The Battle of Crater or Operation Stirling Castle was an encounter during the

Aden Emergency The Aden Emergency, also known as the Radfan Uprising (), was an armed rebellion by NLF and FLOSY during the Cold War against the Federation of South Arabia, a protectorate of the United Kingdom, which now forms part of Yemen. Partly inspire ...

. Following the ambush of British troops by the Arab Armed Police the Crater district in

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

was abandoned by British troops. The British decided to enter Crater and retrieve the bodies of British soldiers.

The battle

The operation began on 3 July 1967 with the

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

under Lt-Col

Colin Mitchell Colin Campbell Mitchell (17 November 1925 – 20 July 1996) was a British Army soldier and politician. He became a public figure in 1967 as the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Forces under his ...

("Mad Mitch") conducting a night invasion of Crater, which he called ''Operation Stirling Castle'', after the Argylls’ regimental headquarters. The enemy was taken totally by surprise, and effective resistance ceased. A particular sign of Mitchell’s confidence was his decision to order the pipe band to march down the main street of Crater, playing regimental tunes, for which the

Pipe major The pipe major is the leading musician of a pipe band, whether military or civilian. Like the appointment of drum major, the position is derived from British Army traditions. During the early twentieth century, the term sergeant piper was used ...

was mentioned in despatches.''Having Been a Soldier'' by Lt. Col. Colin Mitchell, (Hamish Hamilton, 1969), Chapter 11, pp. 179, 183. British troops remained in Crater until the end of the Emergency.

References

{{reflist

External links

Operation Stirling Castle
at Britains Small Wars
The Aden Emergency
at Remembering Scotland at War the Crater (Aden) the Crater (Aden) Aden Emergency July 1967 events in Asia 1967 in the Federation of South Arabia