Carden suggested that the American capacity was far beyond anything that Britain could match. Would it be worth asking the Americans for the M3 and then M4 as lend-lease tanks, then ship them onto the Soviets? Beaverbrook said he’d ask Harriman about it when they had a chance.

All of this discussion had made Beaverbrook think that since the Americans were using a 75mm gun, and if, God willing, they joined the war against Germany, it was likely that the British and Americans would fight side by side. Having a common gun and shell would be useful. Carden agreed, but he would be surprised if the Americans would take a British designed gun for their tanks. It would be more likely that British tanks would have to move to a 75mm gun. Beaverbrook smiled, that was the very thing that Campbell and the Shell Filling Department didn’t want. Carden thought something could be bodged up. Perhaps it would be worth seeing if the 6-pdr could be adapted to fire 75mm shells?

 

[allanpcameron]

2 September 1941. Inveraray, Scotland.

The A17 Tetrarch DD (Duplex Drive) sat just behind the ramp that was beginning to lower. Previously the A17DD had shown the capability of swimming over a large body of water, ‘lowering its skirts’ and then going into battle. The next phase of testing involved the tanks being launched at sea and swimming into the beach alongside landing craft.

The three Royal Armoured Corps' Squadrons of the Special Service Brigade (more commonly known as Commandoes) were keen on getting their hands on some of these ‘swimming tanks’. They were being equipped with the normal Tetrarch which would be landed on the beach by normal Landing Craft Tanks. The capability of swimming ashore in the first wave with the infantry was a whole other possibility.

The six man crew of LCM 4 and the crew of the Tetrarch had been talking a long time into the night the previous day about the procedures that they would use. There had been plenty of straightforward tests so far. The tank had driven into the water and ‘swam’ around before returning and exiting the loch. Then the tank had been loaded into the LCM and left the ramp, straight ashore as any tank should be capable of. The test after that was pulling back from the shore to a depth where the tank sank up to the bottom of the buoyancy skirts and then driving ashore. Today was the day when the tank would roll off the ramp and into water where it would have to float, before setting off for the shore.

The driver in the tank couldn’t see anything because of the floatation skirts. Therefore, he wouldn’t be the only man on board to go through this. The tank commander would have to sit on top of the turret to be able to see and give the driver directions through the tank’s internal communication system. Both had been chosen as they were strong swimmers. They had been issued with, and trained to use, emergency Davis submarine escape apparatus, which had been adapted by Siebe-Gorman Ltd. Their confidence in the equipment had been enhanced when a driver had accompanied them under the water using the breathing apparatus. They were also assured that a boat would be immediately on hand, with the diver ready to help if needed. They’d chosen a part of Loch Fyne where, if the tank did sink, it wouldn’t be too deep for recovery, of men or machine.

It was a calm day on the loch, just a fine drizzle (known locally as ‘Scotch Mist’) falling. The driver and tank commander were rehearsing the procedures once more and double checking the communications. As the LCM reached the planned point, the driver started up the engine.

The cox’un got the order from the Lieutenant commanding the Landing Craft to lower the ramp. The engines were already stopped and the anchor dropped. All round, fingers were crossed. The tank commander watched as the ramp lowered into the water. With a wave from the RNVR Lieutenant, the tank commander ordered, “Driver, forward…slowly”. The engine revved and the tank began to creep forward. Passing the point of no return the two men had the sickening feeling of the tank leaving a solid deck and relying only on Archimedes theory of displacement to stop them sinking to the bottom of the loch. With the order to ‘Halt’ the driver disengaged the tracks. The tank wallowed, floating on the calm loch. With no signs of catastrophic failure, and no sign of major ingress into the tank from below, the tank commander ordered the driver to start the propeller. The tank began to make its way slowly towards the side of the loch, when the tracks hit the bottom, the driver re-engaged the tracks and brought the tank ashore, accompanied by cheers from all those watching.

Among the spectators on the shore was Major James Simon, OC B Squadron SSB. He was laughing with relief and cheering with everyone else. A civilian moved up beside him and as the cheering died down, introduced himself as Sir John Carden, of Vickers. While Leslie Little had been the main designer of the A17, Carden, as chief designer was keen on knowing what the users of his tanks made of them. Simon, a long serving professional Royal Tank Regiment officer knew how important Vickers tanks were to the Regiment, or Corps as it still was in his mind. Simon knew that honesty above all was crucial, he and his men would quite likely face the enemy in these tanks.

Lighting up a cigarette gave him a moment to gather his thoughts. He began noting it was an improvement over the Vickers Light Tank Mark VI. It wasn’t any better protected, its speed was slightly better, which was just as well. The track system was bit complex, but at least it carried the 2-pdr gun, so was more like a tank than an armoured car on tracks. Carden asked if it was the tank he would want to swim ashore against a defended beach? Simon had to admit it wasn’t. From all that’d been coming out of North Africa about German tanks, the 2-pdr wasn’t going to be enough. He was of the opinion that the 3-inch howitzer on Close Support tanks would be a better choice for supporting infantry, they’d be more likely to need to attack bunkers rather than other tanks. Though, he commented, a proper dual-purpose gun that could fire both HE and AP rounds would be even better. Carden nodded, this was no new idea from the users of tanks.

Carden asked him if he’d had any experience on the Valiant I or I*. Simon did, and he knew that the Valiant II was likely to appear with a bigger gun soon. Carden nodded, this was indeed true. His question was, with the theory proved by the Light Tank, how about a Valiant DD tank? Simon snorted. The thought of making a much heavier tank float was a hard idea to get his head around. His answer was ‘of course’ any tank commander wanted the best tank he could get. The Valiant was currently the best, especially if the Mark II had an improved gun, so that is what Simon would want. The plan was that three squadrons of the Special Service Brigade would be equipped with a mixture of Valiant I and Tetrarch. If the Valiant could be adapted as a DD tank, then all the better. Carden nodded again. It confirmed something that he had already been thinking about. Major Simon then gave him something else to think about.

When the Tetrarchs were coming off the landing ramps of the LCMs, they were often having to cope with up to three or four feet of water, sometimes with waves, even higher. The fitters in the squadrons had been bodging together various ways of dealing with the water, trying to make sure that nothing important, like the air intake and exhaust, would be swamped. Carden had one of his assistants with him, and asked if the Major might be in a position to allow him and his assistant to see these solutions. The idea of the need for a tank to be capable of wading through deep water, even over rivers and streams, would be worth considering.

One of senior NCOs led the two civilians to the Tetrarch DD to show them what they’d had to do in addition to fitting the floatation skirts. All apertures had been sealed and vital equipment had been masked. Extensions to the exhaust and air-intakes had been extended with trunking made from lightweight steel. In the engine compartment the spark plugs, magneto and other electrical part had been protected with mastic and tape. All the engine hatches were likewise waterproofed. The first few times the tank had been tested in water, various leaks had been found and then sealed up. Carden’s assistant took notes of everything.

Carden remembered that an A9 had been tested in 1940 at the Experimental Bridging Establishment at Christchurch. To see if a tank could cross a river underwater, a 20-foot-high periscope-like attachment had been fitted to the engine compartment. This concentric tube had brought down fresh air to the engine compartment in the outer tube, while exhausted air was returned up the inner tube. On the outside of this tube was another pipe that carried away the exhaust. If memory served him right, Carden believed the test had been successful, but not taken any further. That meant that there was data around that would be helpful in making the Valiant II more easily adapted for deep wading, not something that anyone in the desert had thought about. If a Light Aid Detachment had on hand a stock of pre-prepared waterproofing accessories, and a pamphlet with the information, then preparing tanks for a river crossing would be made much easier.

One of the senior officers at the test came looking for Carden, their car was waiting to take them back to the hotel they were staying in. Carden shook Major Simon’s hand, thanked him, gave him his business card and asked if he had any other ideas, that he, on behalf of Vickers would be happy to hear them. The Major saluted the civilian along with his superior officer. Someone in the position to do something about improving tanks was listening, that was pretty much a perfect end to a perfect day.

 

[allanpcameron]

17 September 1941. Durban, South Africa.

The port of Durban was well used to seeing convoys coming and going. The possibility of enemy agents taking note of what ships were arriving and leaving was always a concern. The chances were that the stop at Gibraltar was the more likely place where such information would be passed to the enemy.

If someone was taking note of the types of vessels that were part of this particular convoy, they would likely have noticed a few ships quite different from the norm. HMS Bachaquero and Misoa were converted tankers, now built for carrying tanks, or as the Royal Navy called them ‘Landing Ship Tanks’. Their sea journey was at best uncomfortable, designed for the use on a lake in Venezuela, they were built with a shallow draft which made ocean crossings 'interesting'.

Alongside these two oddities were five other conversions. The Landing Ship Infantry (Assault) (HMS Karanja, Prince Charles, Queen Emma, Royal Scotsman and Ulster Monarch) were all carrying various reinforcements for the Middle East, mostly draftees to replace casualties. There were also another two battalions (40 and 41 (RM) Cdo) of the Special Service Brigade to join the four already in theatre. Ten other merchant ships, including two large troop ships, were part of the convoy, not including two RFA oilers. Most of these ships had been loaded up in August to take part in a planned seizure of the Azores. With that operation cancelled, and with General Wavell needing amphibious resources for the plan to capture a number of Mediterranean islands, it had been decided to send the ships to Suez.

The majority of the troops that had been destined for the Azores, which came from the Canadian infantry Divisions, had been disembarked, with their equipment. As an extra Winston Special Convoy, WS8C was carrying much of the usual things needed in Egypt, ammunition, medical supplies, spare parts and extra weapons. The two LST had sailed empty, partly because of their poor sea handling. Partly because at Durban they were going to be loaded with Marmon-Harrington equipped South African Armoured Car Companies.

Amongst the cargo of the various merchant ships were the first batch of Birch Self-Propelled Guns and Vanguard Self-Propelled AA Guns. Twenty-four of each, enough to equip a Royal Artillery Regiment with each. 3rd Royal Horse Artillery Regiment, attached to 7 Armoured Division, were already heading back to the Canal Zone to take possession and begin training on the Birch SPGs. Likewise, 1st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA were also going to trained on the Vanguards. Accompanying the Self-propelled guns were some crews from 6th Armoured Division. This had been the Division which had worked with these vehicles and had sorted out the tactics and best use for them. These would be men who would train the new regiments on them.

In addition, some of the tanks that Major-General Hobart had been working on were also aboard the ships. These had been sent to be tested in the hot and dusty climate. There were two mine-clearing tanks, two bridging tanks and four AVRE (Armoured Vehicles Royal Engineers). All ten tanks were based on either the A13 or A15 hull. As well as some experienced crews, a number of civilians from the various companies which had worked on the development of each type were also sailing with the convoy. Overseeing the testing program, they would be able to quickly discern what other adaptations would need to be made to have them ready for full production.

It would be another two weeks before the convoy reached the Suez, more before the men and equipment would be ready to go to war. When General Wavell had been informed of this unexpected bonus of extra amphibious capability, he had a long meeting with Admiral Cunningham about how to put them to good use. Since then, with Brigadier Robert Laycock in charge, a combined team of Navy, Army and Royal Air Force had been put together, to put flesh on the bones of the plan concocted by Wavell and Cunningham.

 

[allanpcameron]

25 September 1941. Palestine

General Wavell and Major-General John Clark, GOC 10th Armoured Division, took the salute as the tanks of 8th Armoured Brigade drove past the reviewing stand. The Brigade was made up of one Regiment equipped with Stuart M3 Light tanks and two Regiments equipped with A15 Cruiser Mark VI. The parade marked the fact that the Brigade were now fully equipped with tanks. It would take another month or two for the Brigade to become proficient in their use, but it was a notable moment.

The delivery of 69 Stuart M3 Light Tanks from America in August, equipped the Scots Greys. The Nottinghamshire Yeomanry and Staffordshire Yeomanry had received their A15s delivered on the WS10 convoy in the same month. After the parade Wavell and Clark chatted about the future of the Division. The tired-out tanks that 8th Armoured Brigade had been training on, had been passed on to 5th Cavalry Brigade. The idea of turning those three Yeomanry Regiments (Yorkshire Dragoons, Yorkshire Hussars and Cheshire Yeomanry), into Lorried Infantry had been rejected. Instead, they would eventually be fully equipped with tanks.

The other Brigade (9th Armoured) had taken part in both the Iraq and Iran campaigns. They were still in Iran, under Lieutenant-General Quinan’s command, doing good work in the aftermath of the seizure of that country. Between 5th Cavalry Brigade in the process of being mechanised, and 9th Armoured Brigade detached, Clark noted that his 10th Armoured Division was incomplete. Not only did it need an Infantry Brigade, but the majority of its artillery was still being used in XIII Corps. General Wavell could well understand Clark’s frustration.

The news from Iran was very positive. Firstly, the A15 Cruiser Mark VI tank had been ‘bloodied’ in Iran and, while there were still teething troubles, it was generally well regarded by its crews. They considered that the speed and ride of the tank was good. They reported that the Liberty Engine wasn’t easy to service, and it really needed a close watch to be kept on it. Although the tanks hadn’t gone up against anything equivalent, its armour was seen as being ‘not bad’. The usual complaint about the poor HE capability of the 2-pdr gun was a well-known gripe. Since the two Regiments using the new tanks were Cavalry, they enjoyed the speed most of all.

Later, after lunch, Clark passed on a report from the Adjutant of the Household Cavalry Regiment. The HCR, in their Stuarts, had rendezvoused with the Soviets at Qazvin. The Soviet T26 tanks and the American built M3 Light Tanks were examined by each other. For the British, the hull of the T26 was clearly designed from the Vickers 6-ton tank of the early 1930s. The engine was a copy of the Armstrong Siddeley 90hp petrol engine. The turret however was quite different, the 45mm gun impressed the British tank crews.

The Soviets were very keen to see the latest American tank, designed just in the last year or so. It much taller than their own T26, over 30cm. The gun, at 37mm was considered inferior to their own 45mm. The fact that every tank had a radio was a surprise, and the quality of the engineering, especially of the engine, was admired. The American tank had better armour protection, and because of the bigger radial engine, was about twice as fast as the Soviet tank. The Soviet crews couldn’t understand why the British had removed the extra machine-guns from the hull sponsons. The British tried to explain that the crew over over-worked as it was, and that the co-axial and bow gun were more than enough firepower. The Soviets just shrugged, for them, firepower was firepower.

The report of the meeting between the new erstwhile allies, was interesting. As far as the intelligence coming from Iran was concerned, the Soviets had invaded with sizeable forces, they were talking about 1000 tanks. The reality confirmed to Clark and Wavell that the problems the Soviets were having against the German panzers. It was like using the Vickers VI Light Tanks against the Panzers, a recipe for disaster. The only difference was the Soviets had a 45mm gun which was a vast improvement over the Vickers .5-inch machine gun. Reports from Moscow, seemed to suggest that the Soviets were using the same three classifications of tanks that the British used. They had a heavy KV1, like an Infantry Tank. Something like a Cruiser, or cavalry tank BT-7, that used the same Christie suspension as the A15. There were rumours that there was a new tank, but there wasn’t much information about it. The T26 and BT-2 were light tanks.

Wavell mentioned that it was unfortunate that the HCR hadn’t been able to get any information about what else the Soviets were deploying. Clark expressed the hope that when cooperation between the countries was organised, that perhaps the Russians might share some of what they had up their sleeves. Wavell remembered back to when he and Giffard Martel had visited the Soviet Union in 1935 and seen the Red Army manoeuvres. Martel had been excited by the Christie Suspension, but Wavell had been aware that they’d only been allowed to see what their hosts wanted them to see. This would have been the same when foreign visitors came to British exercises, but Wavell felt that the Russians would be unlikely to share anything they had which their allies could use. Whereas, they would take everything they could get their hands on and barely say ‘thanks’. Wavell, looking at the reports coming from Russia wasn’t entirely convinced that they’d be able to stand up to Hitler’s advances.

With that in mind, and from a previous meeting with General Auchinleck, Wavell tried to assure Clark that 10th Armoured Division would have an important role to play. If the Germans did get to the Caucasus Mountains, then having an Armoured Division in Iran would be necessary. Hopefully it wouldn’t happen, but by spring 1942, Clark’s Division would be fully functional. Wavell still believed that spring 1942 was the soonest the Germans might be able to come towards the Middle East. 10th Armoured Division, he warned Clark, was likely to be one of the few armoured foundations that General Auchinleck would be able to draw on, if as C-in-C India, he needed a heavier punch. He also warned Clark, that Auchinleck had liked the model used by 22nd Armoured Brigade and 3rd Indian Motor Brigade as a ‘Mixed Division’. Wavell remarked that Clark might start looking for 8th Armoured Brigade to begin working closely with one of the Infantry Brigades in the area, he thought the Australians would be a good match. Major-General Clark agreed to look into it, though he had to admit that Brigadier Leslie Lloyd would have his work cut out, just getting his Brigade fully worked up in the new tanks.

 

[allanpcameron]

2 October 1941. Farnborough, England.

The success of the Birch Gun, a 25-pdr mounted on a Valiant I hull, as a self-propelled gun, was causing problems. The need for Valiant II and II* tanks meant that any that were set aside as SPGs or SPAAGs meant less tanks. Because the A15 project was now into full stride, and since the Valiants were the preferred tanks in most Armour Brigades, an alternative Birch Gun had been designed on the A15 hull. The results of the testing showed that the hull of the A15 was just a bit too narrow for the crew to man the gun and have an adequate store of ammunition to hand.

The alternative to the Vanguard SPAAG, mounting a 40mm Bofors gun was more acceptable. The gun was mounted on an open platform with its regular front flat shield. The Royal Artillery, whose Light AA Regiments would be equipped with this, were happy enough, it was basically just a mobile platform that would speed up its deployment. The Royal Armoured Corps were less impressed. If this was to be issued to support Armoured Regiments, to protect tanks from enemy air attack, then better protection for the crew was needed. Being on top of the hull would put the crew in danger from enemy ground attack. A four-side, open-top shield, wrapped around the gun was proposed, though it was thought this might hamper the crew, especially for reloading.

Another concept which was being tested was to use the A15 hull as a SPAAG, but instead of using the Bofors, it could carry two Oerlikon 20mm cannons. Nuffield noted that it would take them time to design a turret that would allow the guns to fire almost vertically. Three prototypes were ordered for testing. There was still a general shortage of Bofors guns, and so it was expected that production of the A15 AA wouldn’t start until 1942.

The other designs being tested were based on Major-General Hobart’s work on alternative uses for Armoured Fighting Vehicles. Sir John Carden’s work on the Command Tank, Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers, like the Birch gun and Vanguard, had been replicated on A15 hulls. The general impression of the command tank was positive. If an Armoured Regiment was equipped with the A15, it made perfect sense to have the Command Tank the same type as the rest. The Royal Engineers felt that the A15 was underpowered compared with the Valiant. To act as a bulldozer and have the ability to tow another tank, needed plenty of power. It made sense to have some of these AVREs using the same hull as the rest of a Brigade, so once again the Nuffield Organisation were invited to look at ways of improving the power of the prototypes.

For mine clearing, with the A15 hull quite low to the ground, the best system was an anti-mine roller attachment. The ‘thresher’, a spinning drum the chains beating the ground in front of the tank, was too difficult to mount on the A15.

The last prototype from the Nuffield stable had removed most of the upper superstructure of the A15 tank and replaced it with an armoured box. This was tested to see it if was of use as an alternative to the Carden/Loyd Tracked Personnel Carrier, known as the Vickers Viking. The Viking had been designed with the engine in front (like the Light Tanks) so that, using Horstman suspension, extended by extra bogeys, allowed an infantry section to be carried in the back, with a rear door to exit from. As much of the vehicle used much of the Universal Carrier components, as number of firms were producing these. The Infantry Officers weren’t keen on the A15 version. The rear mounted engine meant that the infantry couldn’t debus from the rear, under cover.

The Royal Artillery observers however could see the potential for its use in one of two ways. The first was as an armoured ammunition carrier. With the new Birch guns came the need for the artillery supply to be able to keep up, and possibly enter into danger to resupply. The second was to tow a gun, giving the crew and the ammunition some protection. The Quad tractor was a very good vehicle, but lacked protection. Pulling a field gun would be well within the A15’s capability. Another few prototypes for the Royal Artillery were ordered.

Vauxhall’s A22 was also being examined for the potential to use it for various tasks. The A15 Bridge Layer was soon to go into production, and it was obvious that the A22 would also be suitable for this role. Hobart had visited the Vauxhall design team on a number of occasions, looking at ideas and giving advice. As the A22 had very thick armour, it would be well suited for something like the Assault Tank role. There were all sorts of anti-tank defences that would need to be overcome, probably under heavy and direct fire. Having something more powerful than the current 3-inch howitzer would be needed, and so a team at Woolwich were working on an alternative. While waiting for that alternative, Vauxhall had been given a QF 3 inch (76 mm) 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun, and asked to use the A22 hull as a 'gun carrier'. The appearance in Greece and North Africa of some kind of self-propelled gun to support German troops had been noted. The A22 Gun Carrier would test out the pros and cons of such a vehicle, using the outdated AA gun which was surplus to requirements, but still powerful enough to deal with blockhouses or pillboxes.

Demolitions of concrete bunkers and other obstacles was high on the list of things that Hobart wanted to look at. The narrow turret ring on the A22 was disappointing, but the hull itself, although narrow, was relatively roomy. Information about a captured Italian flame-throwing tank had gripped the imagination of a few of Hobart’s staff. The first prototype put before the various War Office staff and other interested parties included the first attempt at a flame thrower. The 3-inch howitzer in the hull had been replaced with a Ronson flame thrower, and the ammunition stowage had given way to nitrogen tanks. The tank for the liquid to be ignited was carried on the rear of the tank in place of the extra fuel tank that could be carried there. Nobody wanted the inflammable mix within the crew compartment. As a proof-of-concept vehicle it was successful. Realistically, there would need to be a much greater range to the flame being thrown, it needed to reach at least 80 yards to be useful.

Unlike the A15 hull, the ‘thresher’ anti-mine equipment could be attached to the hull of the A22, this was demonstrated to the audience. There were still kinks to be ironed out, but it was clear that this adaptation could be very successful.

As the A15 and A22’s turret rings were so narrow, tests to see if they could mount the new 6-pdr had been disappointing. The only way they could realistically do so would include have to have a two-man turret, not something the RAC were keen on. The idea that the hulls of these two tanks might have other uses at least allowed some planning for future production figures.

The production of the Vulcan Matilda II was planned to decrease as the A22 came into service. News had come from Malta that one of the tanks sent there (1st Independent Squadron RTR) had been fitted with dozer blades to help repair and extend runways. The lack of suitable hydraulic rams had led to a bodge job that was suitable for the purpose, but not quite as efficient. The Royal Engineer in Malta who had come up the idea had sent back a full report with drawing and pictures. With hydraulic rams available, a Matilda II had been adapted by the Royal Engineers to see if the Malta experiment could be improved on. The other change they’d made on this version the turret had been removed. On Malta the turret had been retained in case it was needed for its main function, it wouldn’t take long to make the tank ready for action.

The space available from the removal of the turret had been used to provide the Engineers with a protected space for themselves and their tools. A basic armoured box had been fitted to the superstructure of the hull to increase head room, though this would be vulnerable to anything more than small arms fire or shell splinters. Without the weight of the turret and everything else that had been left off, the power to weight ratio of the Matilda II was adequate for the work such a vehicle would be required to do. The idea of being able to make field modifications was also being disseminated to all commands where the Matilda II was deployed. If necessary, more hydraulic rams would be made available for shipment to the far-flung reaches of the army, with instructions on how to make the necessary adaptations.

 

[allanpcameron]

12 October 1941. Archangelsk, CCCP.

The first PQ convoy had arrived the day before, and unloading was proceeding with as much haste as possible. The 193 crated Hurricanes were being lifted off the ships and hurriedly put on board flat cars, to be moved by train to Vaenga airfield. There, 151 Wing RAF were supervising their reassembly and flight testing before being handed over to Soviet pilots.

In another part of the port the arrival of the first twenty British tanks was being viewed with some interest by the Red Army officers overseeing the process. The Soviet Ambassador, with some help from his military attaché in London, had been keen to send a selection of the British tanks for testing for use in the climatic conditions of the Soviet Union.

There were four each of Valiant I, Valiant I*, Tetrarch Light Tank, A15 and Matilda II. The three types of Vickers tanks had had the usual preparation for a sea voyage, including the protection of tool boxes and the like that might otherwise be pilfered. Some thought had also been given to thinking about preparing tanks for winter conditions, though what might be expected for a British winter would prove inadequate for weather during a Russian winter. The A15 mark II and the Matilda II had been taken up from stocks already delivered to the Army and so were only prepared for the sea voyage in the usual manner.

A small team of instructors from Bovington, familiar with all five types, had sailed with the convoy, and Vickers had sent a few civilian workers along to help show the Soviets what the tanks were capable of. It was expected that the twenty tanks would be tested for at least two months. Along with the twenty tanks, the British had included their full investigations into the Panzer III and IV tanks they had captured and studied. They had also allowed the Russian Military Attaché to examine the tanks for himself, so he could confirm the British reports’ accuracy.

The protocol signed by Lord Beaverbrook and Averell Harriman had promised that the British would send 200 aircraft, 200 Bren Gun Carriers and 250 tanks to the Soviets every month. The fact that this was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the other supplies that were promised.

The special Tanks for Russia Week that had taken place in September meant that the twelve factory fresh Vickers tanks were covered in messages of support and encouragement from the workers of Britain to the workers of the Soviet Union. The Ministry of Supply’s problem was how to increase production to fill this new commitment to the Red Army, while also equipping the growing numbers of British and Empire Armoured Divisions.

The War Office had hoped that many of the 250 tanks might be supplied through the Lend Lease agreement with the Americans. The full production of both M3 Light and Medium tanks meant that the British order would be fulfilled before too long, allowing follow on orders to be shipped to the Soviets. The problem they discovered was that the American ambassador in Moscow had reported that he wasn’t sure that the Soviets would be able to hold out against the Nazi onslaught. With the time it would take for the American tanks to be shipped to the Soviet Union, the Ambassador’s advice was not to waste the tanks on a lost cause. Until such times as this view was changed, Britain would have to supply the tanks themselves.

With production of the new 6-pdr gun still too low, the Valiant II & II* hadn’t been included. It had also been decided not to send any examples of the A22 until they were reliable enough. Production of the 2-pdr was struggling to cope with the numbers required for the Royal Artillery Anti-Tank Regiments and the increasing numbers of tanks. The War Office was hoping that the Soviets would want the Matilda II, this would allow them to ship those tanks currently issued to the Army Tank Brigades. These would then be replaced with Valiant II and eventually with Victors. Those with a more realistic mindset had a strong feeling that the Soviets would want Valiant Is, and Valiant IIs when available.

Sir John Carden had advised that among the civilians sent to Russia would be one familiar with the mountings of the guns in both the Valiant I and II turrets. Carden knew that the Soviets’ main tank gun was 76mm (3-inch). He was keen to know whether the 2-pdr gun could be replaced with the Soviet gun. More probably it would need to be the mark II turret that could accommodate it. If so, then the Soviets would likely prefer tanks to be sent designed for, but not equipped with, the 76mm gun. He was also keen on getting one or more of these guns shipped back so that he could make the necessary adaptations to the Mark II turret. He also presumed that since the Valiant I and II were powered by diesel engines, which as he understood it, was also the main fuel used by the Red Army tanks, that these would be the preferred choice.

From his own point of view, Carden thought that the plans to get the Victor into production was even more important. If Valiant production needed to be extended for the Soviets, having enough Victors for the British Army was even more crucial. He would need to see Lord Beaverbrook again about prioritising another tank factory. Previously the plan had been to replace much of the current Valiant production with Victors. If the Soviets were looking for about 250 Valiants per month, the previous month all the British factories had produced a total of 580 tanks. It was possible that there was still room for growth in production numbers, Lord Beaverbrook thought the current output could rise towards 700 by the end of the year. The protocol with the Soviets would take a significant chunk out of tank numbers. Carden also suspected that if the Soviets were happy with it, then they would likely be looking for more than 250 per month. The problems of shipping weren’t Carden’s problem, but it would certainly be a massive headache for somebody.

 

[allanpcameron]

13 October 1941. Cairo, Egypt.

The forces in the Western Desert were now designated as Eighth Army. The creation of XXX Corps in August had been the final ingredient, with Lieutenant-General O’Connor becoming Army Commander. September saw the arrival of Lieutenant-General Vyvyan Pope as GOC XXX Corps. He had begun working immediately with the three Divisions (2nd Armoured, 4th Indian, 2nd New Zealand) in his command.

WS9B and WS10 Convoys had brought enough Valiant I* tanks to fully re-equip 1st and 22nd Armoured Brigades, and so 2nd Armoured Division had been reconstituted. Instead of a Support Group, 3rd Indian Motor Brigade would continue to be attached, and the Division would have its own Royal Artillery and Engineers attached, along with Signals and all the other parts that make the Division effective.

The 4th Indian Division was once again at full strength and Headquartered in Tobruk. The Greeks had been able to form a complete Brigade to take over from the New Zealanders on Crete. With all three Brigades back together, General Freyberg’s 2nd New Zealand Division were preparing to move forward to Tobruk to join the 4th Indian Division. It was there that 2nd Armoured Division was also preparing to move to. The hold-up was the Valiant I* tanks on WS10 which had arrived at the end of September, to equip 22nd Armoured Brigade were still to be transported to Tobruk.

Lieutenant-Generals O’Connor (GOC 8th Army), Reade Godwin-Austen (GOC XIII) and Vyvyan Pope (GOC XXX) had had a series of meetings, under the watchful gaze of General Wavell, to discuss the forthcoming Operation Crusader. Godwin-Austen was confident that his three Divisions would be primed and ready to begin on 4 November. Pope knew that his three Divisions would need time to exercise together. The men of 2nd Armoured Division were well trained and, for the most part, battle-hardened, as were the Indians and New Zealanders. Once 22nd Armoured Brigade arrived at Tobruk, Pope wanted three weeks of training all his forces together. He estimated that XXX Corps would be ready for action by 18 November, but it would probably take at least another week to arrive at the front.

O’Connor wanted Pope to see if he could shave some time off his estimation. While he had every confidence in Godwin-Austen’s Corps to reach Misrata, he really needed XXX Corps to be prepared to take over the next phase to Tripoli. The chances that XIII Corps would be exhausted by the time they fought through to Misrata was very real. The South Africans now had two Division’s worth of men in Egypt and Libya. If one of those Divisions could move to Tobruk, this would allow XXX Corps to exercise in the vicinity of Marsa Al Brega. That would cut 270 miles off the distance to catch up to XIII Corps. Pope agreed, with the proviso that the Navy could land the Valiant I* tanks at Benghazi rather than Tobruk. Wavell was happy to ask Major-General George Brink to move 1st South African Division to Tobruk. Brink had been complaining about the way his men were being used to reinforce the defences at Matruh. Moving up to Tobruk would give the South Africans more time to train and exercise.

O’Connor asked that if XXX Corps could be ready to move to Sirte when XIII Corps began the attack, then they would be in a position to follow up. Knowing the ability of the three Divisions in XXX Corps, O’Connor put another idea to his Corps commanders. The Long Range Desert Group were doing wonders reconnoitring the desert. Throwing a left hook through the desert had been consistently effective so far. O’Connor leaned over the map and started to conjecture how a left hook in this case could become the knock-out blow.