Post by Diarist on Jul 21, 2017 8:31:39 GMT 1
Before General Weir arrived I had some time to talk to Thomas in Arabic, I need the practice. With him was Captain Said Al-Khouri the former Libyan major I had worked with in Tobruk.
"I'm glad that you followed my suggestion to contact SOE here in Alexandria. Welcome to the British Army."
"He brought over a hundred people with him complete with families so Orde made Said their company commander. We don't have a name for it yet."
"May I suggest something with 'volunteers' in it?"
Thomas mentioned that a couple of aircraft with advanced elements of 'C' Company were already here and the remainder would be arriving today and tomorrow.
"They are replacing 'A' Company that went to Palestine and are intended for Middle East operations. The RAF Squadron will remain in theatre too. We don't have much use for standby units in Europe at the moment."
"General Weir is here, Bob."
"Thanks, Thomas." I stood up only to see that the general was already walking to our table."
"Good morning, Sir Robert. May we join you? This is Cliff Morton, my Chief of Intelligence. I presumed you would want to chat with him."
"You read my mind, General. Good morning." I introduced the other two and they were welcome to stay. "In addition to my MoD duties King Edward made me Operations Officer for the Royal Parachute Regiment. He thought he was being clever so I picked up his telephone and ordered one of the companies here to the Middle East. When he asked what that was all about I told him to ask Winston because SOE is not part of the War Office."
"What exactly does SOE do?" Colonel Morton asked.
"They are a top secret cooking club because they cook up all kinds of crazy ideas and that's all I'm saying. This is just a courtesy call, General Weir. I'm on my way to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and hope to extend the uneasy truce between Jewish and Arab militants."
"Is the situation in Syria threatening to spread into Palestine?"
"I hope not. I'm more worried about a raid against an Arab terrorist group in Galilea at the weekend. That might be the spark that ignites the powder keg. I haven't heard any details yet but I must presume it was a necessary raid. Any problems in Egypt, Colonel?"
"No. In fact it is surprisingly quiet. After the Egyptians seized the Giza university and placed a strong military presence there it has been peaceful. I believe that you suggested that."
"Actually it was just a comment but I'm glad the Egyptian military were amused and took the initiative."
"There are a lot of troop movements in the Sinai. Is anything planned?" General Weir asked.
"No. It just a show of force. The 51st Highland Division is on its way home and is visiting the Holy Land before leaving. They may want to visit Damascus while they are in the vicinity. Who knows?"
"Completely understandable. Changing the subject, Hitler's downfall was a huge surprise here. Was that the case in London too?"
"No, it wasn't although the early move did surprise us. We were expecting it to occur after the Olympic Games. The French had already agreed to respond to a German move and fortunately they had forces which were ready to move at a moments notice. That took the Germans by surprise and the Wehrmacht terminated the NSDAP government for getting Germany into a new war with its neighbours."
"So now we are on good terms with the new German government?"
"Yes, we are and I'm optimistic about a non-aggression pact between Britain, France and Germany. We haven't really recovered from the last war so I'm hoping we can rid western Europe of further devastation. I wish the situation were so optimistic in eastern Europe."
"The Soviets are no better than the Nazis," Colonel Morton commented.
"No. They want Bessarabia, the Baltic states and Poland back as well as a piece of Finland. Fortunately none of that is my problem. Thanks for your time, gentlemen but I have an aircraft waiting."
"Good luck in Palestine, Sir Robert."
"Thank you. Good day."
"I'm glad that you followed my suggestion to contact SOE here in Alexandria. Welcome to the British Army."
"He brought over a hundred people with him complete with families so Orde made Said their company commander. We don't have a name for it yet."
"May I suggest something with 'volunteers' in it?"
Thomas mentioned that a couple of aircraft with advanced elements of 'C' Company were already here and the remainder would be arriving today and tomorrow.
"They are replacing 'A' Company that went to Palestine and are intended for Middle East operations. The RAF Squadron will remain in theatre too. We don't have much use for standby units in Europe at the moment."
"General Weir is here, Bob."
"Thanks, Thomas." I stood up only to see that the general was already walking to our table."
"Good morning, Sir Robert. May we join you? This is Cliff Morton, my Chief of Intelligence. I presumed you would want to chat with him."
"You read my mind, General. Good morning." I introduced the other two and they were welcome to stay. "In addition to my MoD duties King Edward made me Operations Officer for the Royal Parachute Regiment. He thought he was being clever so I picked up his telephone and ordered one of the companies here to the Middle East. When he asked what that was all about I told him to ask Winston because SOE is not part of the War Office."
"What exactly does SOE do?" Colonel Morton asked.
"They are a top secret cooking club because they cook up all kinds of crazy ideas and that's all I'm saying. This is just a courtesy call, General Weir. I'm on my way to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and hope to extend the uneasy truce between Jewish and Arab militants."
"Is the situation in Syria threatening to spread into Palestine?"
"I hope not. I'm more worried about a raid against an Arab terrorist group in Galilea at the weekend. That might be the spark that ignites the powder keg. I haven't heard any details yet but I must presume it was a necessary raid. Any problems in Egypt, Colonel?"
"No. In fact it is surprisingly quiet. After the Egyptians seized the Giza university and placed a strong military presence there it has been peaceful. I believe that you suggested that."
"Actually it was just a comment but I'm glad the Egyptian military were amused and took the initiative."
"There are a lot of troop movements in the Sinai. Is anything planned?" General Weir asked.
"No. It just a show of force. The 51st Highland Division is on its way home and is visiting the Holy Land before leaving. They may want to visit Damascus while they are in the vicinity. Who knows?"
"Completely understandable. Changing the subject, Hitler's downfall was a huge surprise here. Was that the case in London too?"
"No, it wasn't although the early move did surprise us. We were expecting it to occur after the Olympic Games. The French had already agreed to respond to a German move and fortunately they had forces which were ready to move at a moments notice. That took the Germans by surprise and the Wehrmacht terminated the NSDAP government for getting Germany into a new war with its neighbours."
"So now we are on good terms with the new German government?"
"Yes, we are and I'm optimistic about a non-aggression pact between Britain, France and Germany. We haven't really recovered from the last war so I'm hoping we can rid western Europe of further devastation. I wish the situation were so optimistic in eastern Europe."
"The Soviets are no better than the Nazis," Colonel Morton commented.
"No. They want Bessarabia, the Baltic states and Poland back as well as a piece of Finland. Fortunately none of that is my problem. Thanks for your time, gentlemen but I have an aircraft waiting."
"Good luck in Palestine, Sir Robert."
"Thank you. Good day."