“By 1942 we will have full elections and we already have opposing political parties ready to contest them. The leaders of those parties already freely express their opposition to our current administration and its policies. They even have their own newspaper. What would happen to them in Japan?
“No, Mister Secretary, we have little in common with the Japanese. They believe they are already perfect and seek to impose their will on others. We recognize our imperfections and ask only to be given the chance to learn from others. And we ask you only to give us the chance to choose from whom we wish to learn. For without proper air defenses, we will have no such choice.”
It had only been a short advance. But it had a significance much more than just the ten miles they had moved. They had crossed the border from the Sudan and were now driving the enemy 40th Infantry Division backwards on their base at Bitama. The 40th Infantry, also known as the Cacciatori d’Africa, had held the ridgeline east of Kassala for two days before a flanking move by a brigade of the Fifth Indian Division had made the line untenable and forced them to evacuate.
Subedar Shabeg Singh felt gravely shamed that his Skihs hadn’t managed to take the position and had to be helped out by the Jats of the 9th Brigade. Somehow, it made matters worse that the same flanking threat made the position at Bitama untenable and the Italians would not be trying to defend it. The critical high ground, the Bara Ghazi, to the west of Bitama had fallen without a fight.
Brigadier Harold Rawdon Briggs had called the meeting of his battalion officers to outline the next stage of the campaign. Scattered amongst the august ranks of the British were the much more junior Indian officers. Briggs was keenly aware that the political circumstances of his brigade had changed. It was now an Indian Army formation, in all its attributes; the process of handing it over to Indian command was, if not absolutely urgent, something all the better for being started as soon as possible.
The command structures of the battalions was being changed; each of the British officers now had an Indian ’shadow,’ who would be learning to take over. Briggs had spent long hours looking at the men involved and their records, carefully picking out pairings that would work together. As far as he was concerned, the longer these men had together in the transition phase, the better for the Indian Army that was being born here. That was why an early start had been so essential.
“Major Hamby, sir.” Singh recognized the man he was supposed to meet here. They’d worked together in the past and made a good team. The news that they would be working together again pleased him greatly.
Major Joel Hamby turned around; his own face was split by a friendly smile. “Shabeg, my old friend. It is good to see you again.”
In the background sitting at his briefing desk, Briggs saw the two men greet each other as old friends and allowed himself a smile of satisfaction. To his knowledge, there was no parallel in modern warfare for what was happening now. An entire army was changing nationalities in the middle of a campaign. The Indian will be the British officer’s second-in-command and assistant while he is taught the new responsibilities. Then, when the Indian officer is ready, the two will switch positions. Finally, command will be handed over to the Indians and the British officer will… Well, that is the problem, isn’t it? What will happen to us once command of the Indian Army is fully returned to the Indian Government?
It was time to start the meeting. He tapped the glass of water on his desk and the room froze into silence. Briggs glanced around and saw how the Indian and British officers had completed pairing off. That part of the meeting, actually the most important part, was accomplished. He just hoped that other brigade and battalion meetings would be going as well. “Gentlemen, I have news for you that will change our plans for the immediate future. The armored cars of the Central India Horse have taken Bitama from the Italians without resistance.”
There was a series of polite cheers from around the tent. Briggs paused for a second, acknowledging the moment before continuing on a cautionary note. “Let us not be misled. We all know that the Italians can fight and fight well. They are retreating because they do not believe that they can put up an effective resistance here. Our assessment is that the Italian garrison in Eritrea is falling back on Asmara and, eventually, Massawa. We believe that they will form a defense line at Keren to defend that position.”
Briggs cleared his throat and drank some water before continuing.
“The Fifth Indian Division will be pursuing the Italian force back to Keren and will be occupying Eritrea. The Italian moves appear to be similar to those adopted in Kenya and Somaliland. Put briefly, the Italian garrison in all the Somalilands are retreating without putting up much of a fight. They are regrouping in Ethiopia and it is there that they will make their final stand. The South African Division is already entering Ethiopia from the south, while the 11th and 12th King’s African Divisions complete the occupation of all the Somalilands. Now, we can’t let the Boers have all the glory can we?”
There was a patter of applause and a discrete Sikh war-cry. Briggs smiled to himself. There is nothing like providing a common rival to weld people together. “Just because the South Africans and their Tomahawks have shot down large numbers of Italian aircraft doesn’t mean that nobody can win a battle or two without them, does it?”
Again a patter of applause rippled around the room. The way the two squadrons of Tomahawks had cleared the air of Italian air support had made a compelling story for the newspapers, but it had left the ground troops feeling unappreciated and resentful. Briggs waited again until it had settled down.
“Well, we have our part to play in Ethiopia. Effective immediately, we will be heading south. And, I am reliably informed, we will soon be having our own Tomahawks to support us, along with other American aircraft, including a new light bomber called the Maryland. Our job will be to drive south and link up with the South Africans. I needn’t say that honor demands we meet them as far south as possible, need I?”
There was another subdued roar of agreement.
“I am advised that we will be cooperating with other forces on our move into Ethiopia. One will be an Ethiopian irregular force that will be conducting a partisan campaign against the Italian forces in the country. There is also a British group doing much the same thing, under the command of a Colonel Wingate.”
Briggs paused for a few seconds, running over that issue in his mind.
When he spoke again, he did so very carefully. “I would caution you all that irregular forces and partisan groups invariably have their own agenda, and their long-term interests may not coincide with ours. I would counsel caution in your dealings with them. Be aware that they may be on our side today, but we do not know on whose behalf they may act tomorrow.”
There was much nodding around the room at that. Briggs was interested to see that the Indian Army officers were as cautious as the rest. There was a much greater degree of agreement than he had dared hope. Eventually, one Indian officer asked the question Briggs hoped nobody would.
“Sir, does this most appropriate caution also apply to Colonel Wingate’s force?”
“He calls his group Gideon Force, and I believe Colonel Wingate is aware that his control over the men nominally under his command may not be as absolute as he would wish; nor are their interests and ambitions necessarily in accordance with his own.”
He could see the officers he was addressing translating his words in their minds and coming up with the answers he had intended. The Indian officer nodded with satisfaction and sat down again.