“That is what I have you for,” said Kesselring, trying to build up Rommel’s spirits. “Yes, the Italians hate you, and will undoubtedly be glad to see you gone. Yet you have performed brilliantly here, under the most rigorous possible conditions, always short on supply, and facing heavy odds. Be proud of what you accomplished. The Army you leave behind loves you, and they will remember you as well. Go home, take your much needed rest, spend time with your dear wife, and when you are ready, we will be here, as will the army.”
“Will you?” said Rommel darkly. “Montgomery is pushing on Bone and Souk Ahras.”
“We’ve given him everything he’s taken thus far. Don’t worry about him. This American General Patton, he’s the one to watch. I’ll have Nehring keep him in check. We’ll fight the defensive battle while you rest. Let me share a little secret with you—there are still two divisions in France earmarked for Tunisia.”
“What, a pair of second rate infantry units?”
“Quite the contrary. One is Hans Hube’s old outfit—the 16th Panzer Division. It is in Marseilles this very moment, and I have only to obtain permission to begin shipping it over. The other division is infantry, the 337th. True, it is not a first tier division, but given the terrain advantage we have here, it will do nicely.”
“Why didn’t you tell me of this earlier?” said Rommel, somewhat exasperated. “One more panzer division would have made all the difference in Operation Sturmflut.”
“I could not get permission earlier, and in fact, I am not even sure if I can get permission now. Hitler is heady with his new Winter offensives, particularly this business with Guderian in Syria and Iraq. He was disappointed that our operation had to be called off, but I have used this to good advantage. I told him that the frontage was simply too great, and the lack of infantry forced us to use two of the five panzer divisions in defensive roles. Then I suggested that things would have been very different if Hube’s old division were here, instead of minding the docks at Marseilles.”
“What did he say to that?”
“He told me he would consider it, and he has already released the 337th Infantry. Who knows, if we are lucky, we may get 16th Panzer Division in the same bargain.”
Rommel would get that division in time, but not in the way he imagined and hoped. “I’ll put in a good word for you when I make my report,” he said. “It will be humiliating to have to explain away yet one more failure here, but I am responsible, and so I should take the blame.”
“Do not be so hard on yourself,” said Kesselring. “In fact, I think Hitler has come to a new understanding of your trials here—at least that is what he said to me. He also spoke of a new tank that he wanted you to see. I don’t know what that’s about, but if it means we get more of the Big Cats down here, all the better.”
Two days later, Rommel would board a plane for Germany, feeling a strong sense of nostalgia to be leaving North Africa, and having the premonition that he would never return. Yet something deep within him knew his war was not yet over. He could see, far off in his mind, another battlefield, though he did not yet know where that might be. What did Germany do with its worn out war horses, he wondered? Particularly when they are Field Marshals….
As for Operation Merkur, the message received by Alanbrooke was just the first concerning Crete. Even as Rommel flew home, the elite German paratroopers of Student’s 1st Falschirmjaeger Division were leaping from the JU-52s over the northwestern segment of the island. It was now theirs to practice the art of offense that Rommel expounded. They would strike by surprise, with speed, and shock, concentrating as much force as possible on their chosen objectives the first day.
Kurt Student, and all his soldiers, had learned a very great deal in Operation Condor, and now they would put it to very good use.
Chapter 17
The lessons of Arrecife, Fuerteventura, and Gran Canaria were now going to pay the Germans good dividends. This battle for Crete would not be anything like the disaster it was in the old history. The Germans had learned that they could not land directly on objectives that were strongly held by the enemy. In the few instances where that had happened on Gran Canaria, particularly near the airfield they wanted, casualties had been very high. The units had been scattered, heavier weapons often out of reach of the ground troops. But Kurt Student had reacted quickly, ordering subsequent drops to be made on ground clear of the enemy, so his men could coalesce again as fighting units, under familiar officers.
This was the model that would be followed on Crete. Instead of landing directly on Maleme to try and take the airfield by storm, the battalions of 1st Falschirmjaeger Regiment, landed on ground some five to seven kilometers to the south. Further west, in the deep horseshoe Bay near Kissamos, the seaborne landing of the 5th Mountain Division would soon be underway. This time, the formidable presence of Admiral Raeder’s Mediterranean Fleet would not see the British cruisers lance through to the convoy and send so many troops to their doom.
Kissamos was 18 kilometers from the airfield at Maleme, some 10 miles. That morning, the pathfinders of the 7th Pioneer battalion would land there to secure the beach sites, set up beacons and guide the assault boats in. All the while, the first men on the ground could hear the deep booming rumble of heavy guns, and those close enough to the coast could look out and see the angry orange-yellow blast of Bismarck’s 15-inch guns. The big German ships were shelling Allied positions around Chania and Suda Bay, defended by the 6th Greek Regiment, and the British Naval Mobile Defense Organization, which included 1st Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
All the attacks were to be concentrated on the northwest coast of the island. 1st Falschirmjaeger Regiment was assigned to the Maleme sector, the 2nd Regiment would land east of Suda Bay and drive along the coast towards Suda and Chania, the Sturm Regiment under Meindel would land around Rethymnon to secure that small port and airfield, and finally, the 3rd Falschirmjaeger Regiment would land southwest of Heraklion to get that port and airfield. They were the farthest east on the island, about 70 Kilometers from Rethymnon over a winding, difficult highland road. It was expected that the British might try to land reinforcements there, or on the small ports along the southern coast, and they were to prevent that enemy buildup if at all possible.
Yet the defenders on the Island were much weaker in many ways that they were in 1941. Freyberg’s 2nd New Zealand Division was entirely missing, along with all the Australian troops. There were still six Greek Regiments, a full brigade of British regulars, and one prominent addition that was new to this history—the 3rd Polish Carpathian Brigade. It had fought in North Africa, becoming a tough and reliable force, and it had been one of the few reserves available to send to Crete, which seemed a forsaken outpost given all the many hot spots on every front.
The British had a contingency plan to quickly reinforce Crete by sending a commando group dubbed “Layforce” and the 1st and 2nd Parachute Regiments—Browning’s Boys, as they were called after their distinguished leader Sir Frederick Arthur Montague “Boy” Browning. The plan was to quickly land these units at the RAF controlled airfields, or along the southern coast, and then have them hump it north to join the fight, with Heraklion a major planned objective.
Yet the discussion, and decision, reached by Churchill and Alanbrooke would change those plans. Those airborne troops, if sent at all, would only be tasked with facilitating the speedy withdrawal of other units in the field. It also seemed that everyone was trying to get their hands on Browning’s Boys at the same time. Wavell had wanted them immediately when the Germans launched Operation Phoenix. Montgomery had laid out plans for them to drop behind the port of Bone, which he was now approaching after a long delay, and now they were figured into the rescue operation for Crete.