WWII Naval Engagemeent Synopsis Atlantic and Mediterranean Theaters Written By: Major John Czarzzasty US Army Retired West Point Graduate Class of 1974 Topside Minis: WWII Naval Engagement Synopsis Atlantic and Mediterranean Theaters Table of Contents 1. Battle of the River Platte……………………………………………………2 2. Naval Action at Narvik……………………………………………………….7 3. Attack on Mers‐el‐Kébir……………………………………………………11 4. Battle of Calabria……………………………………………………………..14 5. Battle of Cape Spada……………………………………………………..…19 6. Battle of Dakar………………………………………………………………….21 7. Battle of Taranto……………………………………………………….........24 8. Battle of Cape Spartivento………………………………………………..28 9. Battle of Cape Matapan…………………………………………………….31 10. Sinking the Battleship Bismarck…………………………………………35 11. Naval Warfare Associated with the Siege of Sevastopol……42 12. Battle of Cape Bon…………………………………………………………….45 13. First Battle of Sirte…………………………………………………………….46 14. Battle of the Kerch Peninsula…………………………………………….48 15. Second Battle of Sirte………………………………………………………..50 16. Operation Harpoon……………………………………………………………53 17. Operation Vigorous……………………………………………………………56 18. Operation Pedestal…………………………………………………………...58 19. Battle of the Atlantic………………………………………………………….64 Page 1 ©2015 Czarcchino Games Topside Minis: WWII Naval Engagement Synopsis Atlantic and Mediterranean Theaters Battle of the River Platte The Battle of the River Platte, fought 13 December 1939, has the twin distinctions of being the first naval battle of WWII and being the only battle of the war to take place off the continent of South America. The combatant on the German side was Admiral Graf Spee (hereafter Graf Spee), a Deutchland‐class cruiser (also known as a Panzerschiff or “Pocket Battleship”) launched in 1934 and commanded by Kapitän zur See Hans Langsdorff. The combatants on the British side were the York‐class heavy cruiser HMS Exeter (launched in 1929), the Leander‐class light cruiser HMS Ajax (launched in 1934), and the Leander‐class cruiser HMNZS Achilles (launched in 1932). Graf Spee had been stationed in the South Atlantic before the war began. When war was declared in September 1939, Graf Spee began raiding commerce shipping towards the end of the month. Her first victim was the cargo ship Clement on 30 September off the coast of Brazil. Langsdorff, exhibiting a brand of chivalry associated with raiders, took two prisoners from Clement and allowed the rest of the crew to take to their lifeboats before sinking the vessel. He also ordered the broadcast of a distress signal so that the crew would be rescued. On 5 October 1939 the Allies reacted by forming eight naval groups to hunt down Graf Spee. Capital ships committed to the hunt included 4 aircraft carriers, one battle cruiser, 2 battleships and 16 cruisers. Force G, commanded by Commodore Henry Harwood, consisted of Exeter, Ajax and Achilles, in addition to the cruiser Cumberland, which was absent, patrolling off the Falkland Islands, when the combatants met. The main body of Force G patrolled off the River Platte. While the Allies were organizing, Graf Spee was raiding. On 5 October 1939 she captured the steamer Newton Beech, and used it as a floating POW camp. On 7 October Graf Spee sank the merchant ship Ashlea .Newton Beech was unable to keep pace with Graf Spee, so the prisoners were transferred to the cruiser on 8 October and Newton Beech was sunk. On 10 October Graf Spee captured the steamer Huntsman, put a prize crew aboard, and sent it to the rendezvous location of the German supply ship Altmark. On 15 October Graf Spee rendezvoused with Altmark, took on fuel, and transferred prisoners. Huntsman arrived 16 October and also transferred prisoners to Altmark. No longer of any use to the Germans, Graf Spee sunk Huntsman the following day. On 22 October Graf Spee sank the steamer Trevanion. Meanwhile the Allies searched in vain. In spite of the uncontested successes so far, at the end of October Langsdorff sailed Graf Spee out of the south Atlantic and into the Indian Ocean in order to divert Allied warships away from the south Atlantic where he intended to continue operations after misdirecting the Allies. While in the Indian Ocean, Graf Spee sunk the tanker Africa Shell. Page 2 ©2015 Czarcchino Games Topside Minis: WWII Naval Engagement Synopsis Atlantic and Mediterranean Theaters The thus far successful cruise was not without its toll. After cruising for 35,000 miles (30,000 nautical miles) Graf Spee was in urgent need of an engine overhaul. Not able to address that need, Graf Spee returned to the south Atlantic in late November to address a more pressing need. She rendezvoused with Altmark and took on fuel and supplies. Graf Spee’s reign of terror was coming to an end, though she kept taking victims. She sank the merchant ship Doric Star, but Doric Star was able to send a distress signal before sinking. Based on the distress signal location, Commodore Harwood brought Force G (minus Cumberland) to the mouth of the River Platte, anticipating Graf Spee’s arrival there due to the heavy shipping traffic. Graf Spee sank her penultimate victim, the steamer Tairoa, on 5 December 1939. Rendezvousing with Altmark for what would be the last time on 6 December, Graf Spee transferred prisoners taken from Doric Star and Tairoa. Graf Spee’s last prize taken was the freighter Steonshalh on 7 December 1939. The prize crew discovered information regarding shipping routes on board, and based on this intelligence, Langsdorff ordered the ship to sail to the seas off Montevideo, and unwittingly, to the ship’s fateful meeting with Force G. Force G rendezvoused off the River Platte estuary on 12 December 1939. Harwood was confident in the ability of three cruisers to defeat a single pocket battleship, and planned to attack immediately once contact was made. If by day, the ships would attack in two groups, Exeter alone and Ajax and Achilles in tandem. If by night, the attack would be with all three ships together but in open formation. Harwood’s intent was to negate the German advantages in range and firepower by forcing Graf Spee to split its fire and thereby reduce its effectiveness, or to concentrate fire on one ship and allow the other two to attack unmolested by German fire. Though at a tactical disadvantage, Harwood knew that the strategic environment favored his force, and he need not sink Graf Spee in order to further his strategic mission of ensuring the safety of the shipping carrying food and war materials to Great Britain. Even a tactical defeat could serve that greater purpose if Force G could render Graf Spee unable to continue surface raiding or to engage surface combatants while returning home. Graf Spee returning home would have to run the Home Fleet gauntlet in the North Sea, and a damaged Graf Spee would do so at greater peril. The final part of the calculus was the relative strength of the naval assets of the opposing nations. In the worst case for Great Britain, the loss of all three ships in Force G could be absorbed by overall Allied naval capabilities. However, Graf Spee was one of a handful of German capital ships, and if lost would not be replaced. A defeat would more severely affect the Germans than the Allies. The Germans had already sighted mastheads of Force G at 0552 hours (though they thought they were Exeter and two destroyers protecting a merchant convoy) when at 0610 hrs on 13 December 1939 the Allied forces sighted smoke. Graf Spee’s float plane Page 3 ©2015 Czarcchino Games Topside Minis: WWII Naval Engagement Synopsis Atlantic and Mediterranean Theaters was not operational, so Langsdorff had to rely on his observers. He had fairly accurate intelligence that the Force G, including Cumberland, was in the area of the River Platte, but relying on his observers’ estimation of a lesser force he decided to engage. Soon realizing he was facing three cruisers, Langsdorff ordered immediate acceleration to close with the British at 24 knots (28 mph), intending to engage before the British could get up full steam. Critics of Langsdorff say he should have used his ship’s superior range to his advantage, maneuvering to keep the British ships in range of his 11.1‐inch (28.3 cm) guns while, at least at first, staying out of the range of their 6‐ and 8‐inch guns. The speed advantage of the cruisers conversely could have allowed them to stay out of range of Graf Spee’s guns while Force G summoned reinforcements, so Langsdorrf decided to force the issue. Harwood stuck to his daylight plan. The ships split into two groups. Exeter headed northwest. Ajax, which was Harwood’s flagship, and Achilles headed northeast. Making use of her superior range, Graf Spee fired first at 0618 hours, taking Exeter under fire with from 19,000 yards with her 11.1‐inch guns. Two minutes later, Exeter began to return fire. A minute later Achilles opened fire. Another minute passed and Exeter’s aft guns bean to fire. Another minute passed and Ajax opened fire. It was now 0623 hours. At 0623 hours shells were not just going up; they were coming down. An 11.1‐inch shell, a near miss, burst abreast of Exeter. Splinters from the shell killed torpedo tube crewmen and damaged equipment on deck, wrecking the ship’s spotter aircraft just about to be launched. At 0626 hours a shell struck Exeter’s “B” turret putting both guns out of action. Shrapnel swept the bridge killing and wounding personnel. Communications were knocked out, including those with the aft conning position. For the rest of the battle Exeter would be steered using a chain of human messengers. By 0630 hours, Ajax and Achilles had closed to within 13,000 yards of Graf Spee, causing her to split her main armament targeting.