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Battle Report ‐ Operation Battleaxe: Sollum/Capuzzo Area, 15‐17 June 1941

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Battle Report ‐ Operation Battleaxe: Sollum/Capuzzo Area, 15‐17 June 1941 BATTLE REPORT ‐ OPERATION BATTLEAXE: SOLLUM/CAPUZZO AREA, 15‐17 JUNE 1941 Re‐fought by members of the Peninsula Wargames Group in Cape Town on the 70th year anniversary of the original battle, from 22‐24 April 2011. Prelude In late March 1941, soon after the arrival of the Afrika Korps in Tripoli, Libya to reinforce the Italians, their commander General Erwin Rommel, although ordered to remain on the defensive, quickly captured the British front line position at El Agheila. He then went on an offensive which, by mid‐April, had reached as far as Sollum, Egypt. The sole remaining Allied position in Libya was the heavily fortified port of Tobruk, which Rommel had surrounded and placed under siege. The Allied response was restricted primarily to harassment by the Royal Air Force. Having been informed by General Wavell that the Western Desert Force was vastly inferior to the Axis forces now in Africa, Churchill ordered that a convoy of tanks and Hawker Hurricanes, Convoy WS 58 codenamed Tiger , be sailed through the Mediterranean instead of having it sail around the Cape of Good Hope; a move that would save 40 days of sailing. The German Armed Forces High Command, also concerned by Rommel's actions, sent down General Friedrich Paulus to investigate the situation. On 12 May the Tiger convoy arrived in Alexandria carrying 238 tanks and 43 Hurricanes. Also on 12 May General Paulus, after witnessing one of Rommel's failed attempts to assault Tobruk, sent a report to OKW describing Rommel's position as weak, with critical shortages of both fuel and ammunition. In response to this and with the imminent invasion of the Soviet Union, Field Marshall Walther von Brauchitsch, the Commander‐in‐ Chief of the German Army, ordered Rommel not to advance further or attack Tobruk again; he was ordered to hold his position and conserve his forces. Through Ultra intercepts the British also received Paulus' report and Churchill, believing that one strong push would dislodge German forces, began to increase the pressure on General Wavell to immediately go on the offensive. Wavell quickly prepared Operation Brevity, a limited operation with the intention of seizing Sollum, the Halfaya Pass, and Fort Capuzzo, then continuing to advance on to Sidi Aziez and towards Tobruk as far as supply would allow while not risking the forces committed; its objective was to destroy as much Axis equipment as possible and secure a foothold for the larger Operation Battleaxe to be launched once the new tanks were made available. Brevity began on 15 May and looked initially successful, with Fort Capuzzo and Halfaya Pass being captured. However the following day William Gott, concerned that his 22nd Guards Brigade would be wiped out if caught in the open ground should the Germans attack with tanks, decided to pull almost the entire force back to Halfaya Pass and the operation officially ended on the 17th with only the Halfaya Pass captured; the Pass itself was retaken by a small German force on 27 May during an operation codenamed Skorpion. By the end of May the Greek island of Crete had fallen to the Germans. This meant that the German air force would have additional airfields available to threaten Allied shipping and also to protect their own supply convoys and troops in Cyrenaica; delaying Battleaxe could therefore mean facing stronger Axis opposition. To offset this, the British Chiefs of Staff stated that it was imperative that control be wrested in the area between Sollum and Derna and British air forces in that region be re‐established. Operation Battleaxe was scheduled originally to start on June 7, but this date was pushed back at the insistence of General O'Moore Creagh, whose squadrons hadn't received their tanks until June 9. The new date was June 15, giving Creagh just five days for additional training for his crews... DAY ONE – 15 JUNE, 1941: the battle for Halfaya Pass... The strategic picture: The British decided on a two-pronged attack on Halfaya Pass, with a mix of 4th Armoured Division, 7th Armoured Brigade and 7th Support Group advancing on both sides of the Pass (Pullin Force along the Coast Road, Brickhill Force along the escarpment), with 22nd Guards Brigade (Hall Force) on the Coast Road and 11th Indian Brigade (Karsten Force) on the escarpment following on behind. Once Halfaya Pass was secured, the plan was to then advance in force on both sides of the escarpment to Sollum, Musaid and Fort Capuzzo. The Germans were well dug in, with prepared defences and anti-tank minefields at Halfaya Pass, Point 206 (south of Fort Capuzzo) and Point 208 (on Hafid Ridge). In addition they deployed a defence in depth, and waited for the British advance; they couldn’t do much else, as they were under severe fuel restrictions… Play commenced at 06h00 (game time) on Day One, with each turn being the equivalent of 1 hour. A combination of map movement and tabletop battles was employed, to give the players maximum flexibility in their strategic and tactical decisions. The map was divided into square sectors, each sector representing a table area 3’ by 3’ (approx 5km x 5km); columns were coded A to K (left - right), rows were numbered 1 to 11 (bottom – top). TURN 1 (06h00-07h00): this involved map movement (one square per turn), with recce units being able to ‘see’ 2 squares ahead. The British duly sent 11 Hussars forward to winkle out enemy positions (poor sods!), but were not allowed to actually engage the enemy because they were unsupported; a curious oversight from high command… 07h00-08h00: a support company is hastily sent up to support 11 Hussars, and the combined force makes contact with Axis units defending the bottom of Halfaya Pass, who elect to hold their fire (and remain hidden) for now… Central India Horse in sector D3, south of Point 206, spot enemy activity in the distance; Axis recce units see a cloud of dust in sector D3… 08h00-11h00: battle is joined at Halfaya Pass; the Italians open fire – with devastating effect! 11 Hussars are dying an ugly, horrible, screaming death; by 11h00 it’s all over – the Recce’s are no more…where’s the support?!? 11h00-15h00: the main body of Pullin Force finally rock up on the Coast Road; Matilda’s hit the minefields and take their first casualty – and promptly decide to go home! In the meantime, the infantry forces slug it out with the gallant mixed Italian and German defenders… 15h00-16h00: the bottom of the Pass has been cleared of Axis troops; all that remains is for the engineers to clear the rest of the minefields that are blocking the Allies’ progress. In the meantime, Brickhill Force, despite overwhelming superiority, is being very slow to engage the defenders at the top of the Pass… 17h00-18h00: a shock for Pullin Force - under intense artillery fire, 1 KRRC buckles and routs! End of Day One (20h00): Oh dear – due to the snail-like advance of Brickhill Force, the top of the Halfaya Pass (left) is still in Axis hands… DAY TWO – 16 JUNE, 1941: the charge of the Desert Brigades… Play resumed at first light (06h00, turn 1). With all units rested and refitted, the British resume their advance, and bring their follow-up forces to bear… 07h00-08h00: Battle is joined across the entire front, from the top of Halfaya Pass (in the background, between Michael and Dean) to Point 206, with Point 206 (front right) in particular coming under heavy artillery fire – with little effect – and Brickhill Force discovering to their consternation that the Germans have managed to reinforce the top of Halfaya Pass during the night… 08h00 – 12h00: The first Matilda of Brickhill Force gets targeted by a dreaded 88 – and is destroyed! The British on top of the escarpment press on regardless, finally clearing the top of Halfaya Pass and closing on Point 206 and Musaid, but are getting bogged down by a combination of soft sand, minefields, and effective Axis defensive fire. The 1st Camerons rout under the pressure, and the 6th Rajputana Rifles are close to breaking… In the meantime, Pullin Force, now commanded by Brig. Davidson, sweep aside light resistance on the Coast Road and take Sollum without a fight. Things are looking good for a classic pincer-style attack by the British, through the Sollum Pass and into the left flank of the Axis defenders in Sollum Barracks and Musaid… 12h00 – 13h00: …until the brand-new Crusaders in the vanguard of the massive road column run up against a huge road crater, blown by German engineers the day before, that effectively stops them dead! In the meantime the battle for Point 206 intensifies, and the German armour, held cunningly in reserve until now, swings into action for the first time, with Panzer Regiment 8/1 mounting a counter-attack from the West… 13h00 – 18h00: The German counter-attack falters, with heavy tank losses; but it costs the British dearly, with the 6th Rajputana Rifles finally routing after hanging on grimly for hours, as well as a Cruiser tank company. The Central India Horse, in their antiquated Rolls-Royce armoured cars, acquit themselves admirably; their AT rifle fire is devastating, and they seem to be invulnerable to enemy fire! They are the only British unit to advance sufficiently to threaten the Axis right flank west of Point 206, earning themselves at least one Victoria Cross in the process… On the Coast Road Pullin Force does an about-turn, and files its way up the Halfaya Pass, now firmly in British hands and carefully reinforced with elements of 22nd Guards Brigade… End of Day Two (20h00): The Axis forces are starting to look a bit shaky – Point 206 (centre left) is about to be overrun, and most of Panzer Regiment 8/1 is gone – but the British have paid a heavy price for it, with many units now reduced to a fraction of their former size… DAY THREE – 17 JUNE, 1941: the British Hammer versus the Axis Anvil… Both sides had the opportunity to rest and refit their units overnight, which the British welcomed, enabling them to combine some of their reduced strength battalions, reforming them into effective fighting units.
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