Operation Aquatint
Operation Aquatint | |||||||
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Part of Omaha beach | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
United Kingdom | Nazi Germany | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Gus March-Phillipps † | Karl Maderholz | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
10 Motor Torpedo Boat |
320th Infantry Division | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
3 killed in action 1 killed in captivity 2 fate unknown 5 captured and survived | Unknown |
Operation Aquatint was the
Prior to the operation, a raid on the French coastal town of
Background
Following a request from the
The size of the SSRF landing party was limited to how many could be carried aboard a Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB),
The
Battle
The mission had previously been attempted over the night of 11/12 September 1942, but had to be cancelled after the MTB arrived off the coast of France. The raiding party had been unable to locate their target because of the dark and foggy conditions.
On their way back to the beach they sighted a German patrol of about seven or eight men coming from the direction of the houses so they took cover.
The MTB had withdrawn out of range at about 01:30, but not before it had suffered engine damage; a bullet had disabled the starboard engine. After 10 minutes it moved back inshore hoping to pick up any survivors. It was again located by the Germans at about 02:30. The MTB was forced to withdraw once again under increasingly heavy mortar and machine gun fire. Unable to locate any survivors, it recrossed the German minefield and arrived back in Portsmouth at 10:00.[14][15]
Aftermath
Later on the morning of 13 September 1942 Winter and Desranges were ordered to collect the bodies of the men who had been killed on the beach.[13] Of the 11 men who went ashore, three were killed: Major March-Phillips, Sergeant Williams, and Private Leonard;[16][17][18][19] four were captured (the seriously wounded pair Captain Lord Howard and Lieutenant Hall, with Winter and Desgranges); and four others had escaped.[20][21]
Later on 13 September 1942 Captain Lord Howard and Lieutenant Hall were hospitalised because of their injuries, while Winter and Desgranges were taken to Caen for interrogation.[13] At the time, the Germans were unaware that four commandos—Captain Burton, Privates Hollings and Orr, and Captain Hayes—had managed to evade capture and made it off the beach.
On 14 September 1942, the Germans issued a communiqué:
During the night of 12/13 September 1942, British soldiers attempted to land on the channel coast, to the east of Cherbourg. Their presence was immediately detected by the German defences, opening fire and sinking a boat.[14] |
A second communiqué on 15 September 1942 read:
During the night of 12/13 September, guards of the coast defences to the east of the Gaullist forces.[14]
|
The bodies of the dead were buried in the St-Laurent-sur-Mer cemetery on 15 September 1942. The funeral was only attended by the local German and the French
After 10 days of questioning Winter was taken to Rennes, where he was joined three days later by Captain Burton, Hollings, and Orr. These three had managed to stay together when the boat was sunk, and were captured by a German parachute unit carrying out manoeuvres.[20] Burton was sent to a prisoner of war camp in Germany,[20] Winter, Hollings and Orr were taken to Frankfurt and handed over to the Gestapo for further questioning, after which Winter was sent to a prisoner of war camp at Memmingen. The fate of Hollings and Orr has never been established.[20] Winter and a Special Air Service officer escaped from the camp in April 1945, disguised as French soldiers. Desgranges was also able to escape from captivity, travelling via Spain to Britain, where he joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE).[19]
Captain Hayes, unable to reach the MTB, had started swimming away from the shooting, and came ashore beside
Despite the results of the operation, the SOE and Combined Operations Headquarters believed that the SSRF could still be of use, and ensured that it was not dissolved. Command of the unit was given to the newly promoted Major Appleyard.[19] At the end of 1942, most of SSRF were moved to Algeria and absorbed into the 2nd Special Air Service Regiment. Appleyard did not survive the war. He was returning from a Special Air Service mission when his plane was reported missing. It was the same day that Captain Hayes was executed in Paris.[25]
Notes
- Footnotes
- Citations
- ^ Chappel, p.48
- ^ Binney, p.151
- ^ a b Binney, p.152
- ^ a b Binney, p.153
- ^ van der Vat, p.100
- ^ Hart, p.29
- ^ "Obituary;Freddie Bourne". The Daily Telegraph. London. 5 March 2002. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
- ^ Richards and Foot, p.142
- ^ Zaloga and Johnson, p.7
- ^ Binney, pp.153–154
- ^ a b c d e Binney, p.157
- ^ a b Binney, p.161
- ^ a b c Binney, p.158
- ^ a b c d Binney, p.156
- ^ Messenger, p. 155
- ^ "CWGC headstone March-Phillips". Commando Veterans Association. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- ^ "CWGC headstone Williams". Commando Veterans Association. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- ^ "CWGC headstone Leonard". Commando Veterans Association. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- ^ a b c Messenger, p. 156
- ^ a b c d Binney, p.159
- ^ a b Brown, p.62
- ^ Binney, p.160
- ^ Binney, p.162
- ^ Binney, pp.168–170
- ^ Binney, pp.167–168
References
- Binney, Marcus (2006). Secret War Heroes. London: ISBN 978-0-340-82910-3.
- ISBN 978-0-7475-9607-3.
- Hart, Russell (2003). The Second World War, Vol. 6: Northwest Europe 1944–1945. Oxford: ISBN 978-0-415-96850-8.
- Messenger, Charles (1985). The Commandos: 1940–1946. London: Kimber. ISBN 0-7183-0553-1.
- ISBN 0-7146-5316-0.
- ISBN 1-58234-314-4.
- Zaloga, Steven J; Johnson, Hugh (2005). D-Day Fortifications in Normandy. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-876-6.