Three Kings

“Indeed,” said Wavell, shaking Fedorov’s hand as he was introduced. Then to Admiral Tovey he said: “General O’Connor was supposed to be joining us, flying in from Tobruk this morning. It appears he’s running late, so we may as well begin. Gentlemen, we have a good deal to sort out here. The wolves are on the move in the desert again, and they will soon be on our doorstep. I also regret to inform you that Malta is again under heavy air attack. Things are heating up. I must admit I did not expect the Germans to reinforce the Italians here in North Africa this quickly.”

Fedorov was not surprised to hear this news for he knew the Germans would intensify their air attacks against Malta. He also knew they had developed a plan to invade the island, though it was not until 1942 that this came anywhere close to fruition, and the operation had been cancelled.

Wavell continued his briefing. “I have ordered General O’Connor to withdraw to Tobruk, as there is no way we can hope to hold on to Cyrenaica with so many troops earmarked for Greece.”

Fedorov gave Admiral Volsky a sidelong glance, but Tovey spoke next.

“If I may, general, I have some information to convey from Bletchley Park.”

This was the plan that Fedorov had arranged. He had prepared intelligence on Rommel’s true intentions to try and demonstrate the real threat to Egypt. Now Tovey handed Wavell a thin report showing the planned German buildup in North Africa. It listed every unit that had been sent in the history Fedorov knew, 5th Light Division, later reinforced to become the 21st Panzer Division, the 15th Panzers, 90th Light, 164th Light and eventually 10th Panzer Division.

“My goodness,” said Wavell. “We knew about the plans to move their new 15th Panzer Division, but not these others. Five divisions?”

“BP isn’t sure of the timetable, but they believe these units will eventually form for service in North Africa given present intelligence. Some are new formations, others don’t exist yet. And as for this present action now underway, your intelligence characterizing Rommel’s move as being merely defensive in nature is mistaken. Bletchley Park now believes he intends to drive all the way to Alexandria, and may bloody well do so if we let him.”

Tovey was stretching the matter here, but he knew he could rely on the ingenuity of Alan Turing at BP to generate any intelligence required to make his assertions ring true. This had been the plan they agreed upon at their crucial Faeroes conference, that Fedorov would feed intelligence to BP through Turing as they all struggled to steer the unwieldy ship of war.

“I see…” Wavell folded his arms, obviously concerned, yet taking the news with calm professionalism. “And how certain is Bletchley Park on this? Haven’t they informed Mister Eden and the Prime Minister?”

“At the moment it seems Mister Churchill has politics in mind concerning any movement to support Greece, and not military matters,” said Tovey, “which brings us to the heart of this business. Our Russian friends here also have an intelligence arm, and good men on the ground throughout the Balkans. Here is the German plan to take Yugoslavia and Greece-OperationMarita — and they believe this information is quite sound.”

Now Cunningham’s face truly darkened. “My God,” he said. “This is certainly not a force we can hope to hold for very long.”

“Thirty six divisions in all, including reserves,” said Tovey, “and note the heavy concentration in armor, a full ten Panzer Divisions will be committed. In this light, you may wish to reconsider your present plans to reinforce Greece.”

Wavell scratched his head, clearly surprised by the intelligence, yet experienced enough to realize that was all it was, the best guess of a web like network of men, with information gleaned from brothels, bars, and hotels as much as through signals intelligence or any real reading of enemy plans and orders. Intelligence was a shadowy cloak and dagger world of whispers, rumors, and elaborate deceptions, so he took the information with a grain of salt, while giving it thoughtful consideration at the same time.

“I’ve scraped the bottom of the barrel as it stands,” he said. “If I send anything more to Greece there will be nothing but the sand and sky between Alexandria and this General Rommel.”

“You misunderstand me,” said Tovey. “I am a naval officer, General, but given this intelligence it would be my conclusion that any effort to reinforce Greece at all would be foolhardy.”