1940
JUNE 1940
|
 Strategic
Situation - The Mediterranean region included two other
theatres of war - the oil production regions of the Near
East, and the Red Sea and Italian East
Africa area:
Near East -
Iraq, Persia (Iran) and the Persian Gulf area were within the
British sphere of influence and surrounded by Allied or neutral
countries.
Red Sea Area – To the east
Saudi Arabia had close ties with Britain, and at the southern
end of the Red Sea, Aden was a British colony. On the west shore
were Egypt and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, and further south
French and British Somaliland. In between the Sudan and
Somaliland were the linked Italian colonies of Eritrea, Ethiopia
(Abyssinia) and Italian Somaliland. Bordering them to the south
was British Kenya.
Military and Maritime Circumstances - From
bases in Italian East Africa the Italian Air Force and Navy were
capable of cutting Allied supply routes to Suez through the Red Sea. The Italian army was also powerful enough to
conquer British and French Somaliland and posed a threat to the
Sudan and Kenya. The Italians' one major problem was the
impossibility of supplying these forces other than by air from
Libya.
Naval Strengths -
The major Allied and
Italian strengths were in the Mediterranean. However the
Italian Navy maintained a small but
useful force in the Red Sea. Based at Massawa were 7
destroyers, 8 submarines and 2 torpedo boats. Against these
could be deployed ships of the East lndies Command based at
Trincomalee in Ceylon, although these could be reinforced
through the British-controlled Suez Canal. |
Italy Declared War - Italy declared war on
Britain and France on the 10th. Two weeks later France was out of the
war. Still on the 10th, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South
Africa declared war on Italy.
Red Sea Area Operations
15th - In the Red Sea and Indian
Ocean area, four of the eight Italian submarines based there were soon
accounted for starting with “MACALLE” which ran aground, a total loss.
19th - At the southern end of the
Red Sea, the Italian “GALILEO GALILEI” on patrol off Aden was captured
by armed trawler “Moonstone” following a gun duel.
23rd - Also in the Gulf of Aden,
but off French Somaliland, Italian boat “EVANGELISTA TORICELLI”
was sunk by destroyers “Kandahar” and “Kingston” with sloop
“Shoreham”. During the action, destroyer “KHARTOUM” suffered an internal
explosion and sank in shallow water off Perim Island, a total loss.
23rd - Italian submarine “Galvani”
sank Indian patrol sloop “PATHAN” in the Indian Ocean
24th - The following day off the
Gulf of Oman, “GALVANI”
was
accounted for by sloop “Falmouth”.
Merchant Shipping War
- Losses in the Mediterranean throughout the war were generally low as
most Allied shipping to and from the Middle East was diverted around the
Cape of Good Hope. To reach the Eastern Mediterranean meant passing
through the
Red Sea within reach of Italian bases in Abyssinia.
JULY 1940
East Africa - Italian
forces from Ethiopia occupied British border posts in Kenya
and the Sudan.
AUGUST 1940
East Africa - Italian
forces from Ethiopia invaded British Somaliland. The capital of
Berbera was evacuated on the 14th and the garrison carried across to
Aden. Italians entered the town five days later, just as a British
mission went into Ethiopia to help organise uprisings against the
Italians there.
OCTOBER 1940
Red Sea -
Convoy BN7 was attacked by Italian destroyers based at Massawa in
Eritrea on the 21st. The escorts, including New Zealand cruiser
"Leander" and the destroyer "Kimberley", drove "NULLO" ashore with their
gunfire, where she was destroyed next day by RAF Blenheims.
1941
JANUARY 1941
East Africa - The
British and Dominion campaign to drive out the Italians from East Africa
started. Eritrea in the north was invaded from the Sudan by
largely Indian forces, while East African and South African troops
attacked Italian Somaliland from Kenya to the south.
FEBRUARY 1941
East Africa - In the north the
Indian advanced into Eritrea
was
held up for most of February and March by the
Battle for Keren. In the south, the Italian Somaliland capital of
Mogadishu was captured on the 25th, after which British forces advanced
northwest into Ethiopia. The East lndies Command
under Vice-Adm R. Leatham continually supported the land campaign.
27th - After breaking out of
Massawa, Eritrea's Red Sea port, Italian armed merchant cruiser "RAMB 1"
was located off the Indian Ocean Maldive Islands and
sunk by New Zealand cruiser "Leander".
MARCH 1941
East Africa - British
forces were transported from Aden to Berbera in British
Somaliland on the 16th. From there, they advanced southwest
into southern Ethiopia. To the north, Keren fell to the
attacking Indian troops and the road was opened to the Eritrean capital
of Asmara and Red Sea port of Massawa.
APRIL 1941
Near East
- A pro-German coup in Iraq on the 1st threatened Allied oil
supplies. British and Indian units were entering the country through the
Persian Gulf by the middle of the month. The campaign continued through
May.
East Africa - On the Red Sea coast
of Italian East Africa, the capture of Eritrea
was completed when Asmara was occupied on the 1st and
the port of Massawa on the 8th. Two days earlier, Addis Ababa, capital
of Ethiopia, had been taken. Italian resistance continued mainly
in the north of the Ethiopia.
3rd - Leading up to the capture of Massawa, the
surviving eight Italian destroyers and torpedo boats were lost or
scuttled. On the 3rd, five seaworthy destroyers sailed to attack Port
Sudan, Sudan further north along the Red Sea shore. Shore-based
Swordfish from carrier "Eagle" sank "MANIN" and "SAURO".
8th -
Before the final scuttling at Massawa, Italian MTB MAS-213 torpedoed and
damaged cruiser "Capetown" escorting a convoy off Massawa. Four Italian
submarines did manage to escape and eventually reached Bordeaux, France
after sailing right round Africa.
MAY 1941
Near East - British bases in
Iraq
were besieged as British and Dominion forces advanced on
Baghdad from Jordan and the Persian Gulf. An armistice was signed on the
31st May and Baghdad occupied the next day.
East Africa - The remaining major
Italian forces in northern Ethiopia surrendered at Amba
Alagi on the 19th. Some resistance continued until November.
JUNE 1941
Near East - Concerned about German
influence in Vichy French Lebanon and Syria, British,
Dominion and Free French forces invaded on the 8th from points in
Palestine, Jordan and later from Iraqi territory. The Free French
entered Damascus on the 21st, but strong resistance continued into July.
During the campaign a Royal Navy cruiser and destroyer force, including
cruisers Australian "Perth" and New Zealand "Leander", provided close
support on the Army's flank. They also fought a series of actions with
Vichy French warships as well as German aircraft. A number of British
destroyers were damaged, but a French destroyer and submarine were sunk.
16th - Fleet Air Arm torpedo-bombers flying from Cyprus sank the
large destroyer "CHEVALIER PAUL". 25th - Submarine "Parthian"
torpedoed submarine "SOUFFLEUR"
JULY 1941
Near East
- An Allied/Vichy French armistice signed in the middle of the month
brought the fighting in Lebanon and Syria
to an end.
AUGUST 1941
Near East - The possibility of a
pro-Axis coup d'etat led to Anglo-Soviet forces going into Persia
(Iran) on the 25th from points in Iraq, the Persian Gulf and Russia.
A cease-fire was announced within four days, but later violations led to
Teheran being occupied in the middle of September. The landings in
Persia from the Gulf were made from a small force of British, Australian
and Indian warships of the East ladies Command.
|
Near East & East Africa - With the
exception of small parts of Ethiopia, the whole of the Middle
East with its vital oilfields and pipelines together with East
Africa was now under Allied control. |
NOVEMBER 1941
East Africa - The
last Italian forces surrendered at Gondar in the north of Ethiopia on the 27th. The Italian East African empire ceased to
exist.
