The Twin Pimples Raid was a
British Commando raid on a feature in the Italian lines during the
siege of Tobruk in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The raid, carried out by men of the
No. 8 (Guards) Commando and the
Royal Australian Engineers
The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) is the military engineering corps of the Australian Army (although the word corps does not appear in their name or on their badge). The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, b ...
, was a complete success. However it did not end the siege; that continued until November 1941, when the Allied advance during
Operation Crusader reached the town.
Background
During 1941, the
British Commando formation
Layforce were tasked to carry out a campaign of harassment and dislocation against enemy forces in the Mediterranean. At the time that Layforce was raised, the British were in the ascendency in the theatre, as they had largely defeated the Italians.
[ It was felt that the Commandos could be employed in the capture of the island of ]Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...
. However, the arrival of the Afrika Korps
The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...
in Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...
and the invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
greatly changed the strategic outlook. By the time Layforce arrived in Egypt in March the situation had become dire.[Saunders, p.52.] The deployment of forces to Greece meant that the Commandos became the only troops in general reserve. As the strategic situation worsened, it became increasingly difficult to employ them in the manner intended, as they were called upon as reinforcements to the rest of the army.[Saunders, p.55.]
In May 1941 the majority of Layforce were sent as reinforcements to the Battle of Crete
The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island ...
. Almost as soon as they landed it was decided that they could not be employed in an offensive role and would instead be used to cover the withdrawal route towards the south. They were ill-equipped for this type of operation, as they were lacking in indirect fire
Indirect fire is aiming and firing a projectile without relying on a direct line of sight between the gun and its target, as in the case of direct fire. Aiming is performed by calculating azimuth and inclination, and may include correcting aim ...
support weapons such as mortars or artillery; they were armed mainly with rifles and a few Bren light machine guns.[ By 31 May the evacuation was drawing to a close and the Commandos, running low on ammunition, rations, and water, fell back towards Sphakia. In the end, the vast majority of the Commandos were left behind on the island, becoming ]prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
. By the end of the operation about 600 of the 800 Commandos that had been sent to Crete were listed as killed, missing or wounded; only 179 Commandos managed to get off the island. Shortly after being evacuated from Crete, a detachment of 75 men from No. 8 (Guards) Commando was sent to Tobruk
Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near ...
to assist the Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
forces holding out against the Axis powers
The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
that had the city under siege.[Mountbatten, p.39.]
Raid
The Twin Pimples was a feature in the Axis lines surrounding Tobruk. It was a defensive strong point consisting of two hills very close together that dominated the opposing Allied lines and at the time of the raid was held by units of the Italian Army
"The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law"
, colors =
, colors_labels =
, march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...
. The 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry, normally part of the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade, held the line across from the Twin Pimples when it was decided to take out the Italian position. The No. 8 Commando was selected to carry out the operation and for some days prior they conducted patrols with the Indians to get to know the lay of the land.[
The plan called for three officers and 40 men of No. 8 Commando and a small number of ]Australian Engineers
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Aus ...
(to deal with ammunition dumps and gun emplacements) to cross the Italian forward positions to the road that they used to bring up supplies and then follow the road to the rear of the Twin Pimples and engage the position from behind. The 18th Cavalry were to carry out a diversionary raid just before the commando assault to divert the defenders' attention.[Mountbatten, p.40.] The man chosen to lead the raid was Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
M. Keely, the second in command
''Second in Command'' is a 2006 American action film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and directed by Simon Fellows. The film was released direct-to-DVD in the United States on May 2, 2006.
Plot
Commander Sam Keenan (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a decor ...
was Captain Dunne
Dunne is an Irish surname, derived from the Irish ''Ó Duinn'' and ''Ó Doinn'', meaning "dark" or "brown."
The name Dunne in Ireland is derived from the Ó Duinn and the Ó Doinn Gaelic septs who were based in County Laois, County Meath and Coun ...
and the third officer was Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
Lewes On the night of the raid, 17/18 July, half the Commandos were armed with Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Sta ...
s and the other half with Lee–Enfield
The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's sta ...
rifles with bayonets fixed. All carried hand grenades and every third man wore a groundsheet slung bandoleer
A bandolier or a bandoleer is a pocketed belt for holding either individual bullets, or belts of ammunition. It is usually slung sash-style over the shoulder and chest, with the ammunition pockets across the midriff and chest. Though functiona ...
fashion to use as a stretcher.[
The Commandos left their own lines at 23:00 hours on 17 July and crossed the Italian forward positions and main lines undetected. Upon reaching the supply road they had to take cover and wait, as the attack was planned for 01:00 hours on 18 July. They moved closer to their objective just prior to the start of the diversionary attack by the 18th Cavalry. The diversion was a success, and Italian machine-gun fire and very lights were directed towards the Indian cavalrymen. The Commandos managed to get within on the Twin Pimples before being challenged. The challenge was answered by a frontal attack by the Commandos. So as not to confuse their own forces with the Italians in the darkness, the password ''Jock'' was used when a position had been taken. The fire fight lasted about four minutes and the Australian Engineers planted explosives on several ]mortars
Mortar may refer to:
* Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon
* Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together
* Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind
* Mortar, Bihar, a villag ...
and an ammunition dump. The planners had estimated that the Commandos could spend no longer than 15 minutes on the Italian position before it was engaged by the Italian artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
. The raiders had only got about from the Twin Pimples when the Italian artillery started to come down onto their own position.[
]
Aftermath
The cost of the raid to the Commandos was five wounded, one of whom later died of his wounds.[ The No. 8 Commando, together with the rest of Layforce, was disbanded soon after. The operational difficulties that had been exposed, combined with the inability of the high command to fully embrace the commando concept, had largely served to make them ineffective.][Saunders, p.61.] Two members of No. 8 Commando, David Stirling
Sir Archibald David Stirling (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British army, a mountaineer, and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS). He saw active service during the Second World War.
...
and Jock Lewes, would form the Special Air Service by the end of July 1941. Tobruk would remain under siege until relieved by Operation Crusader in November 1941.[Maughan, p.442.]
The only soldier to be killed on this raid was Corporal John “Jackie” Edward Trestrail Maynard of the Duke of Cornwall's light Infantry and No 8 (Guards) Commando.
See also
* List of British military equipment of World War II
The following is a list of British military equipment of World War II which includes artillery, vehicles and vessels. This also would largely apply to Commonwealth of Nations countries in World War II like Australia, India and South Africa as ...
*List of Australian military equipment of World War II
At the beginning of the Second World War, Australia did not have an extensive manufacturing industry. Furthermore, it was only partially independent from the United Kingdom (Britain). Therefore, most of Australian weapons and equipment during wa ...
* List of Italian military equipment in World War II
Notes
Notes
Footnotes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Twin pimples, Raid of 1941
World War II British Commando raids
1941 in Libya
Libya in World War II
Battles of World War II involving Australia
Western Desert campaign
Conflicts in 1941
July 1941 events