The military history of Gibraltar during World War II exemplifies the position of Gibraltar as a British fortress since the early 18th century and as an important factor in British military strategy, both as a foothold in the European continent, and as a bastion of British maritime forces. During World War II, Gibraltar played an important role both at the Atlantic Theater and the Mediterranean Theater, controlling almost all naval traffic in and out of the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean.
In addition to his command position, Gibraltar provides a highly sustainable port from which ships can operate both in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Force H, under the command of Vice Admiral James Somerville based in Gibraltar and has the task of maintaining a naval superiority and providing strong escort for convoy to and from the besieged island of Malta. During the war, Gibraltar was attacked by air from the French Vichy aircraft and from the Sardinia-based Royal Air Force of Italy ( Regia Aeronautica). In addition, the castle is the focus of underwater attack by the Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina
Inside the Gibraltar Stone itself, miles of tunnels dug from limestone. Rock mass was blown up to build "underground city". In large man-made caves, barracks, offices, and well-equipped hospitals, complete with operating room and X-ray equipment.
Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa France in November 1942, was coordinated from "Rock". General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was given the command of operations, set up his headquarters in Gibraltar during the planning phase of the operation. Following the successful completion of the North African campaign and the surrender of Italy in 1943, Gibraltar's role shifted from a forward operating base to a supply position in the rear area. The port continued to operate the dry dock and supplied the depot for the convoy route through the Mediterranean until V-E Day in 1945.
Video Military history of Gibraltar during World War II
Prelude and evacuation
World War II dramatically changed the lives of the Tasmanians. The decision to enforce a mass evacuation to increase Rock's power with more military and naval personnel meant that the majority of Tasmanians (some to ten years old) had no place to call 'home'. Only civilians with important work are allowed to stay but give the whole community a sense of 'England' by sharing in the war effort.
In early June 1940, about 13,500 refugees were sent to Casablanca in Morocco France. However, after the French capitulation to the German army later in June 1940, the new French Pro-German Vichy Government found Surinam refugees somewhere in Casablanca embarrassing and looking for opportunities for their dismissal. Opportunities soon emerged when 15 British cargo ships arrived under Commodore Crichton, repatriating 15,000 French soldiers who had been rescued from Dunkirk. Once their rescued soldiers had descended, the ships were interned until they agreed to take all the refugees. Although Crichton could not get permission to clean and equip his ships (and contrary to British naval orders forbidding evacuees), when he saw the mass of civilians arriving at the dock, he opened his aisles to board the plane. Previously, the British fleet had destroyed a number of French warships in Mers el-Kebir to prevent them ending in the hands of the Germans. The attack, in which 1,297 French sailors were killed, caused a high tension, which was proven when the family was forced on the point of bayonets by French troops to board the ship carrying only what they could carry, leaving much of the treasure behind. However, when they arrive in Gibraltar, the Governor will not allow them to land, fearing that once the refugees return to Rock, it is virtually impossible to evacuate them a second time. Crowds gathered at John Mackintosh Square in downtown Gibraltar as the news broke out, speeches made, and two City Council members accompanied by Temporary Officials and Public Libraries went to meet Governor Sir Clive Liddell to request an evacuation to be allowed to land. After receiving instructions from London, the landing was allowed during the evacuation when another ship arrived to take them away from Rock, and on July 13 the evacuation back to Gibraltar was completed.
Conservative British politician Oliver Stanley agrees to accept refugees in Britain, but he argues with Gibraltar about the number of people involved. The governor, he said, had given the first number of refugees by 13,000, then 14,000 and eventually to 16,000. He asked for a situation to be clarified, emphasized the shortage of accommodation in Britain and insisted that only 13,000 were acceptable, 2,000 of which would be sent to the island of Madeira, Portugal. The situation, General Liddell replied on July 19, "is that this is a fortress that can be attacked heavily and immediately and there should be no civilians here, while 22,000.A 13,000 sent to Morocco, and many more sent. there is no change. "In London, refugees are placed in the hands of the Ministry of Health, and many are stationed in the Kensington area. Their concern in Gibraltar increased as air strikes against London intensified, coupled with the coming of terrible letters, illustrating the circumstances in which the refugees lived.
In September rumors have been circulating among refugees, and in Gibraltar, that the possibility of evacuating the Hague people is once again being debated, this time the goal is Jamaica, in the West Indies. After much dispute, it was decided to send a party directly from Gibraltar to the island, and 1,093 refugees left for Jamaica directly, on October 9, with more follow in the future. But the petition was followed and the demands were met, partly for strategic reasons and lack of available shipments. The situation in late 1940, therefore, was about 2,000 refugees in Jamaica and fewer in Madeira, with most around 10,000 homes in the London area.
Maps Military history of Gibraltar during World War II
Royal Air Force Engagement: 1939-1941
The construction of a solid surface foundation began at the end of 1939 and in 1940 it was proposed to extend the existing platform to 1,550 meters (1,417 m). Land reclamation began towards the end of 1941 along with the construction of the RAF camp on the "North Front", now RAF Gibraltar. The RAF sent their next squadron to Gibraltar at the moment and it was in September 1939 that a war with Germany was declared and the strong possibility of a German submarine concentrating on the Strait of Gibraltar and using the Spanish port facility, looked great in Admiralty thought. So at 09:00 (UTC) on September 9, 1939, No. 202 Squadron RAF was ordered to Gibraltar, loaded into a hamlet with equipment.
On September 25, 1939, the No 200 (Coastal) Group was formed as a subordinate formation to the RAF Mediterranean HQ that controls No. 202 Sqn. The function of the Group is the control of the Royal Air Force unit operating from Gibraltar. At the end of 1940, the Group was transferred to the Coastal Command. Then a joint headquarters was formed which began operating in early 1942.
French Vichy Attack: 1940
On July 18, 1940, after an attack on the French Armada in Mers-el-KÃÆ' Ã… © beer by the British, the Vichy government allowed a bomb attack on Gibraltar in response. Minor damage has been reported.
On Tuesday, September 24, the Italian news agency Stefani reported: "In retaliation for the Dakar bombings yesterday morning, one hundred and twenty French Morocco-based aircraft attacked Gibraltar." On the same day, the United Press Agency reported: "The French government has issued an official denial of reports, according to which the French plane is said to have attacked Gibraltar." Until now, no retaliation has been made. But the United Press report ended with an unpleasant note with: "French Revenge is imminent."
Again, on the same day, the French government Vichy issued an order for naval and Gibraltar bases to be bombarded. As a result, six squadron bombers of the French Air Force Vichy ( Armà © de l'Air de Vichy ) and four squadrons of the French Navy Vichy ( Marine nationale de Vichy ) were employed in operation. The 64 bombers flew from base in Oran, Tafaroui (in Algeria), Meknes, Mediouna, and Port Lyautey (in Morocco). The French act was approved by the German Armistice Commission and the Italian Armistice Commission.
No British aircraft were found and much damage was done in the area south of the castle. The South Mole and a large ship at the harbor were heavily damaged. In the northern part of Gibraltar, a fire broke out.
On September 25, France returned with a force greater than eighty-three bombers to cause additional damage to naval bases and port installations. Again, the aircraft of the Royal Air Force of Britain did not appear. However, the French crew reported that they faced heavy anti-aircraft fire. One LeO 451 bomber was missing and 13 other aircraft were lightly damaged during a two-day bombing attack. The British armed tug boat HMT Stella Sirius was drowned by a bomb.
The air strike on September 25 was the last by Vichy's forces in Gibraltar.
Operation Felix: 1940-1941
The Rock came through a relatively unscathed war but, given its strategic importance, Germany made plans to capture Gibraltar. The codename "Felix", a plan signed by Adolf Hitler himself was formulated at the highest command level. With or without permission, Germany will enter through Spain and attack Gibraltar which moves Britain out of the Western Mediterranean. The Strait will be effectively closed to the Allies once Gibraltar is in the hands of Germany, forcing Allied shipments in Asia to steam the entire road in Africa rather than heading east through the shorter route through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal. The Rock will be greatly hit by planes leaving France but landed thereafter at the Spanish air base. To deny the possibility of Spanish capture of the base, German planners decided that the final attack to seize Gibraltar would be carried out by German forces themselves.
The diplomatic failure at the highest levels of government prevented the operation from occurring in early 1941 which was made in detail by the Wehrmacht in the summer and fall of 1940.
XLIX Corps General Ludwig KÃÆ'¼bler will perform an actual attack on Rock. The attack troops will consist of the GroŸdeutschland Infantry Regiment, 98th Regiment of the 1st Mountain Division, 26 heavy and medium artillery battalions, three observation battalions, three battalion engineers, two smoke battalions, one detachment of 150 Brandenburger, and up to 150 miniature remote controlled vehicle controller (Goliaths), packed with high explosives.
As part of a combined power operation, the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) will donate Ju 88As, Stukas, Messerschmitt, three light AA battalions, and three heavy AA battalions. Nazi Germany Kriegsmarine will work together using U Boats to disrupt the British naval movement and ban coastal batteries to further prevent the Royal Navy.
On March 10, 1941, with Operation Barbarossa looming, Felix was transformed into Operation Felix-Heinrich, where German troops would be withdrawn from the Soviet Union to capture Gibraltar. As a result of the harshness of dictator Francisco Franco, the operation was postponed, modified, and eventually abandoned.
Italian bombing in Gibraltar
From Sardinia, the Italian bomber Piaggio P.108 attacked Gibraltar several times, especially in 1942. The last raids in Gibraltar were made during the Allied landings of 1942 in Algeria, when the bombers managed to hit the port of Oran.
The only Regia Aeronautica unit (Air Royal Air Force) that ever flew Piaggio P.108 was the "Long Distance Bombing Squadron 274". This unit was formed in May 1941 around the first machine out of the assembly line. The training of the crew lasted much longer than anticipated and only in June 1942 the 274 became operational. The most spectacular raids with P. 108 bombers were flown in October 1942 when several night raids against Gibraltar were conducted from Sardinia.
After the ceasefire from Cassibile (8 September), the Italian Social Republic allied Germany to launch at least two attacks on Gibraltar: one on the night of 4-5 June 1944 with ten SM.79bis and other aircraft on June 6 with nine aircraft. The second sorti is done by Gruppo Aerosiluranti "Buscaglia-Faggioni".
Italian helicopters attack 1940-1943
Known as the "Gibraltar Floating Trojan Horse", Decima Flottiglia MAS , the Italian command frog unit created during the Fascist government, was involved in numerous attacks on the port in Gibraltar.
Gibraltar is a very tempting target for the Italians, who see it as a sanctuary for British warships and sending merchant allies. The Italian frogs originally used a Spanish villa ( Villa Carmela ) located two miles (3 km) from Gibraltar owned by an Italian officer who had married a Spanish woman named Conchita Ramognino. Their base was moved later to the Italian tanker SS Olterra , interned in Algeciras.
Abwehr saboteurs from Spain
Less known from the actions of Italy were sabotage operations and limpet-mine attacks carried out by Spanish and Tasmanian Islands agents recruited at Campo de Gibraltar by Germany. The Abwehr contacted Spanish staff officers from Campo de Gibraltar, Lieutenant Colonel Eleuterio SÃÆ'¡nchez Rubio, a Spanish officer, Falange member and coordinator of intelligence operations at Campo, to build a saboteur network with access to Gibraltar. SÃÆ'¡nchez Rubio appointed Emilio Plazas Tejera, who is also a member of Falange, as head of operations of the organization. Most of those recruited for sabotage operations were Spaniards from Campo. The combination of financial rewards, ideological commitment and some threats and intimidation are used to gather a large number of agents. According to British intelligence, there were at least 183 Spaniards and Tasmanian Warriors involved in espionage and sabotage operations against Gibraltar.
Sabotage surgery was ordered from Berlin in late autumn 1940, but the actual work did not begin until early 1941. The first operation was unsuccessful. The first attempt to smuggle bombs into Gibraltar was canceled, as the timing device was damaged. In February there was a huge explosion in the North Tunnel, and in April a bomb exploded near the airfield. However, in June 1941, British intelligence foiled a new attempt, by German agents, to attach a mine along with Allied cargo ships. Another attempt failed when the Plazas placed the bomb inside the ammunition store but could not carry the explosives. It was not until 1942 that the operation began to succeed. In January 1942, two Spanish agents managed to destroy two planes on the North Front landing lane.
Funded, trained and equipped by the Germans, saboteurs drowned the HMT armed trawlers Erin, and destroyed the additional HMTO, Honju, which resulted in the death of six British sailors on January 18, 1942 Plazas was assisted by the Spanish naval commander, Puente Mayorga, Manuel Romero Hume, who allowed him to board a rowboat there. But British intelligence was able to eliminate sabotage operations. In March 1942, a Gibraltarian, JosÃÆ'Ã… © Key, one of the most prominent agents working for Germany, was responsible for gathering information about the military movement for Abwehr captured and executed in Wandsworth Prison in late 1942. On September 1942, Plazas, whose activities were closely watched by the British at the time, resigned and left Carlos Calvo, the second commander, in charge of the operation. In late 1942, the German headquarters in Berlin ordered an expanded sabotage operation. In early 1943, the arrival of an experienced Abwehr head of operations in Spain increased the range of operations.
In March 1943, an ammunition dump was detonated by Calvo agents. The English, who began to be suspicious of some saboteurs, forbade them from entering Gibraltar. This forces Abwehr to request Calvo for new personnel. The Spaniard who worked at Rock, JosÃÆ' © MartÃÆ'n MuÃÆ'  ± oz, was responsible for the explosions and fires in a large fuel tank at Coaling Island on 30 June 1943; this mission, however, will be first and last for MuÃÆ'  ± oz, as he was cornered and captured by British authorities in August, when he tried to smuggle bombs into a gun magazine inside Ragged Staff Cave. After being sentenced to death, he was hanged on January 11, 1944 in Gibraltar by British executioner Albert Pierrepoint. A member of sabotage network Abwehr Luis LÃÆ'³pez CordÃÆ'³n-Cuenca (also arrested in 1943) was executed by Pierrepoint on the same day. Calvo himself was detained by Spanish police and neutralized. He will become a free man again in December, when he joins with Abwehr in Madrid, under the direct command of Wolfgang Blaum, aka Baumann, head of the sabotage department in Spain. After the efforts of Falangis against the life of supporters of General Josà ©  © Enrique Varela, conducted by networking agents SÃÆ'¡nchez Rubio, Juan JosÃÆ' © DomÃÆ'nguez and the meeting between Anthony Eden and the Spanish ambassador in London, Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, Abwehr activities around Gibraltar expire.
Tracking Operation: 1941-1942
Operation Tracer is a secret British spy mission living behind that will only be implemented if Gibraltar is seized by Axis Powers. Six people had to be sealed in a cave and left with enough supplies for a year. The volunteers - two doctors, three signal officers and their leader - will run an observation post with a 12-inch (300 mm) gap with a 6-inch (150 mm) gap overlooking the harbor and outside terrace hidden above the Mediterranean. The team will then transfer all shipping movements to the British Admiralty.
They were told that there would be no way out and whoever died in the room should be embalmed and cemented onto a brick floor. Only if Germany is defeated in their first year, they will be released.
Because the threat of invasion was clearly felt in late 1941, the idea for a series of secret observation posts (first in Gibraltar and later elsewhere such as Malta and Aden) was united under Operation Tracer.
Working in Gibraltar soon began under Commander Geoffrey Birley and chief engineer Colonel Fordham. The site chosen at Battery Lord Airey at the southern end of Rock already has a tunneling scheme available for shelter. Extensive equipment testing began in January 1942 under the supervision of MI6 radio specialist, Colonel Richard Gambier-Parry. Much thought is also given to the type of man needed for this so strange and demanding task. An expedition member of Scott who is not in accord with Antarctica, George Murray Levick is called as Surgeon-Commander to advise on the technique of survival. There are practical things like diet, exercise, sanitation, and clothing to consider as well as a vital "psychological personnel". The full team was there in late summer 1942 and their cave was complete and ready for occupation. A comprehensive guide is prepared on all aspects of the operation and it is considered that the same secret surveillance posts should be set up around the world in the event of a future war. However, Operation Tracer was never needed, as Adolf Hitler turned his attention away from Gibraltar and headed for the Eastern Front.
The operation was shrouded in mystery until the discovery of a paper at the Public Record Office at Kew UK. Earlier in the 1960s, details of the story were told to a journalist by his intelligence service contact and he wrote this as "Monkey Operation", but the fact is very rare.
In 1997 "Stay Behind Cave" (as dubbed) was found in Gibraltar by the Gibraltar Caving Group, but no reports have been obtained from anyone associated with the mission. The discovery came as the group faced strong winds in a tunnel. The further search made them pierce the walls into rooms that had never been used and remained sealed for more than 50 years.
In November 2006 Jim Crone and Sergeant Major Pete Jackson, a senior tunnel guide with the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, met perhaps the only surviving member of Operation Tracer when they traveled to meet Dr. W. A. ​​Bruce Cooper at his home in England. Cooper, 92 at the time, gave an opportunity to explain the operation with his direct involvement in the mission as a Surgeon-Lieutenant at the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). He remembers the story of his colleagues, his training, and his feelings about the task.
Mediterranean U-boat Campaign: 1941-1944
The U-boat Mediterranean campaign lasted from about 21 September 1941 to May 1944. The Kriegsmarine tried to isolate Gibraltar, Malta, and Suez and disrupt the British trade route. More than sixty U-boats were sent to stop Allied shipments in the Mediterranean Sea. Many of the U Boats themselves were attacked negotiating the Strait of Gibraltar controlled by the British. Nine U-boats sank while trying to trip and ten more damaged.
North African Campaign: 1942
The plan for the Allied counter-attack after the attack on Pearl Harbor was under way in mid-1942. The European invasion of 1943 would not work, but the allies could attack the "soft underbelly of Europe" through the Mediterranean, as Prime Minister Winston Churchill said. Designed by President Franklin Roosevelt and Churchill and code named Operation Torch, the plan is to occupy France North Africa: Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. From these French colonies, attacks could be launched that would push Italy out of the war.
In July 1942, Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed Allied Operation Allied Operation Commander. Churchill placed Gibraltar under General Eisenhower's command as a temporary headquarters for this, the first large-scale Anglo-American operation. He arrived in Gibraltar on 5 November 1942 to take over, not just command of Operation Torch itself, but also the military command of Gibraltar.
General Eisenhower lives in The Convent , the Governor's official residence, but his operational headquarters are in a small room in a tunnel in the heart of Rock. In his memoirs, General Eisenhower wrote:
The underground line under Rock provides the only available office space, and inside it lies the signal equipment we expect to keep in touch with the commander of the three attacking forces. The darkness of the tunnel is here and there partially pierced by a weak electric light bulb. Wet and humid air in long blocks is heavy with stagnation and does not respond to fans' fan ventures. Through the arched ceiling comes constant droplets, drips, surface water droplets that faithfully but secretly mark the endless seconds, almost unbearable, waiting for the ever-happening between the completion of the military plan and when the action begins.
A hundred thousand troops on the high seas in many transport gathered in Gibraltar. More than 400 aircraft of all kinds were crammed into the deployment area around the Gibraltar foundation. Fighters have been sent in crates and assembled at the airport. Every available storage area is taken with ammunition, fuel, and other essential supplies. 168 American pilots were placed in the RAF mess on the North Front.
On November 8, 1942, 466 planes from Gibraltar landed at captured North African airfields.
From their base in Gibraltar, General Eisenhower and Admiral Sir Andrew Browne Cunningham directed Operation Torch, the first major joint combat operation during World War II involving American and British forces.
Tunnel war
Given that Gibraltar is a small town with only a few defenses protecting it, the solution is to build a series of tunnels and large spaces within the natural protection of the Rock of Gibraltar. This "city" inside Stone contains its own power plants, water supply and hospitals. Some of the soldiers stationed here will not see the light of day for months. Two Canadian engineer companies, the only soldier with diamond-tipped exercise and five British engineers, added about 30 miles (48 km) of such tunnels, an achievement that was considered impossible at the time. That's enough to hold 30,000 troops on a rock. Today, rocks have more underground tunnels than roads.
Death of W? adys? aw Sikorski: 1943
On July 4, 1943, a Liberator bomber from the RAF Transportation Command took off from Gibraltar to England. On the board was General W? Adys? Aw Sikorski, Prime Minister of the London-based Polish government in exile and Commander of the Armed Forces, returned from visiting Polish troops in the Middle East.
The aircraft rises normally from the runway, leveled to gather speed but then suddenly loses its height and crashes into the harbor. The 62-year-old general died, along with 15 others. The only survivor was the Czech-born pilot, Eduard Prchal, who was rescued by the RAF launch. The bodies of five passengers and crew, including Sikorski's son, were never found.
The coffin of General Sikorski and his Chief of Staff, General Kilimecki, was wrapped in the National Flag of Poland and laid in the Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned. After the Requiem Mass, the corpse was brought in a procession to H.M. Shipyard with full Military Honors to be sent to London in anticipation that the body of General Sikorski would one day be returned to the liberated Poland. The route to the shipyard was lined with British troops and coffins were carried and escorted by Polish Soldiers.
Investigation
In 1943, the British Investigation Court investigated the accident of the Sikorski II Liberator AL523 , but could not determine the possible cause, only discovered that it was an accident and "the plane became uncontrollable for reasons that could not be established". A popular theory is inadequate technical maintenance that leads to the control of a jammed aircraft. Despite these findings, the political context of the event, coupled with strange circumstances, soon sparked speculation that Sikorski's death was not an accident, and was probably a direct result of a Soviet, British, or even a Polish conspiracy..
Aftermath
The Italian surrender in September 1943 raised the possibility of objections to the return of refugees to Rock. As a result, the Resettlement Council was formed in November, and at the Council meeting on 8 February 1944, the priority of repatriation was finally approved. On April 6, 1944 the first group of 1,367 repatriates arrived at Rock directly from England and on 28 May, the first repatriation party left Madeira, and by the end of 1944 only 520 non-priority refugees lived on the island.
In London, newcomers make claims about wartime accommodation of refugees and 500 Tasmanian bodyguards re-evacuated to Scotland and 3,000 to camps in Northern Ireland. Although the Governor, Lt. General Sir Noel Mason-MacFarlane, fought bravely on behalf of the refugees and did not accept the lack of accommodation as a sufficient reason for the delay. By the end of 1947 there were still 2,000 in the Northern Irish camps. The last of the refugees did not see the Rock again until 1951.
Note
See also
- British Commonwealth military history in the Second World War
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References
Further reading
- Finlayson, Thomas James (1991). First Coming Fort: The Civilian Story of Gibraltar During the Second World War . Gibraltar Books. ISBN: 0-948466-12-X.
- Jackson, William (1990). The Rock of the Gibraltarians. A History of Gibraltar (2nd ed.). Grendon, Northamptonshire, UK: Gibraltar Books. ISBN: 0-948466-14-6. < span> General Sir William Jackson was Governor of Gibraltar between 1978 and 1982, a military historian and former Chairman of the Friends of Gibraltar Heritage Society.
- Rankin, Nicholas (2017). Defending the Stone: How Gibraltar Defeats Hitler . London: Faber. p.Ã, 672. ISBNÃ, 9780571307708.
External links
- Related media with Gibraltar in World War II on Wikimedia Commons
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