1939
SEPTEMBER 1939
3rd -
After Germany invaded Poland on the 1st, Britain and
France demanded the withdrawal of German forces. The
ultimatum expired and at 11.15am on the 3rd, Prime
Minister Neville Chamberlain broadcasts to announce that Britain
was at war with Germany. Italy
declared its neutrality.
1940
JUNE 1940
Italy declared war on Britain and France
Strategic
Situation in the Mediterranean - In the western half, Britain and France between them controlled Gibraltar, southern
France, Corsica, Algeria and Tunisia. In the eastern
half, Britain maintained a hold on Egypt and the
Suez Canal, Palestine and Cyprus. In the Levant, Lebanon
and Syria were French. Italy stood astride the central basin,
with Italy itself, Sardinia and Sicily to the north and
Libya to the south. Albania on the Adriatic Sea and the
Dodecanese Islands in the southern Aegean off Turkey were
Italian. The islands were taken from Turkey in 1912
and included - from north to south - Patmos, Leros, Kos,
Kalymnos and the much larger island of Rhodes.
The Neutral countries in the
western Mediterranean were Spain, and in the east, Greece
and Crete, Yugoslavia and Turkey.
AUGUST 1940
Eastern Europe - The
Germans started planning the invasion of Russia.
SEPTEMBER 1940
Axis Powers -
Germany, Italy and Japan signed the Tripartite Pact
in Berlin on the 27th. They agreed to jointly oppose any
country joining the Allies at war - by which they meant
the United States.
OCTOBER 1940
Eastern
Europe - German troops occupied the Rumanian
oilfields.
Balkans - On the
28th, the Italians invaded Greece from points in Albania,
but were soon driven back. Fighting continued on Albanian
soil until April 1941.
NOVEMBER 1940
Eastern Europe/Balkans
- Hungary and Rumania joined the Axis Tripartite Pact
on the 20th and 23rd. Only Yugoslavia and Bulgaria held
out against German pressure to become members; the only
countries in Eastern Europe and the Balkans not
completely dominated by the Axis or Russia.
Balkans - As the
Greek Army pushed back the Italians into Albania, RAF
squadrons were sent from Egypt to Greece and the Royal
Navy carried over the first Australian, British and New
Zealand troops by cruiser. Mediterranean Fleet
established an advance base at Suda Bay on the north
coast of Crete.
DECEMBER 1940
Eastern
Europe - Hitler ordered detailed planning for
Operation 'Barbarossa' - the invasion of Russia.
Crete
- At anchor in the poorly defended Suda Bay, cruiser "Glasgow" was hit by two torpedoes
from Italian aircraft on the 3rd and badly damaged.
Attacks on Albania and
the Dodecanese - Another series of Royal Navy convoy
and offensive operations were carried out by the
Mediterranean Fleet with battleships
"Warspite", "Valiant "and carrier
"Illustrious". On the 17th carrier aircraft
attacked Rhodes and on the night of the 18th/19th the two
battleships bombarded Valona, Albania.
1941
JANUARY 1941
Malta Convoy "Excess"
- Another
complex series of Royal Navy convoy and ship movements
revolving around Malta led to carrier
"Illustrious" being badly damaged and the Royal Navy losing
its comparative freedom of operation in the Eastern
Mediterranean. The operations included convoy 'Excess'
leaving Gibraltar on the 6th for Malta and Greece covered
by Gibraltar-based Force H. All merchantmen reach their
destinations safely, but at a cost of a cruiser and
destroyer, and the loss of "Illustrious'" vital air power.
19th - Destroyer
Greyhound, escorting a convoy to Greece, sank Italian
submarine "NEGHELLI" in the Aegean Sea
MARCH 1941
Eastern Europe/Balkans
- Bulgaria joined the Tripartite Pact on the 1st March
and German troops marched in. As of now, only Yugoslavia
in the Balkans retained national independence
Greece - In the
space of three weeks in March, 60,000 British and
Dominion troops were carried from North Africa to Greece,
escorted by the Royal Navy (Operation 'Lustre').
6th - Italian
submarine "ANFITRITE" attacked a troop convoy east of Crete and
was sunk by escorting destroyer
"Greyhound".
26th - At anchor in
Suda Bay, northern Crete, heavy cruiser "YORK"
was badly damaged by Italian explosive
motor boats and beached. She was later wrecked by bombing
and abandoned when Crete was evacuated in May.
Battle of Cape Matapan (left) - As ships
of the Mediterranean
Fleet covered troop movements to Greece,
'Ultra' intelligence was received reporting the sailing
of an Italian battlefleet with one battleship, six heavy
and two light cruisers plus destroyers to attack the
convoy routes. On the 27th, Vice-Adm
Pridham-Wippell with cruisers "Ajax",
"Gloucester", "Orion" and the
Australian "Perth" and destroyers sailed from
Greek waters for a position south of Crete. Adm
Cunningham with carrier "Formidable" and
battleships "Warspite", "Barham" and
"Valiant "left Alexandria on the same day to
meet the cruisers. Around 08.30 on the 28th,
south of Crete, Adm Pridham- Wippell was in action with
an Italian cruiser squadron. Just before noon he found
himself between them and the battleship "Vittorio
Veneto" which had now come up. An attack by
Swordfish from "Formidable" failed to hit the
Italian battleship, but enabled the British cruisers to
extricate themselves. Mediterranean Fleet heavy units
arrived, but their only chance of action was to slow down
the Italians before they could reach Italy.
A second Swordfish strike
at around 15.00 hit and slowed down "Vittorio
Veneto", but only
for a short while. At 19.30 a third strike
southwest of Cape Matapan stopped heavy cruiser
"Pola". All this time, RAF aircraft were
attacking but without success. Later that evening
(still on the 28th), two more heavy cruisers -
"Fiume" and "Zara with four destroyers
were detached to help "Pola". Before reaching
her, Adm Cunningham's ships detected them by radar and "FIUME",
"ZARA" and
destroyers "ALFIERI" and "CARDUCCI"
were crippled by the close range gunfire
of "Barham", "Valiant" and
"Warspite". All four Italians were finished off
by four destroyers led by the Australian
"Stuart". Early next morning on the
29th, "POLA" was found, partly abandoned. After taking off
the remaining crew, destroyers "Jervis" and
"Nubian" sank her with torpedoes. The Royal
Navy lost one aircraft.
31st - Cruiser "BONAVENTURE" with a Mediterranean Fleet cruiser
force escorting a convoy from Greece to Egypt, was
torpedoed and sunk to the southeast of Crete by Italian
submarine "Ambra".
Yugoslavia - On the
25th Yugoslavia joined the Tripartite Pact, but two days
later an anti-Nazi coup toppled the Government.
APRIL 1941
Yugoslavia
and Greece - Germany
invaded both countries on the 6th. By the 12th they
entered Belgrade and within another five days the
Yugoslav Army had surrendered. Greek forces in Albania
and Greece suffered the same fate. Starting on the 24th
over a period of five days, 50,000 British, Australian
and New Zealand troops were evacuated to Crete and Egypt
in Operation 'Demon'. The Germans occupied Athens on the
27th.
27th - As units of
the Mediterranean Fleet carried out the Greek evacuation,
destroyers "DIAMOND" and "WRYNECK" rescued troops from the bombed
transport "Slamat", but were then sunk by more
German bombers off Cape Malea at the southeast tip of
Greece. There were few survivors from the three ships.
MAY 1941
18th - On patrol
south of Crete, AA cruiser "Coventry" was heavily attacked from the air. +
Petty Officer Alfred Sephton continued to carry out his
duties in the director after being mortally wounded. He
was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
21st May-1st June -
Battle for Crete -
On the 21st, in the opening stages
of the attack on Crete, cruiser minelayer
"Abdiel" laid mines off the west coast of
Greece sinking Italian destroyer "MIRABELLO" and two transports. Most of the
Mediterranean Fleet with four battleships, one carrier,
10 cruisers and 30 destroyers fought the Battle for
Crete. For the Navy there were two phases,
both of which took place under intense air attack, mainly
German, from which all losses resulted. Phase One was
from the German airborne invasion on the 20th until the
decision was took on the 27th to evacuate the island.
During this time the Mediterranean Fleet managed to
prevent the sea-borne reinforcement of the German
paratroops fighting on Crete, but at heavy cost. Most of
these losses happened as the ships tried to withdraw from
night-time patrols north of the island out of range of
enemy aircraft.
Phase Two was from
27th May to 1st June when over 15,000 British and
Dominion troops were evacuated. Ten thousand had to be
left behind - and again the naval losses were heavy. 21st
- In the morning destroyer "JUNO"
was sunk and cruiser "Ajax" slightly damaged as they withdrew
southeast of Crete. Later that evening "Ajax",
with "Dido", "Orion" and four
destroyers, savaged a German troop convoy of small craft.
More such vessels were sunk over the next few days off
the north coast. 22nd - Early that morning another
force of four cruisers and three destroyers swept to the
north and was attacked on their return. Cruisers "Naiad"
and
"Carlisle"
were damaged, and as they reached their support
force to the northwest, battleship "Warspite"
was badly hit. Later, destroyer "GREYHOUND"
was caught on her own in the same area
and soon sent to the bottom. Other destroyers went to
rescue her survivors, covered by cruisers
"Gloucester" and "Fiji". As the
cruisers withdrew, first "GLOUCESTER"
was sunk northwest of Crete by Ju87s and
Ju88s. Three hours later "FIJI"
was surprised by a single Me109
fighter-bomber and sank to the southwest. All ships were
very short of AA ammunition by this stage. 23rd -
Withdrawing from the usual night-time patrols led to the
loss of two more destroyers. Capt Lord Louis
Mountbatten's five ship flotilla was attacked to the
south and "KASHMIR" and "KELLY" sunk. Over the next few days the north
coast sweeps continued, and supplies and reinforcements
were brought into Crete.
26th - Carrier
"Formidable", accompanied by battleships
"Barham" and "Queen Elizabeth", flew
off aircraft from a position well to the south for an
attack on the Scarpanto Island airfields. In the
counter-attack "Formidable" and destroyer "Nubian"
were
damaged. 27th - As "Barham" covered a supply mission, she was
hit to the northwest of Alexandria. 28th - The
decision to evacuate was made, and cruisers and
destroyers prepared to lift off the troops. As they
approached Crete, cruiser "Aiax" and destroyer "Imperial"
were
damaged to the southeast. 29th
- Early in the morning, 4,000 men were lifted off from
Heraklion on the north coast. As they did the damaged "IMPERIAL"
had
to be scuttled, and "HEREWARD"
was hit and left behind to go down off
the eastern tip of Crete. Shortly, cruisers "Dido" and "Orion"
were
badly damaged to the southeast. 30th
- Early in the day, more troops were lifted from the
southern port of Sphakia by another cruiser force. Well
to the south the Australian cruiser "Perth"
was bombed and damaged. 1st June -
As the last men were carried from Crete, cruisers
"Calcutta" and "Coventry" sailed from
Alexandria to provide AA cover. "CALCUTTA"
was sunk north of the Egyptian coast.
Some 15,000 troops were saved but at a cost to the Royal
Navy of 2,000 men killed. Total warship casualties, all
from German and some Italian bombing were:
|
Warship types |
Sunk |
Badly damaged |
Total |
|
Battleships |
- |
2 |
2 |
|
Carriers |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
Cruisers |
3 |
5 |
8 |
|
Destroyers |
6 |
5 |
11 |
|
Totals |
9 |
13 |
22 |
JUNE 1941
|
Germany Attacks Russia - On the 22nd the German
attack on Russia (Operation 'Barbarossa') started
with the eventual aim of destroying the Russian
Armies and occupying the whole of the country
west of the line Archangel in the Arctic to the
Caspian Sea. Germany and its Axis partners
including Italy invaded from the Baltic to the
Black Sea. Italy and Romania declared
war on Russia
on the 22nd. Finland followed on the 26th and
Hungary on the 27th. |
Malta - With German forces now in
Greece and Crete, the problems of supplying Malta were
even greater. From airfields in
Crete
as well as Libya, the Luftwaffe and
Italian Air force were as close to the eastern convoy
routes from Alexandria, as Sardinia and Sicily were to
the western ones through the Strait of Gibraltar.
JULY 1941
5th -
Submarine "Torbay" on patrol in the Aegean Sea
sank Italian submarine "JANTINA".
OCTOBER 1941
20th -
Mines previously laid by submarine "Rorqual" in
the Gulf of Athens sank Italian torpedo boats "ALDEBARAN" and "ALTAIR".
DECEMBER 1941
Declarations
of War - In a
series of diplomatic moves, numerous declarations of war
were made: (1) 5th-6th - Britain, Australia,
Canada, New Zealand and South Africa on Hungary and
Rumania. (2) 11th-13th - Italy,
Rumania, Bulgaria and Hungary against the United States.
(3) 28th-14th January - Britain, Australia, New
Zealand and South Africa against Bulgaria.
6th - Submarine
“PERSEUS” on
patrol off the west coast of Greece was mined and sunk
off Zante Island. Just one man made an amazing escape to
the surface and reached the distant shore.
11th - Submarine
“Truant” sank Italian torpedo boat “ALCIONE”
north of Crete.
1942
JANUARY 1942
Early January -
Submarine "TRIUMPH"
sailed from Alexandria on 26th December for
a cloak-and-dagger landing near Athens before patrolling
in the Aegean. She reported the landing on the 30th, but
failed to rendezvous back there on the 9th and was
presumed mined off the island of Milo, southeast of the
Greek mainland.
30th - Italian
submarine "MEDUSA"
was torpedoed by "Thorn" in the
Gulf of Venice, in the far north of the Adriatic.
FEBRUARY 1942
16th -
British submarine "Thresher"
was counter-attacked by the escorts of a
convoy off northern Crete. Two unexploded bombs lodged
between the casing and hull, and with the likelihood of
drowning should she be forced to submerge, two of the
boat's crew managed to remove them. Lt Peter Roberts RN
and Petty Officer Thomas Gould were awarded the Victoria Cross.
MARCH 1942
4th - Another
British submariner won the Victoria Cross. HM Submarine
Torbay (Cdr Miers) carried out a difficult attack on
shipping off Corfu, an island on the west coast of Greece
and torpedoed two merchantmen. This was only the latest
of a number of successful patrols. Cdr Anthony Miers RN
was awarded the Victoria Cross.
18th - Italian
submarine "TRICHECO"
went down off Brindisi in the southern
Adriatic, torpedoed by "Upholder" (Lt-Cdr
Wanklyn).
AUGUST 1942
6th -
Submarine "THORN" attacked a tanker off southwest Crete and
was presumed sunk in the counter-attack by Italian escort
destroyer "Pegaso".
NOVEMBER 1942
Allied Invasion of French North Africa
DECEMBER 1942
15th -
Destroyers "Petard" and Greek "Queen Olga" sank
Italian submarine "UARSCIEK" south of Malta.
1943
APRIL 1943
21st - Royal Navy
submarine "SPLENDID"
was
sunk by German destroyer
"Hermes" (ex-Greek) south of Capri.
'The Man Who Never
Was'- Submarine "Seraph" released the body
of a supposed Royal Marine officer into the sea off
Spain. His false papers help to persuade the Germans that
the next Allied blows would fall on Sardinia and Greece as well as Sicily.
MAY 1943
Resistance
Forces - In occupied Europe, Tito's partisan armies
continued to hold down large numbers of German troops in
Yugoslavia.
JUNE 1943
2nd -
Destroyers "Jervis" and Greek "Queen Olga" sank two
merchantmen and Italian torpedo boat "CASTORE" off Cape Spartivento,
southwest Italy.
JULY 1943
Invasion of Sicily: Operation 'Husky'
AUGUST 1943
11th -
British submarine "PARTHIAN" was overdue on this date. She left
Malta on 22nd July for the southern Adriatic and failed
to return to Beirut.
SEPTEMBER 1943
Italy - Surrender
and Invasion
British Aegean Campaign - With the surrender of Italy,
Winston Churchill wanted to seize the Italian Dodecanese
islands in the southern Aegean before the Germans could
establish themselves. From here the Allies could threaten
Greece and support Turkey, but the Americans and some
British commanders were lukewarm to what they saw as a
sideshow compared with the battle for Italy. Insufficient
forces and especially aircraft were made available, and
the Germans soon took Rhodes from where, together with
other bases, they maintained air superiority throughout
the coming campaign.
On the 15th
and 16th, British troops occupied Kos, Leros, Samos and
other smaller islands. The Royal Navy had the task of
supplying and reinforcing them, as well as attacking
German supply routes. The potential parallels with
Norway, Greece and Crete all those many months back were
obvious, if only in hindsight. 26th - After
carrying troops to Leros, destroyers "Intrepid"
and Greek "Queen Olga" were
attacked by Ju88s while at anchor in the harbour. "QUEEN
OLGA" soon went
down and "INTREPID" capsized next day.
OCTOBER 1943
right - HHMS Adrias of the Royal Greek Navy
(CyberHeritage)
British Aegean Campaign - On the
3rd, German troops
landed on British-held Kos, which fell next day. More
German forces headed for the Kos and on the 7th a
convoy of seven small ships and one escort was
annihilated by cruisers "Penelope" and
"Sirius" and two destroyers. As they withdrew
through the Scarpanto Strait, "Penelope"
was
damaged in attacks by Ju87s and
Ju88s. More sweeps and more supply trips led to further
losses, particularly amongst the 'Hunts', through to
November: 9th - Returning from a sweep west of
Kos, cruiser "Carlisle" and destroyers were
dive-bombed in the Scarpanto Strait area by Ju87 Stukas. "CARLISLE"
was
seriously damaged and never fully
repaired; destroyer PANTHER
was sunk. 17th - Cruiser "Sirius"
was damaged by bombs
south of Scarpanto Strait. 22nd - Greek 'Hunt' "ADRIAS"
was badly damaged off Kos on mines laid
by the German "Drache", and as sister ship "HURWORTH"
went
to her aid, was also mined. She
sank with heavy casualties. 24th - Destroyer "ECLIPSE" fell victim to the same minefield.
30th - Cruiser "Aurora"
was damaged in bombing attacks.
Mid-October
- A Royal Navy submarine failed to return. "TROOPER" set out from Beirut in the Lebanon
on 26th September for Dodecanese patrol and did not get
back on the 17th. German records claim she was sunk by a
Q-ship off Kos on the 14th
NOVEMBER 1943
British Aegean Campaign, Conclusion - German forces landed on Leros on
the 12th and captured the Island after four day's heavy
fighting against the British and Italian defenders. The
campaign came to an end when Samos was evacuated on the
20th, but not before two more 'Hunts' fell victim, this
time to Hs293 glider bombs: 11th - "ROCKWOOD"
was severely damaged off Kos following
an attack with other destroyers on Kalymnos (Calino). She
was not repaired and went into reserve. 13th -
"DULVERTON"
was sunk
off Kos as she withdrew from searching for German
shipping making for Leros. The cost of this abortive
campaign to the Royal Navy could now be added up - four
cruisers damaged with one never repaired, six destroyers
lost or permanently out of action and others damaged. In
addition the small Greek Navy had lost two destroyers.
Mid-November
- Submarine "SIMOOM"
sailed from Port Said on the 2nd for the
Aegean and failed to answer a signal on the 19th. She was
presumed mined although German records claim she was
torpedoed by "U-565" off Kos on the 15th.
DECEMBER 1943
Eastern
Front - In the centre/south all the Ukraine
east of the Dnieper River together with deep bridgeheads
across much of its length were now in Russian hands. They
prepared to recover the rest of the Ukraine, push into
the Crimea and move on Poland and Rumania.
Mediterranean
War at Sea - With the surrender of the Italian fleet,
the big ships of the Royal Navy were released for the
Eastern Fleet and to prepare for the landings in
Normandy. The remaining smaller vessels continued to
escort the convoys needed to supply the Allied forces in
Italy, and to support both Fifth and Eighth armies on
their seaward flanks. The RN also went over to the
offensive against Germany supply traffic down the west
coast of Italy and from the northeast through the Adriatic
to Yugoslavia. From bases such as Corsica and
Bari, light and coastal forces struck regularly at
shipping, and also at land targets along the coast of Yugoslavia
in support of
Tito's partisan armies.
1944
JANUARY 1944
Anzio Landings, western Italy, Operation
'Shingle'
MARCH 1944
Eastern
Front - Nearly all the Ukraine was now back in
Russian hands and in the south the advance towards the
southwest brought the Russians to the foothills of the
Carpathian mountains, just inside pre-war Rumania. Thoroughly concerned about the
potential collapse of the Balkans, Hitler orders troops
into Hungary to prevent the country leaving the Axis.
MAY 1944
Eastern Front -
Against fierce German resistance, the Russians in the
south had now re-captured all the Ukraine including the
Crimea. In the centre, they were over the border into
pre-war Poland and Rumania.
Mediterranean Merchant
Shipping War - U-boats had only managed to sink 10
merchantmen in the Mediterranean in the first five months
of 1944. In return 15 had been lost, including three
breaking through the Strait of Gibraltar and four in
USAAF raids on Toulon, southern France and Pola in the northern Adriatic.
JUNE 1944
Normandy Invasion: Operation
'Overlord'
Early/Mid June -
Submarine "SICKLE" on patrol in the Aegean failed to return to
Malta when recalled on the 14th, and was presumed lost on
mines.
18th - Destroyer "QUAIL", damaged by a mine in the southern
Adriatic seven months earlier in November 1943, foundered
off south-eastern Italy on tow from Bari around to
Taranto.
AUGUST 1944
Eastern
Front - Nearly all pre-war Russia had now been
liberated. The summer offensive started in the far south,
aimed at clearing the Balkans. The Russian armies
attacked on the 20th from the Ukraine south and west into
Rumania. Events moved rapidly. Three days
later Rumania accepted the Russian armistice terms, on
the 25th declared war on Germany, and by the 31st the
Russians were entering Bucharest. Now Bulgaria tried to declare its neutrality and
withdraw from the war, just as the Russian forces swung
west and north towards Hungary and on to Yugoslavia threatening to cut off the Germans
in Greece.
SEPTEMBER 1944
Eastern Front - In
the Balkans, Rumania signed an Allied armistice in Moscow on the
12th, by which time its troops were in battle alongside
the Russians. The country was almost free of the Germans
by the end of the month. From Rumania, the Russians
reached the eastern border of Yugoslavia by the 6th and crossed into
southern Hungary before September was out. Russia
declared war on Bulgaria on the 5th, which in turn declared against
Germany three days later as Russian forces crossed into
the country near the Black Sea. They entered Sofia on the
16th and at the end of October an armistice was signed
with the Allied powers. By then Bulgarian troops were
attacking into Yugoslavia with the Russians.
Greece - As the
Russians attacked through Rumania and Bulgaria towards
Yugoslavia, German troops started to evacuate Crete,
southern Greece and the islands of the Aegean. However
right up until May 1945, garrisons held out on Rhodes,
western Crete and some of the Greek Islands.
End of the
Mediterranean U-boats - The last U-boats in the
Mediterranean were lost to sea and air attack. On the 19th
schnorkel-equipped "U-407"
was
sunk north of Crete by destroyers
"Terpischore", "Troubridge" and the
Polish "Garland" of Adm Troubridge's escort
carrier and cruiser force. Five days later in raids on
Salamis near Athens, USAAF aircraft sank "U-596" and the damaged "U-565".
Royal Navy Submarine
Operations - These too drew to a close. With so few
German targets left, the famous 10th Submarine Flotilla
was disbanded although some of the boats continued to
work out of Malta in the Aegean. The last British
submarine sunk was "Sickle" three months
earlier in June, the 45th Royal Navy loss in the
Mediterranean.
OCTOBER 1944
Eastern Front - In
the Balkans, the struggle up through
Hungary continued, but the Russians could only
reach the outskirts of Budapest in early November.
Meanwhile the Eastern Allies were advancing into Yugoslavia and joined forces with units of
Marshall Tito's partisan armies on the 4th. Belgrade fell
on the 20th.
Adriatic -
Returning from bombarding shore targets on the northeast
coast of Italy, destroyer "LOYAL"
was mined in the Adriatic on the 12th
and not repaired.
Greece - The
Germans were now coming to the end of the evacuation of
the Aegean area and northern Greece as British, Greek and
Allied troops landed in the south and on many of the
islands. On the 12th Allied paratroops dropped near
Athens. Adm Troubridge's force continued to sweep the
Aegean for German evacuation shipping as Royal Navy
submarines also took a toll. 7th - Destroyers
"Termagant" and "Tuscan" sank torpedo
boat "TA-37" in the Gulf of Salonika. 19th
- Further south it was the turn of "TA-18", lost to the same two British
destroyers. Both were ex-Italian vessels.
NOVEMBER 1944
Eastern Front - The
main activity was in Hungary where the Russians still
battle towards Budapest, and in the Balkans as southern Yugoslavia
was cleared by the Eastern
Allies.
Adriatic - Off Zara
in the northern Adriatic on the 1st, escort destroyers
"Avon Vale" and "Wheatland" sank
German torpedo boat "TA-20" and two corvettes - all ex-Italian.
Greece & Albania
- By mid-month Greece was free of those Germans that
could escape and British troops had landed in the north.
They also had the job of disarming the various resistance
movements. In Albania the Germans were pulling out and on
the 21st the capital of Tirana was occupied by Albanian
partisans.
DECEMBER 1944
Adriatic - 'Hunt'
escort destroyer "ALDENHAM"
was the
67th and last Royal Navy destroyer
lost in the Mediterranean. Returning from bombarding a
German-held island off Fiume in the northern Adriatic on
the 14th, she was mined and sunk northwest of Zara.
Greece -
Disagreements with the Greek communist movement EAM/ELAS
over the future government of the country led to fighting
and the declaration of martial law. British troops,
supported by Royal Navy ships, had the unenviable task of
fighting their previous allies. By month's end the
fighting started to die down as proposals for the
setting-up of a regency were announced. The troubles were
not over until February 1945, and trouble flared again
with the outbreak of civil war in 1946.
|
Strategic Situation -
Mediterranean - All the Mediterranean except the
Ligurian Sea to the north of Corsica, the
northern part of the Adriatic and some of the
Greek islands were now under Allied maritime
control |
1945
FEBRUARY 1945
12th - Attacks by
German explosive motorboats were made on shipping in
Split harbour, Yugoslavia, hitting a flak landing craft
and damaging cruiser "Delhi" laying alongside.
17th - Italian
battleship "CONTE DI CAVOUR", sunk in the 1940 Fleet Air Arm
attack on Taranto and salvaged but not recommissioned,
was finally destroyed in RAF raids on Trieste.
APRIL 1945
Italy - Eighth Army
started towards the Argenta gap on the 9th, and by the
18th was through. US Fifth Army moved on Bologna on the
14th and a week later captured the city. British,
Brazilian, Indian, New Zealand, Polish, South African and
US divisions of Fifth and Eighth Armies then reached the
River Po and raced across the north of Italy. By the end
of the month, Spezia, Genoa and Venice had been
liberated.
Adriatic - Torpedo
boat
"TA-45"
was sunk
by coastal forces off Fiume in the northern Adriatic on
the 13th, the last major enemy warship to fall victim to
the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean.
MAY 1945
German Forces in Italy Surrendered
