“That isn’t important now,” said Fedorov. “But what is important is that your unit here is going to eventually be discovered. You had orders to withdraw to Mersa Matruh? Thankfully that was still in British hands when we left yesterday, though it may not be theirs for very much longer. Now it’s time I gave you a good briefing. Gibraltar was attacked last September, and the Germans have closed the entire Western Mediterranean. All traffic to Egypt now has to go by way of Capetown, and that’s the least of it. To take Gibraltar the Germans persuaded Spain to join the Axis, and the Vichy French have followed suit. That means all of North Africa, from Casablanca all the way to Tobruk, is now Axis controlled territory. The British still have Tobruk itself, or they did yesterday, but Rommel is here early, and he’s doing what he did so well before-raising hell. We’ve saved O’Connor, which may be a real plus, but for now the British are overmatched. The Germans have already sent the 15th Panzer Division to reinforce Rommel’s 5th Light Division and, after recent operations, the British have nothing in the way of mobile armor left.”
“You say they still have Tobruk?”
“Correct, and I spoke to Wavell about that personally. The 6th Australian Division is there, but the rest of the army has fallen back on Bardia and Sollum. That’s a strong position, a natural castle in the desert. The escarpment there means Rommel will have to go some 80 kilometers further east if he wants to outflank that position.”
“How is it you have Wavell’s ear, Captain, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Because we matter, General. That’s the simplest way to put it. You know what my ship is capable of, and we’re about to take off the gloves here and get serious.”
“You’re an active combatant?”
Fedorov did not want to go into any of the events that preceded their arrival to 1940-or to hint in any way that they once were actively combating the British! He had to get to the heart of the matter here, and get Kinlan to see that he mattered as well-that his force could be decisive here.
“Yes, we fight for the British. We have helped them secure the Iceland gap against German raiders, and intervened on more than one occasion to support their operations. Up until now, my Admiral has been reluctant to fully engage, but events have taken a real turn for the worse in this war, and so now we fight. We are prepared to use the full power of our ship and crew to try and reverse the setbacks lately suffered by the British. If we do not, and Egypt falls to Rommel, then it will be more difficult than ever to prevent a German victory in this war.”
“I seem to recall that you Russians had a good deal to do with stopping Hitler.”
“True, but my homeland is no longer whole. The Soviet Union, as it was once known, exists only in part now. The country has fragmented into three warring states. We think we know how this has happened, but the implications are staggering. It took all these states, strongly unified under Stalin, to stave off the German invasion that may happen later this year. Without a unified Soviet state, I fear that the West has little prospect for victory. Remember, it is January of 1941, and the Americans are not in this yet.”
“He says the Yanks aren’t in it yet,” said Popski. “So it’s a nice private little fight for us now, just like my PPA-that’s Popski’s Private Army. Got that right from Hackett, if you know the man.”
“So you see, General,” said Fedorov, “What we can do at sea in the Mediterranean, you can do here in the desert. How was it Lawrence put it when he was trying to enlist Arab support with Feisal? The desert is a sea in which no oar is dipped, and on this sea you can go where you please, and strike where you please, and this is what you must do now.”
Kinlan’s eyes narrowed. In the face of this whole impossible day, he at last had his hand on something solid. Here I was, he thought, about to preside over a withdrawal on the brink of World War III, and worried about how I could save these men here. Now I’ve gone and landed in the last war instead if this crazy talk holds. But if that is so… If I am here, with the 7th Brigade at my command, well then it is exactly as this man puts it-I matter here, we matter a very great deal. I can do exactly what I told Sims, and I can kick Rommel’s behind any time I choose.
Wavell had been hopping mad. He had no idea who he was talking to, and wanted to speak with O’Connor straight away. I had to feign a communications lapse to get out of that one, and I still have this O’Connor fellow on ice in the other FV432. I know it sounds crazy, but something tells me I haven’t heard the last from this Wavell, and that O’Connor is going to want to get right back in the saddle as soon as he can. That thought brought a question.
“O’Connor… Does he know all this?”
“No sir,” said Fedorov, “he has not been briefed either. The only other man in theater that is fully briefed is Admiral John Tovey.”
