can
speak to Wavell directly,” said Fedorov. “He speaks fluent Russian. Shall I do
this?”
“Convincing
Wavell might be one more log on the fire for me as well. I must tell you,
Captain, that I’m still having some trouble with this in spite of the
evidence.”
“I
understand. It took us a good long while to believe what had happened to us as
well. After that the real questions get asked, and you have to decide what to
do. We had the option to find a remote island and hide while we tried to get
home. Unfortunately, this war spans the entire world, and it was impossible to
stay clear of it. The desert is a fine and private place here at the moment,
nicely isolated from the reality of what is happening out there. But this is a
temporary grace. Any move north and we reap the whirlwind.”
“Someone
does,” said Kinlan. “And I think his name is Erwin Rommel.”
“You
realize the Germans will fight.”
“Of
course they will, until they have nothing left to fight with. Do you have any
idea what a Challenger II can do in battle?”
Fedorov
knew the power Kinlan could wield here all too well. “Yes, but that said, you
will be facing two full divisions. The Challengers aside, how thick is your
armor on the other vehicles?”
“The
Warrior IFV has a welded aluminum armor hull and laminated steel armor turret.
We’ve got the upgraded version, with the new stabilized 40mm main gun, but I
take your point. Their armor can protect against armor-piercing rounds up to
14.5mm, and the frontal arc is likely to withstand 25mm rounds. Many have the
modular appliqué armor system for the turret and hull, and the anti-mine
barrier below, so we can toughen those vehicles up considerably. We usually lay
on the modular protection depending on the mission. You say this Rommel has
four tank battalions?”
“5th
Light Division started with 44 light Panzer IIs and another 40 medium Panzer
IIIs between the two battalions. The 15th Panzer Division will have at least
that. They likely sustained some attrition coming all the way from Agheila, but
they’ll probably have eighty percent of those tanks still operational. Then
there will be the Panzerjager battalions, and the flak units to think about.
Rommel was the man who adapted the 88mm gun to good use as an AT weapon, and
I’m sorry to say that an 88 will put a round clean through one of your Warrior
IFVs, and then some.”
“You
know a good deal for a navy Captain,” said Kinlan. “Yet what you say is true.
So how many of these 88s will they have out there?”
“I’d
say he might have three batteries with four guns each—possibly four batteries. Many
more come later. Then there will be the self-propelled Panzerjagers. They’ll
have a 47mm AT gun that might penetrate your Warriors, as will all the guns on
their medium tanks if they have the 50mm version. Even their light Panzer IIs
will have a 20mm main gun that could pose a threat to one of your IFVs. Beyond
this there will be artillery, and a lot of it. Each German division would have
several battalions, from 75mm guns up to 150s. Attack a prepared German defense
and you can expect it will be well supported, and they’ll have air support as
well, Stukas , Heinkel-111s, Bf-109s. Yes, these are old planes, but very
capable, and those Stukas will be dropping 500 to 1000 pound bombs. This
won’t be like a deployment in Afghanistan. You’ll be up against tough, disciplined
troops. Another thing, sir, your force is mostly mechanized infantry. Well,
once they exit their vehicles…”
“I’m
beginning to get the picture,” said Kinlan. “They’ve got good infantry body
armor, but beneath that its good old flesh and blood. We were sent here to face
down the renegade Egyptian Army, and that we did, and without a single casualty.
They wanted no part of us.”
“That
won’t be the case here. You’ll shock the Germans in the first encounter,
undoubtedly, but they will adapt, and they will fight. Something tells
speak to Wavell directly,” said Fedorov. “He speaks fluent Russian. Shall I do
this?”
“Convincing
Wavell might be one more log on the fire for me as well. I must tell you,
Captain, that I’m still having some trouble with this in spite of the
evidence.”
“I
understand. It took us a good long while to believe what had happened to us as
well. After that the real questions get asked, and you have to decide what to
do. We had the option to find a remote island and hide while we tried to get
home. Unfortunately, this war spans the entire world, and it was impossible to
stay clear of it. The desert is a fine and private place here at the moment,
nicely isolated from the reality of what is happening out there. But this is a
temporary grace. Any move north and we reap the whirlwind.”
“Someone
does,” said Kinlan. “And I think his name is Erwin Rommel.”
“You
realize the Germans will fight.”
“Of
course they will, until they have nothing left to fight with. Do you have any
idea what a Challenger II can do in battle?”
Fedorov
knew the power Kinlan could wield here all too well. “Yes, but that said, you
will be facing two full divisions. The Challengers aside, how thick is your
armor on the other vehicles?”
“The
Warrior IFV has a welded aluminum armor hull and laminated steel armor turret.
We’ve got the upgraded version, with the new stabilized 40mm main gun, but I
take your point. Their armor can protect against armor-piercing rounds up to
14.5mm, and the frontal arc is likely to withstand 25mm rounds. Many have the
modular appliqué armor system for the turret and hull, and the anti-mine
barrier below, so we can toughen those vehicles up considerably. We usually lay
on the modular protection depending on the mission. You say this Rommel has
four tank battalions?”
“5th
Light Division started with 44 light Panzer IIs and another 40 medium Panzer
IIIs between the two battalions. The 15th Panzer Division will have at least
that. They likely sustained some attrition coming all the way from Agheila, but
they’ll probably have eighty percent of those tanks still operational. Then
there will be the Panzerjager battalions, and the flak units to think about.
Rommel was the man who adapted the 88mm gun to good use as an AT weapon, and
I’m sorry to say that an 88 will put a round clean through one of your Warrior
IFVs, and then some.”
“You
know a good deal for a navy Captain,” said Kinlan. “Yet what you say is true.
So how many of these 88s will they have out there?”
“I’d
say he might have three batteries with four guns each—possibly four batteries. Many
more come later. Then there will be the self-propelled Panzerjagers. They’ll
have a 47mm AT gun that might penetrate your Warriors, as will all the guns on
their medium tanks if they have the 50mm version. Even their light Panzer IIs
will have a 20mm main gun that could pose a threat to one of your IFVs. Beyond
this there will be artillery, and a lot of it. Each German division would have
several battalions, from 75mm guns up to 150s. Attack a prepared German defense
and you can expect it will be well supported, and they’ll have air support as
well, Stukas , Heinkel-111s, Bf-109s. Yes, these are old planes, but very
capable, and those Stukas will be dropping 500 to 1000 pound bombs. This
won’t be like a deployment in Afghanistan. You’ll be up against tough, disciplined
troops. Another thing, sir, your force is mostly mechanized infantry. Well,
once they exit their vehicles…”
“I’m
beginning to get the picture,” said Kinlan. “They’ve got good infantry body
armor, but beneath that its good old flesh and blood. We were sent here to face
down the renegade Egyptian Army, and that we did, and without a single casualty.
They wanted no part of us.”
“That
won’t be the case here. You’ll shock the Germans in the first encounter,
undoubtedly, but they will adapt, and they will fight. Something tells
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