The Germans managed to take Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and the main island at Gran Canaria. The British still stubbornly held on to Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro, with their main strength on Tenerife around the port of Santa Cruz. Now both sides began to plan how to continue that struggle, and logistics would again figure prominently in the game.
“Now that they’ve put troops on these islands,” said Tovey in a meeting at Admiralty headquarters, “they’ll have to keep them supplied, and that goes double for what is perhaps their most dangerous asset, the Luftwaffe. I’m told the army left the airfields in bad shape when we pulled out, and we sunk an old WWI destroyer in the entrance to the Grand Harbor, but the Germans will cure that in a matter of weeks. Then it comes down to who can keep the troops and planes fighting and flying. Our intelligence indicates that those German raiders have now returned. One got through to Casablanca. The other is still operating near the Canaries, and we hope to run it down. In the meantime, the navy must do everything possible to contest the littoral zones around the islands. I’ll be sending Duke of York back to work soon, and King George V as soon as possible. But we can’t afford to lose another battleship here. Those heavy units will be there to discourage moves by enemy capital ships, but the rest will be up to our cruisers and destroyers, backed up by aircraft carriers.”
“How will the Germans get fuel for their land based planes?”
“By sea. They might fly some in, but in the main, it will have to be brought by ship. We think they may be using their new aircraft carrier as an aviation fuel ferry to the islands, a rather clever idea. The German Navy has never had to think and act this way, realizing the importance of logistics in projecting naval power at sea. For them it was all about the U-Boats, where they fight that battle on a grand strategic scale. But now, and for the first time since their Norway operation, they must use their navy to sustain troops overseas. It was their inability to do this that eventually allowed us to face them down in Syria. Now they must succeed here, or they will lose these islands, and we will spare no effort in defeating them.”
“At the same time,” said Admiral Fraser, “we shall have to make every effort to hold on to Tenerife and La Palma. Those islands have the last of the good ports and airfields. They are birds in the hand, and if we lose them, then it will take the planning and execution of a major amphibious operation to ever get them back.”
“Right,” said Tovey. “They will also be instrumental as forward bases for plans being laid for Operation Gymnast. Soon we’ll have much more support from the Yanks, and that will make a good deal of difference. French North Africa will become a major new front in this war and, in that campaign, we also have the issue of Gibraltar to settle with the Spanish.”
“I don’t see how we can do all this now,” said Pound. “Mister Churchill has been shuffling off divisions to Burma, and the Australians are pulling their best troops out of the Middle East.”
“We certainly can’t contemplate such an offensive for some time,” said Tovey. “But the planning is still going forward, and the Navy figures prominently in every aspect. We can’t take the Rock from the sea. The only way to do it is from the landward side. Therefore, Spain will have to be dealt with first, and that is a major offensive that will most likely come through Portugal.”
“I’ve had a look at those plans to date,” said Fraser. “That operation is to be timed with another landing at Casablanca. It all depends on the Americans. Without them, all we could do is hold our own in Egypt.”
“Well,” said Pound, “the homeland will have to get serious about building up battle ready divisions soon, but that is a matter for the army. For our part, we’ll get all the transport shipping we need from the Yanks, and more destroyers. But we’ll have to get our own fleet back as a solid fighting force as soon as possible.”
“I’ve checked the yards for progress after Fuerteventura,” said Tovey. HMS Invincible has been given the highest priority, and she’ll be ready in March. Then we’ll have Anson in May, Howe in June, but those are the last capital ships we can count on for the foreseeable future. The Lion class is still in the brewing vats, and will be for some time. The Knight Class cruisers may help fill in for the loss of Renown and Repulse. Let’s get more of those ships to sea as quickly as we can.”
“The Round Table is forming,” said Pound. “Sir Gawain and Percival are already fitting out, and after them come Pelleas and Baudwin. I note that Sir Lancelot has already tangled with those German raiders, but with mixed results.”
“Teething troubles,” said Tovey. “That was a real baptism by fire for those ships and crews. Yet I’m given to understand that the Admiralty diverted Captain Sanford at a critical moment, and sent him off to look for a German tanker instead of closing and engaging with Kaiser Wilhelm. That won’t do if we want to sink German ships.”
“We’ve sunk the Ermland,” said Pound. “Thanks to Trident. I was responsible for that order, and frankly, given the state of our battleships, we will have to be just a little more cautious as to how and when we can engage the enemy now. Kaiser Wilhelm had 15-inch guns. We’ve enough ships laid up as it stands, so I looked for easier prey.”
Tovey nodded, thinking. He had been criticized in some Admiralty circles for being too quick to get the navy into a fight. The losses sustained of late had been very heavy, but he still had Churchill’s backing, and intended to run Home Fleet as he pleased. “Getting Ermland was a good feather in our cap,” he said at last. “Getting the Goeben will do even better. Sanford is still in the chase, in spite of that hit he took amidships, and I intend to support him as best I can.”
“Strange that these raiders did little or nothing on that last sortie,” said Pound. “They go all the way into the South Atlantic to shell an airfield, then simply turn about and return home. We had convoys out there on the way to the Pacific, and the Germans never bothered any of them. It was as if they were trying to avoid engagement, particularly on this homeward leg.”
“Yes… That was odd,” said Tovey, his mind running to the strange photographs Turing had shown him, and the mystery they still represented. He would not mention any of that here. Admiral Pound would remain ‘in the dark’ concerning the real identity of Kirov, the Russians, Kinlan’s Brigade and all the rest. Photographs of ships at sea that had yet to be commissioned, or even laid down, would not be the sort of thing Pound would deal with easily. Nor would Tovey draw water from the bottom of that well for some time, though he made a mental note to see what Turing was up to as soon as possible.
“Sanford believes they had fuel problems. In that case, your orders to go after the Ermland may have been just the ticket, Admiral Pound. Good show. Logistics at sea, gentlemen. Jerry is late to the game, and let us all vow to keep him on the sidelines as long as we can. If they do get well established in the Canary Islands, and well supplied, then we’ve a whole new bowl of stew to get through. German Stukas on those fields will force all convoys to Freetown and the Cape to divert by at least 350 miles, and lord help us if they get U-boat pens set up there. This is why we need to rethink what we’re doing at sea with another vital arm of our force projection—the carriers.”