“It’ll be dangerous,” said Kingstone. “We’ll have to move smartly, and fight a good delaying action. The Germans are masters of that sort of mobile battle. It’s this fight here that they don’t like—a city fight. That said, I see your point about encirclement. It may be that a cat on the run would have a better chance than one in a bag.”
“General Grover?”
“We’ll have to be nimble. I’ve had men down repairing cuts to the line as it stands. If we do this, we should start immediately. But what about Whitehall? Have they weighed in on this question?”
“I’ve a message here that instructs me to make the defense of the oil concerns in Southern Iraq my key priority. How I go about that was left to me. We thought we could stop the Germans by holding here, and we certainly did, yet I’m just not sure that we can hold out. I’d prefer to take my chances on the run.”
“What about the oil bunkerage?” asked Kingstone.
“We’ll load as much of the refined oil as practical, the rest burns.”
There were no objections, and so it was that Wilson decided to move that very night, gathering all his transport and rolling stock to get the wounded, and his supplies, loaded first. Then he set up a schedule for the withdrawal.
“General Grover, I want your division to watch the right flank, and you go along with him, Joe.” He looked at Kingstone.
“What about the left,” said Kingstone. “Blaxland is over there now, and he’ll make a mess of things. Mark my words.”
“I’m going move both the 7th and 9th Armored Brigades out first. They have good mobility, and they’ll be sent to backstop Blaxland’s brigades. Then the rest of the infantry falls back through the city to the rail loading points. We’ll get as much as we can onto the trains, the rest go overland by truck. We’ve enough lorries to make a good go of it.”
“What about the Levies at Baqubah?”
“I’m afraid they can’t be helped,” said Wilson. “The Germans have already cut off the road and rail connections south. They’ll just have to hold on as best they can.”
“Alright,” said Kingstone. “It’s as good a plan as any, except for those Levies, but we’ll have to step lively, and keep moving. The Germans will be right on our heels like a pack of hungry hounds, and they’ll harry us at every chance. We’ll need to stop and fight in the cities along the route, and Alexandria, and east from there to the Tigris, presents us will a relatively narrow front for a good delaying action. After that, we can fight rearguard actions at Al Hillah and Diwaniyah along the main route south along the Euphrates, and at Al Kut and Al Amarah on the route east of the Tigris, but I’m still worried about Blaxland.”
“To that end we’ve still got the 18th Infantry Division,” said Wilson. “I’ll pull it off the trains at Al Hillah, and then send that rolling stock on to Baghdad for us to use. Blaxland will follow the Euphrates south through Alexandria to Al Hillah, where he’ll find Beckwith-Smith’s 18th Division there in good positions to hold the line.”
“Good enough,” said Kingstone. “Thank God that division was available.”
“Indeed,” said Wilson. “I went to Auk with this plan, and he’s approved it, so we’re good to go. If I had heard strong objections here from you tonight, I would have reconsidered, but it seems this is for the best. Joe, where is Glubb Pasha?”
“He’s at the Oil Bunkerage.”
“Well see if he can move south tonight and watch the crossing points along the Euphrates. Alright gentlemen, let’s get busy. I’ll get the armor moving immediately.”
It was now to be run and gun, as Wilson sought to save the army, and get to some defensible line in the south. That night the sound of lorries was heavy in the city, a long dull rumble. Service troops worked for hours on end, loading everything of value they could. Artillery was given high priority, and all the ammunition. Most of the two Armored brigades moved south, but those M3 tanks of the Royal Wiltshires near the ferry landing had a difficult time getting back. Currie told them to hold at the Barracks, and he sped off south with the rest of his brigade.
A small rearguard held on in the north, the 5th Essex and 3/15 Punjab of the 21st Brigade. Most everything else in Central Baghdad got moving south, but troops still had to watch the east bank near all the bridges. All of Grover’s 2nd Infantry took the road that ran along the east bank of the Tigris, down past Rashid Airfield. That move strung out the division as a good flank guard, and they could also board a train on the rail line to Kut. Kingstone left his infantry where they were on defense against any continued thrust by the Germans, but he sent his armored cars down towards the small air strip at Salman Pak to screen that area.
The movement of both Armored Brigades behind Blaxland gave the indolent Colonel heart. The tanks and infantry lined up behind his defense lines, and Currie found him that night to brief him on what was happening. “The whole lot is headed south,” he said, “and you’re the rear guard for this flank. Don’t worry, my tanks will be right behind you.”
Soon they could hear the drone of the lorries, long columns making their way down to find the roads leading south. The trains were mustering there to take the guns and other heavy equipment south. The withdrawal was protected and screened by the same marshes, canals and other water obstacles that had made the city such a difficult place to attack, and Wilson was confident that he would get his army safely south. The question was where should he go? How far? Was there a place where he might turn and make a stand?
General Heinz Guderian could hear those columns moving in the cool night, and he smiled. The British were retreating! The dual envelopment he had clearly threatened had put a hard question to them, and this was how they answered it. Westhoven called from 3rd Panzer HQ and told him there was also a lot of movement heading south beyond Rashid Airfield.
“They’re pulling out,” said Guderian. I’ve got similar reports from General Beckermann west of the river.”
“Do you want me to try and stop them?”
“Stop them? Whatever for? No Westhoven, now we get our battle of maneuver back again. This thing here at Baghdad could have gone another two or three weeks, even with the new troops I’ve been promised. This retreat is exactly what I was hoping for. You can send recon elements out towards Salman Pak, but otherwise stay put. I’ve told Schmidt to bridge the Euphrates, and he’ll be all night and most of tomorrow doing that. When that is complete, he’ll take 10th Motorized down the west bank of the Euphrates and clear Karbala. Beckermann will move down the east bank, so they won’t be able to blow all the bridges as they move south. Fuel up, and get ready to move on my command.”
As far as Guderian was concerned, the Battle of Baghdad was over, and good riddance. He would take it as a pyrrhic victory, and now he could set his sights on what he really intended, the long drive south to Basra.
There were still many things on the General’s mind. First off, 45th Division was delayed when Student’s troops were given priority after arriving at Istanbul to cross the straits and board trains for Mosul. There was a reason for that. He had been called by Barenthin at Kirkuk, and learned that the situation there was becoming somewhat tense.
Barenthin had a single regiment sitting on all the key facilities at Baba Gurgur and in Kirkuk itself, but he reported the two Turkomen Divisions were now taking up positions in a wide semicircle, and moving up close to his lines. Ivan Volkov had been informed of the subtle, and not so subtle changes in the interaction of German forces with his own, and he was not happy about it. Tensions were slowly rising in areas where his troops were operating close to the Germans, and so he ordered that certain objectives were to be closely screened.