Sir John Valentine Carden Survives. Part 2.

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2 April 1942. London.

It wasn’t unusual, but for Alan Brooke, meetings with the Prime Minister, in this case starting at 10.30pm and running until, looking at his watch, 1am, were tiring and trying. After the Cabinet meeting at 6pm, a hurried dinner, and back to Downing Street, as usual Churchill was full of questions, theories, flights of fancy and, worst of all, petulant if confronted with stark reality.

The question on many peoples’ minds was what could be done to save Russia. There had been rallies, from the Albert Hall to Trafalgar Square, with vast crowds shouting for a ‘second front’ now. The Beaverbrook press was stoking up the fires, looking for a new ‘western front’. Mountbatten’s Combined Operations had been pushing for a landing in the Cherbourg area, even though this would be out with air cover from southern Britain. The only real chance of a lodgment would be in the Pas de Calais, but Brooke was clear that there was nothing like the size of force that could cross the channel that would actually force the Germans to withdraw troops from Russia. The best that could be hoped for was bringing elements of the Luftwaffe back to France. All the RAF’s Rhubarbs and Ramrod operations were doing very little except wearing down the RAF and losing valuable pilots and aircraft which would be better off in the Middle or Far East.

Alan Brooke knew that he had in Britain about 10 Divisions that were capable of action. Even if there were enough ships to do it, sending them off to France would result surely in their destruction, and leave Britain vulnerable again. Reviewing the list of Corps and Divisional commanders, he felt that half of them lacked drive, character, determination and power of leadership. Even if he fired them, there were none could take their place that were any better. The loss of so many of the best officers in the last war meant that the generation that should now be commanding the Army were absent.

As he walked back to his quarters, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff contemplated the difficulty of having a democracy fighting a war with a dictatorship. Especially since the Government is powerless to some degree having only one big man in it, and him a grave danger in many respects. Party politics and interests still override larger war issues. Petty jealousies, politicians who know little of war, but think themselves great strategists, confuse issues, affect decisions, and convert simple problems and plans into confused tangles and hopeless confusion.

Much of this was written in his diary before getting to bed. As tired as he was, he couldn’t help reflecting on the current situation that he’d reported on at Cabinet and spoke at length with the Prime Minister. In a couple of weeks General Marshall and his American delegation were due to arrive for talks and working out plans for the American build up towards an invasion of France.
Much of this was taken from but a couple of days out:

Alanbrooke War Diaries 1939-1945: Field Marshal Lord Alanbrooke​

 

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3 April 1942. East Prussia

Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock (Army Group South) sat down with Franz Halder, Chief of Staff of the German Army High Command (OKH) to discuss his plan for a mid-spring offensive. Von Bock’s army group would be given the mission of clearing the Soviets from the Caucasus, taking the vital oil fields located there, and capturing Stalingrad.

Before the fullness of the plan could be implemented, there was the matter of a bulge in the line south of Kharkov, with the town of Izyum at its heart. The Red Army had pushed forward during their winter offensive, and if Army Group South was to capture Stalingrad, this bulge would need to be pinched off first.

Von Bock had been working on a plan, codenamed Fridericus, which envisioned two prongs of an attack along the west bank of the river Donets. He had proposed Paulus’s 6th Army striking from the north, while Eberhard von Mackensen’s III Panzer Corps, part of Army Group von Kleist, would attack from the south.

When presented with the plan, Hitler and Halder wanted the attack to take place on the eastern bank of the Donets. Having flown in to Hitler’s HQ, von Bock and Halder were trying to work out the details of what would be known as Fridericus II. Halder mentioned that one of the few advantages of the loss of the Deutsches Afrika-Korps was that there were some 360 panzers available as replacements for losses during Operation Barbarossa, that otherwise would have been sent to Rommel. The benefit in Petrol Oil and Lubricants, as well as ammunition and, not least in men, added the equivalent of almost two whole Panzer Divisions available to the forces in Russia. The other piece for good news for von Bock had been the addition of II. Fliegerkorps that the Fuhrer had decided was of more use in Russia than the Mediterranean. So far their primary focus was on supporting the attack in Crimea.

Von Bock’s plan to collapse the Soviet bulge was estimated to begin at the end of April, the first week in May at the latest, as always, depending as much on the weather as anything else.

 

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4 April 1942. Ping River, Thailand.


Sergeant Robert Lamb didn’t know what was worse. The sound of the artillery fire both coming and going, or the massed bagpipes of two of 9th (Highland) Division’s Brigades playing together. Lambs’ troop, part of B Squadron of 44th Bn RTR, were supporting the 5th Bn Seaforth Highlanders. For some unearthly reason, 9th (Highland) Division’s GOC Major-General Douglas Wimberley had ordered the attack to be accompanied, not by the usual dispersed pipers, but by the massed pipes of the Division. From Lamb’s point of view, it was working, because it seemed that the Japanese artillery seemed to be intent on suppressing the noise of the pipes rather than the river crossing being force.

Lamb, along with the rest of the tanks were waiting for the Engineers to sort out rafts and bridges to get the tanks across. A couple of tanks from HQ Company had attempted to wade across the river where it had been thought it was shallow enough. Unfortunately, both tank’s engines had been flooded and so they were stuck, until someone could get a tow rope on to them and pull them out.

A few tanks from each squadron were placed in such a way that they could use their 3-inch gun and co-axial machine gun to support the Highlanders. Lamb’s Valiant I tank, ’Blighty’ had the 2-pdr gun as its main armament, so was a bit less useful that those with the Close Support gun. The Troop Leader, Lieutenant Bill Jackson, in ‘Blondie’ was relying on Sergeant Jim Keegan in ‘Bicester’ to provide the troop with the HE capability. Lt Jackson had made it clear that Lamb’s main job was to protect Bicester, keeping any Japanese threats well away from the troop’s Close Support tank. Lamb had therefore got as much machine gun ammunition into the tank as he could. The gunner, Tommy Stevens, knew from experience that he’d spend much more time on the co-axial than on the main gun, the loader John Mitchell was well aware of his role in keeping the Besa fed. Blighty’s driver, an Irishman named Paddy O’Neill, seemed to be the only one in the tank enjoying the pipes, though his opinion that they weren’t as good as Irish pipes was bemusing to the Englishmen who made up the rest of the crew.

The 9th Division’s artillery was well seasoned from the North African campaign, while the rest of the Division acted as line of communication troops, the three field regiments had played an important role in the defeat of the Italians and Germans. The 25-pdrs had put up quite the barrage, promising at times to drown out the pipes. They had covered the assault troops of the two Brigades (26th & 27th) as they crossed the river and secured the east bank, allowing two full Battalions across. The Engineers were then hard at work getting more of the men, and the tanks, across the river.

It was late in the morning when Jackson gave the order for his troop to move up to a raft, to be lifted across the water. When O’Neill put the tank into gear, the rest of the crew could hear him praying 'Hail Marys' over the intercom, Lamb didn’t have the heart to tell him to be quiet. Blighty was the last of the troop to board a raft, and Lamb found himself himself alone for a few minutes. The other tanks had disappeared from sight, an Engineer eventually pointing him in the direction of the fight. O’Neill brought Blighty into sight of the other tanks, with Jackson cursing his late arrival.

The Seaforth Highlanders had penetrated a few hundred yards beyond the river, but had ran into a line of Japanese bunkers that were causing mayhem. Bicester was hard at work, pumping away with its Close Support gun. Blondie was at its side, its Besa firing almost continuously. Lamb gave O’Neill instructions and found a half-decent hull down position, while Stevens started using the co-axial, but sparingly at first. It was entirely possible that the other two tanks would burn out the barrels on the Besas they way they were using them. Stevens knew that if that happened, then it would be down to him to protect them, and support the infantry.

The bell from the external telephone at the rear of the tank rang, and Lamb had a brief conversation with one of the Lieutenants. A squad of men were about to try to take out a Japanese bunker and their officer was asking Lamb to give them as much cover as possible. Having identified the bunker’s main firing slit, he ordered Stevens to put a few rounds of main gun ammunition into the bunker. Stevens and Mitchell worked like a well-oiled machine, as six rounds were fired in short order, at least three of them going straight into the bunker, the others battering the logs around it. The Besa opened up again, and Lamb watched as the highlanders moved forward and slung a satchel charge into the firing slit. There was a satisfying explosion which seemed to lift the whole roof of the bunker up a couple of feet before collapsing down. The rest of the platoon had moved up quickly and were securing the position, when another Japanese machine gun opened up on their flank.

Stevens saw it at the same time as Lamb, and three shots from the 2-pdr replied on behalf of the Scottish infantry, followed by some pretty accurate fire from the Besa. Lamb had tried to keep one eye on Bicester and Blondie while all this was happening. They were still pouring fire into the Japanese lines, when Blondie was hit with something like an anti-tank gun. The shot ricocheted off the turret armour, but took an aerial with it. With Jackson out of radio communication, Lamb wanted to take his tank forward to let the damaged tank back out of the fight. Jim Keegan in Bicester announced on the radio that he was getting short of 3-inch HE rounds and machine gun ammo. Lamb told him that he would remain in place and cover his and Jackson’s withdrawal. This meant that the Seaforth Highlanders that Blighty had been covering would be on their own, but the main attack, where the two Infantry tanks were was continuing apace.

As Lamb watched, he saw Lieutenant Jackson jump off his tank and run to the rear of Bicester. Obviously brought up to date by Keegan, the Troop Leader gave a thumbs up to Lamb and ran back for his tank. It seemed somewhat miraculous that he got back unharmed, and Lamb’s stray thought as he heard O’Neill start another Hail Mary, went in that direction. The two Valiant I tanks began to reverse, and Lamb guided Stevens in providing covering fire for them. Once again, an anti-tank round hit Blondie, once again not penetrating, but it looked like the turret ring was damaged, as the tank no longer swivelled, but the Besa kept firing.

O’Neill, despite his lower position called out that he had spotted where the anti-tank gun was firing from. Having brought Stevens to bear on yet another log bunker, and Stevens soon had it under direct fire. As the two tanks passed Blighty, Jackson used the phone to tell Lamb move aside as he would take command of Blighty. When he arrived in the turret, Lamb took the place of Mitchell, the loader, who went over to Blondie. Jackson informed him that Bicester would rearm and return as quickly as possible. Blondie would need time with an Aid Detachment to be put right. In the meantime, Jackson tuned Lamb’s radio over to the Squadron frequency and reported the situation. After a few minutes, the Squadron CO replied that another troop would arrive shortly and take over.

With Lamb now acting as loader, and nowhere as fluid as Mitchell, Jackson guided Stevens in providing cover for the Seaforth attack. Although they’d planned for the greater use of machine-gun ammunition, Lamb noted that they were going through 2-pdr ammunition pretty quickly. Stevens seemed to be adept at putting rounds right into firing slits, or at least their immediate vicinity. With only one tank firing, instead of three, the infantry movement was lessened. Just after putting on a new box of ammo for the Besa and charging the machine gun, Jackson called out that the Japanese troops were in the open. Lamb quietly cursed his inability to see what was going on, but from what Jackson and Stevens were saying, it sounded like a Japanese counterattack was happening. Stevens’ previous efforts to keep the Besa’s barrel in good condition was ditched and he fired a long burst as the turret swung back and forth, Jackson calling out particularly dangerous movements.

The radio buzzed and with Jackson busy, Lamb heard the Squadron CO calling for an air strike on the Japanese attackers. The Besa continued to chatter and Stevens called for another belt, with the demand it be done quickly and without problems, otherwise they were going to be overrun. Lamb couldn’t believe the Japanese had broken through the Seaforth Highlanders, and the new belt of ammunition was on and Stevens was firing again, with the comment that Mitchell would have been quicker, but Lamb wasn’t bad. As much a compliment that Lamb was ever going to get.

Lamb lost track of time, and they were down to their last belt of ammo when the three tanks of another troop arrived, with a couple of Companies of fresh troops and the Japanese were gone, almost as instantly as they’d appeared. Jackson briefed to the other troop leader and then O’Neill backed the tank up until it could turn around to get back towards the river to be refuelled and rearmed. Bicester was at the RAC outpost, and its crew had some tea on brew which Lamb’s crew were most grateful for.

Lamb looked around, and saw that the engineers had a couple of crossings which were filled with men moving forward. They were still rafting tanks over, but there were now two full squadrons supporting two Brigades. Jackson’s crew had managed to get Blondie’s turret fixed and a new aerial installed. Whatever had jammed the turret ring had been hammered out, without any lasting damage. As soon as Blighty was ready, with a new barrel on the Besa and a full load of 2-pdr ammo, full fuel tanks and the men having had something to eat and drink, Blondie led the troop back towards the front line.

Wounded men were being carried back towards the river crossing. The Japanese had swept through and around the leading Companies of 5th Bn Seaforth Highlanders, but the Scots had carried on fighting wherever squads had managed to hold a position. Once the second wave of Scots arrived, the line was re-established and a bit of progress was being made beyond the line of Japanese fixed defences. Lamb surveyed the scene as Blighty moved forward, taking the chance to have his head out the turret, while he could. The dead were intermingled, lying together, men from Sutherland and Sendai.

 

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5 April 1942. Lembang, Java.

General Auchinleck, with his senior ABDA commanders, listened to the Intelligence Officer’s report of the attacks on Ambon and Celebes. It seemed that the Japanese main carrier fleet had sailed into the northern Molucca Sea, providing cover for a large invasion fleet. This fleet had separated into two components, one had approached Ambon, the other Kendari on Celebes.

Reports from the commanders in both locations was that the enemy had landed in strength and, were making progress against the defenders. The absence of air cover for the ABDA forces was making their defensive fight much more difficult, as the Japanese seemed to be using their dive bombers effectively.

The situation on Ambon looked as it were already desperate. In retrospect, withdrawing one of the Australian Battalions had been a mistake, leaving Brigadier Ivan Dougherty without real depth to his defensive options. The Australians and KNIL forces were still fighting, and the airfield at Laha remained in Australian hands, having defeated a Japanese parachute landing. Dougherty’s assessment of the situation was that his men could probably hold out for another couple of days, but he was ready to order them to attempt to evade and escape whenever possible. The KNIL forces, some 3000 men, were also fighting well, but the constant Japanese pressure from land and air, was making their job so much harder.

It seemed that Dougherty’s counter-attack against the main Japanese landings had been hit hard before it could get going, and since then, the Australians were constantly on the backfoot. As on Rabaul, the option of evading and escaping, had been prepared for, and Auchinleck ordered Dougherty to give the order when he felt it appropriate.

Lieutenant-General Hein ter Poorten, commander of ABDARM, land forces, reported that on Celebes, the ABDA force defending Kendari was much larger, with more artillery (courtesy of the Americans). The Dutch Commanding Officer was more confident that his force could prevail, but, again, reported that the strength of the Japanese air fleet made defending much more difficult. The size and make-up of the Japanese invasion force was difficult to assess, but the best estimate was there was at least a Division on Celebes, and as many as two Regiments on Ambon. In both cases, the Japanese had a strong force of tanks and artillery.

To add to the problems, another Japanese force, probably coming from Borneo, had landed near Makassar. This too was being resisted, but the chances were that the whole of Celebes, just as Borneo, would fall into the hands of the Japanese.

Major-General Lewis Brereton gave an update on the Air Forces response. The remaining fighters and bombers based on Ambon and at Kendari had either been shot down or withdrawn. The alternative airfields supporting Kendari had all been attacked by the Japanese, so there was very little that could be done about it. There had been a number of raids towards the invasion fleet off Kendari, with very mixed results. While the bomber crews had done their best and with great bravery, the losses among the Japanese were few and far between, while the bomber squadrons’ losses had been terrible. An attempt against the Japanese aircraft carriers by B17s had proved costly for no apparent result. Brereton was confident that the fighters protecting the Malay Barrier at Java, Bali and Timor, and therefore northern Australia, would be sufficient to the task. However, they were too short ranged to offer much in the way of support to Kendari or Ambon.

Admiral Conrad Helfrich reported on behalf of ABDAFLOAT, the combined naval forces. After the losses last month from the Japanese attack on Surabaya, the surface fleet were in no position to interdict the Japanese invasion force. However, a number of submarines were in the area with orders to sink as many Japanese freighters as possible. The submarines on patrol in the northern Molucca Sea were being reinforced, though the chances of hitting one or more of the Japanese carriers would be near miraculous. Helfrich was preparing a small flotilla to attempt to support the Australians and KNIL troops if they got off Ambon and onto the island of Maluku.

The last piece of information came from the Australians. Movement of the Japanese was being reported out of Rabaul, with the likelihood of landings along the Solomon Island chain. Bougainville seemed to be the most likely target, but beyond some coast-watchers, there wasn’t much to stop them. A request for the Americans to move some of their forces from New Caledonia to the Solomons had been made, but not yet answered. Technically this whole area wasn’t part of Auchinleck’s ABDA responsibility, but it was his flank, and was therefore concerned. So far Papua New Guinea seemed secure, and the Australians who had escaped Rabaul had been added to the garrison there, along with a couple of American fighter squadrons.

There was some good news in all this. The fighting in Thailand was going Britain’s way, as it was in Malaya. The reinforcements flowing into Singapore was building up that flank of the ABDA’s zone. Rear Admiral Palliser RN had reports from Ceylon that the British Eastern Fleet was building up nicely. HMS Indomitable had arrived in the Indian Ocean to join HMS Ark Royal, which were exercising together, with the Martlet fighters making up the majority of the fighters on board each ship. HMS Illustrious was on its way, already passed Freetown, to be added to the Eastern Fleet.

With that being the case, then the KNIL would be able to bring some of their forces currently defending northern Sumatra over to Java, reinforcing the island further. Permission had also been given for the New Zealand Division to be withdrawn from the Middle East and come under ABDA command. They were going back home initially for some home leave, and then would be taken for jungle training before being declared operational. It might be a few months before all that was completed, but Auchinleck was delighted with the prospect of having another very capable Division under his command.

 

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11 April 1942. Glasgow, Scotland

North British Locomotive’s work on the order for 240 Tetrarch Light Tank Mark VII was continuing at its relatively slow rate, but nearing completion. The majority of those built in the last year were fitted for the Duplex Drive system for amphibious use. The rest were destined for use by the glider equipped airborne forces. While orders for the follow-on Mark VIII Light Tank hadn’t been forthcoming, a team from Vickers had arrived with the drawings for the follow-on vehicle, a self-propelled gun based on the Tetrarch’s hull, known as SP3 by Vickers.

Leslie Little’s idea, with Sir John Carden’s help, had filled a roll that the airborne units needed, but that the limitations of the Tetrarch couldn’t fully meet. The idea of a tank that could be delivered by a glider to act in various roles such as reconnaissance vehicle/anti-tank/Close Support had looked at two options. The British Tetrarch or the American T9 proposal from Marmon-Herrington both suffered from limitations.

The success of the American M3 Light Tank, the Stuart, had shown that there was still a place for Light Tanks, and with amphibious and airborne needs growing, the War Office was looking for the right fit. The initial design for the Mark VIII, with its heavier armour but with the same engine as the Tetrarch, had failed almost at the first hurdle.

Removing the turret from the Tetrarch, allowed Vickers’ designers to fit either the 6-pdr anti-tank gun, or the new 95mm Close Support gun into a built-up Tetrarch hull. The weight of the Self-Propelled Gun (SPG) was low enough to be viable for the glider idea, and it would give the airborne troops a very low silhouette vehicle, with the capacity to act either in the anti-tank role or the close support role. Like all SPGs, it’s gun would have a limited traverse, but the designers believed that the steering system of the Tetrarch would make it capable enough. It was even suggested that the vehicle could be used to tow artillery pieces should that be needed.

Because it used the same components of the Tetrarch, North British Locomotives would have no problem switching from one to the other. One of the Tetrarch’s had been taken to Chertsey, where the Vickers team had made the necessary changes. Fitted with the 6-pdr gun, also fitted to the Valiant Mk II, it had been taken to Farnborough for testing, and then Lulworth for gun testing. The reports from both trials had been complimentary but the problem seemed to be that it fell between two stools.

Anti-tank guns were the provenance of the Royal Artillery, who weren’t terribly keen on the Self-propelled gun concept. The Royal Armoured Corps were less worried, but it was too lightly armoured to really be considered a tank, and as a tracked vehicle it wasn’t an armoured car. Major-General Browning (GOC 1st Airborne Division) had been present at the demonstration and excited at the capability the self-propelled gun. He had been trying to develop the idea of the Parachute force into a proper Division, with all the support functions necessary to do the job an airborne force would need to complete its mission. Artillery and anti-tank guns were high on his list of priorities. The problem for light forces, like paratroopers, having guns also meant they needed a vehicle to tow the guns, and carry ammunition. Space and weight on gliders was going to be limited, so having a light vehicle that carried its own gun and ammunition would be a godsend. The SP3 was about the same weight as two universal carriers, was slightly better protected. The fact that it could carry either the 95mm or the 6-pdr made it doubly useful. Browning asked if it might also be able to carry a 25-pdr gun, which had caused a bit of a panic among the Vickers people, and indeed the War Office officials.

The prototype glider, designed for and capable of carrying a Tetrarch, had flown successfully in March. The Tetrarch was always going to be limited with the 2-pdr gun, even the 3-inch close support gun. An SP3, with the either the 6-pdr or 95mm, would give the paratroopers an edge that they could very well need. ‘Boy’ Browning became an enthusiastic supporter of providing the 1st Airborne Division with the kind of light armoured vehicles that would provide his men with the support they’d need.

 

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15 April 1942. Dorset, England.

It wasn’t uncommon among the instructors of the Armoured Fighting Vehicle School of Gunnery at Lulworth Camp to place bets with each other on which guns and gunners would do best. The days when the tank gunner cradled the tank’s main gun on his shoulder for firing on the move was long gone, and generally the overall result had been an improvement in tank gunnery. The pre-war regulars who’d had plenty of time and training had been quite proficient, but the numbers of new conscripts joining the Royal Armoured Corps would never have been able to match the time and training necessary.

Firing on the move was still an idea that the Americans were committed to. The new American M4A1 Medium tank, known by the British as the Sherman, had been brought to Britain for evaluation. The M34 mounting for the 75mm gun had a gyrostabiliser and control box attached to the arm of the cradle of the gun. The American crew who’d come over with the tank were keen to show off their skills to the Limeys. The Americans were obviously thought of being a ‘crack’ crew if they’d been given the task to show the British what their best tank could do.

The British instructors had been giving the Americans a very flattering welcome, the best hospitality that the RAC could offer, and were on their best behaviour around their visitors. The new British Victor tank, armed with the 75mm HV cannon was also being evaluated at the same time. The American crew agreed to have a competition between themselves and a British crew, Sherman against Victor, in the gunnery course.

Working on the principle that the Americans had provided a ‘crack’ crew, it was only right and fitting that the Victor should be crewed by a similar ‘crack’ crew. Captain Peter Smith DSO, Sergeant John Twist MM, Corporal Bill Jones, and Corporal Jim Wilson, combat veterans from North Africa, and now instructors at Bovington, would crew the Victor.

The Victor, with the moniker Adsum II, took to the gunnery range alongside its American rival. In outward comparison, the two tanks were immediately distinctive by height. The British tank had a much lower profile that the American, which seemed to tower over it. While nominally both were fitted with a 75mm gun, the British version had a considerably longer barrel, giving it the High Velocity that followed the designation.

The sloped armour on the front of the Sherman, compared with that of the Victor, simply because of the size of the hull, seemed less capable, especially once the thickness of the armour between the two tanks was taken into account. The Victor lacked the hull machine gun position, which allowed the sloping to be at a better angle. The fact that the British tank had armour of 4-inchs compared to the American’s 2-inch had come as a surprise to the American crew, while British were appalled at what the Americans thought was battle worthy.

In terms of speed, while the Victor was heavier, its meteor engine was more powerful and hence the British tank mostly had the advantage. The one thing that the British crew found better in the American tank was there was much more room inside to move around. The British tank, with its lower silhouette and more pronounced angular armour, was a tight fit for the four crewmen. The Americans could hardly believe that the British crew could fight their tank in such a confined space.

As the competition between the two tanks got underway, there weren’t many instructors prepared to lay bets on the American tank winning on anything, which was proven to be a wise decision. Later when a Crusader with the 6-pdr was brought in for comparison, it was the other way around, there were too few bets on the British tank to make it a worthwhile gamble.

 

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21 April 1942. Rhodes.

Lord Louis Mountbatten watched through binoculars from the bridge of HMS Ramillies as the old Battleship fired broadside after broadside, the monitor HMS Terror was also firing its two 15-inch guns alongside the battleship. The Combined Operations Advisor to the Chiefs of Staff switched his attention to the line of landing craft heading towards the beach. Mountbatten had spent a few days among the Australians who were on those landing craft. He’s been most impressed by their morale. There had been a fear that the Australians might compare their lot to their forebears heading for Gallipoli, but Mountbatten found no evidence of that. Quite the contrary, the Australian troops could see clearly what the attack on Rhodes would achieve. They also knew they were as well trained, with suitable back up, and, to be honest they were up against the Italians, about whom, the less said the better.

Their mates in 6, 8 and 9 Infantry Divisions had been covering themselves in glory, and now Australian 7 Division was about to show the rest of them just what they were capable of. The plan to capture Rhodes was straightforward, the Special Service Brigade and the Australians had rehearsed their moves, the LRDG troops on Rhodes, along with air surveillance, had provided excellent intelligence. The Royal Navy had blockaded the island with such severity that the chances were that the Italians were already on the ropes. The Australians weren’t fooled into believing that it would be a walk-over.

The thing that Mountbatten was most interested in was the role of the DD tanks. He’d watched some of the rehearsals and had been impressed with the way the tanks gave immediate support to the infantry. A couple of tanks had been lost in exercises, and it was clear that the Landing Craft Tanks(2) needed to come pretty close to shore before allowing the tanks to ‘swim’ to the beach. Because there was a slight delay between the tanks arrival on shore and going into action as the swimming screen was ditched, it would be better for the tanks not to be attacking a heavily defended beach.

The beaches chosen for the invasion had been examined to make sure that the tracked vehicles could transition from swimming to driving; that the tanks would be able to drive over the beach without getting bogged down; and that they would be able to exit from the beach onto the island proper. The examination of the beaches had been carried out among others by members of the Folboat section of the Commandoes. These canoeists (later known as the Special Boat Squadron) would be dropped off by Submarine, approach the target beaches and reconnoitre them. Not only would they make drawings of the beach and its defences, but also take samples of the beach material which were examined for the best fit.

The bombardment lifted as the first wave of landing craft approached the shoreline. Through his binoculars Mountbatten could see that the Landing Craft Tank(2) had come to a stop, and although beyond his visual reach, he could imagine the first of the Valiant II* DD tanks driving off the ramp into the water, its crew, other than the driver, sitting on the upper hull in case they had to swim for it. Mountbatten had wanted to be on one of the destroyers that were in close so he could see things better, but Admiral Cunningham did not want to have to report to General Alan Brooke that he'd got the Combined Operations Advisor killed.

The Australian 21 Brigade was at the forefront of this particular landing, on Faliraki Bay. 25 Brigade would be following them as soon as possible. The Australians were to put a blocking force to prevent an Italian response from Rhodes town, while one Battalion, with tank support, was to cross the island to capture the main Italian airbase at Maritsa. Further south, nearer Lindos, the Special Service Brigade, with 18 Brigade in reserve, were landing with a view of capturing the Italian airstrip at Kalathos.

It was all up to the men and machines now, leaving the senior officers, especially observers like Mountbatten, with nothing much to do.

 

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29 April 1942. Tabriz, Iran.

The 10th Armoured Division (f0rmerly 1st Cavalry Division) had spent much of the winter being equipped with a mixture of American M3 (Stuart) Light tanks and British A15 Crusaders. The two Armoured Brigades, once fully equipped had gone through an intense period of training. [9th Armoured Brigade (1st Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR), South Wiltshire and Warwick Yeomanry Regiments). 8th Armoured Brigade (Scots Greys, Nottinghamshire Yeomanry and Staffordshire Yeomanry)]. The two Armoured Brigades was completed by 10th Indian Motor Brigade (16th Light Cavalry, 9th Royal Deccan Horse, Probyn's Horse (5th King Edward VII's Own Lancers)).

The other Cavalry Brigade (Yorkshire Dragoons and Hussars, Nottinghamshire Yeomanry) had been the subject of much debate, but at the end General Wilson had persuaded the War Office to create an Army Tank Brigade, for which Churchill Infantry Tanks were being shipped out to equip them.

A general reorganisation of British forces was happening, as Generals Wavell and Auchinleck attempted to sort out finally the distinction between Middle East Command and India Command. General ‘Jumbo’ Wilson formerly known as GOC Palestine & Trans-Jordan was now known as GOC 9th Army, still under Wavell’s remit. Persia and Iraq, or PAIFORCE, was now 10th Army under the command of Lieutenant-General Edward Quinan, remained part of Auchinleck’s India remit.

10th Army was tasked with the protection of Persia and Iraq, with a particular concern for the possibility that the Germans might attempt to move into the Soviet oil production area of the Caucasus region. Lt-General Quinan had had a couple of meetings with his Soviet opposite number, Lt-General Dmitrii Tifomevich Kozlov, to discuss how the British 10th Army could be of help. Quinan had informally offered the 10th Armoured Division and 8th Indian Division, currently at Tabriz, to move forward towards Baku in Azerbaijan in the event of a successful German attack over the Don River, to free up Red Army forces. Kozlov, with his focus on the fighting on Crimea followed the party line that the Red Army would not need foreign forces to defend the Rodina.

The fact that Quinan had moved the two Divisions to Tabriz, was a clear sign to the Soviets that protection of the lines of communications between the Persian Gulf and the south of the Soviet Union was a British priority, and that preventing the Germans from continuing south into Persia and Iraq wasn’t being taken lightly. The other Indian Divisions (6th, 17th Infantry and 31st Armoured) under Quinan’s command were all along the main rail and road arteries, where they continued to train, while improving the links south to north.

 

[allanpcameron]

2 May 1942. Kedah, Malaya.

4/10th Baluch Regiment, like the rest of 10th Indian Brigade, was once again part of 5th Indian Division. For one particular NCO of the Regiment there had been a particularly warm reunion with 11th Bn RTR’s Lieutenant Stan Alden. While protecting Alden’s tank, Naik Fazal Ullah had been wounded, and the British officer had taken particular interest in Ullah’s recovery.

Promoted to Havildar, Ullah’s platoon had been attached to Alden’s troop of three Matilda II tanks, as protective infantry. Ullah’s devotion to Alden, fuelled partly by the chocolate that Alden shared from his rations, was not unquestioning. While Alden, and his crew, had been in a good few battles, the Indian NCO was still concerned about the way in which the British tanks could make themselves vulnerable to Japanese Infantry attacks. Though these attacks tended to be suicidal, the destruction of a tank was seen by the Indian troops as a stain on their reputation.

As most of Ullah’s platoon were a mixture of old hands and newly arrived novices, training with the tanks was necessary, and Alden was aware of just how far his own training had been honed by experience. The concept of the Infantry tank for which the Matilda II had been designed was being pushed to its limit in the fighting in Malaya. The lack of an HE round for the main gun and absence of a hull machine gun were well known deficiencies, but tanks’ presence was having an inordinate influence on the battles, some would argue they had saved Singapore.

Since the Indian III Corps had taken over from the Australians on the front line, Lieutenant-General Heath had made it clear that the enemy was to have no respite. While there was no overall Corps attack, the two forward Indian Divisions (5th & 11th) had been making raids, pushing forward wherever and whenever possible.

10th Brigade, with the support of a Squadron of 11th Bn RTR, including Alden’s troop, had been probing to the east of Alor Setar, looking for weak points in the Japanese positions. Earlier in the month a raid from Victoria Point had destroyed the railway and much of the road around Chumphon in Thailand. The British and Indian troops had also destroyed some Japanese supply dumps in the area before withdrawing. The intelligence gathering believed that the Japanese on the front line were in a poor position in terms of food and ammunition.

The horrors visited on the local Malays by the Japanese meant that information about Japanese positions and patrols was being fed regularly to the British forces by locals. Alden’s troop were looking to exploit some of that information. The Sungai Padang Terap formed much of the front line in the area, and a place where the tanks could ford the river safely had been made known. The information was that the area wasn’t particularly well defended by the Japanese. During the previous night the whole of 5th Indian Division had been making all sorts of noises and movements all along the front line, hiding the obvious sounds of tanks moving forward.

During the night Alden and Ullah had walked the path the tanks would take at dawn. The ford had been confirmed by earlier reconnaissance, by Alden wanted to check it from the point of view of the suitability for his tanks. He noted a couple of places that could cause problems and drew a sketch map to give to each of the tank drivers. Ullah agreed to have three of his men stay in position at points where the changes in direction would need to be taken. A platoon of the Baluch assault Company were already across the river, waiting to silence the few Japanese positions at the signal.

The Corps’ artillery gave its usual morning offering to the Japanese, and the RAF put on a show closer to the sea. The assault Company moved up quietly and when signalled that the Japanese positions had been silenced, moved across the river. Alden’s own tank led the other two down the path, and the three Baluch soldiers were present with red torches to mark the route. The depth of the ford was just at the limit of what the Matilda II could manage, and praying that there wouldn’t be any rain had been part of the build up to this morning’s movement.

All three tanks safely negotiated the crossing and set off in support of Battalion as it attempted to roll up the flank of the Japanese positions north of the river. After an hour Alden realised that none of his tanks had fired a shot. Progress had been unimpeded, except for a couple of points on the trail which had taken a few minutes to open up the path for the tanks. Alden reckoned they’d travelled about three miles from the ford, and when he came up to a Company HQ he jumped off the tank to find out what was happening. The Company Commander was an old India hand, who confirmed that the Battalion wasn’t finding anything more than a few manned outposts. It looked as if the main Japanese line had been pulled back, leaving just enough men to keep the illusion of being defended.

As the day progressed it became clear that the Japanese line, which was believed to be manned by a full Infantry Division was in fact only held by a Regiment, the equivalent of a British Army Brigade. Under the circumstance, Lieutenant General Heath ordered 5th Indian Division to expand its incursion and probe northwards towards the Thai frontier.

 

[allanpcameron]

5 May 1942. Rhodes.

The Italian prisoners were comfortably settled in tents beside the airfield. The Australian guards were on pretty good terms with their captives. The Italian troops were from 9th Infantry Regiment, who’d had the courtesy to surrender after a brief exchange of fire. There weren’t as many prisoners from the 201st Legion of the Blackshirts, they’d decided that the glory of Rome had to be honoured, even to the blood. The Australians, generally a pretty sporting bunch, were less than impressed by the fight they put up. The Fascists weren’t terribly good at soldiering, but they did seem to be good at dying for no good reason.

Overall, the whole invasion and capture of Rhodes took 72 hours, from first bombardment, to the cessation of hostilities. There had been a few times where the Australians had been challenged by brave Italian soldiers, but mostly it had been a bit of a walk-over. A Greek brigade were expected to arrive and start to take over some of the Australian’s role. The Australians were happy enough to sit back and enjoy a bit of sunshine and a splash about in the sea. There hadn’t been much food or drink on the island, the Royal Navy blockade had seen to that. Many of the blokes had been looking forward to a bit of wine from the Italian stores, but little or none was to be found.
The ’Regina’ Regiment’s men weren’t in great shape physically; they’d been on limited rations. The Australians had noted that the civilian population generally were gaunt too, but it didn’t look like the Italian troops had leaned on the civilians too hard. The same couldn’t be said for the Blackshirts, and part of the reason for there being fewer prisoners was that the locals had taken a measure of retaliation for ill-treatment. The Italian settlers, planted to make the island more Italian, were generally better off than their Greek neighbours, and it looked as if a few old scores had been settled unofficially with them too. The Italian POWs were being used to clear up the airfield, fill in bomb craters and generally help get it ready for the arrival of the RAF.

The Special Service Brigade, including B Squadron of the RAC’s Special Service Regiment, weren’t sitting back enjoying the weather like the Australians.
The Special Service Regiment’s involvement in the capture of Rhodes was of particular interest to the Combined Operations Staff that had accompanied Lord Louis Mountbatten. Each tank crew, having spent the usual amount of time servicing and replenishing their tanks, were being interviewed about their experience. In many cases the crew was being asked to walk over the ground where they’d come ashore and then the routes they had followed.

No tanks had been lost to enemy action. Two tanks had been swamped before coming ashore, with one fatality. Another three tanks had been unable to get off the beach under their own power. These were being recovered, and the reasons for their difficulties being examined. Another two tanks, both Tetrarchs, had thrown their tracks, and one Valiant II* had had a mechanical problem that rendered it useless during the fighting. These tanks were also being recovered and put back into service.

It was clear that the presence of the Valiant II* tanks in particular had been instrumental in the surrender of many Italian positions. They had nothing to counter the British tanks, and pretty much as soon as a tank came into view, the white flags appeared. The 6-pdr gun had its first battle experience, and the new HE shell for it had proven useful, but still lacking a satisfactory punch. There were no Italian armoured fighting vehicles on the island bar a few armoured cars, but these were starved of fuel, so saw no service except as immobile pill boxes. The Tetrarch DD Light Tanks found a niche for themselves as they were able to use their speed to give the reconnaissance Companies a strong back-up.

The Island of Karpathos (Scarpanto to the Italians) was the next to be targeted for liberation. The Italian garrison was primarily stationed around Pigadia. As with Rhodes, the garrison commander was approached to surrender his force without bloodshed. The island, like that of Rhodes had been blockaded, and the situation for both the garrison and civilian population was approaching starvation. The Italian Garrison, at the first explosions of the 15-inch shells fired from the guns of two battleships, surrendered. The Special Service Brigade approached the landing and occupation of the island as another chance to fine hone their techniques.

Small British commando forces also landed on Kasos, Halki, Symi, Nisyros and Tilos after negotiating the surrender of the small Italian garrisons. The islands closer to the Greek mainland, which had been blockaded as completely would have to wait until the RAF could use the airfields on Rhodes to cover the advance of the fleet. The success of the operation, against Italian opposition, had much to be celebrated, but it was obvious that against a better prepared and equipped enemy, things would likely be a lot harder. It was unknown what political fall-out there would be in Rome, the loss of Rhodes and half the Dodecanese islands was yet another failure for Mussolini to face.

 

[allanpcameron]

9 May 1942. Washington DC. USA.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff was still a new organisation, just formed in February 1942. Made up of the senior officers of the American forces, it was chaired by Admiral William Leahy, the Presidential Military Advisor. Modelled to some degree on the British Chiefs of Staff Committee, Leahy was working with General George Marshall (Chief of Staff of the US Army), Admiral Ernest King (Chief of Naval Operations and C-in-C of the US Fleet) with General ‘Hap’ Arnold (Chief of the Army Air Forces).

General Marshall had spent some time in England in April and had come back with different appreciation of what the American Army would be able to do, at least in the short term. The idea of an invasion of mainland Europe in September of 1942, the idea he had taken to the British, had received short shrift, but in a very polite manner. Just crossing the ocean was a problem, with the losses to shipping. All he had to offer in 1942 was about two and a half Divisions, spearheaded by the 1st Armored Division which was due to go overseas later this month.

Admiral King’s response showed that Marshall was under pressure to go on the offensive in the Pacific too. The build up of American forces in Australia, (41st and 32nd Infantry Divisions were on route) with a view at some point to being able to liberate the Philippines and knock out the Japanese, was again a problem of shipping. There had been a couple of indecisive contacts between the USN and the IJN around the Solomon Islands. The expansion of the Japanese from Rabaul had been continuing slowly, and the USN had managed to put in a few blows, for the cost of one aircraft carrier. The island-hopping campaign that Nimitz was looking for, would be a problem primarily for the Navy and Marines. The loss of the Philippines and MacArthur had been disastrous, worse probably than Pearl Harbour.

Admiral Leahy, after speaking with the President, reiterated the ‘Germany First’ strategy. Like the aircraft manufacturers, the Navy would soon be able to boast a great number of aircraft carriers, which could take the war to the Japanese over the Pacific. The situation in the Pacific and South East Asia didn’t look totally desperate with British holding the Japanese in Thailand, and the Dutch, with support, holding line south of Borneo and Celebes.

General Arnold knew it would be sometime before the B17 squadrons to be dispatched to England would be significantly strong enough to make the kind of impact they could do. If the Army wanted to land in France, at this point, the Army Air Force wouldn’t be in a position to really support them.

That very day, Leahy informed the others, the Vichy authorities on Martinique were being given an ultimatum that the French West Indies had to be neutral, ie, not supporting German U-Boats, or else. Cordell Hull, the US Secretary of State, didn’t want a repeat of what happened to St Pierre and Miquelon, with de Gaulle sending a war party, violating the Munroe Doctrine. Leahy reminded the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the Vichy regime had already been warned that if they actively collaborated with the Germans, all bets were off regarding American recognition of the Vichy Regime. The fact that Petain had still appointed Laval as Prime Minister seemed to suggest that the French hadn’t listened.

Marshall noted that in his discussions, the British were adamant that clearing the North African coast would free up a million tons of shipping which currently had to go around the south of Africa. The Vichy French in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia were non-combatant, but could become allies. Syria and Madagascar and the other French overseas colonies would also fall into line. The downside would be that the Germans would likely just occupy the rest of France. Arnold mentioned that that at least would tie down some more German divisions that might otherwise be in Russia.

The President had been trying to woo General Weygand over to the allied cause, and if his reading of Weygand’s response was correct, then if the American Army arrived in force at Morocco, Weygand would have no choice but to switch sides. The question was whether the American forces could send a sufficiently strong enough force to Casablanca to make that happen. Leahy had asked the Joint Strategic Survey Committee (JSSC) to examine the question.

As he handed out their report, all the others already knew that it was being looked at, but were surprised at how far along the JSSC had managed to get. Using Gibraltar as a staging point, the planners believed that an Infantry Division, with Ranger and Airborne support could capture Oran, allowing the Armored Division to be unloaded through that port. A landing at Casablanca had been considered too risky due to the Atlantic swells, and Algiers too far from allied air support.

The immediate response from Marshall and King was negative, American forces needed to get to grips with the Germans, and basically that meant a landing in France. Arnold could see the advantage of having a large French army from North Africa as part of the invasion of France in due course. Leahy knew that the President really wanted this to happen, he had made that quite clear.

To get 1st Infantry and 1st Armored Division trained and prepared, to gather the necessary shipping and aircraft, was not going to be quick. It was already May, a realistic timetable would likely be late summer, probably September, perhaps August with more help from the British. With some reluctance Marshall agreed to this, though King was quite negative. It was only the fact that the President would otherwise order him to do so, made King grudgingly agree to accepting for the plans to be fully worked out, hoping it would become something that would be rejected in the course of time.

 

[allanpcameron]

12 May 1942. Ontario, Canada.

The Canadian 11th Infantry Brigade, was now officially the 2nd Army Tank Brigade. The Grey and Simcoe Foresters were now the 26th Army Tank Battalion, and 16th/22nd Saskatchewan Horse had become the 20th Army Tank Battalion. These were now joined by The Halifax Rifles, or 23rd Army Tank Battalion as they were now known.

Transitioning from infantry to armour was no easy matter, and the men had been to just about every school imaginable. The drivers, gunners, loaders and tank commanders’ courses, were just the beginning of their conversion. The vast majority of the officers and men were still on the courses, but the first graduates had returned to Camp Borden to get to grips with their tanks, eventually being able to train the next lot when they came back from their schools.

The CAC1 (Canadian/Australian Cruiser) known as the Ram in Canada was now in production at the Montreal Locomotive Works. With 3-inchs of frontal armour and 2-inches on the side, the 28.5 ton tank was powered by the Cummings diesel engine, and ran on Hotchkiss style suspension. The tank’s gun was the slimmed down version of the 25pdr gun developed in Australia, making the tank one of the most powerfully armed in the world.

Although the men had completed their courses, there was still a long way to go putting theory into practice. The Canadian army had come a considerable way from when the only tanks they had were the old 6 ton Renault FT tanks built in America. The instructors at Camp Borden were well used to taking complete novices and turning them into tank crews. Turning those tank crews into an effective troop, squadron, Battalion and Army Tank Brigade would take much longer.

The Ram, being a new tank, was something of a challenge. The Valiant IA* tanks had become familiar to the instructors. The instructors themselves had spent time in Montreal watching how the new tanks were created, and had themselves had to become proficient in their care, maintenance and use. The instructors had come to know the tanks’ idiosyncrasies, as well as their strengths. There wasn’t much point comparing the two, the Valiant IA* had a popgun compared to the Ram, but it had the same reliable diesel engine and that made life so much easier for the mechanics and B echelon troops.

A good number of instructors were Australians, sent over to Canada to learn the skills needed for when the CAC1 (Jumbuck) entered into service with the Australian army. The connection between the Canadians and Australians had a friendly edge to it, with both sides comparing and contrasting their own homelands and culture, always negatively towards one another. One of the things the Australians had going for them that the Canadians couldn’t really match was the four Australian Divisions’ contribution to the war so far. Other than the loss of the Canadian troops in Hong Kong, the Canadian army had not yet got to grips with the enemy.

 

[allanpcameron]

16 May 1942. Suffolk, England.

The roar and exhaust of thousands of engines filled the air. The Prime Minister was standing on top of a Valiant II tank parked next to the Union Flag. Laid out before him were the men and machines of two Armoured Divisions. The 6th and 11th Armoured Divisions had completed a full exercise in the area around Newmarket, and Winston Churchill had arrived to take the salute as elements of the two Divisions passed by.

Standing with him on top of the tank were Major General Montagu Burrows (GOC Home Forces Armoured Group), Major General Charles Keightley (GOC 11th Armoured Division) and Major General Herbert Lumsden (GOC 6th Armoured Division). Keightley had recently taken over the Division from Evelyn Fanshawe in April, who had become the Commandant Royal Armoured Corps Training Establishment.

The Armoured Group of Home Forces was an oddity in British Army terms. Its genesis had begun when Major General Frederick Hotblack had been Brigadier Armoured Fighting Vehicles (BAFV) for the BEF in 1940. Much of the pre-war thinking about tank warfare was still theoretical at this point. Hotblack’s organisation performed a technical liaison role between the Ministry of Supply, the War Office and the BEF in France. Before taking command of 2nd Armoured Division, and before his stroke, Hotblack had argued for the formation of an “Armoured Group” with a commander and full headquarters to direct all aspects of the BEF’s AFVs, rather than the current advisory role he was playing.

He argued that ‘command and control’ of the army’s armoured and tank forces needed it own commander, just as the artillery, engineers and quartermaster each had a senior officer on the GHQ staff, so should the armoured forces. The HQ of the Armoured Group would have a full staff, and a technical establishment of an Assistant Director of Mechanisation with his staff.

While not all of Hotblack’s thoughts had been turned into reality, the role that Burrows played on the Home Forces GHQ matched that of Engineer-in-chief and Major-General Royal Artillery. The size of Burrow’s force was considerable and still growing. The 6th and 11th Armoured Divisions and the Canadian 5th Armoured Division were fully operational. The Guards and 42nd Armoured Divisions were still in the process of being formed and equipped. 1st Armoured Division were beginning to transition onto the new Vickers Victor tank, while 9th Armoured Division were working on becoming 9th “Panzer” in the role playing the enemy in training. In addition to the Armoured Divisions, the Army Tank Brigades were also under Burrow’s remit. Most of the Tank Brigades were equipped either with the Matilda II or increasingly, with the Churchill tank.

The complexity of the use of all these forces, and the considerable logistical train needed to keep them in the field, was no small matter. Middle East Command this role was now being done by Major General Harold Charrington, formerly GOC 2nd Armoured Division. With 2nd, 7th, 8th and 10th Armoured Divisions in Wavell’s Command, Charrington had his work cut out too. The position in Auchinleck’s India Command was being filled by Major-General Michael Creagh as ‘Adviser Armoured Fighting Vehicles.’ So far only the 1st Australian Armoured Division was in the command, along with the tank battalions.

 

[allanpcameron]

21 May 1942. Johor, Malaya.

The Royal Armoured Corps Depot was unrecognisable from when the first tanks arrived the previous year. The Royal Army Ordnance Corps, the Royal Army Service Corps and the Royal Engineers all had to expand their ability to service and maintain the Infantry Tanks that had been arriving. This had begun in a piecemeal fashion, but planning for the arrival of the 1st Australian Armoured Division, and another Army Tank Brigade, it had been realised that a better set up was needed.

The number and type of Armoured Fighting Vehicles had increased, with the British Matilda II and Vickers Light Tanks been reinforced with Australian M3 Stuart tanks. Building up the collection of spare parts, engines, tracks for all three types had been a hard job, often a ship would arrive with essential spare parts just as one of the tank Battalions would return from battle in dire need of the newly arrived spares. Now things were being even more complicated with the arrival of V Corp’s reconnaissance regiments and Army Tank Brigade.

The arrival of the 33rd Army Tank Brigade had been completed between the DM3 and 4 convoys. 43rd Bn RTR, or “43rd (6th City) Battalion, The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, Royal Tank Regiment” to give them their full title, had arrived first, along with the B Echelon of the Brigade. 144th and 148th Royal Armoured Corps (formerly 9th Loyal Regiment North Lancashire and 8th East Lancashire Regiment) had just arrived in the second convoy. There had been a lot of debate about which Tank Brigade should join V Corps, the logical move would have been to send one equipped with the same Matilda II Infantry Tanks used by the Malaya Tank Brigade already in theatre.

The limitations of the 2-pdr gun however had been the main reason that the 33rd Army Tank Brigade had arrived with the full complement of 178 Churchill tanks, plus spares. These Mark 1 Churchills were originally armed with both the 2-pdr gun and the 3-inch Howitzer Quick Firing Mark IA, with the 3-inch howitzer in the hull and the 2-pdr in the turret. Since the 2-pdr was considered less useful against the Japanese, all 33rd Army Tank Brigade’s Churchills were designated Mark IA, with the howitzer and co-axial Besa in the turret, and the 2-pdr replaced with an extra Besa MG in the hull. Having two machine guns and the close support gun with plenty of HE shells was thought to give the Churchills’ the advantage over the Matilda IIs.

This was the first time that the Churchill had been sent abroad, and there were concerns over the ability of the depot workshops to ‘tropicalise’ the tanks. Most of 43rd Bn RTR’s Churchills had been modified and were now being tested, with any further adaptions being noted for the rest of the tanks. The convoys had also brought enough Matilda II tanks to make up shortfalls in Malaya Tank Brigade (4th, 7th and 11th Bn RTR) and build up a small reserve. Soon the Grant tanks of 2nd Australian Armoured Brigade would begin arriving, and once again the Depot would have to manage another type of tank to service.

 

[allanpcameron]

22 May 1942. Rangoon, Burma.

General Auchinleck, with Generals Alexander and Slim, were picking through the reports of the actions of Slim’s forces, with some pleasure. The successful crossing of the Ping River in April had been followed by a period of relatively rapid advance in the face of mixed Japanese opposition. Where the Japanese had had time to build solid defences, with interlocking fire, they were quite difficult to winkle out. Where they less prepared, the Japanese didn’t seem able to cope with the strong British and Indian artillery, backed by tanks and good infantry drills.

Having given it some thought, and with only six Divisions to his name, Slim had decided that he didn’t want to overextend his force too much. The majority of the Burmese Division was in and around Bruma, acting in support of the civilian administration, expanding infrastructure and training new arrivals in the ways of jungle fighting. The newly arrived, and still green, Indian 14th Infantry Division was left as a holding force around the river crossing at Tak, along with their line of communication duties. Slim decided to make his main advance toward Bangkok along the Ping River firstly to Nakhon Sawat, where the Ping River meets the Nan River to become the Chao Phraya River.

Using the river as his main logistical support had positives and minuses, but generally was considered the easier path. There was a roadway on the east bank of the river that allowed much of the wheeled transport to follow the river south to Nakhon Sawat, some 100 miles from Tak. Once he had arrived, Slim had pushed the 10th Indian Division forward as fast as possible to capture the town, the river crossings, and essentially, the railway head on the east bank. This they had successfully achieved, and 7th Indian Division were reinforcing them. Slim’s other two divisions 9th (Highland) and 11th African Divisions were following along.

The commencement of the rainy season was beginning to hamper progress, which Auchinleck and Alexander agreed was a good time to halt where Slim was. This would allow time for him to build up stores for the next phase of the attack towards Bangkok. The RAF were also hard at work rebuilding their Burmese airfields as well as strengthening the landing field near the Ping River. Another landing field would need to be built near Nakhon Sawat.

The other good news was the fact that locally the Thai authorities and military were actively supporting Slim’s advance. Through back channels it had been made clear to the Thai government that the British had no territorial ambitions in Thailand. If it wasn’t for the Japanese invasion of Thailand that threatened Malaya and Burma, the British and Indian forces would have been happy to leave Thailand its independence and neutrality. Once the Japanese were cleared out of Thailand, the Allied forces would also withdraw, though retain the ability to transverse the country. The Thai government, with a Japanese gun to their head, were still technically at war with the forces of the British Empire, at a local level the situation was very different. The Japanese forces had pillaged their so-called allies, the British and Indian troops brought aid and food with them. Thai workers were paid for their efforts, the Japanese had treated them as little more than slaves. Thai women were treated with respect (generally) by the Empire troops, not something that the Japanese had done.

Slim was conscious that the forced halt for the monsoon season was a necessary evil. At the same time that he and his men would have time to rest, refit and build up supplies, the pause would equally benefit the Japanese. Getting to the point when his army would be able to fight all the year round was something that Slim was determined to do, but this monsoon season, he would have to cool his heals. Auchinleck was pleased to inform him that another British Infantry Division (48th [South Midland] Division) had sailed from the Clyde and could be expected in July. 50th Tank Brigade would also be ready to join them by them, as would 26th Indian Division, though acting as line of communications troops initially, replacing the 14th Indian Infantry Division in that role.

 

[allanpcameron]

24 May 1942. Singapore.

General Auchinleck, having reviewed the situation in Rangoon with General Alexander and Lieutenant General Slim had flown onto Singapore. Lieutenant General Alan Cunningham (GOC 12th Army) and his senior officers, had given their report of the situation in Malaya. III Indian Corps had managed to advance past Jitra, but had halted before the Thai border to dig in. V Corps were now fully arrived on the last two convoys, but would take a few months to be operational. The Australian Corps were resting and rebuilding, the Stuart light tanks of the First Armoured Brigade had arrived, and were learning the lessons of combat from the reconnaissance regiments. The other Malay units had secured the eastern shore of the country all the way to Kota Bharu, where once again they had dug in for the monsoon season. Intelligence suggested that now that the Philippines were completely in their hands, the Japanese would be reinforcing their troops in Thailand, Auchinleck was confident that the Japanese wouldn’t be able to reinforce sufficiently to overturn the advantages of the British Empire forces that had arrived or were due to arrive.

During his visit, Auchinleck had dinner with Manuel Quezon, the President of the Philippines. Quezon had been evacuated from Mindanao by HMS Porpoise, but had stayed on at Singapore to welcome the others that the Royal Navy were evacuating from the Philippines. Quezon was to fly with Auchinleck to Java, then onto Australia, before the long trip to Washington DC to confer with President Roosevelt.

The presumed loss of USS Permit and General MacArthur had meant that changes to how evacuation of personnel continued. The larger British Grampus class submarines (HMS Porpoise, Rorqual and Cachalot), in addition to HMS Severn, Clyde, Otus, Olympus had worked with some USN submarines on a system of evacuating as many as possible. The US submarines ferried the men off Mindanao and the other islands and brought them to the south of Palawan, where the Royal Navy picked them up and brought them back to Singapore. Having become known as the Magic Carpet, each round trip took about ten days for the submarines, and while there had been two encounters with Japanese forces, no damage had been inflicted by the enemy, though HMS Clyde had suffered mechanical difficulties leaving Singapore and had to abandon that mission.

In addition to the submarines, the fast minelayers, HMS Abdiel, Latona and Welshman, had all made the run twice. Each of these ships were able to bring off about one thousand people. The majority of the Americans were US Army Air Force Air Base personnel, some were Headquarters Staff of General Sharp’s Mindanao/Visayan Command. Some Americans, less than one hundred, chose to stay to take part in guerrilla or intelligence gathering activities. The majority of those brought off by the Royal Navy were Philippine soldiers from 81st and 102nd Divisions. A great many of the men of those Divisions had returned to their homes and would attempt to lie low. Those who decided to leave the islands were being shipped to Australia where they would be retrained and equipped as a Free Philippine Army Division. The fast mine-layers carried various weapons, radio equipment and other stores useful for a guerilla force and intelligence gathering.

 

[allanpcameron]

26 May 1942. Lembang, Java.

Having come back to ABDA’s HQ, Auchinleck’s Naval Commander, Admiral Conrad Helfrich was able to update his superior regarding the current situation. Admiral Sommerville’s Royal Navy fleet now had three aircraft carriers (HMS Ark Royal, Illustrious and Indomitable) and three battleships (HMS Prince of Wales, Nelson and Warspite) with supporting cruisers and destroyers. The fleet was on its way to Australia, where it was planned to rendezvous with an American task force with two or three aircraft carriers. British and American Intelligence believed that the main Japanese carrier force was once again going to support further landings, but it wasn’t clear where they would strike. The possibilities were another attack on Malaya, possibly on Papua New Guinea, or, thought least likely, a direct attack on Java. The Americans believed that they would be able to get an idea from cryptoanalysis in time enough to counter them. The British and US carriers had quite different standard operating procedures, coordination between the two would likely be a problem. Rear-Admiral Denis Boyd, Commanding Eastern Fleet Aircraft Carriers, had travelled on ahead with some staff, to meet with his American counterparts to pave the way for a modus operandi to be worked out.

Air Marshall Richard Peirse (CO ABDAair) confirmed what Auchinleck had been told about the RAF in Malaya, strengthened by men and machines coming from the Middle East, were becoming more proficient in army cooperation and particularly in Photo Reconnaissance. The balance of air power there was now in favour of the RAF, though the Japanese still had strong fighter and bomber assets to hand. Peirse also noted that the growing US Army Air Force presence in Australia and Java was beginning to have a similar effect as the RAF in Malaya. He was confident about the air defence of Java but was concerned about supporting the troops in Kendari. The American Air Transport Command (US Army forces in Australia) had organised the 21st and 22nd Transport Squadrons, with ex-civilian DC2 and DC3 aircraft, along with a number of other types. Flying in and out of the Allied held airstrips on Celebes, the transport aircraft carried in essential supplies and brought out the wounded.

The arrival of fresh American units continued. The US Army 32nd and 41st Infantry Divisions were now in Australia, though when they would be combat ready was under discussion. The US 1st Marine Division were also arriving, with a regiment each in Samoa and New Zealand, the other regiment due to arrive in July. New Caledonia hosted the equivalent of another US Army Division under Brigadier-General Patch.

More forces were on their way, 2nd New Zealand’s Expeditionary Force's 2nd Division was on its way home, and the New Zealanders were putting together a 3rd Division as well as a Tank Brigade. Auchinleck knew that a battle-hardened force like 2nd NZ Division was going to be an incredibly important asset, though just exactly how Major-General Freyberg VC would deal with this new task was questionable in Auchinleck’s mind. Some arm twisting had been done with the French General De Gaulle, who was advised that having to rely on the Americans to defend the French territory in the Pacific sent out a particularly negative signal. Therefore, elements of 1st and 2nd Fighting Free French Brigades, spearheaded by 1 bataillon du Pacifique, had been shipped with the New Zealanders to defend New Caledonia, the New Hebrides and other French holdings in the Pacific. If any attempt was made to free French Indo-China, these French forces would be included.

The Australian Army was providing two infantry and (soon) one armoured Divisions in Malaya. The 6th Australian Division’s Brigades (23rd and 17th) which at Rabaul and Ambon had given the Japanese real problems, were now shadows of their former selves. The whole of 18th Brigade, which had been on Timor, and various other units, had been fed into the fighting at Kendari on Celebes. The second Japanese invasion of Celebes near Kendari was being resisted successfully, but at a high cost to both sides. The invasion of Celebes on the western side near Makassar had added to the difficulties of the defenders. There had been talk about ‘doing a Dunkirk’ to withdraw the allied forces, but so far, enough reinforcements and resupply was getting through to keep the Japanese from conquering the island completely.

 

[allanpcameron]

28 May 1942. Muar, Malaya.

A selection of men of the Australian 8 and 9 Divisions and British 18th Division had been gathered to discuss the problems they’d had countering the Japanese bunkers at Ipoh. Between the strength of these defensive positions and their ability to support one another, the Australians had struggled to overcome the Japanese defenders. Most of the men at the meeting had been mentioned in dispatches for the way in which they had dealt with the Japanese bunkers. The men knew that there were plenty of others who hadn’t survived, who had tried various methods to deal with the bunkers.

A few things were taken for granted. When the infantry had tank support, they would be able to make progress. When the infantry were trying to deal with the bunkers without tank support they generally didn’t do so well. One of the problems that hadn’t been considered was that the camouflage of the bunkers was such that they weren’t always seen until too late. By which time the infantry were too close to the target for artillery support, and generally the bunkers were hardened enough to withstand mortar fire, even in some cases direct hits from 25-pdr shells.

It was clear that the infantry sections needed a weapon capable of engaging the bunkers that was man-portable, accurate and powerful. The Japanese Type 100 flamethrowers that had been examined were one solution that was being examined. One of the common responses to the discovery of Japanese bunkers was to mark them by firing a flare at them. On a couple of occasions, the flame of the flare spread, making life for the Japanese machine gunners more difficult, and therefore desirable for the British and Australian troops.

One enterprising Australian Company had persuaded a battery of 25-pdrs to lend them one gun and crew, which the Australians brought up during the cover of darkness and then used it to put direct fire into a bunker that had resisted everything else. The officers of the Royal Australian Artillery made it clear that they did not want a repeat of this, under any circumstances. What made the episode worse, was that the Forward Observer had remained with the gun’s crew who used it almost like a sniper. A Japanese NCO had been spotted giving orders, and the since he was in a position that had already been surveyed, the Forward Observer ‘nominated’ him, and the Japanese soldier was vapourised by a 25-lber shell.

The troops that had been supported by Matilda II infantry tanks, primarily from 18th Division, all seemed to have an easier time than those supported by Stuart Light tanks. The 2-pdr on the Matilda and the 37mm on the Stuart tanks weren’t a great deal of use, and in both cases, it was the machine guns on the tank that provided the cover for the infantry to close with the bunkers and destroy them. The exception was those sections supported by the Matilda II CS tanks with the 3-inch howitzer. These were far more effective providing direct fire HE rounds, and on many occasions providing smoke cover as well. The news that V Corps’ Tank Brigade was made up of Infantry Tanks, all equipped with the 3-inch howitzer and two machine guns, was a real sign that someone back in Blighty had listened to the previous reports.

 

[allanpcameron]

30 May 1942. Maryland, USA.

Aberdeen Proving Ground, the Headquarters of the US Ordnance Department, was well used to visitors from Great Britain. Major-General Charles Wessen, Chief of Ordnance, had visited England the previous September and there was a reciprocal visit from a delegation led by Oliver Lucas, the Controller-General of Research and Development (CGRD) from the Ministry of Supply. Lucas’ opposite number in the supply of munitions from the Ministry of Supply, Sir Graham Cunningham, Controller-General of Munitions Production (CGMP) was part of the group. From Wessen’s perspective, having separate Research and Development and Supply controllers, both within the Ministry of Supply seemed problematic, especially when considering that one of the other members of the British delegation was Brigadier John Bond, Deputy Director of Armoured Fighting Vehicles (DDAFV) from the War Office. The British had one group who developed, another group then dealt with supply and then ‘users’, the Army seemed to have less input that would have been thought normal. The American system wasn’t entirely without its own problems, a few ideas for different types of tanks from the Ordnance Department by been rejected by the Army Ground Forces, the ‘users’ who liked the M3 and M4 Medium tanks, and were happy to concentrate on the M4.

The issue that both the British and Americans were dealing with was the follow on to the US M4 (which the British were calling Sherman), and the British Victor. The reality was that at some point in possibly 1943 or 1944 the combined allied forces would have to invade Europe and take on the Germans. The experience of the British and of the Soviets was that the Panzer III and IV were good, but did not outclass the Allied tanks in themselves. It was clear that the Panzer Divisions probably had better training and tactics, but putting an M4 up against the current Pz III would be pretty much a match, each having some things that were better or worse than the other.

The Soviets had lost huge numbers of tanks, but were confident that their T34 Medium and KV1 Heavy were generally a match for the panzers. There was no doubt that the Germans would be working on improvements to the current Panzer III and IVs, probably up-gunning and increasing armour, and would be developing along the same lines as everyone else. Some kind of new Medium Tank to replace the Panzer III and Heavy Tank to replace the Panzer IV. Speculation about what these would be like was much debated.

The British felt that their Victor, with the HV 75mm gun, would be a match for whatever replaced the Panzer III. They were less sure that the Sherman with the current 75mm would be able to deal with a tank with better protection than the current German tanks. They were therefore keen on the Americans building a Heavy Tank, preferably with a big enough gun to deal with the kind of armour the next generation of German panzers were likely to carry, about four inches, possibly even five inches on the heavy. Their own work on a successor to the Churchill Infantry Tank, and if possible, also the Victor, was likely to be about 50 tons, with a maximum of six inches of armour, carrying at least the 17-pdr, but more likely something based on the 3.7-inch (94mm) AA gun.

Wessen remained to be convinced that a Heavy Tank was the way forward. Part of the purpose of the British visit was to look at what the Americans were developing. Wessen was of the firm opinion that the British were trying to avoid using American tanks as much as possible. The Australians and Indians, facing the Japanese, would likely be the main users of American tanks, just as at the moment with the M3 Light and Medium tanks (Stuart and Grant to the British). The Canadian and Australian Cruiser, with the 25-pdr gun, would likely complement rather than replace the American tanks. From what Wessen had seen the previous summer, the move towards replacing all Valiant work with Victors, and the cancellation of the Crusader as a gun tank, made it look like the British were trying for a ‘universal tank’. One tank that could do what the Cruiser and Infantry Tanks had been doing.

Wessen was also aware that the British were hoping that the Americans would provide the bulk of Lend Lease tank deliveries to the Soviet Union. The Valiant tanks being built in Canada were all going to Murmansk, if the British wanted at least six armoured Divisions equipped with Victors to invade France, they couldn’t afford to be building anything other than Victors. Wessen wasn’t sure that the Soviets would be happy with Grants and Shermans, so far, all the feedback was that they were pretty unhappy with the Grant.

What the British did want was to have a look at what was under development. The M3 Light (Stuart) was being upgraded to the M3A3 model, all welded with improved storage, and therefore range. Cadillac had built a successor to the M3, which was designated the M5, using Cadillac engines and transmission. Alongside this, the T7 program was looking at something in the 16 ton range, possibly using a 57mm gun, or even the same M3 75mm gun on the Grant and Sherman. Wessen thought it was heading into Medium Tank territory and would prefer to stick with the M4 Sherman, though that decision had yet been taken.

Another Light Tank under development by Marmon-Herrington was the T9E1 which was envisaged to be used by airborne forces. The British Tetrarch was being developed for the same role, and the British delegation expressed an interest in putting the two up against one another to test which was the better bet. Marmon-Herrington also had a four ton tank designated the T16 which they had designed for China and the Netherlands East Indies. Armed only with a .30 calibre machine gun, it didn’t hold any interest for either the American or British armies.

Regarding the M3 Medium tank, production was due to finish in December, with over 6000 expected to be built between August 1941 and December 1942, something that the British could only wonder at. 450 Grant tanks were on their way to Australia and India to equip the new Armoured Divisions, with a further 150 following by October, though the majority of these would be the standard American M3, called the Lee by the British.

Production of the M4 Medium tank, the Sherman to the British, was to built in eleven plants in America, with a brand new factory opened by Fisher in Grand Blanc, Michigan expected to be open in July. By fall (or Autumn as the British called it) those eleven plants would be in full production, with thousands to be available by the end of the year. There were four types, the M4 with the Continental R-975 engine; the M4A1 with a cast hull rather than welded like the M4. The M4A2 with twin General Motors 6-71 diesel engines and the M4A3 with the new Ford 500HP GAA V-8 gasoline engine. This latter version was earmarked for the American Army, the diesel M4A2 would be going to the US Marines, and probably Russia. The M4, despite being the first named, wouldn’t start production at Pressed Steel until July. Production of the M4A1 was underway at the Lima, Pressed Steel and Pacific Car & Foundry. The short M2 75mm was being used on these early production models, and still had the twin fixed machine guns in the hull. Fisher, had already begun producing the M4A2 in April, as had Pullman. Ford were expecting to begin production of M4A3 from June. Wessen had only a few days ago been given the go-ahead from Supply Services to begin working on designing and procuring a pilot model for an improved medium tank, provisionally designated M4X. Broadly it was to be about 32 tons, with an automatic 75mm gun, four inches of frontal armour and a top speed of 25mph. The Vickers Victor was basically the M4X, but with a much more powerful 75mm HV gun.

Knowing that the British were keen on a more powerful gun than the M2 and M3 75mm, work on a 76mm gun was being discussed, though it was understood that the current turret of the M4 would be too small. American doctrine was for tanks to do most jobs, but for tank destroyers to stalk enemy tanks. Therefore, the T35E1 (M10 GMC) was soon to be tested. Based on the M4A3 chassis and carrying the 3-inch M7 gun in an open turret, it was hoped that this would provide the Tank Destroyer Command a suitable replacement for the current half-track M3 (T12) and M3A1 armed with the M1897A 75mm gun. This approach was quite different from the British and, although they requested a few for trials, Wessen didn’t believe that they would show any more interest.

The fact that the British were talking about their next tank having something based on their 3.7-inch gun, got some of Wessen’s staff considering whether the 90mm American AA gun could be adapted to a tank. The use of the German 88mm AA gun in the anti-tank role in North Africa had been something of a wakeup call. If the Germans managed to build a tank around the 88mm gun, then three or four inches of frontal armour wasn’t going to do too well against it.

What Lucas and the British were keen to see was what had started off as the T1 Heavy Tank. This was to be 50 tons, about three inches of armour, a 75mm and a 37mm gun mounted coaxially, with four machine guns, a Wright 925HP engine, Hydra-matic transmission, and a top speed of 25mph. The T1E2 pilot was built by Baldwin, and after some modifications was standardised as the M6 Heavy Tank. The Armored Force were already talking about it being too heavy, undergunned, and needing too many improvements, and so would rather have more M4 Mediums that any M6 Heavy Tanks. The British delegation having had a chance to see the T1E2 pilot on trials, couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t really that much of an advance.

A second Heavy Tank had been discussed between the British and Americans previously, which had been designated T14 by the Americans. Partly this was a British gamble against the failure of the Churchill, with the hope the Americans might build an assault tank. Work so far on the T14 was minimal, and the British were now happy enough with the Churchill. The M6, from Wessen’s point of view, was adequate for the job of a heavy tank, and he didn’t have that many resources to throw into yet another tank. The British mentioned that Sir John Carden was working on a replacement for the Victor Cruiser Tank, which would also take over the role of the Churchill Infantry Tank. While the American tank designs didn’t seem to be as advanced, the delegation couldn’t help but gasp as the sheer scale of the American tank building factories. If the phrase, ‘quantity has a quality all of its own’ was ever coined, it could well have been in the minds of those gazing on the huge plants dedicated to the mass production of American tanks.

(The information for this update came primarily from 'British and American Tanks of World War Two' Peter Chamberlain & Chris Ellis, 2000 edition, Cassel & Co, London.)

 

[allanpcameron]

1 June 1942. Damascus, Syria.

General Henri Dentz, High Commissioner of Levant and GOC-in-C Levant Forces of the Vichy Regime watched helplessly as a coup unfolded around him. It was bloodless, which was a blessing, but by the end of the day he was simply Henri Dentz.

For over a year the forces of the Free French had been sitting on the borders of Syria and Lebanon, but their agents had been working, with the obvious help of the British, to undermine Dentz’s position and the Vichy Mandate. The Paris Accords had nearly led to war with the British empire forces, but with the failure of the Germans to capture Crete, Wavell realised that there was no real threat from the French. That didn’t stop him surrounding the French Mandate with a growing army that Dentz’s intelligence reckoned would swat the French units aside easily.

Like Weygand in North Africa, Dentz had elected to do nothing to provoke the British, and had simply got on with ruling Syria and Lebanon under the Mandate of the League of Nations.

Free French symbols appeared regularly as graffiti, the use of radio by the Free French spread their propaganda. Dentz’s deputy, Major General Joseph de Verdilhac, was accused of having sold his soul to the Boche as he was released from being a POW to take up this post. ‘Collaborationist’ became a common taunt, with the civilian population being promised freedom and self-determination by the Free French.

The Royal Navy had a particularly good time intercepting merchant ships between France and its Mandate, confiscating anything that could be put to a military use. This was a very loose term which led to shortages of goods in the major cities. The few Vichy ships of the Marine National were on a very short leash, with strict orders not to begin a war. Morale among the French units was being eroded and some of the locally recruited “Troupes spéciales du Levant” were becoming untrustworthy.

Maintaining discipline caused resentment, which in turn led to an open ear to the Free French propaganda. What eventually clinched the argument for a coup was the promise, guaranteed by the British, that any French officers or men who did not wish to join the Free French forces would be safely repatriated to Metropolitan France. The Free French argued that joining them was the best way of bringing France out from under the boot of the Germans. The fact that the British had proven themselves more than capable of resisting the Germans, and indeed defeating them in battle, showed that there was hope for the defeat of Nazism and the complete liberation of France.

The counter-argument to this propaganda was that anyone who joined the so-called Free French might well find their families at home suffering at the hands of the authorities (French and German). This just reinforced the message that although France had lost to the German invasion, the war continued, that their families at home were not free and wouldn’t be until the Germans were defeated.