Read Online Hammer of God (Kirov Series Book 14) by John Schettler - Free Book Online
Authors: John Schettler
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nationalism throughout the Middle
East, and I daresay our position in this regard is none too sound, even in
Egypt. So perhaps we must rethink Operation Exporter, and see it as a broader
operation aimed at securing both Syria and Iraq.”
“Thus
far the Iraqis haven’t done much more than sit on the plateau overlooking our
RAF base near Fallujah,” said Wavell.
“Habbaniyah?
Yes, it’s held out, but we’ll have to do something. We have the old Cavalry
Division in Palestine, do we not?”
“More
or less,” said Wavell. “Some units still have horses, the others have been
converting to trucks and carriers, but there are all too few of those to go
around, and we’ve been cherry picking most of their artillery and heavy weapons
for other units.”
“Fancy
having a mobile division without trucks,” said Churchill, exasperated. “I can
see we need to do a great deal more for you, General Wavell, and I fully
appreciate that you have utilized the resources in hand to the fullest. Yet
Captain Fedorov makes a good point about this windfall we have with General
Kinlan’s 7th Brigade. We must use that power while it remains strong. Is it
wise to leave it sit down here in the southern desert in a defensive role, when
we might draw that bright flashing sword and put it to use in the attack?”
“Realize
I have no armor to speak of beyond that unit, “Wavell reminded him. “Our own
7th Armored Division is merely a shell. The only tanks we can give it come from
the repair dens, and that takes time. We’ve been cannibalizing badly shot up
vehicles for spare parts.”
“And
yet we have all these splendid tanks just sitting here and contemplating a
joust with the Italians at Giarabub. Surely we might reconsider using some of
this force for other operations.”
“And
the question of security?” Wavell cautioned. “It will be hard to keep a lid on
what has happened here if we try rolling those monsters up through Alexandria
to Palestine.”
“True,”
said Churchill. “But perhaps we could get them there by some other means. What
about the Glen ships?”
“We
have one or two available. Glengyle is operating with our Layforce
Commandos at the moment. But they are largely for infantry transport, sir, and
have only a single LCM in the forward deck that can transport a tank to shore,
and then no more than 16 tons.”
“That
won’t do to move a Challenger II,” said Fedorov. “Those tanks are over 60 tons
each.”
“Amazing,”
said Churchill. “But I’ve seen scores of smaller armored vehicles here. What
about those?”
“Many
are the Warrior Armored Fighting Vehicle. They may appear as tanks to you, and
in fact they have armament similar to the tanks you now deploy, but they are
really designed to be infantry transport vehicles.”
“All
the better,” said Churchill. “Why didn’t we think of that earlier, Wavell—an
infantry carrier with a good gun on it like that.”
“Might
these move by sea?” Wavell asked Fedorov in Russian, but soon learned that the
Warriors were still too heavy at 25 tons.
“Only
the light scout tanks could move by sea with the ships you presently have,”
said Fedorov. “The Scimitars weigh just under 8 tons, so depending on the size
of your LCM, you might take two at most on the Glengyle.”
“Hardly
an armored force capable of doing much, even if these are good vehicles.”
Wavell pursed his lips, thinking. “But I’ve had a good look at those tanks.
They have the look of a vehicle the men might easily accept as something we
could have built ourselves. I’ll admit, one look at those heavy tanks out there
boggles the mind, but the Scimitars are on a scale and of a design we can
grasp. We might move a unit of those tanks quite openly by land without
ruffling anyone’s skirts.”
“Would
General Kinlan be persuaded to make us a loan?” asked Churchill.
“I
don’t see why not. He’s a British serving officer, and though it has been our
intention to keep his
East, and I daresay our position in this regard is none too sound, even in
Egypt. So perhaps we must rethink Operation Exporter, and see it as a broader
operation aimed at securing both Syria and Iraq.”
“Thus
far the Iraqis haven’t done much more than sit on the plateau overlooking our
RAF base near Fallujah,” said Wavell.
“Habbaniyah?
Yes, it’s held out, but we’ll have to do something. We have the old Cavalry
Division in Palestine, do we not?”
“More
or less,” said Wavell. “Some units still have horses, the others have been
converting to trucks and carriers, but there are all too few of those to go
around, and we’ve been cherry picking most of their artillery and heavy weapons
for other units.”
“Fancy
having a mobile division without trucks,” said Churchill, exasperated. “I can
see we need to do a great deal more for you, General Wavell, and I fully
appreciate that you have utilized the resources in hand to the fullest. Yet
Captain Fedorov makes a good point about this windfall we have with General
Kinlan’s 7th Brigade. We must use that power while it remains strong. Is it
wise to leave it sit down here in the southern desert in a defensive role, when
we might draw that bright flashing sword and put it to use in the attack?”
“Realize
I have no armor to speak of beyond that unit, “Wavell reminded him. “Our own
7th Armored Division is merely a shell. The only tanks we can give it come from
the repair dens, and that takes time. We’ve been cannibalizing badly shot up
vehicles for spare parts.”
“And
yet we have all these splendid tanks just sitting here and contemplating a
joust with the Italians at Giarabub. Surely we might reconsider using some of
this force for other operations.”
“And
the question of security?” Wavell cautioned. “It will be hard to keep a lid on
what has happened here if we try rolling those monsters up through Alexandria
to Palestine.”
“True,”
said Churchill. “But perhaps we could get them there by some other means. What
about the Glen ships?”
“We
have one or two available. Glengyle is operating with our Layforce
Commandos at the moment. But they are largely for infantry transport, sir, and
have only a single LCM in the forward deck that can transport a tank to shore,
and then no more than 16 tons.”
“That
won’t do to move a Challenger II,” said Fedorov. “Those tanks are over 60 tons
each.”
“Amazing,”
said Churchill. “But I’ve seen scores of smaller armored vehicles here. What
about those?”
“Many
are the Warrior Armored Fighting Vehicle. They may appear as tanks to you, and
in fact they have armament similar to the tanks you now deploy, but they are
really designed to be infantry transport vehicles.”
“All
the better,” said Churchill. “Why didn’t we think of that earlier, Wavell—an
infantry carrier with a good gun on it like that.”
“Might
these move by sea?” Wavell asked Fedorov in Russian, but soon learned that the
Warriors were still too heavy at 25 tons.
“Only
the light scout tanks could move by sea with the ships you presently have,”
said Fedorov. “The Scimitars weigh just under 8 tons, so depending on the size
of your LCM, you might take two at most on the Glengyle.”
“Hardly
an armored force capable of doing much, even if these are good vehicles.”
Wavell pursed his lips, thinking. “But I’ve had a good look at those tanks.
They have the look of a vehicle the men might easily accept as something we
could have built ourselves. I’ll admit, one look at those heavy tanks out there
boggles the mind, but the Scimitars are on a scale and of a design we can
grasp. We might move a unit of those tanks quite openly by land without
ruffling anyone’s skirts.”
“Would
General Kinlan be persuaded to make us a loan?” asked Churchill.
“I
don’t see why not. He’s a British serving officer, and though it has been our
intention to keep his
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