Authors: Anthony G Williams
Don smiled.
He recalled hearing this story in his previous existence.
Taylor went on.
‘We have a crash programme to produce more railway guns for coast defence purposes.
The Navy have passed over
all of the
seven-point-five inch guns from the four Cavendish class cruisers which they’re converting to light aircraft carriers.
We’ve put them into high-elevation mountings which give them considerable range.’
He turned to point to some tiny buildings almost obscured by vegetation.
‘Some of the small blockhouses for machine guns and anti-tank weapons are visible, forming a line along the coast designed to provide interlocking arcs of fire.
We’re doing our best to conceal them in various ways.
If you look carefully, you can also pick out some horse-shoe shaped mounds not far from the road, over there.
They are intended as gun emplacements for field artillery.’
Mary was listening with interest, this tour a rare outing for her.
‘Wouldn’t it be better to have the defensive lines further back?
Then you would have more time to put the guns in the right position, once you knew the direction of attack.’
Taylor did not look surprised.
All of the regulars at the House had become used to her perceptive questions.
‘We do have another line, much further inland, and some armoured divisions will be held back from the coast.
History tells us, however, that the best chance of thwarting a landing from the sea is to hit it as soon as possible, before the invaders have a chance to become organised and established.
We hope we can rely on aerial reconnaissance and other means to give us enough warning to get the guns in place.
And of course, the Air Force is practising tactical co-operation with the Army and Navy in order to ensure that the enemy are given no peace from the moment they set sail.’
They all looked at the peaceful scene for a while.
Don realised that they were all probably thinking the same; trying to imagine this stretch of British countryside covered with black-crossed tanks, a scene of ferocious fighting, Luftwaffe planes dicing with the RAF overhead.
They returned to their car in silence.
‘So now we have Poland, and the British and French cower behind their defences, bleating about sanctions!’
Herrman couldn’t decide whether Hitler was angry or triumphant, and decided he was both.
Hitler fixed him with his stare.
‘They didn’t guarantee Poland’s safety and left me a clear field to attack.
Why were you wrong?’
Herrman stammered the same sort of rationale he had used with Göring, but added, ‘there are now strong indications that they are obtaining guidance from the future in some way.’
He held his breath and waited.
Hitler was silent for a moment and Herrman suddenly realised that Stadler had been right to warn him; this had come as no surprise to Hitler, so one of his sources must have informed him already.
Then Hitler smiled grimly.
‘So the Gods are restaging the contest?
They want us to fight again!
What reason could they have, except that they were dissatisfied with the outcome last time?
Very well, we will give them a battle that will gladden their hearts.’
He considered for a moment, pacing around the room.
‘The question is: do we start with Norway or with France?
The British will be expecting us to attack Norway, and may be better prepared to come to its aid, especially as they won’t have most of their army locked up in France.
To attack France first might surprise them.’
Herrman felt emboldened to intervene.
‘Why not ignore France and Norway, and go straight for Russia instead? Then there wouldn’t be the risk of facing a war on two fronts.’
Hitler considered this for a moment. ‘There would still be the risk of being stabbed in the back by the French if we committed our forces in Russia. Besides, I have a score to settle with France. I am very much looking forward to signing their surrender in the same railway carriage they forced us to use after the last war! And with your help, defeating the French will be even quicker and easier than it was in your time. That will show the Generals that I know what I’m doing!’
‘Well then, the British must know about me, or at least that you have someone like me.
So they will be aware that we will be trying to outguess them.
It is even possible that they have decided to stay out of the war altogether.
There was a view held by certain postwar British historians that it was a mistake to get involved.
The cost to Britain was appalling, and the Cold War outcome not much better than a Europe dominated by Germany; which will eventually happen anyway, in economic terms at least.’
Hitler considered this as he paced.
‘Given their international obligations, I don’t see how they can avoid coming to
France
’s assistance.
They would lose too much face.
But if they intend to defend
France
, why didn’t they declare war over
Poland
, which would have given them plenty of time to bring their army across the Channel?
It’s possible they may be planning to strike a deal after
France
’s defeat; I would be generous and it would only cost them a few colonies, plus Edward back on the throne and a sympathetic government.
A small price to pay in comparison with what they would lose in the war.
They have no ties to
Norway
, though, and it need not be a
causus belli
.
If I could take
Norway
first, it would be a clear warning to
Britain
and would still be useful later on in threatening the supply route to
Russia
.’
Hitler became more animated as he developed his thesis. ‘Raeder has been arguing the case for securing bases in Norway anyway, if only to keep Britain out – we can’t let them bottle up our ships in the Baltic while denying us the winter route for supplies of Swedish iron ore. We can’t trust Norwegian neutrality; the British would try to stop the iron ore supplies anyway.’ He stopped pacing as he came to his conclusion. ‘If the British don’t want war they may ignore our move on
Norway
. If they do, then being tied up in
Norway
will keep them out of
France
, making our task there easier.’ He turned suddenly and faced Herrman.
‘What do you think?’
Herrman stood silently for a moment, suddenly struck with the thought that this could be one of the pivotal moments in European history.
He had no doubt that Hitler still regarded him with a kind of superstitious awe, and would listen to his views.
‘
Britain
has been spending large sums on armaments and is clearly preparing to fight if
need
be.
There is no indication that they are building any heavy bombers, though, of the sort they used to attack us.
And they have kept their army in their own country.
They may be glad of the excuse to avoid becoming entangled in
France
.
We must remember that most of the prewar British government wanted to reach some sort of deal with us rather than go to war.
They have been quick to build new battleships and aircraft carriers, but they will be more useful against
Japan
than us.
It is possible that they would like to avoid war.’
Hitler stood in thought for a moment.
‘Very well, then.
We will put them to the test.
Norway
it is – but we will leave the attack until just before we invade
France
, to give the British no time to deal with both problems!’
CHAPTER 3 - ENGAGEMENT
May 1940
The Wellington maritime reconnaissance aircraft cruised at 10,000 feet over a murky North Sea.
The pilot peered through the gloom of early morning, beginning to feel stiff and tired after several hours of patrolling, a daily routine which had lasted for weeks.
Behind him, the crew in the converted bomb bay were warming themselves with hot tea, feeling the cold despite their thick clothing.
Suddenly, one of the crew leaned forward to look intently at the cathode ray tube in front of him.
‘I think I have a contact, sir!’
The officer in charge of the radar crew came forward to look, while the other members of the team adjusted their instruments, trying to extract the maximum information from the signals caught by the long aerials above the fuselage.
After a moment, the officer switched on the intercom to the pilot.
‘I think we’ve found what we’re looking for.
It looks like a group of ships, bearing one-two-two degrees, range thirty-five miles.
Not far off the Norwegian coast.’
‘Roger.
We’d better take a look.’
The heavy plane banked in a wide curve, then began a long slow descent to the contact.
Don stood at the window, looking out over Whitehall and feeling depressed despite the bright May morning.
He gulped the last of his coffee and turned to Charles Dunning.
‘How much longer are they likely to be?’
‘Have patience, they’ve had a lot on their hands with the politicians.
It was bad enough persuading them not to get involved with Russia over Finland; when the Finns surrendered, they made all sorts of carping remarks about why their non-interventionist advisers suddenly wanted them to give guarantees to Norway; and now April has passed without the predicted invasion, they are questioning our judgment.’
‘They are going to go in if Norway is attacked, though?’
Charles poured a fresh cup of coffee.
‘They finally agreed to.
We made them understand the strategic importance of Norway to our own security, and the importance of the winter iron-ore route from Narvik to Germany.
They accept that we would be in much weaker position against Germany if Norway fell to them.
The problem is that the Committee has anxieties about the whole issue.’
Don frowned.
‘Surely all the preparations are in hand?’
‘More than.
In fact, everyone is becoming rather tired of sitting around waiting for something to happen.
There certainly won’t be the fiasco that happened in your time.
We have one big disadvantage, though; we’re not currently at war with Germany, so we can’t pre-empt their action.
We have to wait until they attack and, what’s
worse,
wait until the Norwegians ask for our help.
Chamberlain and Halifax won’t have it any other way.
The only concession we’ve managed to extract is that we won’t be giving the Germans a long period to consider our ultimatum; we’ll go in immediately we’re asked to.’
‘The Germans will still have had time to get
themselves
established.’
‘Quite.
And they’ll know we’re coming.
It won’t be easy to dislodge them.’
The Lieutenant-Commander squinted through the periscope, his view intermittently obscured by the choppy sea.
‘Bring her up a bit,’ he called.
As the periscope head rose higher, he felt a surge of excitement.
The smudge of smoke that had caught his attention was clearer, and underneath, squat, powerful-looking shapes were beginning to emerge.
‘Warships, heading our way.
Down periscope.
Steer eighty degrees.’
The tension rose as the minutes ticked by.
The commanding officer waited patiently until the calculated moment.
‘Up periscope.’
He scanned the scene for a few seconds.
‘Down periscope.’
He turned to the navigating officer.
‘Set a course to get us out of the Skagerrak as soon as possible.’
To the radio operator; ‘encode the following message for transmission as soon as we’re out of the way:
two pocket battleships and smaller craft heading north at position fifty-eight degrees five minutes north, eleven degrees and fifteen minutes east.’
He looked down pensively at the chart.
The ships were on course for Oslo.
‘Now I wonder what they’re up to this
time?
’
Chairman looked up as Don and Charles entered the room.
‘Good morning, gentlemen.
I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.
We’ve been rather busy this morning.’
They murmured their acknowledgements and sat down.
Chairman looked around the table.
‘I would like to review the current situation and the arrangements in hand, to see if our adviser has any comments.
I’d better start.
We’ve had a difficult time with the Chiefs of Staff, who are still inclined to take a blinkered view of their Services, but they did at last agree a coherent command structure with joint planning between all three Services and clear lines of control and communication once we go in.
At least everyone should know what is expected of them, and of the others involved.’
He turned to Diplomat, who spoke slowly, studying the end of his cigarette with elaborate casualness.
‘We have received reports from the British ministers in both Copenhagen and
Troop concentrations have also been reported in German ports, as well as a build-up of substantial forces on their western borders; they appear to be fully mobilised to launch attacks either to the West or the North, or both, as they choose.
We’ve relayed strong warnings to Norway and an assurance of immediate aid if requested.
The problem is that the Nygaardsvold government is both strongly neutralist and passivist, and they don’t want to believe us.
We’ve used what military contacts we have with the Norwegians to spread the warning as far as possible, in the hope that some at least of their commanders won’t be caught unawares.
We’ve even used court contacts to get a message through to King Haakon, to warn him that the Germans are planning to capture him.
The problem is that apart from their coast defence forts, they don’t have a lot to fight with.’
Chairman nodded, and looked at Ruddy Face, who cleared his throat.
‘The assault force and covering naval units sailed yesterday and will soon be in position off the Norwegian coast.
The aircraft carriers
Ark Royal
,
Invincible
and
Courageous
will be operating in a group with the battleships
Hood
,
King George
V
and
Prince of Wales
, staying a hundred miles offshore at the latitude of Trondheim.
Further south,
Repulse
and
Renown
, together with the carrier
Furious
, will be stationed about fifty miles off Bergen to intercept enemy naval units.
The heavy cruisers
Berwick
and
Cornwall
, together with the light carriers
Vindictive
and
Hawkins
, will be covering fifty miles off Narvik.
The main assault forces will move into position twenty-five miles from Narvik and Trondheim respectively by the early hours of tomorrow morning.
They will be supported by the old battleships
Warspite
at Narvik and
Malaya
and
Queen Elizabeth
at Trondheim.
Following the main assaults we are planning to secure Bodø and Tromsø to ensure that we have complete control over the northern part of the country.
After that we can turn our attention to Bergen and Stavanger.’
‘Where are you planning to land?’
Don had clear memories of the problems that had occurred in his time due to over-cautious landings far from the objectives, giving the troops an almost impossible task in slogging through snowbound countryside, often in blizzard conditions, with totally inadequate equipment.
‘At Narvik the Germans will only be able to land lightly-equipped troops so we’re going straight into the fjord under air cover and naval bombardment and landing the Marines at Øyjord and Haakvik, flanking the Narvik peninsula and about three or four miles away from Narvik itself.
Incidentally, the terrible winter we’ve just had has helped enormously with training.
Many of the Marines are now competent on skis and the rest have snowshoes.’
Don nodded.
‘And
Trondheim
?’
‘Same principle of landings a few miles either side of the city, although we expect much stronger opposition.
It will be particularly dangerous entering Trondheimsfjord if the Germans have managed to seize the defending forts, so we’re sending in Special Forces by submarine to secure those first.
Once we’re into the fjord, one of the key targets will be the airfield at Vaernes.
We might secure the ports at Namsos and Åndalsnes later, but that’s not vital.’
Don remembered the ill-fated landings at these ports, far from Trondheim itself.
Military Man took over.
‘The First Armoured Division will be landed at Trondheim.
We are also planning some paratroop drops to secure critical points.
Once the city and the airfield are in our hands, the Division has orders to proceed south towards Dombås then down the Gudbransdal towards Oslo.
Along the way, they should link up with the Norwegian government and the bulk of whatever Norwegian forces survive the retreat from Oslo.
Once we have secured that link, together with Stavanger and Bergen, we will have effective control of all except the south-eastern lowlands around Oslo.
That’s when we expect the major battle.
By then, the Second and Third Armoured Divisions will have taken over from the First, supported by three motorised infantry divisions.
The First Armoured will be withdrawn to England to re-equip, leaving their equipment behind as an attrition reserve.’
‘What about communications and specialist equipment?’
‘There are plenty of radios and a well-practised communications network, with interlinking possible between the Services.
As at Narvik, all infantry will have snowshoes and we are including some ski-troops, although if the Germans delay their attack for much longer they will hardly be necessary.
Thanks to your warnings, we also have a good supply of detailed maps and photographs of the operational areas.’
Military Man handed over to Creamed Curls.
‘Coastal Command is keeping a close watch for German shipping movements, with torpedo-carrying Hampdens standing by in the Orkneys.
As well as the maritime reconnaissance aircraft, we have some new versions of the Wellington with radar adapted to detect aircraft, and these are patrolling the southern North Sea.
Photo-reconnaissance Reapers are carrying out at least one sortie per day, weather permitting, of all likely target areas in Norway and of the German ports and anchorages.
We also have five squadrons of Reaper long-range fighters and a similar number of Mosquito bombers based in Scotland, ready to attack the Danish and Norwegian airfields seized by the Germans.
Finally, we have several squadrons of Hurricanes with long-range tanks ready to travel to Norwegian airfields as soon as they are available.’
Don sat back, thinking the arrangements through, racking his memory for anything he might have overlooked.
‘Air power is Germany’s biggest asset; it’s what made all the difference before.
Attacking the German airfields to disrupt their activities has a high priority.
Another thing; one problem common to both sides which the Germans may well have corrected was defective torpedo fuses.
Losses to U-boats could be high.’
Ruddy Face nodded.
‘All of our task forces have strong anti-submarine escorts including air cover, from the land as well as the carriers.
We also have plenty of ships held back in reserve if we need to replace losses.’
As they left the Committee, Charles looked at Don, seeing his anxiety.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said quietly, ‘everything that you have warned us about has been dealt with.
We are as well prepared as possible.’
Don sighed.
‘I know.
It’s just that after all these years of
preparation,
the shooting is finally going to start.
We don’t know whether Hitler will go for Norway or France first.
If he goes for France, we’re in real trouble, as the politicians will come under severe pressure to divert our assault forces to help the French.
Even if he goes for Norway, we have to sit on our hands and wait for the Norwegians to ask us to help, while the Germans can attack at their leisure.’