Three Kings

“In this we find agreement,” saidHalder. “This must be our principle operation of the war. If we do make such a move it will encircle the British in the Middle East. Once we have Turkey, then we can move right in to secure Iran and Iraq to link up with the Vichy French in Syria. That takes us right to the doorstep of the Suez from the east.”

“True,” said Keitel. “The eastern offensive is an essential part of our overall war aims. That said, the attack against Russia should be limited to this southern axis, and not aimed at Moscow or Leningrad. Yet that will not be possible for six months to a year. In the meantime what do we do, sit on our duff and twiddle our thumbs? Do we wait for Mussolini to make another bungling attack somewhere for us to rescue him as we have in North Africa and Greece?”

Haldertook a long breath, his eyes on the map again. He knew in his gut that Keitel was correct. Malta should be taken-Crete as well. And he knew that unless they decided on one course or another, the matter would eventually end up in Hitler’s lap. Once there, the General Staff might lose control. If Hitler decided on some cockamamie strategy, they would be forced to take the war in that direction, even if it led them into a thicket. Yet, if they decided things now… If they presented a united front to Hitler and kept a firm hand on the tiller, then they might very well end this war in another long year.

“You are aware of Mussolini’s views regarding Malta,” he said, coming back to the matter of their discussion. “He believes his air force can finish the British with no intervention by ground troops.”

“That is a self-serving opinion,” said Keitel. “The man has no assault shipping worth mentioning, and no real trained paratroopers to do the job. Look, Halder. We cannot expect the Italians to do anything in this war. We had to bail them out of trouble in Greece, and now North Africa. Look what happened to them in Somalia! That said, we have already committed troops to the desert, the western approach to Suez. You have approved the schedule of divisions for that operation, and we have the Fuhrer’s approval as well. If we do this, then we must have Malta.” Keitel laid his finger heavily on the map, fingering the tiny island. “We simply must have it, and we should take it now. There is no more than a single Brigade there, and local militias. This message we have received of late from Ivan Volkov has given us the entire British order of battle there, right down to battalion level, and it urges us to do exactly as I now advise-take Malta. We must decide this, Halder. Crete? Yes, in good time. But insofar as Malta is concerned, the time is now. It will be a perfect preliminary operation for Student, and the lessons learned will aid us in the planning for your operation against Crete.”

“The Italians already have such a plan,” saidHalder. “They are calling it Operation C3.”

“Yes? Well if we leave things to them you know how they’ll turn out. No. This must be a German plan, and an operation principally undertaken by German forces.”

“We will need the Fuhrer’s approval, and he will need to speak with Mussolini first. Then we must do the staff work.”

“I have already done that,” said Keitel quickly.

“You, Keitel? You mean to say this is why you have been locked up in the back rooms of OKW withJodl and Raeder?”

“Correct,” said Keitel. “So there you have it. I have been talking to Raeder, and now that we have Gibraltar, with two good battleships at Brest and Saint Nazaire, Raeder has been keen to put them to good use.”

“Whatever for? Is he planning another sortie into the Atlantic? Those battleships are a nuisance, Keitel. They had a little luck with that convoy when they broke out, but mark my words-it will be Doenitz and his U-boats that will make the difference in the Atlantic.”

“But Hindenburg and Bismarck would make quite a difference in the Mediterranean…” Keitel let that dangle for a moment, andHalder gave it some considerable thought before he spoke.

“Raeder wants to do this?”

“He does, and he is of the opinion that we can now decide the issue of naval supremacy in the Mediterranean once and for all. The front door is shut tight and barricaded at Gibraltar. Now the British have to sail 12,000 miles around the Cape of Good Hope to reinforce their Eastern Mediterranean squadrons under Admiral Cunningham. So I discussed this with Raeder in light of this Malta business. He believes that, with the French Fleet at Toulon, the Italians at Taranto, and a little backbone with the arrival of Hindenburg and Bismarck, we will have what it takes to neutralize the one foil the British still have-the Royal Navy. If he leaves those ships in the French Atlantic ports the British will be bombing them night and day. They attacked again last night.”

Halderpursed his lips, his eyes narrowed with thought. “Jodlagrees?”