Three Kings

“Graziani, my Fuhrer.” It was Keitel who spoke now, standing beside Hitler on the other side of the table, eyeing the magazines with a deplorable look on his face, and giving Rommel an occasional glance, as if sizing the man up.

“Yes, well first they tell us they had no need of German troops in support of their invasion-can we call it that? Invasion? All they did was to cross the Egyptian frontier and set up defensive encampments. Now this man here, this General O’Connor, has raced in behind them and set them running for Tripoli. If he persists he will take Benghazi in short order, and after that, the way to Tripoli will be open, and the British would be fools not to take that prize.”

Hitler shook his head, obviously quite upset about these developments. “The Italians!” he fumed. “They are more trouble than they are worth. Volkov was correct! They sit with their navy in Taranto and La Spezia and do little with all those good ships they have. They have botched this offensive into Egypt, and instead of settling affairs there, they invade Greece! Now they want me to bail them out of the ditch they have dug in the desert, and I am inclined to let them sit there and stew for another month for their incompetent insolence. In fact, I would do so if not for this O’Connor. He moves too fast, moves with determination, and he has just beaten an Italian force three times his size, or so Keitel here tells me.”

“By our best estimates he was outnumbered nine divisions to three,” said Keitel, “if the British even had that many troops in the attack. Yet, as the Fuhrer states, the results cannot be argued with. We have learned he is pushing on from Tobruk, and may cut the Italians off here.” Now Keitel produced a map, placing it on the table and pointing a heavy finger at a spot on the African coast south of Benghazi. “BedaFomm,” he said. If he gets there first, Graziani’s troops will be trapped in Cyrenaica and invested.”

“So as much as I would like them to stew in their own mess,” said Hitler, “I must do something about this. The British must be kept out of Tripoli at all cost, and all of Tripolitania must be held. This is imperative if we are ever to make use of this desert to get at the British in Egypt. You are the man I have selected for the job.”

At this Rommel raised his chin, eyes bright with the glitter of anticipation. “I am honored, my Fuhrer.”

“Yes? Well I looked over that battle memoir you sent me on France, and I was quite impressed. Your division has been training for the invasion of England, and you have been making movies, eh? Well I have other work for you now-real work. We’ll make another show of things in the desert soon enough.”

“My Fuhrer, I will show this British General how 7th Panzer Division fights, if that is what you order.”

“I have no doubt that you will,” said Hitler. “But it will not be the 7th Panzer Division. We need them on the continent at the moment. Instead I am giving you another division. Keitel?”

“The 5th Light Division. HansFunck had it and thenGeneralmajorStreich, but we do not think either man is well suited to the task.”

“Funckis an aristocrat,” said Hitler, giving Keitel a sidelong glance. “Streichis no more than a regimental commander, his Knight’s Cross aside. I need a man like you, Rommel, someone who knows how to inspire the men under him. Everything I have seen and heard about you tells me that you are just the right man for this assignment, and so our new Afrika Korps will be yours.”

“A single division to start with,” said Keitel. “The 5th Light was just created, a bit of a patchwork quilt at the moment. We took 5th Panzer Regiment from the 3rd Panzer Division, and stitched in a motorized Panzerjager battalion, a little artillery, and some infantry, the 200th Schutzen Rifle Regiment with a pair of machinegun battalions. I have no doubt that you will know how to put them to good use.”

Rommel glowed under the praise, the smile coming easily now, and one of many more he would share with his wife Lucie in his letters home from North Africa in the months ahead. Now Keitel gave him a briefing, and outlined the plan the General Staff had in mind.

“This business in Gibraltar is all but concluded, we have moved an infantry division to Morocco to give the French a little backbone there. Now we need to stiffen up the Italians. With Gibraltar in hand and the French as active belligerents, we have thrown the British out of the Western Mediterranean. Yes, they beat us to the Atlantic Islands, but that is of little concern to us for the moment. They can have the Canary they have caught, but they may soon find that bird in hand is not worth the two in the bush we now see in Egypt. That is the real prize, Rommel. Egypt and the Suez Canal.”