THE ROYAL NAVY and the MEDITERRANEAN VOLUME II: November1940-December 1941 the ROYAL NAVY and the MEDITERRANEAN VOLUME II: November 1940-December1941
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WHITEHALL HISTORIES: NAVAL STAFF HISTORIES SeriesEditor: Capt. ChristopherPage ISSN: 1471-0757 THE ROYAL NAVY AND THE MEDITERRANEAN VOLUME II: November1940-December 1941 THE ROYAL NAVY AND THE MEDITERRANEAN VOLUME II: November 1940-December1941 With an Introduction by DAVID BROWN Former Head ofthe Naval Historical Branch, Ministry ofDefence i~ ~~o~~~;n~~~up LONDON AND NEW YORK NAVAL STAFF HISTORIES SeriesEditor: Capt. ChristopherPage ISSN: 1471-0757 Naval Staff Historieswere producedafter the SecondWorld War in orderto provide as full an accountof thevarious actions and operations as was possible at the time. In some casesthe Historieswere basedon earlierBattle Summarieswritten much soonerafter the event,and designedto provide more immediateassessments. The targetaudience for theseNaval Staff Historieswas largely servingofficers; someof the volumeswere originally classified,not to restrict their distribution but to allow the writers to be as candidas possible. The Evacuationfrom Dunkirk: Operation 'Dynamo: 26May-4 June 1940 With a prefaceby W. J. R. Gardner Naval Operationsof the Campaignin Norway, April-June 1940 With a prefaceby ChristopherPage The RoyalNavy and the Mediterranean,Vol. I: September1939-0ctober 1940 With an introductionby David Brown The RoyalNavy and the Mediterranean,Vol. II· November1940-December 1941 With an introductionby David Brown German Capital Shipsand Raidersin World War II: VolumeI: From Gra! Speeto Bismarck,1939-1941 VolumefL· From Scharnhorstto Tirpitz, 1942-1944 With an introductionby Eric Grove The RoyalNavy and the PalestinePatrol With a prefaceby Ninian Stewart During the productionof this Naval Staff History, it was learnedwith greatregret that David Brown, OBE FRHistS,the authorof the new Introductionto this volume, died on 11 August 2001. He had dedicatedhis life to naval history and was Headof the Naval Historical Branchof the Ministry of Defencefor more than a quarterof a century. CONTENTS page Forewordby Admiral Sir Nigel Essenhigh,First SeaLord ix Introductionto the new edition by David Brown Xl MediterraneanVolume II: [i] Preface [iii] Contents [iv] Illustrations [v] Figuresand Plans [vi] Abbreviations [vii] PhaseI: AIR AND SEA POWER,November 1940 to June1941 Chapter1: Fighting at seain both halvesof the Mediterranean,November 1940 1 Chapter2: Fighting on land, at seaand in the air: Cyrenaica,convoys andbombardments, December1940 to February1941 29 Chapter3: Axis forces attackin the Balkansand Cyrenaica,February to April 1941 54 Chapter4: Withdrawal from Crete,advance into Iraq and Syria, April to June1941 88 PhaseII: SUPPORTTO THE ARMY, Juneto December1941 Chapter5: Stalematein the WesternDesert, June and July 1941 132 Chapter6: Attacks on the enemy'spipe-line, August, September1941 156 Chapter7: Preparingfor assaultin the desert,October, November 1941 182 Chapter8: Advanceinto Cyrenaica,December 1941 210 Appendices(A-G) 239 Bibliography 269 Index 271 Plans(1-19) and Maps (1-8) 319 Forewordby Admiral Sir Nigel EssenhighKCB ADC First SeaLord and Chiefof the Naval Staff This Naval StaffHistory, publishedin 1957,was the secondin a serieswhich originally was intendedto comprisefour volwnes. [n the event, it was decidedthat the historiesof the subsequent operationsin the Mediterraneantheatre were coveredin othervolwlles, althougha first draft for Volume III wasprepared. At the beginningof November1940, we had somereason to be confidentof the future: on land, the Italians hadbeen checked near Sidi Barrani, andWavell was receiving reinforcementsfor his intendedcounter attack; at sea,the Italians showedlittle inclination to contestthe Royal Navy's aggressivepatrolling, and the carrier ILLUSTRIOUS and severalother smaller ships had joined the MediterraneanFleet. The situation looked evenmore favourableafter the raid on Tarantoon II Novemberwhen three Italian battleshipswere put out of action. In Decemberthe Army beganits advanceinto Cyrenaicain a seriesoftri-Service combined operations, which althoughminor in comparisonwith later amphibiousassaults, provided valuable lessons. But by Januarythe situationhad begunto changefor the worsewith the arrival of Germandive- bomberswhich seriouslydamaged ILLUSTRIOUS, sankSOUTHAMPTON, and threatenedthe supply lines to Malta. Thesenaval disasterswere followed by Germanattacks on land in Greece leadingto the costly duel with the Luftwaffe to evacuatethe Army from Crete. 1941 endedwith the daring attackon AlexandriaHarbour by Italian charioteerswhich disabledtwo of Cunningham's battleships:casualties in that yeartotalled 33 destroyersand above sunk or seriouslydamaged, and 8 submarineslost. The Afrika Korps had reinforcedthe flagging Italians and, significantly, Japanhad enteredthe war. Therehad beensuccesses, at CapesSpartivento and Matapan, in the continued supply by seaof Malta andTobruk, and particularly in the efforts madeto supportArmy operations and interdict the logistics of the Axis groundforces. Rommel'smobile tacticsresulted in a very high consumptionof all types of his stores,and it was on the interruptionof his logistic supply chain that the campaignagainst the Axis army hinged. On balance,although it had beena very hardyear, the Commander-in-Chiefcould look backwith somesatisfaction on the part played by the Royal Navy. A Germannaval view of the end of this secondphase of the war in the Mediterraneanis providedby Admiral Weichold, who from November1941 was in commandof all Germannaval forces operating mthetheatre. He highlights variousfailings of the Axis conunandersin this period, notably the pursuit of an independentair war by the Luftwatfe, andthe very seriouslong-term problemsto the Axis army in North Africa posedby the loss of over half a million tons of merchantshipping in one year. Rommelexpected that his supply deficiencieswould be madegood during the next few months.Weichold concludedhis appreciationofthis phase:'This miscalculationsprang from an under-estimationof the importanceof the war at seato the campaignin North Africa'. The resonance of this conclusion,that expeditionarywarfare carrieswith it the essentialprerequisite of being able to supportland forcesfrom the sea,was well-learnedby the Allies at the time, and remainsequally importanttoday. Ministry of Defence June2001 ix INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW EDITION Volume II of the Naval Staff History of MediterraneanOperations covers the period from the beginning of November1940 until the end of December1941 - effectively, from the entry of Greece,through the involvementof theSoviet Union, to theoutbreak of war in theFar East.All threeevents brought welcome allies - Greecewas Britain's first effective ally sincethe fall of France- but the first and last diverted British forces to shoreup new 'fronts' just when it seemedthat victory in the WesternDesert was a realisticpossibility. The Germandiversion of forces,particularly air forces,to the Russianfront occurred during a period when Axis victory in the easternMediterranean and Egypt was no lesslikely. The presentvolume begins with the action which gave the MediterraneanFleet the superiority it neededto conduct its operationsin support of the Army in Egypt and Cyrenaica,and to transport personneland storesto Greecefree from interference;initially from all forms of attackand latterly from naval surfaceforces, at least. The air attackon Tarantoin early November1940 and the Battle of Cape Matapanin late March 1941 did not 'drive the Italian Navy from the seas',but thesesuccesses deterred it from challengingfor evenlocal supremacy,except in the westernbasin, where the weakerForce 'H' had the effrontery to shell the mainland dockyard at La Spezia and the good fortune to withdraw unhindered.The arrival of theLuftwaffe in January1941 restoredsome ofthe balance, but, despiteserious losses,units of the MediterraneanFleet and the merchant navies continued to put themselves'in harm's way' to supportthe Allies andtheir armies,culminating in the evacuationsof Greeceand Cretein April and May 1941, in the courseof which air attacks sank or severelydamaged nearly 30 major British warships. In spite of theselosses, the MediterraneanFleet retained an ascendancywhich continuedto be unchallengedeven though the Italian Navy now had a materialadvantage in all major classes.During the secondhalf of 1941, indeed,the Fleetcame closer to establishinggenuine 'Sea Control' than it haddone at the time of its greateststrength, and in Novemberthe Eighth Army was able to launch a successful offensiveagainst an enemywhose consumption had outstrippedresources rendered inadequate by the loss of too many supply ships.A month later, the British naval position in the Mediterraneanwas more precariousthan ever before: in the eastone of its threebattleships had beensunk and the othertwo badly damaged;in the centralbasin the surfacestriking force had sufferedserious losses; and in the westthe only modernaircraft carrieravailable, the Ark Royal, had beensunk. U-boats had beenresponsible for two of the losses,more were enteringthe Mediterranean,and Luftwaffe units which hadbeen operating in Russiawere now flying southfor the winter. In the Far Eastthe loss of two capital ships(the Prince of Wales and Repulse)made the need for reinforcementso urgent that ships had to be found from the MediterraneanFleet, which reachedits nadir as 1941 ended. This Staff History tracesthese developments but leavesthe detail of the major actions to be fully coveredby othervolumes in theNaval StaffHistory series/as are the convoy operations, each amounting to a full-scale battle, undertakenby