16 Sep 1935 - HQ, 5th Inf Div, Tobruk

[Diarist]

After a working breakfast with Admiral Keyes and his immediate staff I accompanied the Admiral, CDR Mountbatten and CPT Wales to 5th ID briefing. The Italian forces in Libya have agreed to a ceasefire and negotiations for a surrender are underway. The Royal Navy has disembarked a battalion of troops from 3rd ID at small ports from El Agheila to Mersa Brega where Cyrenaica meets Tripolitania. They have made contact with French troops coming from Tripoli. British forces have also entered the Giarabub Oasis complex after a surrender was agreed upon.

It is estimated that we have captured 40,000 Italian and Libyan troops in the short campaign and if one can believe the Italian figures they have up to 20,000 dead and wounded. British casualties are much lower with 340 dead and 2450 wounded. The huge stocks of ammunition, supplies and equipment is still being counted but there is enough to equip a whole corps. The 7th CCNN Division was planned to become an army of 100,000 men with the goal of capturing the Suez Canal. The Governor of Libya, Italo Balbo, is a rival of Mussolini and he was effectively banished to Libya. His hopes of returning to Italy as a conqueror to challenge Il Duce have been squashed for ever.

The 5th ID is to be transformed into an occupation force until further notice so we from Combined Operations and TRADOC are excess baggage. Maybe we can hitch a ride home with Secretary Churchill and his delegation. They are expected to arrive within the hour.

Other news is that the three parachute platoons will be arriving in Alexandria tomorrow and will be joined by the platoon currently at Giarabub. Admiral Keyes has accepted my TO&E draft with a few minor changes. The company will stay in the Middle East and act as a training unit and a cadre for a mobile reaction force. Admiral Keyes is considering assigning the command to Major Aude Wingate. He also likes my thoughts on 'foreign nationals' in British uniform operating in their home territory and here is an excellent opportunity to implement it. I'm making a mental note not show too many of my ideas to Admiral Keyes because I don't want to be transferred to Combined Operations.

Time to dress up to meet Winston Churchill and General Gort.

[Diarist]

HMS Phaeton and escort arrived at Tobruk and after being greeted by the senior commanders Secretary Churchill and his delegation retired to 5th ID Headquarters. We TRADOC guys decided to visit the unofficial Officer's Club, the former Italian club. We were mainly talking about going home which would a bit more complicated for Erwin. Eventually General Gort arrived and it was good to see him again. It has been less than three weeks since I left England but it seems much longer. We chatted for a while then he said that Churchill wants to talk to me but he needs to speak to me alone first.

He then told me that I can keep my major rank and I'm receiving the Distinguished Service Order. Apparently I've been mentioned in despatches twice. He added that Winston Churchill is going to offer me a new position and ordered me to accept it. My name has cropped up at least a dozen times since the meeting at Chequers and mostly with praise and that's received command attention. Before I could say anything he asked me if I knew John Mitchell. I replied that there's a John Mitchell who heads the Aviation Division of Vickers-Armstrong and I've met him at Supermarine Aviation. This John Mitchell was looking for me at TRADOC last week and after being told that I was away on a mission and wouldn't be back for a while he went to the MoD and talked to Winston Churchill. General Gort gave me a letter addressed to me that Sally had given him. When asked if there is a connection I replied that I would have to go to London to know for certain. We shall be flying to Toulon via Malta tomorrow then further to London the next day. Rommel can fly to Toulon with us.

To cut a long story short it appears that John and Robert Mitchell may be my half-brothers. I've known that my mother was already pregnant, but not from my father, when she married and all would be revealed on my 25th birthday and that was last week on the 12th, the day after we captured Tesseney airfield. I wonder how much Churchill knows....

[Diarist]

It was about 14:00 when General Gort and I met Winston Churchill. With him was Admiral Keyes and a photographer. ADM Keyes read the citation and Churchill gave me the DSO. Photos were taken then the photographer left the room. We were led to a table with a warm buffet and I noticed Spumanti on ice. I held up a bottle while looking at my superiors and Churchill presented four glasses.

Churchill was in a great mood and he had reason to be. The war against Italy is almost over and it's an overwhelming victory for us and our allies. Britain and France have been at war for less than one week and Italy has suffered a devastating defeat. He then told us about the SE European 'Locarno' proposal and I commented that it would really piss-off Hitler if we could organize that! I did question the practicality - what if Hitler chose to enter Austria not now but in 18 months when he'll have the army and air force to accomplish it? Churchill's response was, "That is your mission at TRADOC to come up with a plan!". We looked at him in amazement - that's not our job.....

He waved that aside. Our combined British and French planning group drew up a lousy plan at Cherbourg. He was immediately impressed with our alternative plan which TRADOC proposed at Chequers and supported it wherever possible. For many it was too ambitious and too much of a risk but he and the CIGS managed convince the British and French leaders. A failure would have been a political disaster in France but after this victory Laval and his followers are silent. The SE Europe Treaty would be the final nail in his coffin and PM Sarraut could call for snap elections and easily win! He has this all figured out...

He now told me that he wants me to be part of his advisory staff but working inside TRADOC. I told him that I have already been ordered to accept the assignment and correctly understood that he wants me too inform him about the goings-on in TRADOC without going through channels and vice versa. Of course I accepted but I did have a few questions. For example I asked whether it is possible to keep this planning mission secret because we already have enough enemies in the MoD. We would also need a TRADOC annex inside the MoD, or maybe a nearby building, because there is a lot happening in TRADOC. Approved but we'll talk about everything when we are back in England.

He then asked about John Mitchell and why is he so interested in me. I showed him the letter, explained my family situation and said that it is possible we are related but I won't know for certain until I see those solicitors in London. We won't be accompanying Churchill tomorrow because he is going to Alexandria and Cairo, maybe also Khartoum.

It'll be a thoughtful journey home.

[Diarist]

General Gort and I left at 1700 and went back to the officer's club. It was relatively empty. While the General went to chat with the CIGS and a couple of others from Churchill's delegation I joined Erwin sitting alone in a corner. I showed him my DSO and the citation and told him that Winston Churchill has given me a position in his staff. I asked him what his plans are. Apparently he is in limbo waiting for his next assignment, hoping for promotion to Colonel and the command of a regiment. I suggested that he move to England and work at TRADOC. Hitler wants war and I sure you don't want to be on the losing side again. He replied that he has family in Germany. Not now, but some time in the near future. I explained that I am marrying soon and I intend inviting Admiral Canaris and his wife so, "why don't you and your wife come as well. We can also get your children to England, but do you want to make the move?". He said that he needed time and I didn't press him.

He has already criticized the Führereid, the Hitler Oath, as opposed to swearing to defend the constitution but is impressed by Hitler's ability to get things done. I commented that the recent Nuremberg Laws against Jews are a fine example of statesmanship. I asked how many Jews were in his unit at Caporetto. We didn't get any further because General Gort brought the CIGS, Field Marshall Montgomery-Massingberd, to our table and Churchill, who had just arrived, joined us too. The CIGS congratulated me and said that he never received the DSO. He spent most of the last war as FM Douglas Haig's CoS and he got all the medals. I introduced Erwin as a LTC in the Austrian army and is temporarily assigned to TRADOC/Combined Operations - he is an expert on defeating Italians. Then followed the story of his Pour le Mérite earned at Caporetto. 

When asked if he had served on the Western Front Rommel replied that he spent the first year near Argonne before being transferred to the newly created Royal Wurttemberg Mountain Battalion. The CIGS looked thoughtfully then said to Rommel that he was in the Germany army and still is, correct? That's when General Gort intervened and mentioned the German panzer officers who visited TRADOC last month. Rommel was one of them. I said that we showed them how terrible our tanks are and they are probably laughing themselves silly in Germany. Although an infantry officer Rommel believes that infiltration tactics can be applied to armour and at TRADOC we share that view. I said that I'm trying to convince him to join TRADOC permanently but that's not an easy decision for anybody to make. The subject was changed.

Churchill recounted the first day of the conflict. In the evening he was celebrating the destruction of the Italian fleet in the Admiralty when news arrived that the 51st Highlanders had captured the Eritrean port of Massawa at lunchtime. Everybody was confused because it is 160 miles south of the border and they'd captured it in time for lunch! The next day he discovered that some major had decided that the existing plans were stupid so organized an amphibious assault just north of the port instead. Then he was not at all surprised to learn that major's name was Carter. To my defence I told them that the coastal road the 51st was supposed to use turned out to be nothing more than a mere line on the map, filling in the empty space. The nearest thing to a road was a 300 km track along the mountain ridges which are at least 50 km inland and way outside the range of the Royal Navy's big guns. Then more war stories followed.

It was late evening when we left the club and it'll be a long day tomorrow. Time to pack my gear and get some sleep.