The Salerno mutiny occurred during the Second World War and involved about 200 British soldiers who, on 16 September 1943, refused assignment to new units as replacements during the initial stages of the Allied invasion of Italy .
156-609: About 1,500 men from the 50th (Northumbrian) and 51st (Highland) Infantry Divisions sailed from Tripoli , on the understanding that they were to join the rest of their units, at the time based in Sicily and soon to return to the United Kingdom in preparation for Operation Overlord , the Allied invasion of Normandy . Both of these divisions had served as part of General Sir Bernard Montgomery 's British Eighth Army , and were veterans of
312-463: A "war without hate", a pure military clash in the desert without the partisan murders and ethnic cleansing that was occurring across Europe. This view has been challenged by recent historians, given that there were indeed many civilians who lived in the region and the campaign was marked by numerous atrocities and abuses by both Italian and German forces towards Allied prisoners of war and local Jewish , Berber , and Arab populations. After victory by
468-631: A difficult challenge for the British forces. However, the Allies were left with the advantage of having secured the island of Malta, enabling the Allies to carry out future aerial operations. Additionally, on land, allied British and American forces were able to hold onto their possessions. On December 4, 1942, the Allied Force Headquarters in North Africa reported that military operations were ongoing in
624-468: A nearby field. They were still there by 20 September, refusing postings to unfamiliar units. They were addressed by Lieutenant-General McCreery, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the British X Corps, who admitted that a mistake had been made, and promised that they would rejoin their old units once Salerno was secure. The men were also warned of the consequences of mutiny in wartime. Of
780-561: A number equal to that at Stalingrad on the Eastern Front earlier in the year. On 19 April, the division, now commanded by Major-General Sidney Kirkman (formerly the Commander, Royal Artillery (CRA) of the Eighth Army) after Nichols was sacked by Eighth Army commander Bernard Montgomery , was relieved by the 56th (London) Infantry Division and withdrawn from the front line, and on 24 April
936-509: A number of their documents captured, alerting British intelligence to the problem. The British responded by instituting an improved call signal procedure, introducing radiotelephonic codes, imposing rigid wireless silence on reserve formations, padding out real messages with dummy traffic, tightening up on their radio discipline in combat and creating an entire fake signals network in the southern sector. Allied codebreakers read much enciphered German message traffic, especially that encrypted with
1092-631: A position called 'the Bastion' in front of the main line while the 151st Brigade supported by the 50th Royal Tank Regiment attacked the line proper to their right. The infantry were to be equipped with short wooden scaling ladders to climb the banks of the Wadi. None of the infantry battalions had regained their full strength, and opposing them were the Italian Young Fascist and the German 164th Light Divisions . It
1248-623: A series of raids against Italian positions in Libya. Following the defeat of France on 25 June, Italian forces in Tripolitania – facing French troops based in Tunisia – redeployed to Cyrenaica to reinforce the Italian Tenth Army . This, coupled with the steadily degrading equipment of the British forces, led General Archibald Wavell to order an end to the raids and place the defence of
1404-588: A significant role in informing the Germans of allied strength and intentions between January and June 1942 In addition, the Italian Servizio Informazioni Segrete or SIS code-breakers were able to successfully intercept much radio encrypted signals intelligence (SIGINT) from British aircraft traffic as well as first-class ciphers from British vessels and land bases, providing Supermarina (Regia Marina) with timely warnings of Allied intentions in
1560-484: A similar number of casualties, as well as destroying a number of tanks. The attack had been so effective that 7th Panzer Division believed it had been attacked by five infantry divisions. The attack also made the German commanders of Panzergruppe von Kleist nervous, with forces left behind to guard lines of communication. By now Arras was becoming a salient in the German lines and increasingly vulnerable. The four Brigades of
1716-420: A small-scale counter-attack called Operation Brevity in an attempt to push Axis forces off the key passes at the border, with some initial success. However they could not hold the advance positions and followed Brevity up with a much larger-scale offensive, Operation Battleaxe intended to relieve the siege at Tobruk, but this operation also failed. Following the failure of Operation Battleaxe, Archibald Wavell
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#17328510561281872-593: A wide sweeping movement around the left flank of the Gazala line at Bir Hakeim, then moved north behind it, while the Italians mounted diversionary attacks against the South Africans and 50th Division. Intense fighting quickly developed behind the 150th Brigade box in an area known as The Cauldron , as four German and Italian armoured divisions fought and initially overran the British formations which were committed piecemeal to
2028-556: Is strongly disputed by the authors Vincent P. O'Hara and Enrico Cernuschi (2013) who claim that historians like F.H. Hinsley have greatly exaggerated the effects of Ultra. For example, they claim that intelligence provided by Ultra had little impact in stopping Italian convoys reaching North Africa. Of the 2.67 million tons of materiel, fuel, and munitions shipped to Africa – nearly all in Italian vessels and under Italian escort – 2.24 million tons managed to arrive despite
2184-533: The Afrika Korps by Adolf Hitler , was placed under the command of Erwin Rommel . His orders were to reinforce the Italians and block Allied attempts to drive them out of the region. However, the initial commitment of only one panzer division and subsequently, no more than two panzer and one motorized divisions, indicated the limited extent of German involvement and commitment to this theatre of operations. The bulk of
2340-404: The 149th ( 4th to 7th Battalions Royal Northumberland Fusiliers ), 150th ( 4th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment , 4th and 5th Green Howards and 5th Durham Light Infantry ), and 151st ( 6th to 9th battalions Durham Light Infantry). British military doctrine development during the inter-war period resulted in the three kinds of divisions by the end of the 1930s: the infantry division,
2496-454: The 26th Indian Infantry Brigade , the 1st Greek Brigade, the 2nd Free French Brigade and the Alexandria garrison. The division's artillery was loaned to XIII Corps as reinforcements. At the start of September the 151st Brigade was detached and placed under command of the 2nd New Zealand Division in the front line, and then with the 44th (Home Counties) Division later in the month, south of
2652-476: The 44th Royal Tank Regiment , to make a 25-mile forced march to the bridge. The few paratroopers on the bridge were forced off it by lack of ammunition and newly dispatched German paratroopers of the 3rd Parachute Regiment, part of the 1st Parachute Division , only two hours before 9th Battalion D.L.I. arrived. Attacking in the early hours of 15 July, the battalion was forced back over the river after fierce hand-to-hand fighting in densely planted vineyards, with
2808-572: The 4th and 7th Royal Tank Regiment (R.T.R.), one of each in both columns, artillery and other supporting troops, totalling 74 tanks and around 2,000 men. Attacking on 21 May, the right column (8th D.L.I. and 7th R.T.R.) initially made rapid progress, taking the villages of Duisans and Warlus and a number of German prisoners but they soon ran into German infantry and Waffen-SS , and were counterattacked by Stukas and tanks and had many casualties. The left column (6th D.L.I. and 4th R.T.R.) also enjoyed early success, taking Danville, Beaurains and reaching
2964-814: The Allies and the Axis Powers . It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts ( Western Desert campaign , Desert War), in Morocco and Algeria ( Operation Torch ), and in Tunisia ( Tunisia campaign ). The Allied war effort was dominated by the British Commonwealth and exiles from German-occupied Europe . The United States officially entered the war in December 1941 and began direct military assistance in North Africa on 11 May 1942. Fighting in North Africa started with
3120-803: The British Eighth Army – advancing westward along the North African coast – had reached the Tunisian border. Rommel and von Arnim found themselves in an Allied "two army" pincer. They were outflanked, outmanned and outgunned. Rommel went back to Germany for health reasons and was substituted by the Italian general Messe . The British Eighth Army bypassed the Axis defence on the Mareth Line in late March after harsh fighting and First Army in central Tunisia launched their main offensive in mid-April to squeeze
3276-559: The British paratroopers dropped around Primisole bridge a key bridge on the Sicilian coast south of Catania . High winds and lack of landing craft frustrated swift troop concentration in both cases, with only 30 out of 125 planes dropping on the Drop Zone at Primosole. Early on 14 July, the 69th Brigade fought the Germans and Italians around Lentini, allowing the 151st Brigade, supported by tanks of
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#17328510561283432-498: The Enigma machine . The Allies' Ultra programme was initially of limited value, as it took too long to get the information to the commanders in the field, and at times provided information that was less than helpful. In terms of anticipating the next move the Germans would make, reliance on Ultra sometimes backfired. Part of the reason the initial German attacks in March 1941 were so successful
3588-488: The Gazala Line from the 4th Indian Division . The Gazala Line was a series of defensive "boxes", protected by mine-fields and wire and with little showing above ground, each occupied by a brigade of infantry with attached artillery, engineers and a field ambulance. The brigades' B echelons, with stores and motor transport, were sited some miles to the rear. In the event of an Axis attack, these boxes were intended to pin down
3744-516: The House of Commons debate held in March 2000 an official pardon was requested by Aberdeen South MP Anne Begg claiming that those indicted were not refusing to fight but merely requesting the fulfilment of a promise by higher command. However John Spellar , the then Minister for the Armed Forces denied this request by indicating that however unfair the order to proceed to combat in other units seemed,
3900-522: The Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940. On 14 June, the British 11th Hussars and part of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment , (1st RTR) crossed the border from Egypt into Libya and captured Fort Capuzzo . This was followed by an Italian counter-offensive into Egypt and the capture of Sidi Barrani in September. The British recaptured Sidi Barrani in December during Operation Compass . The Italian 10th Army
4056-618: The Naval Battle of Casablanca , which ended in an American victory. The Allied landings prompted the Axis occupation of Vichy France ( Case Anton ) including an attempt to capture the French fleet at Toulon, which did them little good, as the main portion of the fleet was scuttled to prevent their use by the Axis. The Vichy Army in North Africa joined the Allies. Following the Operation Torch landings – from early November 1942 –
4212-471: The North African campaign . Once aboard ship, the men were told that they were being taken to Salerno , Italy, to join the British 46th Infantry Division (Major-General John Hawkesworth ) and 56th (London) Infantry Division (Major-General Douglas Graham ), which had both suffered heavy losses. Both divisions were serving as part of Lieutenant-General Richard McCreery 's British X Corps , which itself
4368-552: The Royal Navy at night. Rommel's forces did not have the strength or training to take the fortress. This created a supply problem for his forward units. His front-line positions at Sollum were at the end of an extended supply chain that stretched back to Tripoli and had to bypass the coast road at Tobruk. Further, he was constantly threatened with a breakout of the British forces at Tobruk. Without Tobruk in Axis hands, further advances into Egypt were impractical. The Allies launched
4524-524: The Vichy government in control of French territory not occupied by Germany. This included all of French North Africa . On 10 June, Italy aligned itself with Nazi Germany and declared war upon France and the United Kingdom . British forces (along with Indian and Rhodesian troops) based in Egypt were ordered to take defensive measures, but to avoid provocation as much as possible. However, on 11 June they began
4680-627: The "Black Code" of the US State Department . However, in September 1941, the Italians had stolen a code book containing the Black Code, photographed it and returned it to the US embassy in Rome. The Italians shared parts of their intercepts with their German allies. In addition the " Chiffrierabteilung " (German military cipher branch) were soon able to break the code. Fellers' reports were very detailed and played
4836-446: The 'break-in' into a 'break-through." As a result, in 1938, the army decided to create six such Motor Divisions from Territorial Army units. Only three infantry divisions were converted into motor divisions prior to the war, this included the 50th alongside the 55th (West Lancashire) and the 1st London . The reform intended to reduce the division from three to two brigades along with a similar reduction in artillery. French wrote that
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4992-554: The 150th Brigade and Division H.Q. was immediately sent to plan defences around Alamein. The rest of the division was sent to Cyprus , where it constructed defences on the island, especially around the airport and city of Nicosia. Reunited in July, the division continued its work in the island's pleasant surroundings, leaving in November, relieved by the 5th Indian Infantry Division . Landing in Haifa,
5148-471: The 150th Brigade was moved south to relieve the 201st Guards Motor Brigade in a large box with a perimeter of 20 miles (32 km), 6 miles (9.7 km) from 69th Brigade to the north and 10 miles (16 km) from the Free French to the south. By the middle of May the British were aware that Rommel intended to attack. On 26 May he launched a diversionary attack on the Gazala line, then the next day staged
5304-570: The 150th Brigade was stripped of its vehicles and the other two brigades travelled on to Iraq, crossing the Syrian Desert to Baghdad, then beyond Kirkuk, building defences on the crossings of Great Zab and Kazir rivers. In December the 69th Brigade was sent to Baalbek in Syria to relieve the 6th Australian Division which was returning to Australia. In February 1942 the 69th and 151st Brigades were recalled to Egypt. The 150th Brigade had returned to
5460-460: The 505th Field Company, Royal Engineers and the 149th Field Ambulance, was on the Northern edge of the advance, with the 28th (Māori) battalion providing the first half of their Northern flank, the second half would be formed by the 6th D.L.I performing a right wheel halfway through the advance. The infantry had a seven-mile march up to their starting lines during which time the objective were bombed by
5616-498: The 50th Division until the 23rd (Northumbrian) divisional headquarters was formed on 2 October 1939. At this point, they were transferred to the new division. The war-time deployment of the TA envisioned the divisions being deployed singly, to reinforce the regular army that had already been dispatched to the European mainland, as equipment became available. The plan envisioned the deployment of
5772-481: The 50th Division was ordered back to Alexandria by road. The division arrived on 11 May with all of the vehicles it had started out with some 2,000 miles previously, even though some had to be towed. The 50th Division was joined in the Nile Delta by the 168th (London) Infantry Brigade (1st London Irish Rifles , 1st London Scottish , 10th Royal Berkshire Regiment ), which had been detached from its parent formation,
5928-765: The 56th Division, but was completely inexperienced. There, on the Great Bitter Lake and on the Gulf of Aqaba they trained in amphibious landing techniques for the Allied invasion of Sicily (codenamed Operation Husky). The invasion, planned for 10 July, would land the United States Seventh Army to operate on the Western sector, and the British Eighth Army to operate in the Eastern sector, and had as its objectives
6084-620: The 5th and 50th Divisions were becoming hard pressed and on the night of 23–24 May received orders to withdraw to the canal line. After fighting on the canal line the 5th and 50th Divisions were withdrawn north to Ypres to fill a threatening gap developing between the Belgian Army and the BEF, after a strong German attack on the Belgians on 25 May. It was late on 27 May when the 50th Division arrived at Ypres to find their positions already being shelled and
6240-401: The 69th Brigade mopped up around Lentini, the 151st Brigade rested south of the bridge, and the inexperienced 168th Brigade was sent into its first battle at Catania airfield on the night of 17—18 July. They faced veteran German paratroopers of the 4th Parachute Regiment and Gruppe Schmalz dug-in in woods and an anti-tank ditch. Almost everything went wrong, reconnaissance was faulty, surprise
6396-413: The 69th Brigade, the 5th East Yorkshires and 6th Green Howards (both reinforced by platoons from the 7th Green Howards) were joined by a composite D.L.I. battalion of three companies, one each from the battalions of 151st Brigade. The hasty plan called for the brigade to pass through a gap in the mine field and clear more mines to allow the 1st Armoured Division's 2nd Armoured Brigade to pass through during
Salerno mutiny - Misplaced Pages Continue
6552-548: The 6th and 9th D.L.I. crossed the river in the face of machine gun fire and gradually established themselves on the northern shore of the river. By dawn the bridgehead was firmly established and the arrival across the bridge of Sherman tanks from the 3rd County of London Yeomanry on the Northern Shore brought about the German surrender. The battle had cost the 151st Brigade over 500 killed, wounded and missing, but around 300 Germans were dead and 155 had been made prisoner. While
6708-462: The 6th and 9th D.L.I. entered Catania. The remainder of the advance was through territory ideal for ambush, with terraced vineyards and high stone walls resulting in many casualties. With the end of fighting on 17 August, the division was rested and absorbed reinforcements. On 10 October the 168th Brigade returned to the 56th Division, then involved in the early stages of the Italian Campaign , and
6864-404: The 6th, 8th and 9th DLI were inextricably mixed up, many without commanders, all hungry, tired and desperately short of ammunition. The whole area was lit up by the twenty seven derelict burning Valentine tanks of the 50th RTR fought to a standstill by superior enemy armour. The 151st Brigade were withdrawn that night, the 5th East Yorkshires on the night of 23/24 March. The 6th D.L.I had started
7020-740: The Allies in the Battle of Gazala in June and capturing Tobruk . The Axis forces drove the Eighth Army back over the Egyptian border, but their advance was stopped in July only 90 miles (140 km) from Alexandria in the First Battle of El Alamein . Of great significance, on 29 June reports of British military operations in North Africa sent to Washington by the US military attaché in Cairo, Bonner Fellers , no longer used
7176-701: The Allies in the North African campaign, the stage was set for the Italian campaign to begin. The invasion of Sicily followed two months later. Nearly 400,000 Axis and Allied troops were lost, injured or died of disease by the end of the North African campaign. Sono circa 400.000 i prigionieri fatti dagli inglesi in Etiopia e in Africa settentrionale, 125.000 presi dagli americani in Tunisia e in Sicilia, 40.000 lasciati ai francesi in Tunisia ("There were about 400,000 prisoners taken by
7332-623: The Allies were able to advance into Tunisia, but only in single division strength. By early December, the Eastern Task Force – which had been redesignated as the British First Army under Lieutenant-General Kenneth Anderson – was composed of the British 78th Infantry Division , British 6th Armoured Division , 1st Parachute Brigade , No. 6 Commando and elements of US 1st Armored Division . But by this time, one German and five Italian divisions had been shipped from Europe and
7488-485: The Allies, the British not only failed to change their codes with any frequency, they were also prone to poor radio discipline in combat. Their officers made frequent open, uncoded transmissions to their commands, allowing the Germans to more easily identify British units and deployments. The situation changed after a counterattack during the Battle of Gazala resulted in the 621st Signals Battalion being overrun and destroyed, and
7644-627: The Anglo-American landings in North-West Africa in November 1942 and fighting against Vichy France forces (which then changed sides), the Allies trapped about 250,000 German and Italian personnel in northern Tunisia, forcing their surrender in May 1943. Information gleaned via British Ultra code-breaking was important in the Allied victory in North Africa. The Italian campaign followed, culminating in
7800-641: The Axis forces until their resistance in Africa collapsed. The Axis forces surrendered on 13 May 1943 yielding over 275,000 prisoners of war . The last Axis force to surrender in North Africa was the 1st Italian Army of General Messe. This huge loss of experienced troops greatly reduced the military capacity of the Axis powers, although some Axis troops escaped Tunisia. This defeat in Africa led to all Italian colonies in Africa being captured. The Axis had considerable success in intelligence gathering through radio communication intercepts and monitoring unit radio traffic. The most important success came through intercepting
7956-514: The Belgian Army being pushed north-eastwards away from them. The gap was covered by the side-stepping 3rd Division the next day. On that day (28 May) the Belgians surrendered , opening up a 20-mile gap south from the English Channel , which the Germans aimed to exploit rapidly . The division was now ordered to form a line east of Poperinghe, with the 3rd Division east of them up to Lizerne, this
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#17328510561288112-416: The British First Army had one British, one US and one French Corps (a second British Corps headquarters was activated in April). In the second half of February, in eastern Tunisia, the Axis had some successes against the mainly inexperienced French and US troops, most notably in routing the US II Corps commanded by Major General Lloyd Fredendall at the Battle of Kasserine Pass . By the beginning of March,
8268-488: The British to change their minds, President Roosevelt gave a direct order that Operation Torch was to have precedence over other operations and was to take place at the earliest possible date, one of only two direct orders he gave to military commanders during the war. The landings started on 8 November, and finished on 16 November. In an attempt to pincer German and Italian forces, Allied forces (American and British Commonwealth) landed in Vichy-held French North Africa under
8424-474: The DAF. Moving across the start line at 01:05hrs the infantry advanced into the smoke and dust of the barrage which reduced visibility to 50 yards. The whole night to the east was broken by hundreds of gun flashes stabbing into the darkness. The shells whistled overhead to burst with a deafening crash in the target area, and from then, until the barrage closed about three hours later, the frightful shattering noise went on continually... Every twelve yards there
8580-423: The Egyptian border with a small screening force. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ordered the Tenth Army to invade Egypt by 8 August. Two days later, no invasion having been launched, Mussolini ordered Marshal Graziani that, the moment German forces launched Operation Sea Lion to invade Great Britain, he was to attack. Beaten in the Battle of Britain, the German invasion never took place. On 8 September,
8736-490: The Eighth Army launched a major offensive, decisively defeating the Italian-German army in the Second Battle of El Alamein in late October, driving Axis forces west and capturing Tripoli in mid-January 1943. By February, the Eighth Army was facing the Italian-German Panzer Army near the Mareth Line and came under command of Alexander's 18th Army Group for the concluding phase of the war in North Africa – the Tunisia campaign . Operation Torch in November 1942
8892-428: The German armoured formations or taking the long way around through the Italians to their front. Obliged to destroy all they could not take with them, the division formed mixed columns (infantry, artillery, engineers and supporting arms), which charged through bridgeheads formed by the 5th East Yorkshires and the 8th D.L.I. for their respective brigades and into the Italian lines. Leaving chaos and confusion in their wake,
9048-409: The Germans and Italians initiated a buildup of troops in Tunisia to fill the vacuum left by Vichy troops which had withdrawn. During this period of weakness, the Allies decided against a rapid advance into Tunisia while they wrestled with the Vichy authorities. Many of the Allied soldiers were tied up in garrison duties because of the uncertain status and intentions of the Vichy forces. By mid-November,
9204-449: The Italian Comando Supremo ("high command") speedily sent several large motorized and armoured forces to protect their colonies in North Africa . This greatly expanded reinforcement included the soon-to-be-renowned Ariete Armoured division under General Ettore Baldassarre . Meanwhile, the Germans hastily assembled a motorized force, whose lead elements arrived in Tripoli in February. This relatively small expeditionary force, termed
9360-414: The Italians – hampered by a lack of transport, enfeebled by the low level of training among officers, and weakened by the state of its supporting equipment – were ordered to invade Egypt the following day. The battle plan was to advance along the coastal road while limited armoured forces operated on the desert flank. To counter the Italian advance, Wavell ordered his screening forces to harass
9516-426: The Italians, cutting off their retreat. Although they tried desperately to overcome the British force at the Battle of Beda Fomm , the Italians were unable to break through, and the remnants of the retreating army surrendered. Over ten weeks Allied forces had destroyed the Italian Tenth Army and reached El Agheila, taking 130,000 prisoners of war in the process. Mussolini requested help from his German allies, while
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#17328510561289672-516: The Mediterranean. Indeed, so successful was the Italian SIS in handling the bulk of Axis naval intelligence in the Mediterranean, that "Britain's offensive use of SIGINT was largely negated by Italy's defensive SIGINT." The Afrika Korps had the intelligence services of the 621st Signals Battalion mobile monitoring element which arrived in North Africa in late April 1941, commanded by Hauptmann Alfred Seeböhm. The 621st Signals Battalion monitored radio communications among British units. Unfortunately for
9828-508: The Red Army on the Eastern Front by diverting Axis forces to the North African theatre. Over half the German Ju 52 transport planes that were needed to supply the encircled Axis forces at Stalingrad were tied up supplying Axis forces in North Africa. Senior U.S. commanders were strongly opposed to proposed landings in North-West Africa. After the western Allied Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) met in London on 30 July 1942 General George Marshall and Admiral Ernest King declined to approve
9984-429: The Ruweisat Ridge. Here they patrolled no-man's land and engaged with patrols from the Italian 185th Infantry Division "Folgore" and Germans. On 10 October the remainder of the division entered the line reinforced with the 1st Greek Brigade, and deployed opposite the Deir el Munassib depression, Greeks to the north, the 151st Brigade in the centre and the 69th Brigade to the south. On the night of 25 October, as part of
10140-403: The South African's rearguard, the column fought through the Germans and even took prisoners. On 17 and 18 June the division was reassembled at Bir el Thalata. On 21 June Tobruk surrendered , and a new defensive line was made south of Mersa Matruh in similar brigade boxes to those at Gazala. In Mersa Martuh itself was the 10th Indian Infantry Division , south-east of the town, on an escarpment,
10296-406: The Tebourba area. The Axis powers attempted a second counter-attack in the neighborhood of Tebourba following their failed attempt on December 1. The attack was successfully repulsed by the Allied powers, and the enemy sustained significant damage to their weaponry. During the winter, there followed a period of stalemate during which time both sides continued to build up their forces. By the new year,
10452-422: The V.C. only recently. The 5th East Yorkshires' leading company suffered over 70% casualties, and during this attack Private Eric Anderson won a posthumous V.C., killed while attending to the wounded on the battlefield. The 6th Green Howards now passed through the first wave and also took casualties He was no sooner on his feet than a single shot rang out and Coughlan...dropped dead in an instant. ... then my rage
10608-405: The West of Bournemouth, later on the North coast of Somerset , after having transferred, on 22 November, to VIII Corps . The 50th Division was first informed of an overseas move in September 1940 to North Africa , and embarkation leave was given over Christmas. After intensive exercises on the moors of Somerset and Devon, another grant of embarkation leave was given in March 1941, and on 22 April
10764-409: The Western Desert in November 1941. After training around Bir Thalata, it was ordered into Libya and saw action, capturing eight guns and a prisoner from the Afrika Korps . Directed to the Bir Hakeim position it erected wire, laid mines and dug trenches. Exchanging with the Free French in February 1942 it moved north, and rejoining the rest of the division took over a 25 miles (40 km) section of
10920-446: The advance, the battalion took 200 prisoners and advanced across the Wadi. On the right the 151st Brigade took the front line positions in heavy fighting, but by dawn only four tanks had managed to cross the Wadi. The next day (21 March) reinforced by the 5th East Yorkshires, the brigade advanced and took three positions on the ridge and took several hundred Italian prisoners. More tanks had crossed over but most of them were armed only with
11076-599: The advancing Italians, falling back towards Mersa Matruh , where the main British infantry force was based. Positioned on the desert flank was the 7th Armoured Division , which would strike at the flank of the Italian force. By 16 September, the Italian force had advanced to Maktila , around 130 kilometres (80 mi) west of Mersa Matruh, where they halted due to supply problems. Despite Mussolini urging them to carry on, Graziani ordered his men to dig in around Sidi Barrani , and fortified camps were established in forward locations; additional troops were also positioned behind
11232-725: The annexation of Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia led to an international crisis . To avoid war, the British Prime Minister , Neville Chamberlain , met with the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler in September and came to the Munich Agreement , the German annexation of Sudetenland. Chamberlain had intended the agreement to lead to further peaceful resolution of differences, but relations between both countries soon deteriorated. On 15 March 1939, Germany breached
11388-402: The arms of the division. One such operation, Fullsize , launched at the end of March consisted of three columns and was commanded by Brigadier John Nichols , commander of the 151st Brigade, who would later command the 50th Division. This ranged up to 30 miles (48 km) from Gazala to raid Luftwaffe landing grounds, in order to distract them from a Malta bound convoy . At the end of April
11544-681: The assumption that there would be little to no resistance. Nevertheless, Vichy French forces put up a strong and bloody resistance to the Allies in Oran and Morocco , but not in Algiers , where a coup d'état by the French resistance on 8 November succeeded in neutralizing the French XIX Corps before the landing and arresting the Vichy commanders. Consequently, the landings met no practical opposition in Algiers, and
11700-475: The attack against the Mareth Line was planned for the night of 19–20 March 1943. The Mareth Line was made up of a series of fortified positions, consisting of a number of pillboxes surrounded by wire and trenches, just behind the bank of the Wadi Zigzaou, backed up by a second line of such positions on a ridge to the rear. The 69th Brigade had taken the approaches to the Wadi on preceding nights, they were to attack
11856-578: The attacking forces while the British 1st and 7th Armoured Divisions attacked them in turn. Close by to the north was the 1st South African Division , isolated to the south were the Free French. Other boxes were sited to the rear of the main line, such as the Knightsbridge Box . Patrols began, with the aims of gathering intelligence and disrupting German and Italian operations. These ranged in size from two to three platoons of infantry and anti tank guns, to battalion sized formations containing most of
12012-468: The battalion. Communication was restored only when a War Office observer riding a bicycle crossed the bridge to 'observe' the battle and was dispatched back by the C.O. to bring the rest of the battalion forward. The arrival of the remaining two companies started a fierce battle in the vineyard, and during the day the battalion fought off a number of counter-attacks, but was slowly pushed back. Early on 17 July, supported by division and XIII Corps artillery,
12168-629: The battle was over, the tanks of the Yeomanry having got past the anti-tank ditch, and four hours later the 8th Armoured Brigade pushed on past the Wadi. The brigade had overrun parts of the Italian La Spezia Division . The Eighth Army's attack north along the eastern coast of Tunisia, and the First Army's advance from the west, led eventually to the surrender of Axis forces in North Africa, on 13 May 1943, with almost 250,000 men taken prisoner,
12324-401: The battle with only 300 men, and was now reduced to 65 uninjured, and the other battalions were in a similar state. The 2nd New Zealand Division's flanking attack began on 26 March and was to force an Axis withdrawal. For the next several days the division was employed in tidying the battle-field and burying the dead. On 2 April the division was told to supply a brigade for the coming battle at
12480-485: The battle. After two days, with the Free French holding out at Bir Hakeim, Rommel's supply situation was becoming desperate due to the long detour to the south, an increasing toll of tanks was being taken by the Desert Air Force (DAF). Some supplies reached Rommel through the weakly held mine fields north and south of the 150th Brigade box, but by 31 May the situation was again serious, such that General Fritz Bayerlein
12636-513: The beach on 1 June, the 151st Brigade was informed it may be used in a diversionary attack to cover the evacuation and formed two columns, but this became unnecessary. That night the 50th Division was evacuated from the beaches (150th Brigade, RASC and gunners ) and the Mole (151st Brigade and others), with Lieutenant-General Brooke having estimated its strength on 30 May at 2,400 men. While in Britain
12792-615: The best efforts of Ultra and the British Navy to prevent it. In effect, "Ultra did not deny the Axis armies the supplies they needed to reach the Nile." Heavy losses of German paratroopers during the Battle of Crete , made possible by Ultra warnings of the drop times and locations, meant that Hitler hesitated in attacking Malta, which aided the British in gaining control of the Mediterranean, as did
12948-441: The bombardment, others fought back, with all three battalions coming under fire. Lines through the mines were cleared behind the advance, and by dawn, having reached their objective the infantry dug in, and were in place to witness the destruction of the 9th Armoured Brigade as it charged dug in German guns. Relieved in the early hours of 3 November, the brigade had suffered almost 400 casualties and taken more than 400 prisoners. In
13104-533: The city was captured on the first day along with the entire Vichy African command. After three days of talks and threats, Generals Mark Clark and Dwight Eisenhower compelled Vichy Admiral François Darlan and General Alphonse Juin to order the cessation on 10–11 November of armed resistance from Vichy forces in Oran and Morocco, promising to make Darlan the head of a Free French administration. During Operation Torch, Americans fought Vichy French and German navy vessels in
13260-521: The column ambushed defensive posts and collected several thousand Italian prisoners, including the HQ of the Brescia Division . The 151st Brigade rejoined the division on 12 November. The division now went into reserve as part of X Corps , and was grouped around El Adem on the Gazala battlefield where it received new anti-tank and anti-aircraft regiments and commenced intensive training. Various formations of
13416-436: The columns headed further south around the routes the Germans took in their advance, then east and headed for Fort Maddelena on the Egyptian frontier. The enemy in the bridgeheads were Italian stiffened by a few German gunners. They were very much taken by surprise. It was late at night before they realised that a whole division was passing straight through their lines. Some vehicles went up on mines, others were shot-up, but on
13572-457: The command of the 2nd New Zealand Division, were to advance 4,000 yards to Tel el Aqqaqir on the Rahman Track, supported by tanks of 8th and 50th Royal Tank Regiments . Following them would be the 9th Armoured Brigade . The advance would be supported by a First World War style creeping barrage provided by 13 field regiments and two medium regiments of artillery. The 151st Brigade, supported by
13728-454: The compromised "Black Code" which the Axis forces had been reading, so the Axis could no longer learn of British "strengths, positions, losses, reinforcements, supply, situation, plans, morale etc" as they had since 1940. General Auchinleck, although he had checked Rommel's advance at the First Battle of El Alamein, was replaced by General Harold Alexander . Lieutenant-General William Gott
13884-647: The day was also disrupted, 168th Brigade was scheduled to land on D+3. Over the next few days the division lost most of its motor transport, bombed by the Luftwaffe while still on board ship. Forced to march, the division was allocated the minor inland road north and urged forward by the GOC, Major-General Kirkman, fought the German Battlegroup Schmalz and the Italian Napoli Division . On 13 July contact
14040-491: The defeat of the remaining British armour on 13 June, the remaining Gazala boxes realised they were now almost cut off. On 14 June they received orders to withdraw. The coast road leading to the east could only hold one division while it was being held open by the remains of the British armour and the El Adem box, and this was allocated to the South Africans. The 50th Division was left with the alternatives of fighting east, through
14196-573: The division HQ and 150th Brigade Group sailed from Liverpool. The remainder of the division, now commanded by Major-General William Ramsden , sailed from Glasgow on 23 May. While in the North Atlantic the majority of the escorts of the Glasgow convoy were diverted away to search for the Bismarck leaving only the cruiser HMS Exeter as the convoy's escort. In June the division landed at Port Tewfik, where
14352-511: The division headed towards Brussels and took up positions on the river Dender, only to end up part of the Allied withdrawal. By 19 May, it was on Vimy ridge, north of Arras . It had become known to the Allies that the German Army's southern spearheads had pierced the Peronne – Cambrai gap and were threatening Boulogne and Calais , cutting the BEF's lines of communication and separating it from
14508-556: The division made good its losses with new recruits and convalescents, and was converted into a three brigade infantry division with the permanent addition, of the 69th Infantry Brigade group, at the end of June. This comprised the 5th East Yorkshire Regiment , 6th and 7th Green Howards with supporting artillery and engineers, from the now disbanded 23rd (Northumbrian) Division, which had been badly mauled in France. It became part of V Corps on anti-invasion duty, stationed initially in and to
14664-703: The division were awarded the Victoria Cross during the war, more than any other division of the British Army during the Second World War . In 1921, the Territorial Force was reconstituted as the Territorial Army following the passage of the Territorial Army and Militia Act 1921 . This resulted in the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division being formed. It contained the same infantry brigades as before,
14820-484: The division were detached, transport platoons to carry supplies forward from Tobruk, the engineers to improve the docks and roads around Sirte and the anti-aircraft regiment to protect newly captured airfields. The division, still with only two infantry brigades, returned to the front line, where it joined Leese's XXX Corps, in mid-March 1943, when the Eighth Army reached the Mareth Line in Tunisia . Operation Pugilist,
14976-451: The division, while manning an anti-tank gun . However, most of the battalion was overrun, but the attack was not pressed further due to the Germans own heavy casualties. That night a large raid by the 6th and 8th D.L.I. and elements of the 5th Indian Division, was intended to disrupt German and Italian lines of communication south of the escarpment, but due to poor coordination succeeded in causing as much confusion to their own columns as to
15132-433: The divisional artillery as all available transport was being used to move Eighth Army supplies. Fire support was to come from the 51st (Highland) Division's artillery, the infantry of which were to attack on their right, while the 4th Indian Division attacked on their left. In the early morning of 6 April, the attack achieved its early objectives but then came under heavy fire which killed Lieutenant Colonel Seagrim, who had won
15288-554: The downfall of the Fascist government in Italy and the elimination of Germany's main European ally. German and Italian forces committed atrocities against prisoners of war and Jewish , Berber and Arab populations. On 10 May 1940, the Wehrmacht started the Battle of France (or Westfeldzug ). Six weeks later, France surrendered. The Armistice at Compiègne took place on 22 June 1940 leaving
15444-427: The enemy. The same night the 5th East Yorkshires was heavily engaged with the Germans. On the night of 28 June, with the division nearly surrounded, it was ordered to break out. Unlike the Gazala breakout, the battalion columns now faced German armour, and the ground was broken by steep-sided Wadis . The 8th D.L.I. was ambushed while driving out of a wadi and lost its D Company. The original orders had specified Fuka as
15600-526: The front line. On the night of 28 October, the 151st Brigade was transferred north to join XXX Corps , and take part in Operation Supercharge . This operation began on the night of 31 October with an Australian attack keeping pressure on the Germans near the coast. Further south, timed for the early morning of 1 November, then delayed for 24 hours, the 151st Brigade with the 152nd Brigade , both under
15756-455: The increasingly ineffective 2-pounder gun. The passage of these tanks had damaged the Wadi crossing and only a few anti-tank guns could be moved across. On 22 March, with the DAF grounded by rain, the Germans counterattacked with the 15th Panzer Division with supporting artillery and infantry. By evening a bloody and desperate battle was being fought out west of the Wadi Zigzaou, and slowly but surely
15912-603: The infantry were being driven back to the Wadi edge, until by midnight except for the East Yorkshire Regiment holding out in [a fortified position on the bank of the Wadi] there was no depth whatever in the bridgehead. Though tremendous casualties had been inflicted by the supporting artillery ... they had failed to stop the enemy attack. Later even this support flagged as wireless sets with the forward troops were gradually knocked out or failed due to exhausted batteries. The men of
16068-496: The line, an armoured reconnaissance soon became a full-fledged offensive from El Agheila in March. In March–April, Allied forces were forced back and leading general officers captured. The Australian 9th Infantry Division fell back to the fortress port of Tobruk, and the remaining British and Commonwealth forces withdrew a further 160 kilometres (100 mi) east to the Libyan–Egyptian border. With Tobruk under siege by
16224-460: The losses of the Italian Navy at the Battle of Cape Matapan . To conceal the fact that German coded messages were being read, a fact critical to the overall Allied war effort, British command required a flyover mission be carried out before a convoy could be attacked in order to give the appearance that a reconnaissance flight had discovered the target. The North African campaign was often labeled
16380-407: The main French armies. A plan by French General Maxime Weygand to close this gap between the French and British forces included Frankforce (after Major-General Harold Franklyn , GOC of the 5th Division ), consisting of the 5th and 50th Divisions and the 1st Army Tank Brigade attacking southward, and French divisions attacking northward from around Cambrai. Instead of divisions, the attack
16536-509: The main Italian-German force, a small battlegroup continued to press eastwards. Capturing Fort Capuzzo and Bardia in passing, it then advanced into Egypt, and by the end of April it had taken Sollum and the tactically important Halfaya Pass . Rommel garrisoned these positions, reinforcing the battle-group and ordering it onto the defensive. Though isolated on land, Tobruk's garrison continued to receive supplies and replacements, delivered by
16692-435: The main force. In response to the dispersed Italian camps, the British planned a limited five-day attack, Operation Compass , to strike at these fortified camps one by one. The British Commonwealth force, totalling 36,000 men, attacked the forward elements of the 10-division-strong Italian army on 9 December. Following their initial success, the forces of Operation Compass pursued the retreating Italian forces. In January,
16848-421: The meeting point for the division, but this was in enemy hands, and some columns which had not been informed of this were captured. The 50th Division had suffered over 9,000 casualties since the start of the Gazala battle, lost much of its equipment and what remained was worn out. The division was sent into Mareopolis, south-west of Alexandria , to refit. The average strength of the remaining infantry battalions
17004-450: The mobile division (later called the armoured division), and the motor division. Historian David French wrote "The main role of the infantry ... was to break into the enemy's defensive position." This would then be exploited by the Mobile division, followed by the motor divisions that would "carry out the rapid consolidation of the ground captured by the Mobile divisions" therefore "transform[ing]
17160-419: The motor division "matched that of the German army's motorized and light divisions. But there the similarities ended." German motorized divisions contained three brigades and were as fully equipped as a regular infantry division, while the smaller light divisions contained a tank battalion. Whereas the motor division, while being fully motorized and capable of transporting all their infantry, contained no tanks and
17316-422: The name of the new German commander, his time of arrival, and the numbers and condition of the Axis forces, but they might not correctly reveal Rommel's intentions. The primary benefit of Ultra intercepts to the effort in North Africa was to aid in cutting the Axis supply line to Tunisia. Ultra intercepts provided valuable information about the times and routes of Axis supply shipments across the Mediterranean. This
17472-462: The next line at Wadi Akarit, which runs from the sea to impassable salt marshes of the Chott el Fejej , while the Germans were distracted by the advance of Lieutenant General George S. Patton 's U.S. II Corps to the west. The 69th Brigade was sent forward with the division machine gunners and a squadron of tanks from the 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) , but they were not to be supported by
17628-476: The night of 21–22 July. The 5th East Yorkshires and the composite D.L.I. battalion reached their objectives, the Germans having allowed them to pass through their lines. Surrounded, then shelled and mortared for two days, with the supporting armour unable to advance, they were overrun with only small numbers escaping. In late July and August the division was part of the Northern Delta Force, together with
17784-413: The other brigades of the division, noting the flow of supplies in front of them, mounted vigorous patrols to disrupt and steal these supplies. Particularly prized was fresh water from the wells at Derna to supplement their own meagre ration, all other types of stores and weapons were taken as well as prisoners. This commerce raiding continued until, after the withdrawal of the Free French on 10 June and
17940-629: The plan. Marshall and other U.S. generals advocated the invasion of northern Europe later that year, which the British rejected. After Prime Minister Winston Churchill pressed for a landing in French North Africa in 1942, Marshall suggested instead to President Franklin D. Roosevelt that the U.S. abandon the Germany first strategy and take the offensive in the Pacific. Roosevelt said it would do nothing to help Russia. With Marshall unable to persuade
18096-539: The planned objective of Wancourt before running into opposition from the infantry units of Generalmajor Erwin Rommel 's 7th Panzer Division . French tanks and troop carriers enabled British soldiers to evacuate Warlus, and the carriers of the 9th Durham Light Infantry (in reserve) helped those in Duisans withdraw to their former positions that night. Next day the Germans regrouped and continued their advance; Frankforce had taken around 400 German prisoners and inflicted
18252-421: The port of Syracuse and the airfields inland. An airborne operation was to attempt to capture the bridges and waterways behind Syracuse. The division was to land on a one brigade front (151st Brigade) south of Cap Murro Di Porco with the 5th Division to their right (north). High winds scattered both seaborne and airborne landings, but were able to concentrate and advance. The landing of the 69th Brigade later in
18408-560: The programme was complicated by a lack of central guidance on the expansion and duplication process and issues regarding the lack of facilities, equipment and instructors. It had been envisioned by the War Office that the duplicating process and recruiting the required numbers of men would take no more than six months. The 50th (Northumbrian) Motor Division started this process in March, creating new units based around an initial cadre of just 25 officers and men. In April, limited conscription
18564-474: The refusal to do so in war time situations constituted a grave crime, not to be pardoned. 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division The 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that saw distinguished service in the Second World War . Pre-war, the division was part of the Territorial Army (TA) and the two Ts in the divisional insignia represent
18720-559: The reinforcements were Italian and therefore it was up to the Italians to do the bulk of the fighting. The forward Allied force – now named XIII Corps – adopted a defensive posture and over the coming months was built up, before most of its veteran forces were redeployed to Greece to counter the German invasion there. In addition, the 7th Armoured Division was withdrawn to the Nile delta. The veteran forces were replaced by inexperienced newcomers, ill-equipped to face German armour. Although Rommel had been ordered to simply hold
18876-416: The remoteness of Allied airfields from the front line gave the Axis clear air superiority over the battlefield. The Allies were halted and pushed back having advanced eastwards to within 30 kilometres (19 mi) of Tunis. In early December, the Allies were met with the reality that they would not be successful in capturing the key cities of Tunis and Bizerta. The air campaigns by the Axis forces proved to be
19032-477: The reports of Fellers, the US military attaché in Egypt. He had been tasked by Marshall with providing detailed reports on the military situation in Africa. Fellers talked with British military and civilian headquarters personnel, read documents and visited the battlefront. Known to the Germans as "die gute Quelle" (the good source) or more jokingly as 'the little fellow', he transmitted his reports back to Washington using
19188-466: The small port at Bardia was taken, soon followed by the seizure of the fortified port of Tobruk . Some 40,000 Italians were captured in and around the two ports, with the remainder of the Tenth Army retreating along the coast road back to El Agheila . Richard O'Connor sent the 7th Armoured Division across the desert with a small reconnaissance group. It reached Beda Fomm some ninety minutes before
19344-471: The south, the remainder of the division, reinforced with the 2nd Free French Brigade, was tasked with clearing the mine fields between the Ruweiiat Ridge and the Rahman Track and capturing the defences around a point called 'Fortress A'. On 7 November the division was ordered to form a mobile brigade column and strike West. With all division vehicles given to the 69th Brigade and reinforced with anti-tank guns
19500-399: The southern diversionary attacks, the 69th Brigade, 5th East Yorkshires and 6th Green Howards, advanced to clear the mine fields, and seize positions. After gaining nearly all of the first objectives, the attacking battalions came up against increasing numbers of anti-personnel mines, barbed wire and retaliatory mortar fire. After losing over 200 casualties, the battalions were withdrawn back to
19656-457: The supporting tanks being engaged by 88mm guns . An attack by the 8th Battalion D.L.I. was delayed, allowing them to learn of a ford upstream of the bridge from one of the paratroopers. Before dawn on 16 July two companies of the battalion achieved surprise and established themselves across the Catania road some 200 yards north of the bridge, but in doing so lost all their means to summon the rest of
19812-556: The terms of the agreement by invading and occupying the remnants of the Czech state . On 29 March, the British Secretary of State for War Leslie Hore-Belisha announced plans to increase the Territorial Army (TA) from 130,000 men to 340,000, doubling the number of divisions. The plan was for the existing divisions to recruit over their establishments and then form Second Line divisions from small cadres that could be built upon. This
19968-584: The three hundred men in the field, 108 decided to follow orders, leaving a hard core of 192. They were all charged with mutiny under the Army Act. This was the largest number of men accused of mutiny at any one time in all of British military history . The accused were shipped to French Algeria , where the courts-martial opened towards the end of October. All were found guilty, and three sergeants were sentenced to death. The sentences were subsequently commuted to 12 years of forced labour and eventually suspended. In
20124-693: The two main rivers of its recruitment area, namely the rivers Tyne , and Tees . The division served in almost all of the major engagements of the European War from 1940 until late 1944 and also served with distinction in North Africa , the Mediterranean and Middle East from mid-1941 to 1943. The 50th Division was one of two British divisions (the other being the 3rd Infantry ) to land in Normandy on D-Day , 6 June 1944, where it landed on Gold Beach . Four men of
20280-577: The whole TA in waves, as divisions completed their training. The final divisions would not be transported to France until a year had elapsed from the outbreak of war. In October, the division was concentrated in the Cotswolds to train for overseas service, which continued into the winter. In January 1940, the division was moved to France to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The division disembarked at Cherbourg on 19 January 1940, and
20436-479: The whole we had very few casualties and both attacking battalions did their jobs successfully. The infantry went in with the bayonet and the Italians departed, often leaving all their arms and equipment lying about in the trenches. After having been posted behind the 69th Brigade box, and having seen the Italians alerted to the breakout, the 9th D.L.I., and a party from the 6th, took the coastal route . Attacked by German artillery and infantry and accidentally shelled by
20592-494: Was "otherwise much weaker than normal infantry divisions" or their German counterparts. Following this, some of the division's infantry battalions were converted to anti-aircraft regiments, and the entire 149th Brigade was converted into divisional support units for other formations. Throughout the 1930s, tensions built between Germany and the United Kingdom and its allies . During late 1937 and 1938, German demands for
20748-410: Was 300 men (less than 50%), and the division artillery had only 30 guns (out of 72) and all other services had heavy losses. By mid-July the infantry had been reinforced to 400–500 men per battalion and training had begun. In late July the division, now commanded by Major-General John Nichols after Ramsden was promoted, was ordered to provide troops for an attack on Mitieriya Ridge, under the command of
20904-593: Was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa while allowing American armed forces the opportunity to engage in the fight against Nazi Germany on a limited scale. In addition, as Joseph Stalin , the leader of the Soviet Union , had long been pleading for a second front to be opened to engage the Wehrmacht and relieve pressure on the Red Army , it provided some degree of relief for
21060-456: Was a shell hole. It was well organized. On each flank – on the battalion flanks – they had Bofors guns firing tracer every two or three minutes so that you could keep on line. The barrage was going for about two minutes then they'd drop two or three smoke bombs – they were a bloody nuisance... But when they dropped you knew the barrage was lifting. You just moved in. In the advance through the German trenches and gun lines, some had been stunned by
21216-411: Was aided by an increase in pay for territorials, the removal of restrictions on promotion that had been a major hindrance to recruiting during the preceding years, the construction of better quality barracks and an increase in supper-time rations. The 23rd (Northumbrian) Division was to be created as a Second Line unit, a duplicate of the 50th (Northumbrian). Despite the intention for the army to grow,
21372-421: Was also a brigade of Free French under Marie-Pierre Koenig . The new formation launched a new offensive, Operation Crusader , in November. After a see-saw battle, the 70th Division garrisoning Tobruk was relieved and the Axis forces were forced to fall back. By January 1942, the front line was again at El Agheila. After receiving supplies and reinforcements from Tripoli, the Axis attacked again, defeating
21528-635: Was assigned to II Corps . By March, the division was at work preparing the defences in the Lille—Loos area. When the German attack began on 10 May, the British and French enacted their Dyle Plan and advanced to the River Dyle in Belgium . The next day, the 25th Infantry Brigade and other supporting units were added to the division while it was in reserve on the Belgian border. It was ordered to move on 16 May, and
21684-496: Was considering surrender. Rommel had turned his attention to the 150th Brigade box as a means to shorten his lines of communication and began attacking it on 29 May from the rear, using parts of 15th Panzer , Trieste Motorised and 90th Light Divisions , supported by heavy bombing attacks. The box was gradually reduced over a stubborn defence, and it was overrun by noon on 1 June, with the capture of all three infantry battalions and attached artillery and engineers. During this time
21840-432: Was critical in providing the British with the opportunity to intercept and destroy them. During the time when Malta was under heavy air attack, the ability to act on this information was limited, but as Allied air and naval strength improved, the information became instrumental to Allied success. It is estimated that 40% to 60% of Axis supply shipping was located and destroyed due to decrypted information. However, this claim
21996-844: Was destroyed and the German Afrika Korps was dispatched to North Africa in February 1941 in Operation Sonnenblume to reinforce the Italians and prevent an Axis defeat. Battles for control of Libya and Egypt followed, with advances and retreats until the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942 when the Eighth Army (Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery ) defeated the German–Italian Panzerarmee Afrika and forced its remnants into Tunisia. After Operation Torch ,
22152-484: Was done by the morning of 29 May, forming the southern edge of the Dunkirk corridor. In contact with the Germans from the start the 50th Division was forced back and by late 30 May was in the eastern end of the Dunkirk perimeter. The division was reinforced by some remnants from the 23rd (Northumbrian) Division on 31 May, which were needed as the Germans continued to attack and shell the 50th Division's positions. Withdrawn to
22308-557: Was established with the 51st (Highland) Division at Palazzolo. Operation Fustian was intended to swiftly capture the bridges along the coast of the Catanian plain by coup de main using No. 3 Commando and the 1st Parachute Brigade of the 1st Airborne Division , they would then be relieved by troops of the 50th Division. On the night of 13–14 July the British Commandos seized the bridge of Ponti di Malati North of Lentini , and
22464-403: Was fighting as part of Lieutenant General Mark Clark 's U.S. Fifth Army . Many of the soldiers felt they had been deliberately misled. Matters were made worse by the complete lack of organisation when they reached Salerno, leaving them angry and frustrated. About one thousand of the men, who were fresh recruits, were taken off to join new units, leaving 500 veterans, 300 of whom were billeted in
22620-404: Was introduced. At that time 34,500 militiamen, all aged 20, were conscripted into the regular army, initially to be trained for six months before being deployed to the forming second line units. The process varied widely in the TA divisions. Some were ready in weeks while others had made little progress by the time the Second World War began. The division, along with most of the rest of the TA,
22776-502: Was lost, the advance was caught by enfilade fire and some units were caught by their own artillery fire. The brigade was forced to withdraw. Directed by enemy observers in these positions, long range artillery destroyed the Primisole bridge but left two bailey bridges intact. The 50th Division remained in these positions for the next two weeks. On 4 August the Germans blew up ammunition dumps on Catania airfield and withdrew, and on 5 August
22932-495: Was made by two battalion sized columns, with many tanks of the armoured units already unserviceable. Of the 5th Infantry Division's two brigades, one had been sent to hold the line of the river Scarpe to the east of Arras, together with the 150th Brigade of the 50th Division, while the other was in reserve. The two columns comprised the 6th and 8th Battalions of the Durham Light Infantry (D.L.I.) of 151st Brigade supporting
23088-461: Was mobilised on 1 September 1939, the day the German Army invaded Poland . From the new units it created in March, the 50th Division created the 69th Infantry Brigade as a Second Line duplicate of the 150th Infantry Brigade , and the 70th Infantry Brigade as a Second Line duplicate of the 151st Infantry Brigade . These brigades had been created by the outbreak of the war and were administered by
23244-1114: Was permanently replaced by the 231st Brigade , which also fought in Sicily. The 50th Division learned it was to return to Britain, as it was chosen by Montgomery, the Eighth Army commander, along with the 7th Armoured and the 51st (Highland) Infantry Divisions, to be among the veteran divisions to take part in the campaign in North-West Europe . During the campaign in Sicily, the 50th Division had lost 426 killed, 1,132 wounded and 545 missing; it had taken almost 9,000 prisoners, mostly Italian, and had earned 68 bravery awards. North African Campaign Allies [REDACTED] British Empire [REDACTED] United States [REDACTED] Free France Axis [REDACTED] Italy [REDACTED] Germany Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between
23400-401: Was planned that the 4th Indian Division would then pass through and continue the attack, while the 2nd New Zealand Division made a 'left hook'. The attack began on the night of 20—21 March, on the left, Lieutenant Colonel Derek Anthony Seagrim , Commanding Officer (C.O.) of the 7th Green Howards, was awarded the V.C. in clearing two machine gun posts on 'the Bastion' which briefly held up
23556-410: Was promoted from XIII Corps commander to command of the entire Eighth Army, but he was killed when his aircraft was intercepted and shot down over Egypt. He was replaced by Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery . At the end of June, Axis forces made a second attempt to break through the Allied defences at El Alamein at Alam Halfa , but were unsuccessful. After a lengthy period of build-up and training,
23712-808: Was relieved of command and replaced by Claude Auchinleck . The Western Desert Force was reinforced with a second corps, XXX Corps , with the two corps forming the Eighth Army . Eighth Army was made up of army forces from the Commonwealth nations, including the British Army , the Australian Army , the Indian Army , the New Zealand Army , the South African Army , and the Sudan Defence Force . There
23868-407: Was that Ultra intercepts had informed Wavell that OKW had clearly directed Rommel not to take any offensive action, but to wait until he was further reinforced with the 15th Panzer Division in May. Rommel received this information, but placed more value on his own assessment of the situation. Trusting that the Germans had no intention of taking major action, the British command did not respond until it
24024-425: Was the 50th Division with a brigade of the 5th Indian Division south of them. The Germans attacked on 27 June and passed around the escarpment to the north and south. North of the 151st lay the coast road and the attack fell on the brigade and heavily on the 9th D.L.I. on the left flank. During the attack Private Adam Wakenshaw was to win a posthumous Victoria Cross (VC), the first of four to be awarded to members of
24180-424: Was too late. Furthermore, Rommel did not generally provide OKW or the Italian Comando Supremo details of his planned operations, for he thought the Italians too prone to leak the information. Thus on 21 January 1942, when Rommel struck out on his second offensive from El Agheila, Comando Supremo was just as surprised to learn of it as the British were. Ultra intercepts provided the British with such information as
24336-435: Was up ... Angrily, I grabbed poor Coughlan's machine gun ... When we were about ten yards away we had reached the top of the slit trench and we killed any of the survivors, five of them cowering in the bottom of the trench. It was no time for pussy footing: we were consumed with rage and had to kill them to pay for our fallen pal. We were so intoxicated, we could not hold back, given the chance they would have killed us. By 11:00
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