ON TO TRIPOLI !! OPERATION ACROBAT What If

Having picked on other What ifs' here's mine to dissect.

OPERATION ACROBAT.. On to Tripoli.. as at 7/6/06

In late 1940 the British troops in Egypt were about to move onto the offensive, Italian forces had ponderously moved their forces to Sidi Barrani in September 1940 and had deployed their divisions in a number of fortified camps around the town. However further reinforcements were unavailable as Mussolini had struck at Greece and far from defeating them had been held and then pushed back into Albania and any spare trrops had been sent to their aid.

British & Indian troops had been steadily gaining valuable Information through patrolling the camps, the night belonged to the Allies and the stage was set for Operation Compass to begin.

In the background, further plans were being looked at and fine tuned.

A substantial force was being gathered in the Palestine/Egypt zone, 6 more Infantry Divisions were in the area in various stages of arrival and training and an Armoured Division and Commando force was on its way from England. The RAF had received some welcome reinforcements of fighter and bomber aircraft and the “Cross Africa” air ferry from Takoradi was just opening. Some small forces were created from long term residents of Egypt with the most important being the Long Range Desert Group. These men had pioneered motor travel in the desert and had a role of Survey & observation of the main roads,
The Greeks, who had been invaded by Italy in November 1940, were adamant that they did not want any help in the fighting, though they accepted British aid in garrisoning Crete and allowed the RAF to set up or improve the airfields on the island. 14 Bde moved onto the island and in addition to setting up defenses assisted in training the Cretan troops.

The coming of Winter in England had seen the end of the Invasion threat, while this would not allow the wholesale movement of troops, it enabled an Armoured Division to be transferred plus an increased RAF & RN presence in the Mediterranean.

Churchill had advised the War Office of his “desire” to clear the African Continent of all Axis Forces, except for the Prisoners of War of course. “Action This Day!!!”

Wavell, O’Connor and their Corps Commanders leapt at this order, they knew they had the quality of troops to defeat the Italians in the field, at Sea and in the Air. The most worrying items were the Supply of their forces and the reaction of the German forces The basic plan was to “leap frog” forces so that the advance was continued by approximately 1 Armoured and 1 Infantry Division.

After 4 Indian Division had taken Sidi Barrani. it was replaced by the 6 Australian Division and sent to the Sudan (here it would help clear Abysynnia & Eritrea and return to the desert in time to reinforce Crete during its invasion threat.) the Australians cleared the Ports of Bardia, Tobruk, Derna & Bengazi and 7 Armoured Division won a major battle at Beda Fomm and had chased the Italian Forces to Agedabia by 10 Feb.

In the background, diplomatic arrangements had been made with the Greek Government. While they refused to allow Ground troops to land in Greece, they allowed the British to add to the forces on Crete. The Force was then increased The New Zealand Division (4, 5 & 6 Bdes), The Polish Carpathian Brigade, 14 Brigade of 6 British Division and 4 Cavalry Brigade of 1 Cavalry Division. These forces were supported by 2 Hurricane , 2 Blenheim & 2 Wellington Sqns and would ensure that the northern flank of the intended advance was secured. Engineer troops plus Cretan labour also worked on building a further airfield at Setia on the Eastern tip of Crete.

Western Desert Force became 8th Army with 3 Corps, XXX Corps on Crete, XIII Corps at Agedabia & I Australian Corps moving up to Tobruk. 7 Australian Division had moved up behind the XIII Corps and cleared the battlefields of Bardia & Tobruk and in early February 9 Australian Division (24, 25 & 26 Bdes) passed through to clear Derna & Bengazi (Under Control of 1 Australian Corps) At these ports and at Beda Fomm a large number of useable Italian weapons were recovered. Every effort was made to recover abandoned Italian weapons and Vehicles, over 130 Medium tanks, 2000 motor vehicles and 600 guns had been recovered in working order. The trucks, many of them heavy diesel units, were of great use in distributing supplies from forward dumps and ports. The guns were using in static defense or shipped to Greece & Crete to reinforce the Greek Army with the tanks sent to the Divisional Cavalry Regiments and to equip one battalion of the Royal Tank Regiment. Some Australian & British units also “aquired” some machine guns and light auto-cannon to beef up the firepower of their units.

Benghazi port was quickly cleared and put into use, the RAF soon basing 4 Hurricane Squadrons in the vicinity with Wellington & Blenheim Bombers based further back at El Adem near Tobruk.

Tedder & Longmore had been busily building up RAF strength in the Desert, with Churchill pushing Squadrons through the Takoradi link, or flying directly from England , the following units were available.
33, 73, 80, 94, 112, 208, 274 & 3 RAAF Squadrons were available in Hurricane’s, 94 & 112 had the newer Hurricane IIC with 4 x 20mm cannon. 261 Sqn was on Malta.
26 Sqn had just been equipped with Tomahawk II & 25 Sqn performed night-fighter duties in Beaufighter IC’s. 30 Sqn had Blenheim IF in a night fighter role but would soon upgrade to Beaufighters. A new role was being tested for the Hurricanes, by fitting bomb shackles beneath the wing,they found a 250lb bomb could be carried beneath each wing. In addition, the South African mechanics in Ethoipia had improved on the cumbersome Vokes Sand filter and the new unit was easily fitted with little effect on performance of the Hurricanes, Extra Tomahawks were arriving daily.
Light Bombers were plentiful, 11, 14, 39, 55, 84,113, 203,211 Sqns had a mixture of Blenheim I & IV’s, 69 Sqn had the Martin Maryland, and would concentrate on Photo Recce
The Medium Bombers were represented by 37, 38,47, 70, 75(NZ) & 104 Sqns in Wellington I & II with 216 Sqn due to turn in it’s Bombay Bomber/Transports to be refitted

In the pipelines, subject to availability and U-Boat attack were more Tomahawks, Whirlwind fighter bombers and on direct flight, the new Short Stirling Heavy Bomber. There was always the hope of Spitfires, though Home Defence wanted these which in turn released more Hurricanes for other theatres.

The major problem for the RAF was the availability of bases for the heavier Bombers, landing grounds for fighters could be scraped up easily, the structure required to fuel & arm Blenheim & Wellingtons was more substantial and they were limited to those bases in the Bengazi area.

O’Connor, newly appointed to the command of the 8th Army, ordered a short rest, the next stage was to thrust the recently arrived 2nd Armoured Division (2 & 3 Armoured Brigades, 2 Support Group) plus the 7 Australian Division (18, 20, 21 Brigades) plus Recce Units and one Squadron of 7 RTR (Matildas) through Sirte, Misurata and on to Tripoli. Intelligence sources gave them until 20 March before the German 5th Light Division would be capable of action.
To aid the attack, a raid would be made on Tripoli by Layforce of 2 Commando Units with 14 Brigade of 6 British Division basing from Bengazi, as follow up, to be made when XIII Corps was in reach of Tripoli with heavy support from the Royal Navy.

6 Australian (16, 17 & 19 Bdes)& 7 (4 & 7 Arm Bdes, 7 Spt Gp)Armoured would rest and regroup in the Tobruk area. With 22 Guards and 3 Indian Motorised Brigades forming in the Delta & Palestine.

The new offensive was due to kick off on 17 February , first target Sirte, 200 miles up the road on 25 February.

The enemy forces in the Agedabia area were minimal, approximatley a Division of Infantry (the remains of the Italian Army) plus a Light Tank Battalion with units of 132 (Ariete) Armoured at Sirte & Misuarata, also approximately a Regiment plus a Light Tank Battalion

In the Tripoli area there were more substantial forces, 17(Pavia),25(Bologna),27 & 55 Infantry Divs with the Trento Motorised Division arriving from 8th February and the advance units of 5 Light Division (3 Recce Bn, 33 AT Bn, 2 Infantry Battalions & a 105mm Artillery Battalion)trickling in from 12 February. Allied Naval & Air attacks were beginning to take a toll of troops and supply ships and arrival dates were very shaky. In addition, the Italian morale was very shaky and would take very little to remove them as an effective force

Luftwaffe forces were a Sqn each of bf110, bf109’s at Tripoli and Ju88 & He111 Medium Bombers based from Sicily, Italian aircraft were the remnants of the forces sent to Cyrenaicca.

Gen Erwin Rommel had arrived in Tripoli on 12 February to find the Italians in disarray and, at the next blow, prepared to evacuate. Rommel had the reputation as a thrusting Officer, he led Hitler’s bodyguard during the Polish Campaign and Commanded 7th Panzer Division in France and had met with the British at Arras and had thruasted across the Seine and cleared Normandy & the Cotentin Peninsula.By the 16th he had reviewed the position and ordered 3 Divisions to Misuarata and a mobile force with German troops further forward.

Therefore the plans of both sides were set with the British ready to go.

On 15th February Operation Acrobat, the clearing of Italian North Africa kicked off.
6 Australian Division would attack along the main road with an attached Regiment of tanks from 3 Armoured Brigade, the intention was to hold the attention of the Italians while the main force of 2 Armoured Division & 7 Aust Div hooked around the flanks. They also had support from the balance of the Artillery of 7 Aust & 2 Armd who were waiting for the breakthrough before heading up the road. 6 Div met scattered resistance, with occasional delay from fortified areas amongst the salt pans, wadis and small plateaus which formed the Agheilia defile. When they finally cleared Mersa Brega, Bir el Seura the Squadron of Matilda II could deploy and the Italian troops finally broke and fled to the rear.
2 Armoured Bde and 18 Aust Inf Bde had meanwhile been fighting hard against the elements and on the 3rd day of their hook had reached the Coast road at Wadi Matratin. Their approach had been aided by the never tiring efforts of the LRDG who had surveyed the area and found useable routes across the escarpment at Chrystal’s Rift and an alternative to using the tracks (which had been mined). Here they set up a block across the Coast Road, 2 Bns of 18 Bde faced East with a Tk Rgt attached, 1 Bn faced West and 2 Armd setup further inland along Wadi el Rigel to stop outflanking attempts or to counterattack as needed. The Italian Force which had been pushed back past the Marble Arch put in an easily stopped attack and when the Armoured Bde started to move in on them put up the white flag. These men who had been chased out of Sidi Barrani, Bardia, Tobruk , Bengazi & Beda Fomm had had enough and 30,000 more men were captured and sent to camps in Egypt.

20 & 21 Bdes with 3 Armoured now set out along the Coast Road while 18 Bde and 2 Armd rested for a day and followed in their tracks. 6 Div cleared the battlefield and then headed back East for a well deserved rest. The main opposition came from the terrain which had alternate patches of deep sand and nearly impassable rocks while the Italian forces fell back steadily in front of them. The Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica put in annoying raids against the transport columns, rarely causing heavy damage but made a continual drain on the limited British supply of trucks.

The 200 miles to Sirte were covered by 27 February, here the Axis had gathered a defensive force of 2 Italian Infantry Battalions, 2 German Infantry Battalions,1 German Recce Battalion, 1 Italian Light Tank Battalion and 1 German Artillery Battalion, they took up position astride one of the many wadis leading from the Desert to the sea and under Rommels command prepared for battle.

O’Connor, hoping to hit them on the run, planned for an attack on the evening of 28 Feb.

Here, Rommel’s aggression brought his downfall twice in the 48 hours.

British Intelligence & reconnaissance aircraft (Wellingtons from Malta and Marylands from Bengazi) had discovered that the first installment of Panzers for the 8th Panzer Regiment (personally organized by Hitler) would be arriving at Tripoli on the 27th February, Rommel had firmly instructed the Port Authorities that “First preference MUST go to unloading the Vehicle Carriers, even if you have to do it under lights!!!” The RAF had been intermittently been raiding Tripoli at night but without great effect and the presence of the bf109 & 110’s had made daylight raids suicidal.
When the news came through of the imminent arrival, the RAF put on a “maximum effort”, 85 Wellingtons from the 7 squadrons in the Middle East flew to Bengazi from Egypt, Palestine & Crete, refueled and set off for Tripoli.

One of the major problems the RAF had found was that navigation over the Mediterranean had been difficult and many raids had not even found Tripoli, the story would have been the same this night, except for the actions of the Port Commander at Tripoli. Fearful of the consequences if he ignored Rommel’s direct (& written) orders, had all unloading Crews hard at work, with the overhead arc lights glaring, gave the RAF Bombers a target that could bee seen for over 50 miles, which was just as well as they were off course again. The result of this was one of the best RAF bombing efforts of the war so far, the Germans had not yet set up heavy Flak and the Italian guns were ineffectual against the bombers coming in at 10,000 feet. 3 valuable vehicle carriers and 30 Pzkw III & IV and a number of Armoured Carriers went to the bottom of the harbour and substantial supplies and fuel went up in flames, by 3 am on the morning of 29 February the RAF was on the way back to their bases and Tripoli was in flames. Equally important was the added blow to Italian morale.

At Sirte, 7 Australian had set off into the night with 2 Brigades to find the crossing point in the wadis which had been found by the LRDG in previous weeks, led by the Kings Dragoon Guards they cleared the gap against light defenses with 18 & 20 Bdes and prepared a bridgehead which would be used by 2 Armoured Brigade & 21 Australian Brigade to breakout of at first light. The Divisional & Corps Artillery was brought up and the dawn bombardment was to be fired by over 100 guns. Unaware of Brirish movements, Rommel saw his chance to hit the attackers while they were still traversing the wadis (unaware that the mapping of the wadis by the LRDG had made this task easy), he put together of force consisting of 33 Recce Abteilungen, I/8 Panzer Rgt, 1/104 Motorised Infantry and 58 Italian Light Tank Battalion and thrust at the western flank of the 18 Australian Brigade. The light armoured cars and tanks moved out briskly and were soon moving past the dug in Infantry, however the following troops ran into heavy fire from the recovering Aussies. They had done a lot of marching and were finally getting a good fight and smothered the attackers with heavy fire from their Brens, Vickers and rifles. Behind the lines the Armoured Cars & Tanks were now being hit heavily by 25pdr and 2 pdr AT fire, many vehicles were destroyed and , as the day passed on, the first of the 6 RTR squadrons made it through the wadis and provided the final blow to Rommel’s chances of disrupting the British advance. Over 40 vehicles were destroyed, 200 men killed and over 500 prisoners taken, Rommel himself was nearly captured but escaped, though badly injured. (And returned to Europe for recovery). The Australians lost 50 dead, 10 prisoners and the advance was delayed by 24 hours.

From Sirte, through Beurat & Misurata the British pushed on, only small rearguards of now mainly German troops provided harassment to the flow. But logistical problems started to occur, the Tanks which had now travelled many hundreds of miles on their tracks started to show increasing signs of wear. After clearing the (very) small port of Sirte and receiving a trickle of Supplies, O’Connor decided that a restructure of his forces was required and that the Royal Navy & Layforce be put on alert.

After having a rest day after capturing Homs, 3 Brigade Groups were created, each with an Armoured Bn, 2 Infantry Bns, an Artillery Rgt plus Recce & AT support, this was only managed by consolidating the tanks from 7 Regiments down to 3 and by grounding 5 of the 9 Australian Infantry Battalions.

The combined force moved on, until the Gebel Nefusa which covers Tripoli from the east was reached. Reports coming in from Tripoli and “secret” sources were leading to the fact that the Italians had started evacuating their forces back to Italy, though Air & Naval strikes had made this perilous, the Germans had more luck with a shuttle of Ju52’s though they could only carry troops and not heavy weapons or equipment. O’Connor pushed his weary force harder, the Gebel was crossed by 3 roads, each was followed by one of the Brigade Groups, Italian settlements, with fascist slogans painted on every building were occupied, however after 4 days of laborious effort, with the fear of attack at every corner the hills were left behind. Only a sharp battle to clear Tarhuna held up the advance. More and more the Italian Infantry melted away, with many throwing away their weapons and trying to join the throng evacuating from Tripoli or marching further West towards French North Africa.

At this point O’Connor called up Cunningham to set in motion the Landing Force, with only 60 miles to cross the Navy and the Army should be arriving at the same time.

This only showed O’Connor’s lack of understanding of naval tactics.

The Royal Navy had supported the Army all along the North African Shore, sailing out to sea was invariably a small fleet with one of more of the Navy’s Monitors ready to provide heavy support on call, further to sea and out of sight was the main fleet with the heavier units, Battleships such as Warspite, Barham & Valiant, Cruisers Ajax, Naiad, Perth & Sydney and numerous Destroyers. Especially for the landing the Carriers Formidable & Illustrious each with Sea Hurricane & Swordfish aircraft were in deep cover in case what was available of the Italian Fleet attempted to intervene.
A B Cunningham, who had already given the Italian fleet a series of body blows at Taranto in November and had raided the Italian Coast was not slow off the mark, Staging out of Tobruk & Bengazi the Infantry landing ships were carefully including in a regular resupply convoy to Malta which had been running for some months, as night fell they changed course and by the early morning were well on the way to Tripoli.

Unfortunately the heavy going, battered vehicles and the resistance offered at Tarhuna had slowed the Army, they were going to need another 48 hours to be in place to support the landing force, Cunningham decided to hold off the landings, though this meant an increased threat from the Luftwaffe which strangely had not been seen in much strength. Rather than waste his time though, Cunningham planned a brisk Dawn bombardment of Tripoli port and those Airfields within range.

The early morning in Tripoli was abuzz, numerous transport aircraft were getting off the ground before the RAF had its patrols to attack them, ships were unloading supplies and loading soldiers and their equipment. An almighty scream came through the air as the first of Warspite’s 15-inch shells roared into the harbour. A steady bombardment fell for an hour, then like clockwork, the RN turned back to sea, Tripoli harbour was in flames and the major airfields in ruins with massive craters in the runways.

This was the final straw for the demoralized Italians, within 4 hours the Italian Commandant had made contact with the British troops outside the town, could they talk surrender terms. Gen Lavarack, CO of the Australian Division, was brought up to define the terms, immediate & unconditional surrender or the RN would be back, the Italians agreed, ceasefire and the Capitulation of Italian North Africa would be in place at Midnight.

His Majesties Transport Glenroy came in early the next morning, 3 April 1941, and landed 8 & 9 Commando’s which warily entered town, The Aussies and the Tankers tidied up and drove in from the desert .However they were in for a final shock, though clearly the military occupiers of the town, the streets were lined with cheering populace as they were treated as liberators by the inhabitants.

Next morning, German & Italian troops and swarms of Luftwaffe aircraft, issuing from Italy, Hungary, Germany & Bulgaria, began their Invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece, 2 months later, Russia would be their target


HISTORICAL NOTES
(hey, Bernard Cornwall has them)

The British in the Desert were sent in all directions by Churchill, he was continually trying to get Greece & Turkey into the war and accept troops. It is possible that if Dorman-Smith (COS to Wavell)after reviewing the situation after Beda Fomm, was able to get a message in to the Chiefs of Staff, Greece may have been “put aside”. By the time he arrived at HQ the decision had been made. A halt enforced at Agedabia and the best and most experienced Infantry was sent to Greece, and the 7th Armoured sent back to the Delta.
Churchill was continually pushing for an increase in the RAF in the theatre, while small in number, its Hurricanes were superior to Axis fighters except for the bf109E. I decided that the Luftwaffe was busy in setting up for Marita/Barbarossa and only sent a token force to the Med and got rid of that bloody Vokes air filter which s crippled Hurricane & Spitfire units until the Aboukir Filter was devised.


All of the Troops listed were available,
6 Australian Division (16, 17 & 19 Bdes)went to Greece (Then New Guinea, Wewak).
7 Australian Division (18, 20 & 21 Bdes)was listed for Greece, (Syria, New Guinea, Borneo) its 18th Brigade was at Tobruk with the rest of the Division defending Egypt.
9 Australian Division (24, 25 & 26 Bdes) the least trained, was sent to undying fame as the Rats of Tobruk. (Alamein, Lae, Finschafen, Borneo)
(7 & 9 Divs swapped Bdes, I decided they kept their old structure)
The New Zealand Div (4,5 & 6 Bdes) went to Greece & Crete (Crusader, Minqar Qaim, Alamein, Tripoli, Cassino & Italy
6 British Division (14, 16,17 Br Bdes) was never to fight a battle, its Brigades were scattered around the Mid East to Crete(14 Brigade) and did some training for an assault on Rhodes, formed Selby Force at Sidi Barrani and garrisoned Egypt.
The Polish Brigade, like 7 Australian, was earmarked for Greece but ended in Tobruk and later formed the core of II Polish Corps, the ultimate captors of Monte Cassino.
7 Armoured Division,( 4 & 7 Arm Bdes, 7 Spt Gp) the Desert Rats, fought to Agedabia, was sent back for rest & recuperation but had its experienced troops scattered to all corners (As was the XIII Corps staff) It fought throughout the Desert War, landed in Italy and finally was one of the units which landed on D-Day and served throughout the NW Europe campaign.
2 Armoured Division (1 & 3 Arm Bdes, 2 Spt Gp)sent a Brigade to Greece and a Brigade to Agedabia, here its worn out tanks suffered far more losses from breakdown than through enemy action. It was destroyed in the retreat to Tobruk and never rebuilt.
Layforce (of 8 & 9 Commandos) was arriving in Feb 1940, was thrown away as a rearguard on Crete and totally wasted.
Not far out of theatre were 4 & 5 Indian Divisions in Eritrea and 1 & 2 Sth African Divisions pushing through Abbysinia & Eritrea. 1 British Cavalry Division was guarding Palestine from itself, their horses could have made possible a very mobile force in the hills of Crete.

The Italian & German troops are pretty historical, though I held back further reinforcements , the Higher Commands were waiting to see what actions the British would make before commiting themselves. In addition, Marita and Barbarossa were not far away.(Which is where I sent the Luftwaffe) and once seen as a lost cause, North Africa was abandoned.

Rommel did order the lights turned on at Tripoli, only the RAF wasn’t there, his counter attack at Sirte modeled on a similar attack at Tobruk

For the terrain between Agedabia & Tripoli I had a read of Kippenberger’s “Infantry Brigadier” detailing the movement of the 2nd New Zealand Div in 1942/43 which gave an insight into the terrain traversed.

Apart from this, its all made up………..

The Players

2 Armoured Division
1 Armoured Bde 4 Hussars, 3 RTR
3 Armoured Bde 5RTR, 3 Hussars
2 Support Group Tower Hamlet Rifles, 1 Rangers, 2 RHA, 102 RHA(AT)
Kings Dragoon Guards

7 Armoured Division
4 Armoured Bde 6 RTR, 7 Hussars, 2 RTR
7 Armoured Bde 1 RTR, 8 Hussars
7 Support Group 1 KRRC, 2 Rifle Brigade, 4 RHA, 3 RHA(AT)

14 Infantry Bde (6 Infantry Division)
1 Bed & Herts, 2 York & Lancs, 2 Black Watch

LayForce
8 & 9 Commando

7 Australian Division
18 Brigade 2/9, 2/10 & 2/12 Bns
20 Brigade 2/13, 2/15 & 2/17 Bns
21 Brigade
7 Div Cav Rgt
2/1 MG Bn
2/3, 2/4, 2/6 RAA


AFTER ACROBAT


By the capture of Tripoli, all Italian forces in North Africa surrendered, main forces were the Division on the Tunisian Border and the Regiment holding Giarubub Oasis.

The British forces were strung out and in need of rest and rehabilitation. There equipment was worn out and the men had suffered from enemy fire and the terrain.

On 4 April, the forces were spread out as follows.

Tripoli.
18 & 21 Aust Bdes (4 Bns in town, 2 more Bns at Homs & Tarhuna)
2 Armoured Div (1 Armoured Bde in Tripoli. Support Gp in moving to Tunisian border)
14 British Bde
Layforce (soon to be 2 Special Service Brigade)

RAF
3 RAAF, 33,73 & 80 Sqns Hurricane II
11 & 14 Sqns Blenheim IV

Sirte
20 Aust Bde
3 Armoured Bde

Bengazi
9 Australian Div

RAF
208, 6, 237 Sqns Hurricane II
37, 38, 40, 70 & 104 Sqns Wellington Ic
39 Sqn Maryland
45, 55 & 113 Blenheim IV

Tobruk
3 Indian Motor Bde

RAF
450 RAAF, 260, 274 Sqns Hurricane II
108 & 75(NZ) Wellington

On Crete
New Zealand Div
4 Cavalry Bde
Polish Carpathian Bde

RAF
451 RAAF, 229, 238 Hurricane II
250 Tomahawk
89 Beaufighter

In Egypt
Arriving
50 British Div
1 Sth African Div
4 Indian Div

Training
16 & 23 British Bdes (6 Inf Div)

RAF
A growing number of Squadrons were re-equipping with Beaufighter, Boston DB-7 and Tomahawk types