Sir John Valentine Carden Survives. Part 2.
- Thread starter allanpcameron
- Start date
20 June 1941. Operation Battleaxe. Day 14.
allanpcameron
Donor
20 June 1941. Operation Battleaxe. Day 14.
Gunner Robert Bryant of E troop, 8th Battery, Australian 2/3 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, and the rest of the gun crew had become experts with the Italian 20mm AA gun during their time at Benghazi. He, and the rest of the men of the regiment, were dog tired. They’d arrived during the early hours of the morning and had spent the remaining hours of darkness getting their guns set up, with some of the men digging gun pits, slit trenches, and a protected dugout for the ammunition. The last few minutes before dawn had seen them throw up some rudimentary camouflage and attempt to make themselves ready for the expected air raid that was expected.
Just as the water for their tea was coming to be boil, the alert was sounded, and as Frank Nicholson ran to the gun, he knocked over the billy can. Cursing his mate, and the Italians and Germans who wouldn’t let a man have a cup of tea in the morning, Bryant settled himself with the ready ammunition. Nicholson was ready with his foot on the firing pedal, while Sergeant “Mac" McGillivray gave directions on where the air threat was coming from. The Sergeant told Bryant to shut up and concentrate, as his cursing of Nicholson, there was more to worry about than spilt tea.
For the next hour the gun, along with the rest of the regiment, engaged enemy aircraft, until the barrel was red hot, and much of the ready ammunition was fired off. Nicholson was sure he’d scored a couple of hits on a couple of aircraft. The Regiment had been deployed to protect the Divisional artillery, a job they’d managed to do with a degree of success. There were four burning wrecks of aircraft scattered around, for the cost of five 25-pdrs and their crews.
The withdrawal of the Italian aircraft gave the gunners time to bring up more ammunition and stack more sandbags around their positions. The 9th Australian Divisions artillery had been doing their best to keep up their rate of fire, even during the air raids. 2/43rd Battalion were pushing forward towards the Italian defences, and needed all the support they could get. Somewhere over to the Australians left, the 7th Support Group were also closing with the Italians.
Bryant had been focussing on bringing forward more ammunition, and with the help of a couple of gun crew, getting the trays loaded up. He was surprised when Nicholson handed him a cup of tea, thick with sugar and condensed milk. Even better was the fact that someone in the Battery HQ had managed to make up a big pot of Weet Bix boiled in milk and sugar. The men suddenly realised that even with the temperature well over 100° they were famished as well as having throats as dry as the dust that got into everything. With everything wolfed down, the expectation of another air raid grew, and so the men went back to work quickly.
The air raid the Australians were expecting didn’t come, at least not until later when the Italians reappeared. Recognising what the British had done, time and again, the Luftwaffe had been seeking any columns that were moving inland. The 7th Armoured Brigade and Australian 20th Brigade were the unfortunate recipients of the Luftwaffe’s attention.
General Rommel had been recalled to Berlin to give an account of why he hadn’t followed orders to help the Italians hold their ground. The remains of the 15th Panzer Division had been added to the remains of the 5th Light Division. As General Walter Neumann-Silkow was the senior officer, he had retained command of a much-reduced force, whose morale was particularly low.
Between Panzer Regiments 5 and 8, Neumann-Silkow was able to create one understrength Regiment, with two battalions made up of three companies: one Medium and two Light. The Medium Companies had all the surviving Panzer III and IVs. The Light companies were all equipped with Panzer IIs. Each of the companies were missing up to three tanks, a few, as many as six. The Infantry Regiments of both Divisions had also been merged, so that 5th Light Division had four battalions of infantry in two Regiments. The only unit in the Division that was overstrength was the Reconnaissance Battalion. Having amalgamated the two Division’s Battalions, it consisted of two Armoured Car Companies, as well as four Motorcycle Companies. The Division’s artillery only had one Battalion, as well as one anti-tank company, and one anti-aircraft company. The Engineers had suffered heavily and all the rear areas had been stripped of as many German troops to bring the numbers and capability of the 5th Light Division up as much as possible.
The expectation that the British would once again try to outflank the Italian position had led General Garibaldi ordering that the 5th Light Division position itself to be the flank guard for the main Italian position to the south of Beurat. The Luftwaffe, chastened by earlier failures, had indeed found the British columns moving, and the Reconnaissance Battalion now had them under surveillance. Neumann-Silkow had an accurate picture of what the British force consisted of, a Brigade of tanks and a Brigade of Australian infantry, with artillery and other support. This was about the same strength as his own Division, but the British Valiant tanks were far better than his force of mostly Panzer IIs whose 20mm cannon would be ineffective against the British armour.
Without the artillery and anti-tank guns that had been lost in the previous days, fighting a purely defensive battle would be suicidal. All he could hope for would be to try to crush the Australian Brigade, stripping the British tanks of their infantry support. In the earlier fighting, the German generals had noted that the British tactics were poor, it was only their numbers and better tanks that had allowed them to get away with what should have been a humiliation. It seemed however that the British were learning. According to the reconnaissance battalion, which was now being engaged by an Australian covering force, the deployment of the British column mirrored the way in which a German panzer division would travel.
Lieutenant Colonel Hector Bastin (CO 9th Divisional Cavalry Regiment) reported that his forward squadrons were beginning to encounter German armoured cars and motorcycle troops. Brigadier Hugh Russell (CO 7th Armoured Brigade) met with Brigadier John Murray (CO 20th Brigade [Australia]). Russell had command of the column, which had been slowed by the need to check for and clear mines, regular visits from the Luftwaffe, and the terrain which was giving the tanks and lorries some trouble to negotiate. The fact that Bastin’s men were already confronting German reconnaissance troops, and the activity of the Luftwaffe, it was clear that there was no surprise to be had. The question now was how best to proceed. The fact that it was German troops that were being encountered was surprising. After the licking the 5th Light and 15th Panzer Divisions had had, the intelligence suggested that they’d be further back trying to recover and rebuild.
Either more Germans had arrived, which Intelligence had missed, or it was the survivors of the previous encounters. Murray and Russell agreed that it was more likely to be second, and they guessed that the two forces would likely be evenly matched in terms of size. The nature of the fight between the Cavalry Regiment and the German reconnaissance, meant that it would be unlikely for Bastin’s men to give the two Brigades too much information about the German positions. There was little chance of the RAF being able to do reconnaissance in a timely manner. The only real option was to deploy into an attacking formation.
Before they’d set off Russell and Murray had decided that when they were attacking. they would do so in three combined units, moving forward like three arrowheads. Each arrowhead would consist of one of the tank regiments, with one of Murray’s Battalions, all the men carried in lorries, in close company. The HQ of each Brigade would join together for better coordination, and would travel with the artillery. They had decided against splitting up the artillery between the three arrowheads, it would be better for it to remain together to provide its full support where it was most needed. On the other hand the anti-tank batteries would be split up and travel with the infantry battalions. The aim was not so much to fight a set piece battle, but to try to find the enemy’s weak points and exploit them with speed and manoeuvre.
The three British armoured Regiments, (1st Bn RTR, 8th Hussars, 45th Bn RTR) and the three Australian Battalions paused to get themselves into position, fill up the fuel tanks and prepare themselves. This pause caught General Neumann-Silkow by surprise. He had moved up with Panzer Regiment 5 and half the infantry, expecting to find the flank of the British advance. Instead, they almost blundered into the two British Brigades as they started to move forward. The left-hand column, 1st Bn RTR and 2/17th Battalion, were almost immediately on top of the German panzers. As soon as battle commenced the middle column, 45th Bn RTR and 2/15th Battalion, moved to support them.
The British Armoured Regiments were, like the Panzer Regiment, understrength. On the other hand, the two British regiments brought 70 Valiant I Infantry Tanks Mark III to the fight. The Panzer IIs that made up the majority of the German tanks, armed only with 20mm cannons attempted to get round the British tanks to get among the Australian infantry. The Panzer III 50mm and Panzer IV 75mm guns were capable, at the ranges involved, to knock out the British tanks. The 2-pdrs on the British tanks were more than capable of destroying all of the German panzers. The sheer weight of numbers, the advantage of thick armour, and the superiority of the 2-pdr gun all contributed to the destruction of Panzer Regiment 5. Without the normally solid anti-tank gun screen to fall back behind, the panzers were picked off almost with ease by the British gunners. The Australian infantry did take casualties, but their anti-tank gunners, mostly armed with Italian Cannone 47/32, took a toll of the Panzer IIs.
With two of the arrowhead formations having pushed aside the Panzer Regiment, the third arrowhead formation, (8th Hussars and 2/13th Battalion) advanced to engage the German infantry, which had been under sustained fire from the British artillery. With no answer to the infantry tanks, closely supported by the Australians, the German troops put up a spirited defence, but were overwhelmed, with the Hussars only realising they’d advanced through them when they reached the German artillery line. A few tanks were destroyed by direct hits from over open sights, but the artillerymen were swiftly dealt with. General Neumann-Silkow was captured by the Australian cavalry, as the remainder of his Light Division pulled back toward El Gheddahia.
General Garibaldi was informed that the German forces were arriving at the Italian positions, and that it was becoming clear that they had been defeated. With his flank now exposed to the British, and the heavy attacks to his front, Garibaldi felt he had no choice but to pull whatever was left of his force back towards Misrata. He was confident that the British wouldn’t be in a position to follow him, as their supplies must now be just about exhausted. Under the cover of night, as much of the Italian force as possible left their positions and headed to Misrata, a journey of about 100km.
In one way Garibaldi was right, the British 7th Armoured Division and 9th Australian Infantry Division were indeed exhausted. By the extraordinary effort by everyone supporting XIII Corps, Operation Battleaxe had thrown the Italians and Germans back about 200 miles. Two German and three Italian Divisions had been destroyed. The British had captured more German and Italian weapons, much of which would go to rearm the Greek Army. The process of bringing up more supplies to begin to prepare for the next phase of clearing the North African coast had already begun. The railway from Alexandria had been expanded well beyond Marsa Matruh on its way to Bardia and then onto Tobruk. The RAF, now reinforced by RAAF and SAAF squadrons were able to provide cover for the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy to ship directly to Benghazi. While the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica were still active and dangerous, the airfields that were being strengthened around Benghazi allowed better access to Malta. This allowed the British bomber squadrons to be even more attentive to the German and Italian lines of communication, as well as giving the Royal Navy a relatively easy passage to and from Malta.
For the Australians at Beurat and El Gheddahia, the task was to go over to the defensive. With the summer weather bringing extremely difficult conditions, the chance to rest and recuperate was much appreciated. The surviving tanks of the 7th Armoured Division would need some repair and renewal before the next phase of the operation. It was hoped that 22nd Armoured Division, or possibly 2nd Armoured Division being re-established, with new tanks, would take the lead in the push towards Tripoli. More and more Canadian Pattern trucks were pouring into the Delta area, allowing the RASC and RAOC to move forward the supplies which would allow a further push, at this stage, planned for October.
Gunner Robert Bryant of E troop, 8th Battery, Australian 2/3 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, and the rest of the gun crew had become experts with the Italian 20mm AA gun during their time at Benghazi. He, and the rest of the men of the regiment, were dog tired. They’d arrived during the early hours of the morning and had spent the remaining hours of darkness getting their guns set up, with some of the men digging gun pits, slit trenches, and a protected dugout for the ammunition. The last few minutes before dawn had seen them throw up some rudimentary camouflage and attempt to make themselves ready for the expected air raid that was expected.
Just as the water for their tea was coming to be boil, the alert was sounded, and as Frank Nicholson ran to the gun, he knocked over the billy can. Cursing his mate, and the Italians and Germans who wouldn’t let a man have a cup of tea in the morning, Bryant settled himself with the ready ammunition. Nicholson was ready with his foot on the firing pedal, while Sergeant “Mac" McGillivray gave directions on where the air threat was coming from. The Sergeant told Bryant to shut up and concentrate, as his cursing of Nicholson, there was more to worry about than spilt tea.
For the next hour the gun, along with the rest of the regiment, engaged enemy aircraft, until the barrel was red hot, and much of the ready ammunition was fired off. Nicholson was sure he’d scored a couple of hits on a couple of aircraft. The Regiment had been deployed to protect the Divisional artillery, a job they’d managed to do with a degree of success. There were four burning wrecks of aircraft scattered around, for the cost of five 25-pdrs and their crews.
The withdrawal of the Italian aircraft gave the gunners time to bring up more ammunition and stack more sandbags around their positions. The 9th Australian Divisions artillery had been doing their best to keep up their rate of fire, even during the air raids. 2/43rd Battalion were pushing forward towards the Italian defences, and needed all the support they could get. Somewhere over to the Australians left, the 7th Support Group were also closing with the Italians.
Bryant had been focussing on bringing forward more ammunition, and with the help of a couple of gun crew, getting the trays loaded up. He was surprised when Nicholson handed him a cup of tea, thick with sugar and condensed milk. Even better was the fact that someone in the Battery HQ had managed to make up a big pot of Weet Bix boiled in milk and sugar. The men suddenly realised that even with the temperature well over 100° they were famished as well as having throats as dry as the dust that got into everything. With everything wolfed down, the expectation of another air raid grew, and so the men went back to work quickly.
The air raid the Australians were expecting didn’t come, at least not until later when the Italians reappeared. Recognising what the British had done, time and again, the Luftwaffe had been seeking any columns that were moving inland. The 7th Armoured Brigade and Australian 20th Brigade were the unfortunate recipients of the Luftwaffe’s attention.
General Rommel had been recalled to Berlin to give an account of why he hadn’t followed orders to help the Italians hold their ground. The remains of the 15th Panzer Division had been added to the remains of the 5th Light Division. As General Walter Neumann-Silkow was the senior officer, he had retained command of a much-reduced force, whose morale was particularly low.
Between Panzer Regiments 5 and 8, Neumann-Silkow was able to create one understrength Regiment, with two battalions made up of three companies: one Medium and two Light. The Medium Companies had all the surviving Panzer III and IVs. The Light companies were all equipped with Panzer IIs. Each of the companies were missing up to three tanks, a few, as many as six. The Infantry Regiments of both Divisions had also been merged, so that 5th Light Division had four battalions of infantry in two Regiments. The only unit in the Division that was overstrength was the Reconnaissance Battalion. Having amalgamated the two Division’s Battalions, it consisted of two Armoured Car Companies, as well as four Motorcycle Companies. The Division’s artillery only had one Battalion, as well as one anti-tank company, and one anti-aircraft company. The Engineers had suffered heavily and all the rear areas had been stripped of as many German troops to bring the numbers and capability of the 5th Light Division up as much as possible.
The expectation that the British would once again try to outflank the Italian position had led General Garibaldi ordering that the 5th Light Division position itself to be the flank guard for the main Italian position to the south of Beurat. The Luftwaffe, chastened by earlier failures, had indeed found the British columns moving, and the Reconnaissance Battalion now had them under surveillance. Neumann-Silkow had an accurate picture of what the British force consisted of, a Brigade of tanks and a Brigade of Australian infantry, with artillery and other support. This was about the same strength as his own Division, but the British Valiant tanks were far better than his force of mostly Panzer IIs whose 20mm cannon would be ineffective against the British armour.
Without the artillery and anti-tank guns that had been lost in the previous days, fighting a purely defensive battle would be suicidal. All he could hope for would be to try to crush the Australian Brigade, stripping the British tanks of their infantry support. In the earlier fighting, the German generals had noted that the British tactics were poor, it was only their numbers and better tanks that had allowed them to get away with what should have been a humiliation. It seemed however that the British were learning. According to the reconnaissance battalion, which was now being engaged by an Australian covering force, the deployment of the British column mirrored the way in which a German panzer division would travel.
Lieutenant Colonel Hector Bastin (CO 9th Divisional Cavalry Regiment) reported that his forward squadrons were beginning to encounter German armoured cars and motorcycle troops. Brigadier Hugh Russell (CO 7th Armoured Brigade) met with Brigadier John Murray (CO 20th Brigade [Australia]). Russell had command of the column, which had been slowed by the need to check for and clear mines, regular visits from the Luftwaffe, and the terrain which was giving the tanks and lorries some trouble to negotiate. The fact that Bastin’s men were already confronting German reconnaissance troops, and the activity of the Luftwaffe, it was clear that there was no surprise to be had. The question now was how best to proceed. The fact that it was German troops that were being encountered was surprising. After the licking the 5th Light and 15th Panzer Divisions had had, the intelligence suggested that they’d be further back trying to recover and rebuild.
Either more Germans had arrived, which Intelligence had missed, or it was the survivors of the previous encounters. Murray and Russell agreed that it was more likely to be second, and they guessed that the two forces would likely be evenly matched in terms of size. The nature of the fight between the Cavalry Regiment and the German reconnaissance, meant that it would be unlikely for Bastin’s men to give the two Brigades too much information about the German positions. There was little chance of the RAF being able to do reconnaissance in a timely manner. The only real option was to deploy into an attacking formation.
Before they’d set off Russell and Murray had decided that when they were attacking. they would do so in three combined units, moving forward like three arrowheads. Each arrowhead would consist of one of the tank regiments, with one of Murray’s Battalions, all the men carried in lorries, in close company. The HQ of each Brigade would join together for better coordination, and would travel with the artillery. They had decided against splitting up the artillery between the three arrowheads, it would be better for it to remain together to provide its full support where it was most needed. On the other hand the anti-tank batteries would be split up and travel with the infantry battalions. The aim was not so much to fight a set piece battle, but to try to find the enemy’s weak points and exploit them with speed and manoeuvre.
The three British armoured Regiments, (1st Bn RTR, 8th Hussars, 45th Bn RTR) and the three Australian Battalions paused to get themselves into position, fill up the fuel tanks and prepare themselves. This pause caught General Neumann-Silkow by surprise. He had moved up with Panzer Regiment 5 and half the infantry, expecting to find the flank of the British advance. Instead, they almost blundered into the two British Brigades as they started to move forward. The left-hand column, 1st Bn RTR and 2/17th Battalion, were almost immediately on top of the German panzers. As soon as battle commenced the middle column, 45th Bn RTR and 2/15th Battalion, moved to support them.
The British Armoured Regiments were, like the Panzer Regiment, understrength. On the other hand, the two British regiments brought 70 Valiant I Infantry Tanks Mark III to the fight. The Panzer IIs that made up the majority of the German tanks, armed only with 20mm cannons attempted to get round the British tanks to get among the Australian infantry. The Panzer III 50mm and Panzer IV 75mm guns were capable, at the ranges involved, to knock out the British tanks. The 2-pdrs on the British tanks were more than capable of destroying all of the German panzers. The sheer weight of numbers, the advantage of thick armour, and the superiority of the 2-pdr gun all contributed to the destruction of Panzer Regiment 5. Without the normally solid anti-tank gun screen to fall back behind, the panzers were picked off almost with ease by the British gunners. The Australian infantry did take casualties, but their anti-tank gunners, mostly armed with Italian Cannone 47/32, took a toll of the Panzer IIs.
With two of the arrowhead formations having pushed aside the Panzer Regiment, the third arrowhead formation, (8th Hussars and 2/13th Battalion) advanced to engage the German infantry, which had been under sustained fire from the British artillery. With no answer to the infantry tanks, closely supported by the Australians, the German troops put up a spirited defence, but were overwhelmed, with the Hussars only realising they’d advanced through them when they reached the German artillery line. A few tanks were destroyed by direct hits from over open sights, but the artillerymen were swiftly dealt with. General Neumann-Silkow was captured by the Australian cavalry, as the remainder of his Light Division pulled back toward El Gheddahia.
General Garibaldi was informed that the German forces were arriving at the Italian positions, and that it was becoming clear that they had been defeated. With his flank now exposed to the British, and the heavy attacks to his front, Garibaldi felt he had no choice but to pull whatever was left of his force back towards Misrata. He was confident that the British wouldn’t be in a position to follow him, as their supplies must now be just about exhausted. Under the cover of night, as much of the Italian force as possible left their positions and headed to Misrata, a journey of about 100km.
In one way Garibaldi was right, the British 7th Armoured Division and 9th Australian Infantry Division were indeed exhausted. By the extraordinary effort by everyone supporting XIII Corps, Operation Battleaxe had thrown the Italians and Germans back about 200 miles. Two German and three Italian Divisions had been destroyed. The British had captured more German and Italian weapons, much of which would go to rearm the Greek Army. The process of bringing up more supplies to begin to prepare for the next phase of clearing the North African coast had already begun. The railway from Alexandria had been expanded well beyond Marsa Matruh on its way to Bardia and then onto Tobruk. The RAF, now reinforced by RAAF and SAAF squadrons were able to provide cover for the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy to ship directly to Benghazi. While the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica were still active and dangerous, the airfields that were being strengthened around Benghazi allowed better access to Malta. This allowed the British bomber squadrons to be even more attentive to the German and Italian lines of communication, as well as giving the Royal Navy a relatively easy passage to and from Malta.
For the Australians at Beurat and El Gheddahia, the task was to go over to the defensive. With the summer weather bringing extremely difficult conditions, the chance to rest and recuperate was much appreciated. The surviving tanks of the 7th Armoured Division would need some repair and renewal before the next phase of the operation. It was hoped that 22nd Armoured Division, or possibly 2nd Armoured Division being re-established, with new tanks, would take the lead in the push towards Tripoli. More and more Canadian Pattern trucks were pouring into the Delta area, allowing the RASC and RAOC to move forward the supplies which would allow a further push, at this stage, planned for October.
allanpcameron
Donor
Sorry again for the delay, but that was a bugger to write. I hope destruction of the panzers, as completely as the British tanks were in OTL is fair. The quality difference between the panzers and OTL tanks is reversed here. Obviously with more tanks surviving, and more crews, the British have been learning better tactics. Also operation Battleaxe OTL was going on at the same time as the Syria campaign and a Division + caught in Tobruk. With the dispersal of the much weaker Empire forces and the poor tanks/tactics, Battleaxe was a failure. Crusader did much better in October, and so there is a bit of what Crusader achieved then, what Battleaxe achieved here, at least in terms of distance and forces destroyed.
Anyways, hopefully we can leave things in the Middle East for a bit, and get on with the fancy new tanks that Cardin is designing, and boy, won't the Soviets like them!
Allan
Anyways, hopefully we can leave things in the Middle East for a bit, and get on with the fancy new tanks that Cardin is designing, and boy, won't the Soviets like them!
Allan
Officially the Soviets will say they are not as good as their own tanks
BUT if thats all you have can we have another 10,000
Derek Pullem
Donor
So the British on their own are about a year ahead of OTL schedule. And will probably be on the point of ejecting the Italians from Libya as the Americans enter the war.
Torch is still highly likely to go ahead at the end of 1942 even if the Italians in North Africa have collapsed in late 1941 - the interesting thing is what are the British going to do after Tripoli. If Churchill has is way they will most likely end up in a series of more or less successful amphibious operations in the Med - hopefully though there will still be enough troops available to reinforce the far east. Certainly there will be no vital commitment in the European theatre demanding the maximum effort from the ANZACS. So Malaya may be .....interesting
Torch is still highly likely to go ahead at the end of 1942 even if the Italians in North Africa have collapsed in late 1941 - the interesting thing is what are the British going to do after Tripoli. If Churchill has is way they will most likely end up in a series of more or less successful amphibious operations in the Med - hopefully though there will still be enough troops available to reinforce the far east. Certainly there will be no vital commitment in the European theatre demanding the maximum effort from the ANZACS. So Malaya may be .....interesting
Pretty much also means internationally the British are flying high right now.
Also, all the gear that would have been lost OTL can go to other areas or be used to make sure that new formations are well equiped. Though in terms of the economic losses it will be a drop in the bucket considering the debts racked up by lend-lease. Also it brought a lot of time to push through a lot more weapons and equipments projects to get through in better time as well as more ships survivng because of Crete going differently means more can go east since the Italian Fleet has gotten crushed.
Hmm though I have to wonder with the way Sir Carden survived and his thoughts at the start of this story if he will push the modernisation of British industry because he seemed to see the bottlenecks they suffered.
Derek Pullem
Donor
If I had to guess "the Lion of Libya" especially if the Daily Mirror thinks of it. Which will annoy the local Libyans who have their own Lion of the Desert.
My guess for the next operation is Rhodes, unless the Axis make an entry into Tunisia.
The economic 'gains' (at least, compared to OTL) amount to at least several million dollars. Also, Britain has possibly 100K+ more troops than OTL by this stage of the advance, which is another several million dollars in training and equipment.
I'm not sure he could really do anything much, but we'll have to see.
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Assuming the fighting doesn't extend into French North Africa, and there's a fairly good chance it will the British are in no position to return to the continent unless for a Dieppe style disaster but they can absolutely spend the rest of the year launching amphibious assaults on various Italian islands. It won't do much to win the war but it will be a useful learning process for Sicily.
Still I think the fighting probably will extend into French North Africa so that will tie them up for a good while.
Still I think the fighting probably will extend into French North Africa so that will tie them up for a good while.
Would a Dieppe against an Italian minor port go as badly?
Maybe the tanks don't get bogged down?
Maybe the garrison is of a lesser caliber
Donald Reaver
Donor
Taking islands that can hit the Romanian oil fields with existing planes, will force the Germans to divert forces south. Not likely for the British to build and use those islands for their Air Force anytime soon, but still a threat.
The British don't know how to do an opposed amphibious landing, no one does and their first try is very, very likely to be a fiasco.
They already have Crete and most of the islands are geographically incapable of hosting a full Bomber Station without massive land reclamation.
Donald Reaver
Donor
Very true, but the threat is there though, still should drag some resources away, from other vital areas. This timeline is highlighting how stretched Germany is even earlier.
Rhodes would probably be the first place they'd go to I imagine.
The investment to host a bomber base is excessive, better to use it as a place to launch harassment raids from.
Their second try actually, Gallipoli was the first.
Crete is under-developed, and the ports are on the north side of the island. Rhodes is a better spot. Sure it's in Italian hands RN, but given where it is, it's not easily reinforced by the axis. Crete's a good place to act as a support base for the Greek resistance though.
The threat of bombing isn't much (there's no fighters that could possibly escort such a raid yet, but the Greek resistance is very much a threat, especially with a support base so close.
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To be fair the preferred method is to make an unopposed landing if at all possible.