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82-532: The M11/39 was developed as a "breakthrough tank" ( Carro di Rottura ). The design of the M11/39 was influenced by the British Vickers 6-Ton . This influence is reflected particularly in the track and suspension design. A novelty of the design was the placement of the final reduction gears inside the front-mounted drive sprockets, eliminating the need for enlarged final drive housings in the bow armour. Service use of

164-535: A day exposed to blistering heat, fierce fighting and no supply. For the next ten days, the 5th Indian Division position at Fort Dologorodoc—exposed to the enemy on three sides—was subject to intense fighting, as the Italians threw in more new units but failed to regain the position. On the Sanchil feature, the 4th Indian Division, with the 10th Indian Infantry Brigade under command, continued to batter away to no avail. On

246-502: A further attempt at Keren. To release road transport to bring forward supplies for a new attack, the 5th Indian Infantry Division returned to Kessala where it could be maintained by the railhead for a period of intensive training until preparations were complete and the division could be brought forward again for the offensive. Skinners Horse and most of the Motor Machine Gun companies assembled in front of Arressa and Adi Ugri to pose

328-637: A modified turret and the 47 mm (1.85 in) main gun (Type B standard). The tanks were in bad shape by 1939 because they were used in the training units over a period of five years. However, they did perform well and better than the Renault R35 , amongst others, as part of the Polish 10. Cavalry Brigade during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. The Soviets were also happy with the design and licensed it for production. However, in their case local production started as

410-602: A railway junction at Kassala and forced the British garrison of 320 men of the Sudan Defence Force (SDF) and some local police to retire, after inflicting casualties of 43 killed and 114 wounded for ten casualties. The Italians also drove a platoon of No 3 Company, Eastern Arab Corps (EAC) of the SDF, from the small fort at Gallabat , just over the border from Metemma , about 320 km (200 mi) south of Kassala and took

492-451: A real innovation: it was found that the two-man turret dramatically increased the rate of fire of either weapon, while still allowing both to be fired at the same time. This design, which they referred to as a duplex mounting , became common on almost all tanks designed after the Mark E. The British Army evaluated the Mark E, but rejected it, because it did not envision a tactical niche for such

574-530: A saddle of secondary summits, Brig's Peak, Hog's Back and Flat Top stretching north-westwards toward Mount Sammana. In front of the Sanchil feature on its south western side was a secondary ridge, feature 1616, which became known as Cameron Ridge, overlooking the Ascidera Valley and the railway line. The 5th Indian Infantry Division began to arrive in Sudan in early September 1940 and the 29th Indian Infantry Brigade

656-416: A seemingly impossible knife-edge to surprise the defenders of the fort. The fort was captured after a determined defence by 06:30 with 40 prisoners taken. Finally, Platt had the artillery observation point so greatly needed. Through 16 March, the Italians counter-attacked while the 29th Brigade made an unsuccessful attack in the evening to Falestoh and Zeban, which was abandoned after dark on 17 March after

738-590: A third battalion ready to pass through and attack the fort. The capture of Pinnacle that night by the 3/5th Mahratta Light Infantry led by Lieutenant-Colonel Denys Reid (with the 3/ 12th Frontier Force Regiment less two companies under command to take Pimple ), was called ... one of the outstanding small actions of World War II, decisive in its results and formidable in its achievement... Next morning Messervy scrambled up Pinnacle to congratulate Reid and his Mahrattas and wondered how they had been able to scramble up with their equipment against fierce opposition, when he

820-523: A threat to the Italian line of reinforcement to Keren. From the north, Briggsforce, comprising two battalions from the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade (Brigadier Harold Briggs ) of the 4th Indian Infantry Division and two Free French battalions. After crossing the border into Eritrea on the Red Sea coast, Briggsforce had captured Karora and then moved south to take Kubkub. In late February, Marching Battalion nº 3 of

902-458: A vehicle, preferring a combination of medium tanks and tankettes. Vickers then started advertising the design to all buyers, and soon received a trickle of orders eventually including the USSR , Greece, Poland, Bolivia, Siam , Finland, Portugal, China and Bulgaria. Thailand purchased 36 Vickers Medium Dragon Mark IVs, and QF 2-pounder naval guns were added to turn them into self-propelled guns used in

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984-439: Is going to be a walkover. It is not. It is going to be a bloody battle: a bloody battle against both enemy and ground. It will be won by the side which lasts longest. I know you will last longer than they do. And I promise you I will last longer than my opposite number. At 07:00 on 15 March, the British and Commonwealth troops of 4th Indian Infantry Division attacked from Cameron Ridge making for Sanchil, Brig's Peak, Hog's Back and

1066-501: Is highest during the dry season from November to April and above 2,600 m (8,500 ft), sub-alpine temperatures are found. The high ground continues into northern Ethiopia, where the mountains and ravines make ideal defensive terrain. The British responded by building up a force of more than two divisions in Sudan and three in Kenya by early February 1941. The Sudan-based forces—commanded by Lieutenant-General William Platt and under

1148-467: Is temperate with only summer monsoon rains, except close to the coast, where there is some winter rain. May is the hottest month. Approaching the highland plateau, the elevation rises steeply to 1,800 m (6,000 ft), with some peaks 3,000 m (10,000 ft) high and the ground declines to the west. It is cooler, with the monsoon from June to September and light rain in April and May. The temperature

1230-583: The 13th French Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade captured the Italian Admiralty building and accepted Bonetti's surrender, taking 9,590 prisoners and 127 guns. The harbour was found to have been blocked by the scuttling of two large floating dry docks , 16 large ships and a floating crane in the mouths of the north Naval Harbour, the central Commercial Harbour and the main South Harbour. The Italians had also dumped as much of their equipment as possible in

1312-514: The 5th Indian Infantry Brigade (4th Indian Division) had arrived and next day, attacked the Dologorodoc feature east of the gorge, looping right through the Scescilembi Valley (known as Happy Valley) and then attacking from the south-east toward Acqua Col joining Mount Zelele and Mount Falestoh. On the night of 7 February, a company of (Outram's) the 4th Battalion/6th Rajputana Rifles took

1394-414: The 5th Indian Infantry Division was brought up from Barentu and put under command of Major-General Beresford-Peirse (4th Indian Infantry Division) and held in readiness to exploit a break-through. At 05:30, supported by an intensive artillery barrage, the 4/6th Rajputana Rifles once again led the way. Richhpal Ram was less fortunate and having gained the crest, had a foot blown off and shortly thereafter

1476-553: The 65th Infantry Division "Granatieri di Savoia" (Grenadiers of Savoy) who forced them back towards Cameron Ridge, which was being consolidated by (Wellesley's) the 1st Battalion/ 6th Rajputana Rifles . The ridge was overlooked in front by Sanchil, to the left by Mount Sammana and from behind by other mountains along the Ascidera Valley. The Cameron Highlanders and Rajputana Rifles clung on, despite frequent attacks and having to carry food, water and ammunition up hill for 500 m (1,600 ft), across exposed terrain. By 6 February,

1558-701: The East Africa Campaign and the first four prototypes remained in Italy. The M11 was vastly superior to the 36 × L3/33 and L3/35 tankettes stationed in East Africa. The M11/39 proved somewhat successful in early encounters with the British Light Tank Mk VI . The 37 mm gun of the M11 acted as a deterrent against attacks by these relatively fast but thin-skinned vehicles, armed only with machine guns. The tank

1640-567: The Italian Empire . Following the Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ordered his troops to capture British Somaliland and border towns in the Sudan and Kenya . Eritrea has three climate zones: a coastal region of sandy plain and low scrub, a cool and fertile highland plateau in the north and the hot and arid Afar Depression in the south. The coastal region runs inland for 16–32 km (10–20 mi) in

1722-512: The T-26 , and eventually over 12,000 were built in various versions. The Soviet early twin-turret T-26s had 7.62 mm (0.3 in) DT machine guns in each turret, or a mix of one machine gun turret and one 37 mm gun turret. Later, more common versions mounted a 45 mm (1.77 in) gun and two DT machine guns. The final versions of the T-26 had welded construction and, eventually, sloped armour on

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1804-585: The battle of Guadalajara (1937), captured some of these tanks which served as models for their M11/39 and M13/40 medium tanks. In 1939, during the Soviet-Finnish Winter War , the Finnish armoured forces consisted of around thirty-two obsolete Renault FT tanks, some Vickers-Carden-Lloyd Mk. IVs and Model 33s , which were equipped with machine guns, and 26 Vickers Armstrongs 6-ton tanks. The latter had been re-equipped with 37 mm Bofors AT-guns after

1886-510: The 1940-41 Franco-Thai War . Vickers built a total of 153 (the most common figure) Mark Es. Experience with the Polish machines showed that the engine tended to overheat due to poor airflow over the air-cooled engine. This was addressed by the addition of large air vents on either side of the hull. For a new Belgian order the design was modified to use the Rolls-Royce Phantom II water-cooled engine instead. This engine would not fit in

1968-485: The 9th Indian Brigade) and brought the 5th Indian Infantry Division (which had been mopping up at Agordat) to the front. On 1 March his command was expanded by the arrival of Briggs Force from the north. Although it lacked the artillery for a big attack, Briggs Force drew off a significant part of the Keren garrison. This aided Platt's main offensive, which was being launched from the south-west. Briggs Force also menaced Massawa to

2050-506: The Army as the Dragon, Medium Mark IV , while China purchased 23 and India 18. Poland purchased 38 Type A tanks, spare parts and license for the local production. The Poles modified their vehicles with larger air intakes, their own machine guns , 360-degree Gundlach periscopes , and five or more with added two-way radios, before deciding to make their own tank that would address the shortcomings of

2132-691: The Finns rearmed their Vickers 6-ton tanks with Soviet 45 mm guns and re-designated them as T-26Es . These tanks were used by the Finnish Army during the Continuation War . Nineteen rebuilt Vickers tanks, along with 75 T-26s continued in Finnish service after the end of the Second World War . Some of these tanks were kept as training tanks until 1959, when they were finally phased out and replaced by newer British and Soviet tanks. Background: History of

2214-685: The Free French Orient Brigade captured Kubkub, becoming the first French unit to engage in combat against Axis forces since the Fall of France. On 1 March, Briggsforce had broken through the Mescelit pass some 24 km (15 mi) north-east of Keren. Briggsforce provided a third potential direction of attack to occupy the Keren defenders and created a threat to Massawa on the coast, pinning valuable reserves there. The 4th Indian Infantry Division (Major-General Noel Beresford-Peirse ) concentrated on

2296-533: The Italian lines. The information led Heath to decide that the key to the gorge was not Sanchil but two smaller features (the Railway Bumps ) which overlooked the roadblock and could be approached, with much less opposition, along the railway line from the tunnel below Cameron Ridge. An attack on the defenders at the head of the gorge was planned to give the sappers and miners the 48 hours they needed, free of interference from mortar and machine gun fire, to clear

2378-561: The Italians, the British had a small number of Matilda tanks available to them during the Battle of Keren and this negated any value that the M11s may have added. By the end of May 1941, the Italian forces were defeated on the East African fronts where M11s were deployed. By the end of November, organized Italian resistance in East Africa was over. There is no indication that captured M11s were re-used by

2460-449: The M11/39 was short due to several deficiencies in its design, particularly the placement of the main 37 mm gun in the hull. The design concept was to use the main gun against other tanks and to defend the tank with the turret armament. The gun was in a fixed position with traverse restricted to 15° to port and starboard. Dual 8 mm machine guns were housed in a small rotating one-man turret, with manual controls. The original intent

2542-551: The Sanchil side of the gorge and the 5th Indian Infantry Division (Major-General Lewis Heath ) brought forward from Kessala once again, on the Happy Valley side. The Keren defences had been reinforced with the arrival of 6th Colonial Brigade from Metemma and also the 11th Blackshirt Battalion of the Savoia Grenadiers. The defenders now totalled 25,000 facing an attacking force which had grown to more than 13,000. Beresford-Pierce

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2624-524: The Savoia Grenadiers and the Alpini battalion of the 10th Savoia Grenadiers had just arrived after a three-day non-stop truck journey from Addis Ababa while the 11th Colonial Brigade was also in place, having previously been called from reserve in Addis Ababa. Meanwhile, the 6th Brigade—having relinquished its responsibilities at Metemma—was also making its way to Keren. At 08:00 on 1 February 1941, Gazelle Force

2706-523: The advancing Axis forces in the spring of 1941. In 1940, Italian East Africa received 24 M11/39s. In East Africa , the M11s fought as the only medium tank available to the Italians. On 3 August 1940, M11s participated in The Italian Invasion of British Somaliland . By January 1941, M11s were used on the defensive in Eritrea when the British launched their counter-offensive there. Unfortunately for

2788-413: The artillery, it was no longer considered practical to continue the flanking attack through Acqua Col to threaten the Dologorodoc lines of supply . Instead, Heath determined that Fort Dologorodoc would be the main objective for his Indian 5th Infantry Division. Gaining the fort would not only give the attacking forces the artillery observation post to direct fire on both sides of the gorge but would expose

2870-512: The attack in the gorge achieved surprise, the defenders concentrating on Sanchil. The 3/ 2nd Punjab Regiment then advanced between the Baluchis and the West Yorkshires to clear the gorge. By 05:30, the railway bumps and most of the objectives were captured and the defenders no longer held positions from which to direct fire into the gorge below. The sappers and miners laboured on the road while

2952-427: The battles on the Sanchil and Dologorodoc features continued. By midday on 26 March, they had repaired the road through the gorge. In the early hours of 27 March, the British artillery turned onto Zeban and Falstoh. The 29th Brigade passed through the 9th Indian Brigade to attack at 04:30 but found the defenders had withdrawn and were able to occupy Falestoh Ridge and the two Zeban summits unopposed. The Italian position

3034-545: The captors in East Africa. Vickers 6-Ton The Vickers 6-ton tank or Vickers Mark E , also known as the "Six-tonner", was a British light tank designed in 1928 in a private project at Vickers . Though not adopted by the British Army , it was picked up by several other armed forces, and licensed by the Soviet Union as the T-26 . It was also the direct predecessor of the Polish 7TP tank. The first Mark E

3116-483: The col until 4:30 am, when they ran out of ammunition and were driven back to a lower feature. On 8 February, having spent most of the day under heavy artillery and mortar fire, they withdrew to their jumping-off positions. On the afternoon of 10 February, 3/ 1st Punjab Regiment attacked Brig's Peak and by the morning of 11 February were on top of Sanchil. The need for men to handle and carry supplies, ammunition and wounded meant there were only two platoons to hold

3198-661: The colonial capital of Italian Eritrea at Asmara and the Red Sea port of Massawa , which surrendered to the British after the battle. Colonised by the Italians in 1885, Italian Eritrea was used as a staging ground for Italian invasions of the Ethiopian Empire in the First and Second Italo-Abyssinian Wars. The second invasion began in 1935 and Ethiopia fell in 1936. Ethiopia, Italian Somaliland and Eritrea were combined to form Italian East Africa ( Africa Orientale Italiana ) part of

3280-430: The command of General Archibald Wavell (Commander-in-Chief British Middle East Command )—had invaded Eritrea through Kassala on 18 January and by 1 February had captured Agordat about 160 km (100 mi) further east. Anglo-Egyptian Sudan shared a 1,600 km (1,000 mi) border with Italian East Africa. On 4 July 1940 it was invaded by an Italian force of about 6,500 men from Eritrea, which advanced on

3362-424: The defences on the south eastern side of the gorge silenced. At 03:00 on 25 March, the 2nd Highland Light Infantry and the 4/ 10th Baluch Regiment on their right, advanced from the shelter of the railway tunnel, previously cleared by the sappers and miners, up the gorge. A hundred-gun artillery bombardment was raining down on the ridge on Sanchil above (to suppress any defensive fire from this dominating height) and

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3444-519: The defenders' rear position to attack their reserves. On 24 March, diversionary attacks were made on Sanchil and just before midnight, the West Yorkshires and the 3/5th Mahrattas in Fort Dologorodoc moved down to take the lower hills overlooking the gorge. The West Yorkshires were able to take their hill unopposed but the Mahrattas met dug-in Italian opposition. By 07:30 the three hills were taken and

3526-405: The east with elevations of up to 500 m (1,650 ft) and is hot and humid for most of the year, with June, September and October the hottest months. At Massawa the average temperature is 31 °C (88 °F) and in summer can reach 49 °C (120 °F) in the shade. Most rain falls in the summer monsoon, with occasional showers in the winter. In the escarpments and valleys, the climate

3608-502: The east, obliging the Italians to maintain a reserve on the coast. Platt and his commanders decided that the supreme attack should be made through the Dongolaas Gorge. Heath felt that, because of its physical defensive advantages, the Italians might have neglected its defence. On the nights of 16/17 and 17/18 March, escorted engineers reconnoitred the road block and attempted to make a start to clear it. This failed because of fire from

3690-461: The east, which looked down on Keren and guarded the road to Asmara. Thomas "Pete" Rees was appointed to command the 10th Indian Brigade and his predecessor, Lieutenant-Colonel Bernard Fletcher was released to form Fletcher Force , a mobile force comprising the Central India Horse and six Matilda II tanks, which would be used to exploit the break-through in the gorge and move rapidly into

3772-530: The feature. Having endured heavy shelling and mortar fire throughout the day, they were forced off Sanchil and Brig's Peak with heavy casualties by a determined counter-attack from the Savoia Grenadiers. Once again the attackers were thrown onto desperate defence on Cameron Ridge. Despite the failure by the Punjabis to hold the important observation posts on Sanchil, the renewed attack on Acqua Col—planned for 12 February—went ahead. The 29th Indian Infantry Brigade of

3854-686: The final stages of the battle, the Italians had 5,000 casualties, of whom 1,135 men were killed. In 1954, I. S. O. Playfair, the British official historian, recorded that Italian troops and Eritrean Ascari had 3,000 casualties. In 1993, Raugh wrote that 3,000 Italian troops were killed and that British casualties were 536 men killed and 3,229 wounded . An informal review of Bruttini and Puglisi (1957) found that about 3,000 Italian soldiers were killed, 4,500 wounded and sick, 9,000 Askari killed and nearly 20,000 wounded giving totals of 12,147 killed and 21,700 men wounded. Rear-Admiral Mario Bonetti , commander of Italian Red Sea Flotilla and

3936-484: The first assault on the Soviet lines – to make matters worse, one of the tanks was forced to stop, unable to cross a wide trench. The remaining five continued onwards a few hundred metres but ran into dozens of Soviet tanks in the village of Honkaniemi. The Finnish tanks managed to knock out three Soviet tanks but were soon themselves knocked-out. In the skirmishes that followed, the Finns lost two more Vickers tanks. In 1941,

4018-514: The garrison at Massawa, had 10,000 troops and about 100 tanks to defend the port. During the evening of 31 March, three of the last six destroyers at Massawa put to sea, to raid the Gulf of Suez and then scuttle themselves but Leone ran aground and sank the next morning and the sortie was cancelled. On 2 April the last five destroyers left to attack Port Sudan and then sink themselves. Heath telephoned Bonetti with an ultimatum to surrender and not block

4100-604: The harbour by scuttling ships. If this was refused, the British would leave Italian citizens in Eritrea and Ethiopia to fend for themselves. The 7th Indian Infantry Brigade Group sent small forces towards Adowa and Adigrat and the rest advanced down the Massawa road, which declined by 2,100 m (7,000 ft) in 80 km (50 mi) and the Indians rendezvoused with Briggs Force, which had cut across country, at Massawa by 5 April. Bonetti

4182-589: The hull and turret. Because the T-26 was in such wide use and was a reliable platform, a variety of engineer vehicles were built on the chassis, including flamethrowers and bridgelayers. A novel radio-controlled demolition tank was built on the T-26 chassis also. During the Spanish Civil War the Soviet Union sent the T-26 to the Republican Army. The Italians, after suffering losses from Republican T-26s during

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4264-535: The night of 17/18 March, having suffered many casualties, they withdrew from the slopes of Sanchil and Brig's Peak and the 10th Brigade returned to the 5th Indian Division to reform. The 4th Indian Division continued to hold Hog's Back and Flat Top. Over the next three days, the Italian forces continued to counter-attacks on both sides of the gorge involving desperate, often hand to hand, fighting. Platt decided to regroup and concentrate his forces before attacking again and disbanded Gazelle Force (with Messervy taking over

4346-505: The original Vickers design. This resulted in the 7TP , which was nearly 10 tons in weight. The Poles also, besides the aforementioned telescope, added a liquid-cooled diesel engine as well as better armour protection, better ventilation, two-way radios, a 37 mm (1.46 in) Polish version of the Bofors anti-tank gun, and a bigger crew compartment. Out of 38 original two-turreted tanks, 22 were later converted to single turret version with

4428-425: The other down through the spring. This was considered to be a fairly good system for the time and offered better than normal cross-country performance although it could not compare with the contemporary Christie suspension . High strength steel tracks gave over 3,000 miles (4,800 km) of life which was considerably better than most designs of the era. The tank was built in two versions: The Type B proved to be

4510-483: The outbreak of the war. Only 13 of these tanks managed to get to the front in time to participate in the battles. At the Battle of Honkaniemi on 26 February 1940, the Finns employed their Vickers tanks for the first – and only – time against Soviet armour during the Winter War. The results were disastrous. Of the thirteen available Finnish Vickers 6-ton tanks only six were in fighting condition and able to participate in

4592-511: The overhanging crags, to fill the gorge with boulders and rocks. The 11th Indian Infantry Brigade , (4th Indian Division) arrived on 3 February, reconnoitred the next day and attacked on the left of the gorge on 5 February. The 2nd Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders fought their way to the top of the ridge called feature 1616, in front of Sanchil and on the night of 6/7 February, the 3/ 14th Punjab Regiment passed through and advanced onto Brig's Peak. The Indians were counter-attacked by elements of

4674-444: The overlooking Sanchil peak, where the Italian defenders had defeated the 11th Brigade assault. They were pinned down , suffering casualties and without supply until darkness provided the opportunity to withdraw. By moonlight that evening, the attack on Dologorodoc was taken up by 9th Brigade, now commanded by the recently promoted Brigadier Messervy. Heath and Messervy planned a near two battalion attack on Pimple and Pinnacle , with

4756-573: The rear, and had to be mounted along the left side of the tank, requiring the turret to be moved to the right and rearward. One example of the resulting Mark F was tested by Belgium, but rejected. Nevertheless, the new hull was used, with the older engine, in the sales to Finland and Siam. The Mark E was also developed as a cargo vehicle, and purchased by the British Army in small numbers as artillery tractors to haul their large BL 60-pounder (127 mm; 5 in) field guns . Twelve were ordered by

4838-443: The reverse slopes of the Dologorodoc mass (which had been immune to his artillery fire and so a haven to the defenders for supplies and reserves) to direct fire from the fort. The two attacks were planned to take place one after the other on 15 March so that all of the artillery could be employed for the preliminary bombardment of them both. At the final meeting on 14 March with his commanders Platt said, Do not let anybody think this

4920-429: The road and railway from Agordat to Keren passed was dominated on the south eastern side by the massif of Mount Zeban and Mount Falestoh on which stood the imposing defences of Fort Dologorodoc at 15°45′14.9″N 38°25′30.6″E  /  15.754139°N 38.425167°E  / 15.754139; 38.425167  ( Fort Dologorodoc ) . The other side of the gorge was commanded by the mass of Mount Sanchil with

5002-428: The road. Heath had to wait until the 10th Indian Brigade had refitted after its mauling on the Sanchil feature. The plan was for the 10th Indian Brigade to advance into the gorge while the 9th Indian Brigade (which was holding the Fort Dologorodoc positions) would move down to take three smaller hills overlooking the far end of the gorge; The 29th Brigade would then attack to take Mount Zeban and Mount Canabai, beyond it to

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5084-577: The static Italian positions. The British used Matilda tanks to overrun many of the Italian positions and the M11s could do little against the heavy armour of the Matildas. From 10 April 1941, during the siege of Tobruk , some captured M11s were employed by the 6th Australian Division Cavalry Regiment over some months. The Australians painted large white kangaroo symbols on the tanks and used the captured M11s, together with several M13s, until they ran out of diesel fuel. The tanks were then destroyed to deny them to

5166-463: The tank , Tank classification , interwar period Background: British armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II , Tanks in the British Army Battle of Keren [REDACTED]   United Kingdom [REDACTED]   Italy Associated articles The Battle of Keren ( Italian : Battaglia di Cheren ) took place from 3 February to 27 March 1941. Keren

5248-420: The three peaks of Mount Sammana. That night, the battle ebbed and flowed with attack and counter-attack inflicting very heavy casualties on both sides. On the right, 5th Indian Infantry Division launched its attack on the Dologorodoc feature at 10:30 on 15 March. The 2nd Highland Light Infantry led the attack on the lower features ("Pimple" and "Pinnacle") but made no progress in the daylight because of fire from

5330-426: The version), which gave it a top speed of 22 mph (35 km/h) on roads. Its suspension used two axles, each of which carried a two-wheel bogie to which a second set of bogies was connected with a leaf spring . It was patented by Carden in 1929 and apparently derived from a similar but simpler suspension on Light Tank Mk I which he patented a year earlier. Upward movement of either set of bogies would force

5412-450: The villages of Qaysān , Kurmuk and Dumbode on the Blue Nile . From there the Italians ventured no further into Sudan, owing to lack of fuel. They proceeded to fortify Kassala with anti-tank defences, machine-gun posts and strong-points, later establishing a brigade-strong garrison. The Italians were disappointed to find no strong anti-British sentiment among the native population. Keren

5494-472: Was attacked by the British during the East African Campaign of the Second World War . A force of Italian regular and colonial troops defended the position against British troops (mostly from Sudan and British India) and Free French forces. The town of Keren , in the colony of Italian East Africa , was of tactical importance to both sides. The road and railway through Keren were the main routes to

5576-414: Was built in 1928 by a design team that included the famed tank designers John Valentine Carden and Vivian Loyd . The hull was made of riveted steel plates, 1 inch (25.4 mm) thick at the front and over most of the turrets, and about 3 ⁄ 4 inch (19 mm) thick on the rear of the hull. The power was provided by an Armstrong Siddeley engine of 80–95 horsepower (60–71 kW) (depending on

5658-479: Was called upon to surrender but refused again and on 8 April, an attack by the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade Group was repulsed. A simultaneous attack by the 10th Indian Infantry Brigade and the tanks of B Squadron 4th RTR broke through the defences on the west side. The Free French overran the defences in the south-west, taking Montecullo and Fort Umberto April 7 as the RAF bombed Italian artillery positions. Colonel Monclar of

5740-437: Was finding it a pretty tough job without [either]... At the top, when he saw the victors, he was overcome by the splendour of their feat and his combative amber eyes filled with tears. In the early hours of 16 March, the defenders of Fort Dologorodoc counter-attacked Pinnacle and Pimple for several hours. The defences at the fort were depleted and during the counter-attack, the 2nd West Yorkshire Regiment made their way over

5822-515: Was held up in crossing the Baraka River about 60 km (40 mi) from Keren, where the Ponte Mussolini had been blown and the approaches to the river mined. By noon on 2 February, they were across the river and winding up the Ascidera Valley, until brought to a halt at the Dongolaas Gorge, about 6 km (4 mi) from Keren, where the road had been blocked by the Italians, who blew down

5904-485: Was mortally wounded. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his exploits on the Col. The 4/ 11th Sikh Regiment were pushing up around the side of Acqua Col but the attack could not be carried through, lacking the extra impact that might have come from the 2/ 5th Mahratta Light Infantry which had been diverted to reinforce the hard-pressed defences on Cameron Ridge. Platt decided to pause, regroup and train before making

5986-472: Was not fortified but it is surrounded on most sides by a jumble of steep granite mountains and sharp ridges which gave the defending forces on the high ground a distinct advantage. Control of the mountains provided the Italian artillery with perfect observation of an attack. The narrow Dongolaas Gorge at 15°45′34″N 38°25′16.8″E  /  15.75944°N 38.421333°E  / 15.75944; 38.421333  ( Dongolaas Gorge ) through which

6068-644: Was open and Wavell was able to order the 4th Indian Division move to Port Sudan for transport back to Egypt . On 11 April, the US President , Franklin D. Roosevelt , rescinded the status of the Red Sea as a combat zone under the Neutrality Acts , freeing US merchant ships to use the route to carry supplies to the Middle East. In the 4th Division history of 1948, Stevens gave 3,273 casualties, of whom about ten per cent were killed. In 1951, Mackenzie wrote that in

6150-470: Was ordered to make pursuit of the enemy retreating down the road to Keren. As the British forces approached Keren, Brigadier-General Nicolangelo Carnimeo , commander of the 2nd Eritrean Division and the X Territorial Defence Command, drew in his 5th and 44th Colonial Brigades from positions to the north. 42nd Brigade had reached Keren from Agordat almost intact, and the 2nd Brigade—which had suffered greater casualties there—was reforming. The 11th Regiment of

6232-546: Was outclassed by heavier British cruiser and Infantry tanks , the Cruiser Mk II (A10) , Cruiser Mk III (A13) and Matilda . On 13 September 1940, M11s participated in the Italian invasion of Egypt. On 9 December 1940, M11s also operated defensively in the opening stages of the British counter-offensive, Operation Compass. When Operation Compass was launched, many of the M11/39s were damaged, broken, or immobilized inside some of

6314-502: Was placed on the Red Sea coast to protect Port Sudan, the 9th Indian Infantry Brigade south-west of Kassala and the 10th Indian Infantry Brigade ( William Slim ) were sent to Gedaref with the divisional headquarters, to block an Italian attack on Khartoum from Goz Regeb to Gallabat, on a front of 320 km (200 mi). Gazelle Force (Colonel Frank Messervy ) was formed on 16 October, as a mobile unit to raid Italian territory and delay an Italian advance. Late on 30 January, Gazelle Force

6396-521: Was switched to the better M13/40 Both battalions were sent to North Africa for the Italian invasion of Egypt and assigned for the campaign to the 4th Tank Infantry Regiment . The regiment and both battalions were destroyed during Operation Compass , with the last remnants extinguished during the Battle of Beda Fomm . In Libya 72 × M11/39s were used in the North African Campaign , 24 operated in

6478-421: Was to attack with the 11th Indian Brigade, expanded to five battalions, against the peaks of the Sanchil mass and 5th Brigade against Mount Sammana on the left of his front. On the 5th Division front, the Italian reinforcements on Dologorodoc meant Happy Valley was dominated by the defenders and the attackers' artillery had had to be withdrawn from their forward positions in the valley to safer locations. Without

6560-611: Was to place the 37 mm /L40 armament in the turret but there was insufficient space. The gun placement followed the French Char B1 and anticipated the early versions of the Churchill tanks , although in these tanks the hull guns were howitzers, rather than high-velocity guns. The M11/39 had other shortcomings: its endurance and performance were poor, it was relatively slow, it was mechanically unreliable and its 30 mm maximum riveted steel armour, designed to withstand 20 mm fire,

6642-529: Was untenable and by first light the Royal Air Force (RAF) was reporting their withdrawal along the road from Keren to Asmara. The defenders on the Sanchil ridge were less fortunate and the Savoia Grenadiers and Bersaglieri were cut off and left with no option but surrender. Fletcher Force was in Keren by 10:30 and was then sent in pursuit along the Asmara road. From 27 March 1941, the route to Asmara and Massawa

6724-464: Was vulnerable to British 2-pounder guns at any range at which the M11/39s main gun was effective. The tank was designed to carry a radio but none were fitted to the production vehicles. The M11/39 hull was modified for use its successor the Fiat M13/40 , which had the main gun in the turret; an order for 100 M11s was placed as a stop-gap. Only two battalions received the M11/39 tank before production

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