Hammer of God

Chapter 27

Generalleutnant Gustav Anton von Wietersheim stepped off the train at Homs, slowly pulling on his leather gloves to chase the early morning chill. Spring was at hand, but March in Syria still produced cold nights with mid-day temperatures eventually rising to about 65 degrees. A longstanding member of the General Staff, von Wietersheim was glad for his first real wartime command, and lucky to have it given his reputation as being “too outspoken” in strategy sessions with the Fuhrer. An aristocratic officer who had come from a well placed Prussian family, von Wietersheim had been in the Reichswehr since 1902, having mostly non-combat oriented staff roles throughout the great war, but distinguishing himself enough to earn two Iron Crosses and other notable honors.

On two occasions, however, he had the temerity to openly question, and even criticize the Fuhrer himself at General Staff briefings before the incursion into Czechoslovakia and the invasion of Poland. On both occasions, he endured the ire of Hitler, who was already very sensitive to questions from the senior officers concerning his directives. On the latter occasion, Keitel commented that Hitler was so upset that he subsequently forbade any senior officer to openly disagree with him at a strategy briefing. It was partly this perceived insubordination that saw him assigned here, to a post many others deemed a secondary role while preparations were hastily being made for the ‘big show’ in Russia.

Von Wietersheim was the commander of the XIV Motorized Korps, one of three assigned to Panzergruppe 1 in Army Group South. His Korps had been slated to be part of the big push to sweep to the Don and stop Sergei Kirov’s Caucasus operation against the Orenburg Federation, but the situation in the Levant had come to Hitler’s mind as a preliminary operation that might be easily concluded before Barbarossa launched in a few months time. When von Wietersheim learned that his Korps was to be assigned there he again shook his head, thinking it a most inappropriate use of his motorized divisions.

“I thought Kubler’s Mountain troops had the job in hand,” he complained to his Army Group commander, Eric von Manstein. The two men knew each other well, as Manstein had followed von Wietersheim, taking over his job as Oberquartiermeister of the General Staff. Once junior to von Wietersheim in ranking, von Manstein had risen high to assume the new post as Commander of Army Group South, relieving von Rundstedt, who subsequently moved to command all German reserves for the coming eastern campaign. It was a move that had not happened in the history Fedorov knew, a strange quirk where Hitler had seemed to find some special relationship with Manstein. When asked what troops might best be sent south, it was Manstein who had directly asked for von Wietersheim’s Korps.

“Don’t complain,” said Manstein, holding up a finger to admonish von Wietersheim. “Your main operations will be in northern Syria, where a couple good mobile divisions will prove very handy. And you will get good combat experience there before anyone else, and by the time I send for you to join us in Russia, your Korps will be well seasoned.”

“Kleist wasn’t happy either,” said von Wietersheim. “He loses a third of his motorized divisions with this move.”

“You’ll rejoin him soon. Just get down there and stop the British before they overrun the whole damn country. Secure this airfield complex here.” Manstein had pointed to the vital aerodrome at Rayak. “Now that the Turks have granted us free passage on their rail lines, you can move your tanks and vehicles easily.”

“Rolling stock is limited,” said von Wietersheim. “I’ll be lucky to even get a regiment in place before the British get to that airfield. They are already in Damascus according to the latest reports.”

“If you cannot get there, then assemble your troops further north and Homs, and then go take it.” Manstein wanted results now, not arguments. “We have already moved much of the 22nd Luftland Division by air. And the 6th Mountain Division is coming by sea. Your job is to prevent the British from pushing into northern Syria, so it may mean you will have to use your motorized brigades piecemeal. There is fighting here,” he pointed to Palmyra on the map. “Wolff is there with a regiment of the 22nd Luftland Division, and he’s stopped the British in the fighting so far. But you will have to keep the road to Homs open, and get him supplies. Now is your chance, Generalleutnant. Shine here and Hitler may forget that you disagreed with him before.”

“Oh? I thought he ordered me here to get me out of the Russian operation-to punish the man who dared question his orders.”

“Not so,” Manstein said quickly. “I sent for you-because I wanted a man I could rely on to get the job done. So do not disappoint, either me or the Fuhrer. A man doesn’t get a chance to deliver an entire country to the Reich very often, but that is exactly what you have here in Syria.”

This seemed to strike a note with von Wietersheim, and he put his misgivings aside. After all, he would be overall commander of the entire German presence in Syria. With Rommel idle at Mersa Brega in Libya, this would be the only command actively engaging the enemy. He now began to see the opportunity Manstein had pointed out.

“One more thing you should know,” said Manstein with a note of caution. “The British have new tanks. Rommel had a real problem with them in Egypt. The Panzer IIs are useless against them, and he reported his Panzer IIIs fared little better.”

This got von Wietersheim’s attention. “Another Matilda?”

“Yes, a heavy tank according to all reports, but much bigger. Even the 88’s couldn’t stop them.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“As did I, but it is right in Rommel’s report. Then there is another cruiser tank, lighter, very fast, with what appears to be a fast firing gun in the range of 30 to 50mm. Those we can handle, but this new heavy tank had a lot of senior officers talking at OKW. Be cautious. Use your tanks in a support role until you can learn more, and let me know what you find out. For the moment, get in there and take up a good defensive line. Once you have your entire Korps in hand, then you can decide on offensive operations.”

Twenty-four hours later von Wietersheim was stepping off the train in the railway station at Homs. With him, in the long grey line of cargo cars, he had the bulk of the 11 Panzergrenadier Regiment, and the 2nd Battalion of the 30th Panzer Regiment, mostly the better PzKfw IIIs, with 50mm guns. By nightfall that day he would have the whole of 9th Panzer Division in hand, and behind it, the three motorized regiments of the 5th Viking SS Division were still in transit. It was a strong force, more than enough to do the job, thought von Wietersheim, but he had not yet heard the disturbing reports from south of Rayak, where a battle was now underway with the advanced elements of the 9th Panzer Division.

That night the clouds were low, and no air operations were scheduled from Rayak. A single squadron of BF-109s had flown in to assist the French there, who were operating with one small fighter squadron of their own, and an assortment of perhaps twenty antiquated bombers. They had been enough to harass the British advance, particularly against the desert columns as they approached Palmyra.

All in all, von Wietersheim thought he had a good position. His 9th Panzer Division was now complete, arriving well ahead of schedule, and would be on the line by dawn occupying a central position in the Bekaa Valley well south of Rayak. Each flank would be anchored by mountain troops, the 5th division on his right, and the newly arrived 6th division on his left. Palmyra was well garrisoned now with the 47th Regiment of 22nd Luftland, and the 65th Regiment of that division, and elements of the Luftland Sturm Regiment from Cyprus, had been air lifted to Dier ez Zour, where another battle seemed to be shaping up against Indian troops that had pushed up the Euphrates from Iraq. Soon the 5th SS Viking Motorized Division would complete his Korps, though he had received one report of an attack on the rail terminal in Istanbul, and wondered what had happened.

As for the French, they had fallen back to Damour south of Beirut on the coast, with only a narrow coastal region good for any offensive by the enemy, and steep rugged mountains on the landward flank. To the east, Damascus had been abandoned, and the French were now consolidating at Nebek to the north. The British and Free French were still mopping up pockets of resistance in the city, and for the moment, that flank was not threatened by any aggressive enemy advance. It was only in the center that things seemed loose and fluid. The recon battalion of 9th Panzer had run into trouble and retreated north, but soon he would have the whole division on the line.

We will see what dawn brings, he thought. Let’s see how much fight the British really have in them, now that they are up against a real army.

At 04:0 °Colonel Rana Gandar got his Gurkhas up and moving through the foggy night towards their infiltration points. The hard fighting for Aartouz, Mezzeh, and then Damascus had not been concluded without losses. While they had lost only a single Scimitar tank, his aggressive soldiers were not so well armored, and there had been casualties. His first Company had taken the brunt, with only 8 of twelve squads now ready for action. The other two companies still had ten of twelve squads available. He decided to hold 1st Company in reserve, and sent the other two forward with strong fighting patrols. Their mission would be to occupy the high ground on the right flank, a task they were well suited for due to their experience in mountain warfare. But there were other mountain troops in the hills that night.

The initial probe surprised a few outlying sentries, the flash of the Kukri knives in the dark coming like a whisper of death. Yet as the Gurkhas worked their way silently into the lowlands above the small village of Masnaa, it was soon evident that the enemy was in much greater strength than anticipated. They gained the top of a long ridge and sent reports back that the Armenian town of Anjar was the anchor of the German defense against the hills. An ancient site dating back to the Umayyad Dynasty of the 7th Century, its ruins were abandoned only to be resettled by Armenians fleeing Turkey in 1939. The old Umayyad palace was still there, now the headquarters of the 1st Panzergrenadier Battalion of the 10th Regiment, and the Gurkhas could see from the high ground that the German line was much more extensive than previously thought.

Sims came in with the report for Kinlan, an unhappy look on his face. “Gondar has men up on these heights,” he said.

“That’s well south of where I wanted them.”

“And with good reason,” said Sims hastily. “The German line starts here, at Anjar, and they can see lights from troop encampments all the way to the river. He estimates the Germans have at least four battalions between Anjar and the Litani. And there are infantry in the mountains to the east of those hills, in the region leading up to the gorge-at least two more battalions. To take his objectives he’ll have to push right through those positions first, and for light infantry, that’s a tall order. ”

“Those are most likely the same troops that were screening the gorge earlier,” said Kinlan. “So they’ll outnumber us two to one,” “That shouldn’t stop us, not with our speed and firepower. But you are right about the Gurkhas. Tell Gondar to just screen that flank with his infantry companies. Then let’s put in the main attack as planned, I doubt if the Germans have guns on that high ground yet. But get word out to expect the main line of resistance much farther south, and make sure the Bravehearts know of these positions before we start that artillery barrage.”

It was a reasonable assessment given the information available, but what Gondar’s men had not seen in the misty morning, was the two battalions of German tanks consolidating behind the German lines in tactical reserve, or the battalion of Pioneers that had come in to join with the remnant of the recon battalion. Those troops were beyond another ridge, the thumb of high ground Gondar was tasked with sweeping earlier. But it was clear he could not get anywhere near that position in two hours-not with a couple battalions of German mountain troops to his front and flank.

Kinlan’s three battalion force was not outnumbered two to one, but more like three to one in the Bekaa Valley east of the Litani, and the mountain troops were not those of the single two battalion regiment that had been screening the gorge earlier. Those troops had been moved west of the Litani to join the rest of the division arriving from Beirut. Instead the whole two regiments of the 6th Mountain Division had come down from Tripoli! The Gurkhas would actually be outnumbered six to one.

The British did not entirely know it at that moment, but after the fall of Damascus, the drama of Fedorov’s thrust to Palmyra, and Kinlan’s lightning breakthrough in the center to approach Rayak, the enemy defenses were stiffening in every sector now. The British were encountering strong resistance in Dier ez Zour, Palmyra, along the coast near Damour and now the center looked to be steeling up with Panzer troops. The scent of a stalemate was wafting on the ‘an’s and ifs,’ and it was going to take a strong whiff of bravery to break through and prevail.