8

September Tensions

Climax of the Air Battle — Intense Strain upon the Fighter Pilots — Evidences of the Impending Invasion — Disappointing Bombing on Concentrations of Barges — Britain Braced — Munitions Policy — My General Directive — A Survey of 1941 Requirements in Material — An Eight Months’ Programme — My October Note on Priorities — Laggards — Climax at Home and in Egypt — The Perils of Fog — Need for De Wilde Ammunition — Achievements of the Ministry of Aircraft Production — Policy of Creating Commandos Enforced — Advance of Marshal Graziani’s Army, September 13 — Their Halt at Sidi Barrani — Arrival of the Armoured Brigade in Egypt — Parlous Conditions at Malta — Troubles that Never Happened.

SEPTEMBER, like June, was a month of extreme opposing stresses for those who bore the responsibility for British war direction. The air battle, already described, on which all depended, raged with its greatest fury and rose steadily to its climax. The victory of the Royal Air Force on September 15 is seen now in retrospect to have marked its decisive turning-point. But this was not apparent at the time, nor could we tell whether even heavier attacks were not to be expected or how long they would go on. The fine weather facilitated daylight fighting on the largest scale. Hitherto we had welcomed this, but when I visited Air Vice-Marshal Park at Number 11 Group in the third week of September I noticed a slight but definite change in outlook. I asked about the weather, and was told it was set fair for some days to come. This, however, did not seem to be as popular a prospect as it had been at the beginning of the month. I had the distinct feeling that a break in the weather would no longer be regarded as a misfortune.

It happened while I was there in Park’s room with several officers that an officer brought in a notification from the Air Ministry that all supplies of De Wilde ammunition were exhausted. This was the favourite of the fighter pilots. The factory on which it depended had been bombed. I saw that this hit Park hard; but after a gulp and a pause he replied magnificently: “We fought them without it before, and we can fight them without it again.”

In my talks with Air Marshal Dowding, who usually motored over from Uxbridge to Chequers during the week-ends, the sense of Fighter Command being at its utmost strain was evident. The weekly figures over which I pored showed we had adequate numbers, provided the weight of the hostile attack did not increase. But the physical and mental stresses upon the pilots were not reflected on the paper charts. For all their sublime devotion, often facing odds of five and six to one, for all the sense of superiority which their continued success and the enemy’s heavy losses created, there are limits to human endurance. There is such a thing as sheer exhaustion, both of the spirit and the animal. I thought of Wellington’s mood in the afternoon of the Battle of Waterloo: “Would God that night or Bluecher would come.” This time we did not want Bluecher.

Meanwhile, all the evidences of impending German invasion multiplied. Upwards of three thousand self-propelled barges were counted on our air photographs in the Dutch, Belgian, and French ports and river mouths. We could not tell exactly what reserves of larger vessels might not be gathered in the Rhine estuary, or in the Baltic, from which the Kiel Canal was still open. In my examination of the invasion problem I have set forth the reasoning on which I based my confidence that we should beat them if they came, and consequently that they would not come, and continued to contemplate the issue with a steady gaze. All the same it was impossible to watch these growing preparations, week after week, in the photographs and reports of agents, without a sense of awe. A thing like this gets hold of you bit by bit. The terrible enemy would not come unless he had solid assurance of victory and plans made with German thoroughness. Might there not also be surprises? Might there be tank-landing craft or some clever improvisation of them? What else might there not be? All our night-bombing was concentrated on the invasion ports, where every night German rehearsal exercises of marching on and off the barges and other vessels seemed to be taking place. The results of our bombing of the masses of barges which crowded the basins or lay along the quays, judged by the photographs, had several times disappointed me.

Prime Minister to Secretary of State for Air.

23.IX.40.

What struck me about these photographs was the apparent inability of the bombers to hit these very large masses of barges. I should have thought that sticks of explosive bombs thrown along these oblongs would have wrought havoc, and it is very disappointing to see that they all remained intact and in order, with just a few apparently damaged at the entrance.

Can nothing be done to improve matters?

As already mentioned, the Chiefs of Staff were on the whole of the opinion that invasion was imminent, while I was sceptical and expressed a contrary view. Nevertheless, it was impossible to quell that inward excitement which comes from the prolonged balancing of terrible things. Certainly we strained every nerve to be ready. Nothing was neglected that could be achieved by the care and ingenuity of our commanders, the vigilance of our now large and formidable armies, and the unquenchable and fearless spirit of our whole people.

* * * * *

The whole of our war production and its priorities now required to be reviewed in the light of our exclusion from the Continent. In this I worked in consultation with the Minister of Supply and others concerned. At the beginning of this month, after much labour in my small circle, and careful checking, I prepared for the Cabinet a general directive upon munitions, which was intended to govern our affairs in 1941.

THE MUNITIONS SITUATION

MEMORANDUM BY THE PRIME MINISTER

September 3, 1940.

1. The Navy can lose us the war, but only the Air Force can win it. Therefore, our supreme effort must be to gain overwhelming mastery in the air. The Fighters are our salvation, but the Bombers alone provide the means of victory. We must, therefore, develop the power to carry an ever-increasing volume of explosives to Germany, so as to pulverise the entire industry and scientific structure on which the war effort and economic life of the enemy depend, while holding him at arm’s length from our island. In no other way at present visible can we hope to overcome the immense military power of Germany, and to nullify the further German victories which may be apprehended as the weight of their force is brought to bear upon African or Oriental theatres. The Air Force and its action on the largest scale must, therefore, subject to what is said later, claim the first place over the Navy or the Army.

2. The weapon of blockade has become blunted, and rendered, as far as Germany is concerned, less effectual, on account of their land conquests and power to rob captive or intimidated peoples for their own benefit. There remain no very important special commodities the denial of which will hamper their war effort. The Navy is at present somewhat pressed in its task of keeping open the communications, but as this condition is removed by new Admiralty measures, by the arrival of the American destroyers, and by the increasing output of anti-U-boat craft from our own yards, we may expect a marked improvement. It is of the utmost importance that the Admiralty should direct their attention to aggressive schemes of war, and to the bombardment of enemy or enemy-held coasts, particularly in the Mediterranean. The production of anti-U-boat craft must proceed at the maximum until further orders, each slip being filled as it is vacated. The Naval Programme does not impinge markedly upon the Air, and should cede some of its armour-plate to tank production.

3. The decision to raise the Army to a strength of fifty-five divisions as rapidly as possible does not seem to require any reconsideration. Within this, we should aim at ten armoured divisions, five by the spring, seven by the summer, and ten by the end of 1941. The execution of these programmes of armament supply will tax our munitions factories to the full. I agree in principle with the proposals of the Minister of Supply [Mr. Herbert Morrison] for handling the ammunition supply problem, and also that firings on the 1917/18 scale are not to be expected in the present war.

4. Intense efforts must be made to complete the equipment of our Army at home and of our Army in the Middle East. The most serious weak points are tanks and small-arms ammunition, particularly the special types; anti-tank guns and rifles, and even more their ammunition; trench mortars, and still more their ammunition; and rifles. We hope to obtain an additional two hundred and fifty thousand rifles from the United States, but it is lamentable that we should be told that no more than half a million additional rifles can be manufactured here before the end of 1941. Surely, as large numbers of our Regular Army proceed abroad, the need of the Home Guard and of garrison troops for home defence on a far larger scale than at present will be felt. A substantial increase in rifle-making capacity is necessary.

5. The danger of invasion will not disappear with the coming of winter, and may confront us with novel possibilities in the coming year. The enemy’s need to strike down this country will naturally increase as the war progresses, and all kinds of appliances for crossing the seas that do not now exist may be devised. Actual invasion must be regarded as perpetually threatened, but unlikely to materialise as long as strong forces stand in this island. Apart from this, the only major theatre of war which can be foreseen in 1940/41 is the Middle East. Here we must endeavour to bring into action British, Australasian, and Indian forces, on a scale which should only be limited by sea transport and local maintenance. We must expect to fight in Egypt and the Soudan, in Turkey, Syria, or Palestine, and possibly in Iraq and Persia. Fifteen British divisions, six Australasian, and at least six Indian divisions should be prepared for these theatres, these forces not being, however, additional to the fifty-five divisions which have been mentioned. One would not imagine that the ammunition expenditure would approach the last-war scale. Air power and mechanised troops will be the dominant factors.

6 There remain the possibilities of amphibious aggressive warfare against the enemy or enemy-held territory in Europe or North Africa. But the needs of such operations will be provided by the arms and supplies already mentioned in general terms.

7. Our task, as the Minister of Supply rightly reminds us, is indeed formidable when the gigantic scale of German military and aviation equipment is considered. This war is not, however, a war of masses of men hurling masses of shells at each other. It is by devising new weapons, and above all by scientific leadership, that we shall best cope with the enemy’s superior strength. If, for instance, the series of inventions now being developed to find and hit enemy aircraft, both from the air and from the ground, irrespective of visibility, realise what is hoped from them, not only the strategic but the munitions situation would be profoundly altered. And if the U.P. [unrotated projectiles] weapon can be provided with ammunition, predictors, and other aids which realise an accuracy of hitting three or four times as great as that which now exists, the ground will have taken a long step towards the re-conquest of the air. The Navy will regain much of its old freedom of movement and power to take offensive action. And the Army will be able to land at many points without the risk of being “Namsossed.” ¹ We must, therefore, regard the whole sphere of R.D.F. [Radar], with its many refinements and measureless possibilities, as ranking in priority with the Air Force, of which it is in fact an essential part. The multiplication of the high-class scientific personnel, as well as the training of those who will handle the new weapons and research work connected with them, should be the very spearpoint of our thought and effort. Very great reliefs may be expected in anti-aircraft guns and ammunition, although it is at present too soon to alter present plans.

8. Apart from a large-scale invasion, which is unlikely, there is no prospect of any large expenditure or wastage of military munitions before the spring of 1941. Although heavy and decisive fighting may develop at any time in the Middle East, the difficulties of transport, both of reinforcements and of supplies, will restrict numbers and expenditure. We have, therefore, before us, if not interrupted, a period of eight months in which to make an enormous improvement in our output of warlike equipment, and in which steady and rapid accumulations may be hoped for. It is upon this purpose that all our resources of credit, materials, and above all of skilled labour, must be bent.

This policy was generally accepted by my colleagues, and the action of all Departments conformed to it.

* * * * *

I found it necessary in October to add a further note about Priorities, which were a source of fierce contention between the different Departments, each striving to do its utmost.

PRIORITIES

NOTE BY THE PRIME MINISTER

October 15, 1940.

The very highest priority in personnel and material should be assigned to what may be called the Radio sphere. This demands scientists, wireless experts, and many classes of highly skilled labour and high-grade material. On the progress made, much of the winning of the war and our future strategy, especially Naval, depends. We must impart a far greater accuracy to the A.A. guns, and a far better protection to our warships and harbours. Not only research and experiments, but production, must be pushed hopefully forward from many directions, and after repeated disappointments we shall achieve success.

2. The IA priority must remain with aircraft production, for the purpose of executing approved target programmes. It must be an obligation upon them to contrive by every conceivable means not to let this priority be abused and needlessly hamper other vital departments. For this purpose they should specify their requirements in labour and material beforehand quarter by quarter, or, if practicable, month by month, and make all surplus available for others immediately. The priority is not to be exercised in the sense that aircraft production is completely to monopolise the supplies of any limited commodity. Where the condition prevails that the approved M.A.P. demands absorb the total supply, a special allocation must be made, even at prejudice to aircraft production, to provide the minimum essential needs of other departments or branches. This allocation, if not agreed, will be decided on the Cabinet level.

3. At present we are aiming at five armoured divisions, and armoured brigades equivalent to three more. This is not enough. We cannot hope to compete with the enemy in numbers of men, and must therefore rely upon an exceptional proportion of armoured fighting vehicles. Ten armoured divisions is the target to aim for to the end of 1941. For this purpose the Army must searchingly review their demands for mechanised transport, and large purchases of M.T. must be made in the United States. The home Army, working in this small island with highly developed communications of all kinds, cannot enjoy the same scale of transport which divisions on foreign service require. Improvisation and makeshift must be their guides. A staff officer renders no service to the country who aims at ideal standards, and thereafter simply adds and multiplies until impossible totals are reached. A report should be furnished of mechanical transport, first, second, and third line of British divisions –

(1) For foreign service,

(2) For home service,

(3) For troops on the beaches.

Any attempt to make heavy weather out of this problem is a failure to aid us in our need.

Wherever possible in England, horse transport should be used to supplement M.T. We improvidently sold a great many of our horses to the Germans, but there are still a good many in Ireland.

4. Special aid and occasional temporary priorities must be given to the laggard elements. Among these stand out the following:

(1) Rifles.

(2) Small-arms ammunition – above all the special types.

Intense efforts must be made to bring the new factories into production. The fact that scarcely any improvement is now expected until the end of the year – i.e., sixteen months after the outbreak of war – is grave. Twelve months should suffice for a cartridge factory. We have been mercifully spared from the worst consequences of this failure through the armies not being in action as was anticipated.

Trench mortar ammunition and A. T. gun ammunition are also in a shocking plight, and must be helped.

All these laggards must be the subject of weekly reports to the Production Council and to me.

5. The Navy must exercise its existing priorities in respect of small craft and anti-U-boat building. This applies also to merchant shipbuilding, and to craft for landing operations. Delay must be accepted upon all larger vessels that cannot finish in 1941. Plans must be made to go forward with all processes and parts which do not clash with prior needs. The utmost possible steel and armour-plate must be ordered in America.

By the middle of September the invasion menace seemed sufficiently glaring to arrest further movement of vital units to the East, especially as they had to go round the Cape. After a visit to the Dover sector, where the electric atmosphere was compulsive, I suspended for a few weeks the despatch of the New Zealanders and the remaining two tank battalions to the Middle East. At the same time I kept our three fast transports, “the Glen [Line] ships” as they were called, in hand for an emergency dash through the Mediterranean.

Prime Minister to General Ismay, for the Chiefs of Staff Committee.

17.IX.40

In all the circumstances it would be impossible to withdraw the New Zealand Brigade from their forward position on the Dover promontory. The two cruiser-tank battalions cannot go. Would it not be better to keep the Australians back and delay the whole convoy until the third week in October? After all, none of these forces going round the Cape can possibly arrive in time to influence the impending battle in Egypt. But they may play a big part here. Perhaps by the third week in October the Admiralty will be prepared to run greater risks. Anyhow, we cannot afford to make sure that the New Zealanders and the tank battalions are out of action throughout October in either theatre.

Prime Minister to General Ismay.

19.IX.40.

Be careful that the Glen ships are not got out of the way so that it will be impossible to take the armoured reinforcements through the Mediterranean if the need is sufficient to justify the risk. I don’t want to be told there are no suitable vessels available.

Let me know what other ships would be available if we should decide to run a convoy from west to east through the Mediterranean about the third week in October.

Although it was a fine September, I was frightened of fog.

Prime Minister to Colonel Jacob.

16.IX.40.

Pray send a copy of this report by First Sea Lord [about invasion in fog] to the Chiefs of the Staff for C.-in-C. Home Forces, adding: “I consider that fog is the gravest danger, as it throws both air forces out of action, baffles our artillery, prevents organised naval attack, and specially favours the infiltration tactics by which the enemy will most probably seek to secure his lodgments. Should conditions of fog prevail, the strongest possible air barrage must be put down upon the invasion ports during the night and early morning. I should be glad to be advised of the proposed naval action by our flotillas, both in darkness and at dawn: (a) if the fog lies more on the English than the French side of the Channel; (b)if it is uniform on both sides.

“Are we proposing to use radio aids to navigation?

“Prolonged conditions of stand-by under frequent air bombardment will be exhausting to the enemy. Nonetheless, fog is our foe.”

In spite of all the danger it was important not to wear the men out.

Prime Minister to General Ismay.

18.IX.40.

Inquire from the C.O.S. Committee whether in view of the rough weather Alert Number 1 might not be discreetly relaxed to the next grade.

Report to me.

Prime Minister to General Ismay.

18.IX.40.

Make inquiries whether there is no way in which a sheet of flaming oil can be spread over one or more of the invasion harbours. This is no more than the old fire-ship story, with modern improvements, that was tried at Dunkirk in the days of the Armada. The Admiralty can surely think of something.

Prime Minister to Minister of Supply.

18.IX.40.

The De Wilde ammunition is of extreme importance. At Number 11 Group the bombing of its factory was evidently considered a great blow. I can quite understand the output dropping to 38,000 rounds in the week while you are moving from Woolwich and getting reinstated, but I trust it will revive again. Pray let me know your future forecast for the next four weeks. If there is revival in prospect, we might perhaps draw a little upon our reserve.

Prime Minister to Minister of Supply.

25.IX.40.

I must show you the comments made upon the latest returns of small-arms ammunition by my Statistical Department. They cause me the greatest anxiety. In particular the De Wilde ammunition, which is the most valuable, is the most smitten. It seems to me that a most tremendous effort must be made, not only on the whole field of Marks 7 and 8, but on De Wilde and armour-piercing. I am well aware of your difficulties. Will you let me know if there is any way in which I can help you to overcome them?

The reader must pardon this next Minute.

Prime Minister to First Lord.

18.IX.40.

Surely you can run to a new Admiralty flag. It grieves me to see the present dingy object every morning.

* * * * *

I was relieved by the results produced by the new Ministry of Aircraft Production.

Prime Minister to Lord Beaverbrook.

21.IX.40.

The figures you gave me of the improvement in operational types between May 10 and August 30 are magnificent. If similar figures could be prepared down to September 30, which is not far off, I should prefer to read them to the Cabinet rather than circulate them. If, however, the September figures cannot be got until late in October, I will read [what I now have] to the Cabinet.

The country is your debtor, and of your Ministry.

Prime Minister to Lord Beaverbrook.

25.IX.40.

These wonderful results, achieved under circumstances of increasing difficulty, make it necessary for me to ask you to convey to your Department the warmest thanks and congratulations from His Majesty’s Government.

* * * * *

Throughout the summer and autumn I wished to help the Secretary of State for War in his conflict with War Office and Army prejudices about the commandos, or storm troops.

Prime Minister to Secretary of State for War.

25.VIII.40.

I have been thinking over our very informal talk the other night, and am moved to write to you because I hear that the whole position of the commandos is being questioned. They have been told “no more recruiting” and that their future is in the melting-pot. I thought, therefore, I might write to let you know how strongly I feel that the Germans have been right, both in the last war and in this, in the use they have made of storm troops. In 1918, the infiltrations which were so deadly to us were by storm troops, and the final defence of Germany in the last four months of 1918 rested mainly upon brilliantly posted and valiantly fought machine-gun nests. In this war all these factors are multiplied. The defeat of France was accomplished by an incredibly small number of highly equipped élite, while the dull mass of the German Army came on behind, made good the conquest and occupied it. If we are to have any campaign in 1941, it must be amphibious in its character, and there will certainly be many opportunities for minor operations, all of which will depend on surprise landings of lightly equipped, nimble forces accustomed to work like packs of hounds instead of being moved about in the ponderous manner which is appropriate to the regular formations. These have become so elaborate, so complicated in their equipment, so vast in their transport, that it is very difficult to use them in any operations in which time is vital.

For every reason, therefore, we must develop the storm troop or commando idea. I have asked for five thousand parachutists, and we must also have at least ten thousand of these small “bands of brothers” who will be capable of lightning action. In this way alone will those positions be secured which afterwards will give the opportunity for highly trained Regular troops to operate on a larger scale.

I hope, therefore, that you will let me have an opportunity of discussing this with you before any action is taken to reverse the policy hitherto adopted or to throw into uncertainty all the volunteers who have been gathered together.

The resistances of the War Office were obstinate, and increased as the professional ladder was descended. The idea that large bands of favoured “irregulars,” with their unconventional attire and free-and-easy bearing, should throw an implied slur on the efficiency and courage of the Regular battalions was odious to men who had given all their lives to the organised discipline of permanent units. The colonels of many of our finest regiments were aggrieved. “What is there they can do that my battalion cannot? This plan robs the whole Army of its prestige and of its finest men. We never had it in 1918. Why now?” It was easy to understand these feelings without sharing them. The War Office responded to their complaints. But I pressed hard.

* * * * *

Prime Minister to Secretary of State for War.

8.IX.40.

You told me that you were in entire agreement with the views I put forward about the special companies, and ending the uncertainty in which they were placed. Unhappily, nothing has happened so far of which the troops are aware. They do not know they are not under sentence of disbandment. All recruiting has been stopped, although there is a waiting list, and they are not even allowed to call up the men who want to join and have been vetted and approved. Although these companies comprise many of the best and most highly trained of our personnel, they are at present only armed with rifles, which seems a shocking waste should they be thrown into the invasion melee. I hope that you will make sure that when you give an order it is obeyed with promptness. Perhaps you could explain to me what has happened to prevent your decision from being made effective. In my experience of Service Departments, which is a long one, there is always a danger that anything contrary to Service prejudices will be obstructed and delayed by officers of the second grade in the machine. The way to deal with this is to make signal examples of one or two. When this becomes known you get a better service afterwards.

Perhaps you will tell me about this if you can dine with me tonight.

Prime Minister to Secretary of State for War (Mr. Eden).

21.IX.40

.I am not happy about the equipment position of the commandos. It is a waste of this fine material to leave them without sufficient equipment for training purposes, much less for operations.

Pray let me have a statement showing:

1. What equipment has already been issued to the various commandos.

2. What is the output scale of equipment which these units are to have.

3. What can be issued to them immediately for training purposes.

I should like to have a return each week showing the precise position as regards the equipment of the various Commandos.

* * * * *

Prime Minister to C.-in-C. Home Forces. (Sir Alan Brooke).

21.IX.40

We often hear tales of how the Germans will invade on an enormous front, trying to throw, say, a quarter of a million men ashore anyhow, and trusting afterwards to exploit lodgments which are promising. For an attack of this kind our beach defence system seems admirably devised. The difficulty of defending an island against overseas attack has always consisted in the power of the invader to concentrate a very superior force at one point or another. But if he is going to spread himself out very widely, the bulk of his forces, if they reach shore, will come up against equal or superior forces spread along the coast. It will be a case of one thin line against another. Whereas I can readily imagine a concentrated attack pressed forward with tremendous numbers succeeding against our thin line, I find it difficult to see what would be the good of his landing large numbers of small parties, none of which would be strong enough to break our well-organised shore defence. If he is going to lose, say, a hundred thousand in the passage, and another hundred and fifty thousand are to be brought up short at the beaches, the actual invasion would be rather an expensive process, and the enemy would have sustained enormous losses before we had even set our reserves in motion. If, therefore, there is anything in this alleged German plan, it seems to me it should give us considerable satisfaction. Far more dangerous would be the massed attack on a few particular selected points.

Perhaps you will talk to me about this when we next meet.

* * * * *

Our anxieties about the Italian invasion of Egypt were, it now appears, far surpassed by those of Marshal Graziani, who commanded it. Ciano notes in his diary:

August 8, 1940. Graziani has come to see me. He talks about the attack on Egypt as a very serious undertaking, and says that our present preparations are far from perfect. He attacks Badoglio, who does not check the Duce’s aggressive spirit – a fact which “for a man who knows Africa means that he must suffer from softening of the brain, or, what is worse, from bad faith. The water supply is entirely insufficient. We move toward a defeat which, in the desert, must inevitably develop into a rapid and total disaster.”

I reported this to the Duce, who was very much upset about it because in his last conversation with Graziani he had received the impression that the offensive would start in a few days. Graziani did not set any date with me. He would rather not attack at all, or, at any rate, not for two or three months. Mussolini concluded that “one should only give jobs to people who are looking for at least one promotion. Graziani’s only anxiety is to remain a Marshal.” ¹

A month later, the Commander-in-Chief asked for a further month’s postponement. Mussolini, however, replied that if he did not attack on Monday he would be replaced. The Marshal answered that he would obey. “Never,” says Ciano, “has a military operation been undertaken so much against the will of the commanders.”

On September 13, the main Italian army began its long-expected advance across the Egyptian frontier. Their forces amounted to six infantry divisions and eight battalions of tanks. Our covering troops consisted of three battalions of infantry, one battalion of tanks, three batteries and two squadrons of armoured cars. They were ordered to make a fighting withdrawal, an operation for which their quality and desert-worthiness fitted them. The Italian attack opened with a heavy barrage of our positions near the frontier town of Sollum. When the dust and smoke cleared, the Italian forces were seen ranged in a remarkable order. In front were motor-cyclists in precise formation from flank to flank and front to rear; behind them were light tanks and many rows of mechanical vehicles. In the words of a British colonel, the spectacle resembled “a birthday party in the Long Valley at Aldershot.” The 3d Cold-stream Guards, who confronted this imposing array, withdrew slowly, and our artillery took its toll of the generous targets presented to them.

Farther south two large enemy columns moved across the open desert south of the long ridge that runs parallel to the sea and could be crossed only at Halfaya – the “Hellfire Pass” which played its part in all our later battles. Each Italian column consisted of many hundreds of vehicles, with tanks, anti-tank guns, and artillery in front, and with lorried infantry in the centre. This formation, which was several times adopted, we called the “Hedgehog.” Our forces fell back before these great numbers, taking every opportunity to harass the enemy, whose movements seemed erratic and indecisive. Graziani afterwards explained that at the last moment he decided to change his plan of an enveloping desert movement and “concentrate all my forces on the left to make a lightning movement along the coast to Sidi Barrani.” Accordingly the great Italian mass moved slowly forward along the coast road by two parallel tracks. They attacked in waves of infantry carried in lorries, sent forward in fifties. The Coldstream Guards fell back skilfully at their convenience from Sollum to successive positions for four days, inflicting severe punishment as they went.

On the 17th, the Italian Army reached Sidi Barrani. Our casualties were forty killed and wounded, and the enemy’s about five times as many, including a hundred and fifty vehicles destroyed. Here, with their communications lengthened by sixty miles, the Italians settled down to spend the next three months. They were continually harassed by our small mobile columns, and suffered serious maintenance difficulties. Mussolini at first was “radiant with joy. He has taken the entire responsibility of the offensive on his shoulders,” says Ciano, “and is proud that he was right.” As the weeks lengthened into months, his satisfaction diminished. It seemed, however, certain to us in London that in two or three months an Italian army far larger than any we could gather would renew the advance to capture the Delta. And then there were always the Germans who might appear! We could not, of course, expect the long halt which followed Graziani’s advance. It was reasonable to suppose that a major battle would be fought at Mersa Matruh. The weeks that had already passed had enabled our precious armour to come round the Cape without the time-lag so far causing disadvantage. It was now approaching.

* * * * *

Prime Minister to Secretary of State for War.

14.IX.40.

I hope the armoured brigade will be in time. I have no doubt it could have been conducted safely through the Mediterranean, and the present danger that it will be too late averted. It must, however, be remembered that General Wavell himself joined in the declaration of the Commanders-in-Chief of the Navy, Army, and Air, that the situation in Egypt did not warrant the risk. It was this declaration that made it impossible for me to override the Admiralty objections, as I would otherwise have done.

(Action this day.) Prime Minister to Secretary of State for War. (General Ismay to see.)

19.IX.40.

The armoured reinforcements are now in the Gulf of Aden. We have been assured that, of course, General Wavell has made all arrangements to get them into action as quickly as possible. I hope this is so. I am sorry that someone like Lord Beaverbrook is not waiting on the quay to do the job of passing them to the fighting line. We must do the best we can. Has it been considered whether it would be better to carry these vehicles through the Canal to Alexandria and debark them there close to the front, or have special trains and railway cars, cranes, and other facilities been accumulated at Suez? Let the alternatives be examined here. Without waiting for this, let a telegram be drafted inquiring about the alternatives and the arrangements now made by General Wavell. Every day and even every hour counts in this matter.

All the time I had a fear for Malta, which seemed almost defenceless.

Prime Minister to General Ismay, for C.I.G.S.

21.IX.40.

This telegram [from Governor and C.-in-C. Malta] confirms my apprehensions about Malta. Beaches defended on an average battalion front of fifteen miles, and no reserves for counter-attack worth speaking of, leave the island at the mercy of a landing force. You must remember that we do not possess the command of the sea around Malta. The danger, therefore, appears to be extreme. I should have thought four battalions were needed, but, owing to the difficulty of moving transports from the west, we must be content with two for the moment. We must find two good ones. Apparently there is no insuperable difficulty in accommodation.

* * * * *

When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened. Certainly this is true of my life in September, 1940. The Germans were beaten in the Air Battle of Britain. The overseas invasion of Britain was not attempted. In fact, by this date Hitler had already turned his glare to the East. The Italians did not press their attack upon Egypt. The tank brigade sent all round the Cape arrived in good time, not indeed for a defensive battle of Mersa Matruh in September, but for a later operation incomparably more advantageous. We found means to reinforce Malta before any serious attack from the air was made upon it, and no one dared to try a landing upon the island fortress at any time. Thus September passed.