Battle of the Mediterranean
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Battle of Mediterranean | |||||||
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Part of the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II | |||||||
From top left to clockwise: British aircraft carrier during the Operation Pedestal, the Italian Zara cruiser opens fire during the Battle of Cape Spartivento, an Italian merchant ship under enemy air attack, the Italian 'Gondar' submarine with the SLC cylinders on the deck. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United Kingdom France (until 1940) United States (from 1942) Canada Free France Poland Australia New Zealand Yugoslavia Greece Netherlands Brazil Italy (from 1943) |
Italy (until 1943) Germany Italian Social Republic (from 1943) Vichy France[nb 1] | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
Up to September 1943: Total: 76 warships of 315,500 tons 48 submarines |
Up to September 1943: Italy: 83 warships totaling 195,100 tons 84 submarines 2,018,616 tons of merchant shipping[1] c. 21,000 Royal Italian Navy personnel and c. 6,500 Italian Merchant Navy personnel killed at sea[2][3] Germany: 17 warships 68 submarines Vichy France 11 warships of ~72,000 tons 7 submarines[4] |
The Battle of the Mediterranean was the name given to the naval campaign fought in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II, from 10 June 1940 to 2 May 1945.
For the most part, the campaign was fought between the
American naval and air units joined the Allied side on 8 November 1942. The Vichy French scuttled the bulk of their fleet on 27 November 1942, to prevent the Germans seizing it. As part of the Armistice of Cassibile in September 1943, most of the Italian Navy became the Italian Co-belligerent Navy, and fought alongside the Allies.
Each side had three overall objectives in this battle. The first was to attack the supply lines of the other side. The second was to keep open the supply lines to their own armies in North Africa. The third was to destroy the ability of the opposing navy to wage war at sea. Outside of the Pacific theatre, the Mediterranean saw the largest conventional naval warfare actions during the conflict. In particular, Allied forces struggled to supply and retain the key naval and air base of Malta.
By the time of the Armistice of Cassibile, Italian ships, submarines and aircraft had sunk Allied surface warships totalling 145,800 tons, while German forces had sunk 169,700 tons, for a total of 315,500 tons. In total the Allies lost 76 warships and 46 submarines. The Allies sank 83 Italian warships totalling 195,100 tons (161,200 by the British Empire and 33,900 by the Americans) and 83 submarines.[5] German losses in the Mediterranean from the start of the campaign to the end were 17 warships and 68 submarines.[6]
Main Combatants
British Mediterranean Fleet
The Mediterranean was a traditional focus of British maritime power. Outnumbered by the forces of the Regia Marina, the British plan was to hold the three key strategic points of
Italian Royal Fleet
Italian dictator
The warships of the
The Regia Marina also lacked a proper fleet air arm. The aircraft carrier Aquila was never completed and most air support during the Battle of the Mediterranean was supplied by the land-based Regia Aeronautica (Royal Air Force).[8] Another major handicap for the Italians was the shortage of fuel. As early as March 1941, the overall scarcity of fuel oil was critical. Coal, gasoline and lubricants were also locally hard to find. During the Italian war effort, 75% of all the fuel oil available was used by destroyers and torpedo boats carrying out escort missions.[10]
However, the most serious problem for the Axis forces in North Africa was the limited capacity of the
In general, the Axis forces in North Africa exceeded the capacity of the ports to supply them. It has been calculated that the average Axis division required 10,000 short tons (9,100 t) of supplies per month. If the Italians had a fault in respect to logistics during the Battle of the Mediterranean, it was that they failed to increase the capacity of Tripoli and the other ports before the war.[11]
French Fleet
In January 1937, France began a programme of modernisation and expansion. This soon elevated the French Fleet to the fourth-largest in the world. However, the French Navy (formally the "National Navy" – Marine Nationale), was still considerably smaller than the navy of its ally, Britain.
By agreement with the British Admiralty, the strongest concentration of French vessels was in the Mediterranean. Here, the Italian Fleet posed a threat to the vitally important French sea routes from Metropolitan France to North Africa and to the British sea routes between Gibraltar and the Suez Canal.[12]
Vichy French Fleet
In 1940, after
As the opening phase of
At least two Allied freighters were captured by French forces in Tunisia and later handed over to the Italian navy.[13]
In June and July 1941, a small Vichy French naval force was involved during
In 1942, as part of the occupation of Vichy France during "
The Mediterranean U-boat Campaign lasted approximately from 21 September 1941 to May 1944. Germany's Kriegsmarine aimed at isolating Gibraltar, Malta, and the Suez Canal so as to break Britain's trade route to the far east. More than 60 U-boats were sent to disrupt shipping in the sea, although many were attacked in the Strait of Gibraltar, which was controlled by Britain (nine boats were sunk while attempting the passage and ten more were damaged). The Luftwaffe also played a key part in the Battle of the Mediterranean, especially during the summer of 1941. German war strategy, however, viewed the Mediterranean as a secondary theatre of operations.[14]
History
First actions
On 10 June 1940,
The first clash between the rival fleets—the Battle of Calabria—took place on 9 July, just four weeks after the start of hostilities. This was inconclusive, and concurrent with a series of small surface actions during the summer, among them the battle of the Espero convoy and the battle of Cape Spada.
Battle of Taranto
To reduce the threat posed by the
Cunningham's estimate that Italians would be unwilling to risk their remaining heavy units was quickly proven wrong. Only five days after Taranto, Inigo Campioni sortied with two battleships, six cruisers and 14 destroyers to disrupt a British aircraft delivery operation to Malta.
Furthermore, as early as 27 November, the Italian fleet was able to confront the Mediterranean fleet again in the indecisive battle of Spartivento. Two of the three damaged battleships were repaired by mid-1941 and control of the Mediterranean continued to swing back and forth until the Italian armistice in 1943. Measured against its primary task of disrupting Axis convoys to Africa, the Taranto attack had little effect. In fact, Italian shipping to Libya increased between the months of October 1940 – January 1941 to an average of 49,435 tons per month, up from the 37,204-ton average of the previous four months.[15] Moreover, rather than change the balance of power in the central Mediterranean, British naval authorities had "failed to deliver the true knockout blow that would have changed the context within which the rest of the war in the Mediterranean was fought."[16]
Battle of Cape Matapan
The
Fall of Crete
The effort to prevent German troops from reaching
It was a significant victory for the Luftwaffe, as it proved that the Royal Navy could not operate in waters where the German Air Force had air supremacy without suffering severe losses. In the end, however, this had little strategic meaning, since the attention of the
Two attempts were carried out to transport German troops by sea in caïques, but both of them were disrupted by Royal Navy intervention. The tiny Italian naval escorts, however, managed to save most of the vessels. Eventually, the Italians landed a force of their own near Sitia on 28 May, when the Allied withdrawal was already ongoing.
During the evacuation, Cunningham was determined that the "Navy must not let the Army down." When army generals stated their fears that he would lose too many ships, Cunningham said that "It takes three years to build a ship, it takes three centuries to build a tradition." Despite advance warning through Ultra intercepts, the Battle of Crete resulted in a decisive defeat for the Allies. The invasion took a fearful toll of the German paratroops, who were dropped without their major weapons, which were delivered separately in containers. So heavy were the losses that General Kurt Student, who commanded the German invasion, would later say, referring to the German decision not to use parachutists in any future invasion attempts:
"Crete was the grave of the German parachutists."
The balance shifts
After the battle of Crete in the summer of 1941, the Royal Navy regained its ascendancy in the central Mediterranean in a series of successful convoy attacks, (including the Duisburg convoy and Cap Bon), until the Raid on Alexandria in December swung the balance of power towards the Axis.[17]
The Regia Marina's most successful attack on the British Fleet was when divers attached
Relief of Malta
Malta's position between Sicily and North Africa was perfect to interdict Axis supply convoys destined for North Africa. It could thus influence the campaign in North Africa and support Allied actions against Italy. The Axis recognised this and made great efforts to neutralise the island as a British base, either by air attacks or by starving it of its own supplies.
After a series of hard-fought convoy battles, all of them are Axis victories (such as the
The British re-established a substantial air garrison and offensive naval base on the island. With the aid of Ultra, Malta's garrison was able to disrupt Axis supplies to North Africa immediately before the Second Battle of El Alamein. For the fortitude and courage of the Maltese people during the siege, the island was awarded the George Cross.
The Royal Navy and the RAF sank 3,082 Axis merchantmen in the Mediterranean, amounting to over 4 million tons.[18]
In September 1943, with the Italian collapse and the surrender of the Italian fleet, naval actions in the Mediterranean became restricted to operations against U-boats and by small craft in the
Italian armistice
On 25 July 1943, the
After the armistice, the Italian Navy was split in two. In southern Italy, the "
1940
- 28 June, Battle of the Espero Convoy. Italian convoy attacked, the destroyer Espero sunk, two other destroyers outran the British fleet and reached Benghazi. Conversely, two British convoys from Malta were delayed as a result of this action.
- 9 July, the Battle of Calabria. An encounter between fleet forces escorting large convoys. Inconclusive results.
- 19 July, the Battle of Cape Spada. A cruiser action, the Bartolomeo Colleoni sunk by HMAS Sydney.
- 12 October, the Battle of Cape Passero. One destroyer and two Italian torpedo boats sunk, the cruiser HMS Ajax seriously damaged.
- 11 November, the Battle of Taranto. An aerial attack on the Italian fleet in harbour, three battleships are sunk in shallow waters, one of them is disabled for the rest of the war.
- 27 November, the Battle of Cape Spartivento. Inconclusive fleet action.
1941
- 6–11 January, Vega sunk, the British destroyer HMS Gallantis permanently disabled after hitting a mine.
- 26 March, Action of Suda Bay, Crete. The British cruiser HMS York is sunk by explosive motor boatslaunched from Italian destroyers.
- 27–29 March, Battle of Cape Matapan. Fleet action. After an inconclusive engagement near the island of Gavdos, the Regia Marina lost three cruisers and two destroyers during the night.
- 16 April, Battle of the Tarigo Convoy. Italian convoy attacked and destroyed. Two Italian destroyers also lost along with the British HMS Mohawk.
- 20 May – 1 June, Battle of Crete. Series of actions supporting army in Crete, nine British warships sunk by Axis air attacks.
- 24 May, Italian troop ship SS Conte Rosso sunk by Royal Navy submarine HMS Upholder, with 1297 men killed and 1432 rescued.
- July, Operation Substance. A British convoy to Malta. The British destroyer HMS Fearless is lost to air attack.
- September, Operation Halberd. A British convoy to Malta. The transport ship Imperial Star is sunk by an Italian aerial torpedo.
- 8 November, Battle of the Duisburg Convoy. Axis convoy destroyed. The Italian destroyer Fulmine is also lost.
- 13 November. The carrier HMS Ark Royal was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-81, greatly affecting the Royal Navy aero-naval capacity, as she had by far the greatest air complement among the British carriers.[19]
- 25 November. While attempting interception of Italian convoys in the Eastern Mediterranean, the British battleship HMS Barham was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-331 with the loss of 862 crewmen. The dramatic footage of the event became one of the most eloquent documents of the Mediterranean campaign.[20]
- 13 December, Battle of Cape Bon. An Italian fast convoy attacked by Allied destroyers; the Italian light cruisers Alberico da Barbiano and Alberto di Giussano are torpedoed and sunk.
- 17 December, First Battle of Sirte. An indecisive, brief clash between the escorting fleet forces of two convoys.
- 19 December, Raid on Alexandria. Italian manned torpedoes attack the British fleet, two battleships are sunk in harbor, they are raised and repaired several months later.
1942
- 22 March, Second Battle of Sirte. A British convoy and escort are attacked by the Italian fleet, but manage to slip away, with two destroyers heavily damaged; the delay, however, resulted in all four of its cargo ships sunk during subsequent Axis air strikes the following morning.
- 15 June, HMS Bedouin were sunk by air attacks combined with naval gunfire. The Polish destroyer ORP Kujawiak sank after hitting a mine while approaching Valletta. Twenty-nine Axis aircraft were shot down during the battle. Only two cargo ships from a convoy of six reached Malta, one of them damaged.
- 15 June, Operation Vigorous. British convoy from Alexandria suffers heavy air strikes, it is eventually driven back by the Italian fleet.
- 15 August, Operation Pedestal. British convoy resupplying Malta is attacked; HMS Manchester and nine merchantmen are sunk by Axis E-boats, aircraft and submarines; but vital supplies, including oil, are delivered
- November, Operation Stone Age. British convoy reaches Malta undisturbed.
- 2 December, Battle of Skerki Bank. Italian convoy is attacked and destroyed.
- 11 December, Raid on Algiers. Italian manned torpedoes attack Allied shipping, two steamships are sunk.
1943
- 16 April, Italian torpedo boat Cigno was sunk. The British destroyer Pakenham was disabled during the battle and was later scuttled when it became clear it would not be able to reach base. The 5000 ton transport ship Belluno and torpedo boat Tifone, the latter loaded with aviation spirit, reached destination safely.
- 3–4 May, Perseo. Both Perseo and Campobasso were sunk with no loss to the British.
- 2 June, Castore. Supported by a Wellington bomber which dropped flares on the target, the Allied units engaged the Italian steamers Vragnizza and Postumia. The destroyers lost track of the convoy after the intervention of the escort, which laid smoke and returned fire. Castore was disabled and sank before dawn, but her counterattack allowed the freighters to limp away. Vragnizza and Postumia, both damaged during the action, reached Messina at 16.30.[21][22]
- 17 July, Operation Scylla. The Italian cruiser Scipione Africano, fitted with EC-3 Gufo radar, engaged four British Elco motor torpedo boats at night while on passage through the strait of Messina. One motor torpedo boat was sunk with all hands and three others damaged.
1945
- 18 March, Battle of the Ligurian Sea, two British destroyers intercepts a German flotilla composed of one destroyer and two torpedo boats; the German destroyer limped away, while the two torpedo boats were sunk. This was the last deep-water German naval action of World War II.[23]
Notable Axis and Allied amphibious operations
1941
- 25-28 February, Kastelorizois thwarted by naval and air Italian forces.
- 20 May, start of the Battle of Crete, the Axis invasion of the island.
1942
- 14 September, Operation Agreement, the Allied assault on Tobruk which is repulsed by Axis ground, air and naval forces.
- 8 November, start of Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of Vichy-controlled Morocco and Algeria.
- 10 November, Axis invasion of Tunis.
1943
- 9 July, the start of Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily.
- 3 September, Operation Avalanche, the start of the Allied invasion of Italy.
- 8 September, the start of the Dodecanese Islands.
- 9 September, the start of the Allied Salerno landings in Italy.
1944
- 22 January, the start of Operation Shingle, the Allied landings at Anzioin Italy.
- 5 August, the start of Operation Dragoon, the Allied landings in southern France.
See also
- Naval history of World War II
- Force H
- Force K
- Mediterranean U-boat Campaign (World War II)
- Military history of Italy during World War II
- Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II
- List of classes of British ships of World War II
- List of Classes of French ships of World War II
- World War II naval ships of the United States
- Regia Marina
Footnotes
- ^ Clodfelter, Micheal. "Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia." Page 485.
- ^ Caduti e Dispersi M. M. 2a G.M., Voll. 1, 2, 3, Ormedife C.EL.D. Esercito.
- ^ Rolando Notarangelo, Gian Paolo Pagano, Navi mercantili perdute, Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare, Rome 1997.
- Syria-Lebanon(1 submarine).
- ISBN 978-1-61251-400-0.
- ^ BRITISH LOSSES & LOSSES INFLICTED ON AXIS NAVIES
- ^ Mollo, p.128
- ^ a b Mollo, p. 94
- ^ Blitzer, p. 151
- ^ Sadkovich, pp. 286–287
- ^ a b Walker, p. 58
- ^ Mollo, p.55
- ^ "The Supply of Malta 1940-1942 by Arnold Hague". www.naval-history.net. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ Sadkovich, p. 77
- ^ Bragadin, Italian Navy in World War II, p. 356.
- ^ Caravaggio, 'THE ATTACK AT TARANTO: Tactical Success, Operational Failure', p.122
- ^ Greene & Massignani, p. 204
- ^ Roskill, White Ensign, p 410
- ^ Warren, Daniel; Church, Robert; Davey, Rick (September 2004). "Discovering H.M.S. Ark Royal" (PDF). Hydro International. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ HMS Barham Explodes & Sinks: World War II (1941) - archive footage captured by British Pathé News cameraman, John Turner
- ^ "RHS Vasilissa Olga (D 15) of the Royal Hellenic Navy - Greek Destroyer of the Vasilefs Georgios class – Allied Warships of WWII – uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ISBN 978-1612514086.
- ISBN 978-1-59884-457-3.
- armed neutrality and conducted military actions against armed incursions from both Axis and Allied belligerents. The cease fire and pledging of allegiance of the Vichy troops in French North Africa to the Allies during Torch convinced the Axis that Vichy could not be trusted to continue this policy, so they invaded and occupiedthe French rump state.
Bibliography
- Blitzer, Wolf; Garibaldi, Luciano (2001). Century of War. Friedman/Fairfax Publishers. New York. ISBN 1-58663-342-2
- Barnett, Corelli. Engage the Enemy More Closely: The Royal Navy in the Second World War (1991)
- Bragadin, A, Italian Navy in World War II,1st Ed, US Naval Institute, Annapolis, 1957. ISBN 0-87021-327-X
- Caravaggio, Angelo.N, 'The attack at Taranto: tactical success, operational failure', Naval War College Review, Summer 2006, Vol. 59, No. 3.
- Greene, Jack & Massignani, Alessandro: The Naval War in the Mediterranean, 1940–1943, Chatham Publishing, London, 1998. ISBN 978-1-86176-057-9.
- Mollo, Andrew (1981). The Armed Forces of World War II. New York: Crown. ISBN 0-517-54478-4.
- Morison, Samuel E. Operations in North African Wars 1942 - June 1943 (Boston: Little Brown, 1984). on the U.S. Navy
- O'Hara, Vincent P.Struggle for the Middle Sea: the Great Navies at War in the Mediterranean 1940 - 1945 (London: Conway, 2009)
- O'Hara, Vincent P. The German Fleet at War, 1939–1945 (Naval Institute Press, 2004)
- Paterson, Lawrence. U-boats in the Mediterranean, 1941–1944. (Naval Institute Press, 2007)
- Roskill, S. W. War at Sea 1939–1945, Volume 1: The Defensive London: HMSO, 1954; War at Sea 1939–1945, Volume 2: The Period of Balance, 1956; War at Sea 1939–1945, Volume 3: The Offensive, Part 1, 1960; War at Sea 1939–1945, Volume 3: The Offensive, Part 2, 1961. online vol 1; online vol 2
- Roskill, S. W. The White Ensign: British Navy at War, 1939–1945 (1960). summary
- Sadkovich, James (1994). The Italian Navy in World War II. Greenwood Press, Westport. ISBN 0-313-28797-X
- Simpson, Michael. Life of Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Cunningham (Routledge, 2004)
- Tomblin, Barbara Brooks. "The Naval War in the Mediterranean." in A Companion to World War II (2013): 222+
- Walker, Ian W. (2003). Iron hulls, iron hearts: Mussolini's elite armoured divisions in North Africa. Marlborough: Crowood. ISBN 9781861266460.