Searchlights on the Rock of Gibraltar, 1942

The military history of Gibraltar during World War II exemplifies

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

's position as a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

fortress since the early 18th century and as a vital factor in British military strategy, both as a foothold on the continent of Europe, and as a bastion of

British sea power Command of the sea (also called control of the sea or sea control) is a naval military concept regarding the strength of a particular navy to a specific naval area it controls. A navy has command of the sea when it is so strong that its rivals ...

. During

World War II 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 ...

, Gibraltar served a vital role in both the Atlantic Theatre and the Mediterranean Theatre, controlling virtually all naval traffic into and out of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. In addition to its commanding position, Gibraltar provided a strongly defended harbour from which ships could operate in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

Force H Force H was a British naval formation during the Second World War. It was formed in 1940, to replace French naval power in the western Mediterranean removed by the French armistice with Nazi Germany. The force occupied an odd place within the ...

, under the command of Vice-Admiral James Somerville was based in Gibraltar and had the task of maintaining naval superiority and providing a strong escort for convoys to and from the besieged island of Malta. During the course of the war, Gibraltar came under aerial bombardment from

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

aircraft and from aircraft of the Italian Royal Air Force (''

Regia Aeronautica The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolis ...

'') based on

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

. Additionally, the fortress was the focus of underwater attacks by the Italian Royal Navy (''

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...

'')

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frogman A frogman is someone who is trained in scuba diving or swimming underwater in a tactical capacity that includes military, and in some European countries, police work. Such personnel are also known by the more formal names of combat diver, comb ...

unit (''

Decima Flottiglia MAS The ''Decima Flottiglia MAS'' (''Decima Flottiglia Motoscafi Armati Siluranti'', also known as ''La Decima'' or Xª MAS) (Italian for "10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla") was an Italian flotilla, with commando frogman unit, of the ''Regia Marina'' ...

'') and their

human torpedo Human torpedoes or manned torpedoes are a type of diver propulsion vehicle on which the diver rides, generally in a seated position behind a fairing. They were used as secret naval weapons in World War II. The basic concept is still in use. ...

es. This Italian unit was based on the interned Italian ship SS ''Olterra'' in the nearby Spanish harbour of

Algeciras Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...

. A number of attacks were also carried out by Spanish and Gibraltarian agents acting on behalf of the German

Abwehr The ''Abwehr'' (German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', but the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context; ) was the German military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ''Wehrmacht'' from 1920 to 1944. A ...

. Inside the

Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Mediterr ...

itself, miles of tunnels were excavated from the limestone. Masses of rock were blasted out to build an "underground city". In huge man-made caverns, barracks, offices, and a fully equipped hospital were constructed, complete with an

operating theatre An operating theater (also known as an operating room (OR), operating suite, or operation suite) is a facility within a hospital where surgical operations are carried out in an aseptic environment. Historically, the term "operating theater" refe ...

and X-ray equipment.

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

, the Allied invasion of

French North Africa French North Africa (french: Afrique du Nord française, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is the term often applied to the territories controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In ...

in November 1942, was coordinated from the "

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

". General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

, who was given command of the operation, set up his headquarters in Gibraltar during the planning phases of the operation. Following the successful completion of the North African campaign and the

surrender of Italy The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...

in 1943, Gibraltar's role shifted from a forward operating base to a rear-area supply position. The harbour continued to operate dry docks and supply depots for the

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

routes through the Mediterranean until

V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

in 1945.

Prelude and evacuation

The Second World War dramatically changed the lives of Gibraltarians. The decision to enforce mass evacuation in order to increase the strength of the

with more

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and

naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

personnel meant that most Gibraltarians (some for up to ten years) had nowhere to call 'home'. Only those civilians with essential jobs were allowed to stay but it gave the entire community a sense of being 'British' by sharing in the war effort.Bond, pp. 97 In early June 1940, about 13,500 evacuees were shipped to

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

French Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...

. However, following the capitulation of the French to the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

armies later in June 1940, the new Pro-German French Vichy Government found the presence of Gibraltarian evacuees in Casablanca an embarrassment and sought opportunities for their removal. The opportunity soon arose when 15 British cargo vessels arrived under Commodore Crichton, repatriating 15,000 French servicemen who had been rescued from

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France. Once their own rescued servicemen had disembarked, the ships were interned until they agreed to take away all the evacuees. Although Crichton was unable to obtain permission to clean and restock his ships (and contrary to

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...

orders which forbade the taking on of evacuees), when he saw the mass of civilians pouring through the dockyards, he opened up his gangways for boarding. Just beforehand, the British fleet had destroyed a number of French warships at

Mers el-Kebir Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory infection caused by ''Middle East respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus'' (MERS-CoV). Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. Typical symptoms include fever, cough, ...

in order to prevent them ending up in German hands. The attack, during which 1,297 French sailors died, led to high tensions, which were evident when families were forced at bayonet point by French troops to board taking only what they could carry, leaving many possessions behind. However, when they arrived at Gibraltar, the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

would not allow them to land, fearing that once the evacuees were back on the Rock, it would be virtually impossible to evacuate them a second time.Bond, pp. 98 Crowds gathered in

John Mackintosh Square John Mackintosh Square (colloquially The Piazza) is a main square in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It has been the centre of city life since the 14th century and takes its name from John Mackintosh, a local philanthropist. Notab ...

in the centre of Gibraltar as the news broke, speeches were made and two

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

lors accompanied by the Acting President of the Exchange and Commercial Library went to see the Governor (Sir Clive Liddell) to ask that the evacuees be allowed to land. After receiving instructions from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, a landing was allowed as long as the evacuees returned when other ships arrived to take them away from the Rock, and by 13 July the re-evacuation back to Gibraltar had been completed. British

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician

Oliver Stanley Major (Honorary Colonel, TA) Oliver Frederick George Stanley (4 May 1896 – 10 December 1950) was a prominent British Conservative politician who held many ministerial posts before his relatively early death. Background and education Stanley ...

agreed to accept the evacuees in the United Kingdom, but he argued with Gibraltar over the number of people involved. The Governor, he declared, had given the number of evacuees first as 13,000, then as 14,000 and finally as 16,000. He asked for the situation to be clarified, stressing the shortage of accommodation in Britain and insisting that only 13,000 could be accepted, 2,000 of whom were to be sent to the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Atlantic island of

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

. The situation, replied General Liddell on 19 July, "is that this is a fortress liable to heavy and immediate attack and there should be no civilians here whereas there are 22,000. The 13,000 was the number sent to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, and more would have been sent had the situation there not altered." In London the evacuees were placed in the hands of the Ministry of Health, and many were housed in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

area. Concern for them in Gibraltar mounted as the air raids against London intensified, coupled with the arrival of harrowing letters, describing the circumstances in which the evacuees were living. In September rumours were already circulating among the evacuees, and in Gibraltar, that the possibility of re-evacuating the Gibraltarians once more was being mooted, this time the destination being

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. After much contention, it was decided to send a party directly from Gibraltar to the island, and 1,093 evacuees left for Jamaica direct, on 9 October, with more following later on. However, petitions followed and the demands were met, partly for strategic reasons and the lack of available shipping. The situation at the end of 1940, therefore, was that approximately 2,000 evacuees were in Jamaica and a lesser number in Madeira, with the bulk of around 10,000 housed in the London area.

Royal Air Force involvement: 1939–1941

Bulldozer and steamroller during the construction of Gibraltar Airport, 1941

Construction of a solid surface runway began in late 1939 and in 1940 it was proposed to extend the existing runway to a length of 1,550 yards (1,417 m). The land reclamation commenced towards the end of 1941 along with the construction of an RAF camp at the "North Front", now

RAF Gibraltar RAF Gibraltar (also formerly known as North Front) is a Royal Air Force station on Gibraltar. No military aircraft are currently stationed there, but RAF, Commonwealth and aircraft of other NATO nations will periodically arrive for transient stop ...

. The RAF dispatched their next squadron to Gibraltar at this time and it was in September 1939 that war with Germany was declared and the strong possibility of

German submarine U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare rol ...

s concentrating in the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...

and using Spanish port facilities, loomed large in Admiralty thinking. So at 09:00 ( UTC) on 9 September 1939, No. 202 Squadron RAF was ordered to Gibraltar, loaded to the gunwales with equipment. On 25 September 1939, ''No 200 (Coastal) Group'' was formed as a subordinate formation to HQ RAF Mediterranean in control of No 202 Sqn. The Group's function was the control of

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

units operating from Gibraltar. In late 1940 the Group was transferred to

Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

. Later a combined HQ was formed which commenced operations in early 1942.

Threats of military action by Spain

On 19 June the Spanish leader

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

offered to bring Spain into the war on the side of Germany, then on 18 July 1940 Franco declared that Spain had 2,000,000 soldiers ready to retake Gibraltar and expand Spanish interests in North Africa. Nothing came of these threats as Spain realised how well defended Gibraltar was and the economic effects of a blockade of Spanish ports, especially on oil imports, so they pulled back the offer of being willing to enter the war with the

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

forces.

Vichy French attacks: 1940

On 18 July 1940, after the attack on the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kébir by the British, the Vichy government authorized a bombing raid of

as a response. Little damage was reported to have been done but caused the first casualties. The attack was half-hearted and the majority of the bombs were deliberately dropped short of their target. On Tuesday, 24 September, the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Stefani

news agency A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and News broadcasting, television Broadcasting, broadcasters. A news agency may ...

reported: "As a reprisal for the bombardment of Dakar yesterday morning, one-hundred-and-twenty French aircraft based in

attacked Gibraltar." On the same day, the United Press Agency reported: "The French government has issued an official denial of reports, according to which French aircraft were said to have attacked Gibraltar. Up until now, no reprisals have been undertaken." But the United Press report ended on an ominous note with: "French reprisals are imminent." Again, on the same day, the Vichy French government issued orders for the naval base and city of Gibraltar to be bombarded. As a result, six bomber squadrons of the

Vichy French Air Force The Air Force (french: Armée de l'air), usually referred to as the Air Force of Vichy (''Armée de l'air de Vichy'') or Armistice Air Force (''Armée de l'Air de l'armistice'') for clarity, was the aerial branch of the Armistice Army of Vichy Fra ...

('' Armée de l'Air de Vichy'') and four squadrons of the Vichy French Navy ('' Marine nationale de Vichy'') were employed in the operation. The 64 bombers flew from bases in

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

, Tafaroui (in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Meknes Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th c ...

, Mediouna, and

Port Lyautey Kenitra ( ar, القُنَيْطَرَة, , , ; ber, ⵇⵏⵉⵟⵔⴰ, Qniṭra; french: Kénitra) is a city in north western Morocco, formerly known as Port Lyautey from 1932 to 1956. It is a port on the Sebou river, has a population in 201 ...

(in Morocco). The French action was approved by both the

German Armistice Commission The German Armistice Commission (german: Waffenstillstandskommission, WAKO) was a military body charged with supervising the implementation of the Franco-German Armistice, signed on 22 June 1940, in German-occupied France during World War II.Uni ...

and the

Italian Armistice Commission During World War II, the Commissione Italiana d'Armistizio con la Francia ("Italian Armistice Commission with France") or CIAF was a temporary civil and military body charged with implementing the Franco-Italian armistice of 24 June 1940 and harmon ...

. Piekałkiewicz. ''Sea War: 1939–1945''. p. 102 The French dropped 150 bombs on Gibraltar during the raid.Sutherland and Canwell, p. 29 They inflicted heavy damage on the fortress and encountered no British aircraft while doing so. The South Mole and a large ship in the harbour were heavily damaged. In the northern part of Gibraltar, fires broke out. However, most of the Vichy bombs again fell into the sea. On 25 September, the French returned with a larger force of eighty-three bombers to cause additional damage to the naval base and harbour installations. Again, aircraft of the

British Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

made no appearance. However, the French crews did report encountering heavy anti-aircraft fire. One LeO 451 bomber was lost and 13 other aircraft were lightly damaged during the two days of bombing attacks. The British

armed trawler Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some—known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers"— were purpose-built to ...

was sunk by bombs, and several civilians were killed.Sutherland and Canwell, p. 30 The Vichy authorities made it clear that bombing raids of Gibraltar would continue as long as the British continued to attack Dakar. The air attack on 25 September was the last by Vichy forces on Gibraltar.

Operation Felix: 1940–1941

The Rock came through the war relatively unscathed but, given its strategic importance,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

made plans to capture Gibraltar.Bond pp. 100–102 Codenamed "Felix", the plan, which was signed by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

himself, was formulated at the highest level of command. With or without permission, Germany would take entry through Spain and attack Gibraltar, driving the British out of the Western Mediterranean. The

Strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

would be effectively closed to the Allies once Gibraltar was in German hands, forcing Asia-bound Allied shipping to steam all the way around Africa rather than to proceed to the east via the shorter route through the Mediterranean and the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

. The Rock was to be heavily dive bombed by planes leaving France but landing afterward at Spanish air bases. To deny a possible Spanish capture of the base, the German planners decided that the final attack to seize Gibraltar was to be made by German troops alone. Diplomatic failure at the highest levels of government (

Meeting at Hendaye The Meeting of Hendaye, or Interview of Hendaye, took place between Francisco Franco and Adolf Hitler (then respectively Caudillo of Spain and Führer of Germany) on 23 October 1940 at the railway station in Hendaye, France, near the Spanis ...

) prevented the operation, which had been drawn up in detail by the Wehrmacht in the summer and autumn of 1940, from occurring at the beginning of 1941. General

Ludwig Kübler Ludwig Kübler (2 September 1889 – 18 August 1947) was a German ''General der Gebirgstruppe'' (Lieutenant General) who commanded the 1st Mountain Division, XXXXIX Mountain Corps, 4th Army and the Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littor ...

's XLIX Corps would conduct the actual attack on the Rock. The assault forces would comprise the

Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland The Infantry Regiment ''Großdeutschland'' (german: Infanterie-Regiment "Großdeutschland"; ) was an élite German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army ceremonial and combat unit which saw action during World War II. Originally formed in 1921 it was k ...

, the 98th Regiment of the 1st Mountain Division, 26 medium and heavy artillery battalions, three observation battalions, three engineer battalions, two smoke battalions, a detachment of 150

Brandenburgers The Brandenburgers (german: Brandenburger) were members of the Brandenburg German special forces unit during World War II. Originally, the unit was formed by and operated as an extension of the military's intelligence organ, the '' Abwehr''. ...

, and up to 150 miniature remote controlled demolition vehicles ( Goliaths), packed with high explosives. As part of a combined-force operation, the German Air Force (''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

'') would contribute Junkers Ju 88, Ju 88As, Stukas, Messerschmitts, three light AA battalions, and three heavy AA battalions. Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' would cooperate by using U-boats to interfere with British naval movement and emplacing coastal batteries to further discourage the Royal Navy. On 10 March 1941, with Operation Barbarossa looming, Felix was amended to ''Operation Felix-Heinrich'', whereby German troops would be withdrawn from the USSR to capture Gibraltar. As a result of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco's intransigence, the operation was postponed, modified, and ultimately abandoned.

Italian bombing of Gibraltar

From

, Italian Piaggio P.108 bombers attacked Gibraltar several times, mainly in 1942. The last raids on Gibraltar were done during the 1942 Allied Operation Torch, landing in Algeria, when those bombers hit successfully even the

port. The only unit of the

(Royal Air Force) ever to fly the Piaggio P.108 was the "274th Long-Range Bombardment Squadron". This unit was formed in May 1941 around the first machines that came off the assembly lines. The training of the crews lasted far longer than anticipated and only in June 1942 the 274th became operational. The most spectacular raids with the P. 108 bombers were flown in October 1942 when several night attacks against Gibraltar were undertaken from Sardinia. After the armistice of Cassibile (8 September), the German-allied Italian Social Republic launched at least two raids on Gibraltar: one on the night of 4–5 June 1944 with ten Savoia-Marchetti SM.79, SM.79bis aircraft and another on 6 June with nine aircraft. Both sorties were undertaken by the Gruppo Aerosiluranti "Buscaglia–Faggioni".

Italian frogmen raids 1940–1943

Known as the "Floating Trojan Horse of Gibraltar", ''

'', an Italian

unit created during the Fascism, Fascist government, engaged in numerous attacks against the harbour at Gibraltar. Gibraltar was a very tempting target for the Italians, who saw it as a refuge for British warships and allied merchant shipping. The Italian frogmen originally used a Spanish villa (''Villa Carmela'') located two miles (3 km) from Gibraltar owned by an Italian officer who had married a Spanish woman named Conchita Ramognino. Their base was shifted later to the Italian tanker SS ''Olterra'', interned in

Abwehr saboteurs from Spain

Lesser known than the Italian actions were the sabotage operations and limpet mine, limpet-mine attacks carried out by Spanish and Gibraltarian agents recruited in the Campo de Gibraltar by the Germans. The ''

'' contacted a Spanish staff officer from Campo de Gibraltar, Lieutenant Colonel Eleuterio Sánchez Rubio, a Spanish officer, member of Falange Española, Falange and coordinator of the intelligence operations in the Campo, to establish a network of saboteurs with access to Gibraltar. Sánchez Rubio designated Emilio Plazas Tejera, also a member of Falange, as operations chief of the organisation. Most of the recruits for the sabotage operations were Spaniards from the Campo. A combination of financial reward, ideological commitment and some threats and intimidation were used to gather a significant number of agents. According to the British intelligence, there were at least 183 Spaniards and Gibraltarians involved in the espionage and sabotage operations against Gibraltar. Sabotage operations were ordered from Berlin in the late autumn of 1940, but actual work did not start until early 1941. The first operations were unsuccessful. A first attempt to smuggle a bomb into Gibraltar was aborted, as the timing device was faulty. In February there was a large explosion in the North Tunnel, and in April a bomb blew up near the airfield. In June 1941, however, the British intelligence foiled a new attempt, by a German agent, to attach a mine alongside an Allied cargo ship. Another attempt failed when Plazas placed a bomb inside an ammunition store but was not able to prime the explosive. It was not until 1942 that the operations begun to succeed. In January 1942, two Spanish agents managed to destroy two aircraft at the North Front landing strip. Financed, trained and equipped by the Germans, the Spanish saboteurs sank the armed trawler , and destroyed the auxiliary minesweeper , which resulted in the deaths of an officer from the carrier HMS Argus (I49), HMS ''Argus'' and six British ratings on 18 January 1942. Plazas was assisted by the Spanish naval commander of San Roque, Cádiz, Puente Mayorga, Manuel Romero Hume, who allowed him to beach a rowboat there. The British intelligence was able however to counteract the sabotage operations. In March 1942, a Gibraltarian, José Key, one of the most prominent agents working for the Germans, responsible for the collection of information on military movements for the ''Abwehr'' was arrested and executed in HM Prison Wandsworth, Wandsworth Prison in late 1942. By September 1942, Plazas, whose activities were closely monitored by the British at that time, resigned and left Carlos Calvo, his second in command, in charge of the operations. In late 1942, the German headquarters in Berlin ordered the sabotage operations being expanded. In early 1943, the arrival of an experienced head of ''Abwehr'' operations in Spain improved the outreach of the operations. In March 1943 an ammunition dump was blown up by Calvo's agents. The British, growing suspicious of some of the saboteurs, banned them from entering Gibraltar. This forced the ''Abwehr'' to ask Calvo for new personnel. A Spaniard working on the Rock, José Martín Muñoz, was responsible for the explosion and fire at a large fuel tank at Coaling Island on 30 June 1943; this mission, however, would be the first and the last for Muñoz, because he was cornered and arrested by British authorities in August, when he tried to smuggle a bomb into a weapons magazine inside Ragged Staff Cave. After being sentenced to death, he was hanged on 11 January 1944 in Gibraltar by British executioner Albert Pierrepoint. A member of an unrelated ''Abwehr'' sabotage network, Luis López Cordón-Cuenca (also arrested in 1943) was executed by Pierrepoint on the same day. Calvo himself was put under arrest by the Spanish police and neutralized. He would be a free man again in December, when he rejoined the ''Abwehr'' in Madrid, under direct orders of Wolfgang Blaum, aka Baumann, head of the sabotage section in Spain.Ros Agudo (2005), pp. 232–234 After a Falangist attempt against the life of pro-allied General José Enrique Varela, perpetrated by Sánchez Rubio network's agent Juan José Domínguez and a meeting between Anthony Eden and the Spanish ambassador at London, Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 17th Duke of Alba, Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, ''Abwehr'' activities around Gibraltar came to an end.

Operation Tracer: 1941–1942

Operation Tracer, Gibraltar, Operation Tracer was a top-secret British stay-behind spying mission that was only to be implemented if Gibraltar was captured by the Axis Powers. Six men were to be sealed in a cave and left with enough supplies for 7 years. The volunteers—two doctors, three signalmen and their leader—would run an observation post with one by slit looking over the harbour and a concealed outdoor terrace over the Mediterranean. The team would then wire back all shipping movements to the

. They were told there would be no way out and anyone who died within the chamber would have to be embalmed and cemented into the brick floor. As the threat of invasion was clearly felt in late 1941, an idea for a series of secret observation posts (first in Gibraltar and later in other places like Malta and Aden) was put together under ''Operation Tracer''. Work in Gibraltar began immediately under Commander Geoffrey Birley and his chief engineer Colonel Fordham. The site chosen at Lord Airey's Battery on the southern tip of the Rock already had an existing tunnelling scheme for a Lord Airey's Shelter, shelter. Extensive trials of the equipment began in January 1942 under the eye of Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 radio expert Colonel Richard Gambier-Parry. Much thought was also given to the type of men needed for such a strange and demanding task. A member of Robert Falcon Scott, Scott’s ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, expedition to the Antarctic, George Murray Levick was called up as Surgeon-Commander to advise on survival techniques. There were practical matters such as diet, exercise, sanitation, and clothing to consider as well as vital "psychology of the personnel". The full team was in place by the end of summer 1942 and their cavern fully equipped and ready for occupation. A comprehensive manual was prepared on all aspects of the operation and it was considered that similar secret lookout posts should be prepared throughout the world in the event of future wars. However, Operation Tracer was never needed, as

turned his attention away from Gibraltar and towards the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front. The operation had been clouded in mystery until the discovery of papers at the Public Record Office in Kew UK. Previously in the 1960s, details of the story were told to a journalist by his intelligence service contacts and he wrote these up as "Operation Monkey", yet facts were very sparse. In 1997 "Stay Behind Cave" (as it was nicknamed) was discovered in Gibraltar by the Gibraltar Caving Group, but no account was ever obtained from anyone associated with the mission. The discovery came about when the group encountered a strong gust of wind in a tunnel. Further searching led them to break through a wall into chambers which had never been used and had remained sealed for over 50 years. In November 2006 Jim Crone and Sergeant Major Pete Jackson, senior tunnel guide with the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, met possibly the only member of Operation Tracer still alive when they travelled to meet Dr. Bruce Cooper, W. A. Bruce Cooper at his home in England. Cooper, 92 at the time, provided an opportunity to shed light on the operation with his direct involvement in the mission as a Lieutenant, Surgeon-Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). He recalled stories about his colleagues, his training, and his feelings about the task.

Mediterranean U-boat Campaign: 1941–1944

The Mediterranean U-boat Campaign lasted approximately from 21 September 1941 to May 1944. The ''Kriegsmarine'' tried to isolate

, Malta, and Suez and disrupt United Kingdom, Britain's trade routes. More than sixty U-boats were sent to interdict Allied shipping in the Mediterranean Sea. Many of these U-boats were themselves attacked negotiating the

controlled by Britain. Nine U-boats were sunk while attempting passage and ten more were damaged.

North African Campaign: 1942

Plans for the Allied counter offensive after the attack on Pearl Harbor were ongoing by mid-1942. An invasion of Europe in 1943 would be unworkable, but the allies could attack the "soft underbelly of Europe" through the Mediterranean, as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Winston Churchill put it. Devised by President of the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Churchill and code named

, the plan was to occupy French North Africa:

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, and Beylik of Tunis, Tunisia. From these French colonies, attacks could be launched that would drive Italy out of the war. In July 1942, Lieutenant General

was appointed Allied Commander-in-Chief of Operation Torch. Churchill placed Gibraltar under the command of General Eisenhower as the temporary headquarters for this, the first large-scale Anglo-American operation of the war. He arrived in Gibraltar on 5 November 1942 to take over, not just command of Operation Torch itself, but also military command of Gibraltar. General Eisenhower stayed at ''The Convent (Gibraltar), The Convent'', the official

's residence, but his operational headquarters were in a small chamber in a tunnel in the heart of the Rock. In his memoirs General Eisenhower wrote: One hundred thousand soldiers on the high seas in a multitude of transports converged on Gibraltar. More than 400 aircraft of all types were crammed into the dispersal areas around the Gibraltar runway. Fighters had been shipped in crates and assembled on the airfield. Every available area of storage was taken up with ammunition, fuel, and other essential supplies. 168 American pilots were housed in the Royal Air Force, RAF messes at ''North Front''. On 8 November 1942, 466 aircraft from Gibraltar landed on captured North African airfields. From their headquarters in Gibraltar, General Eisenhower and Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, Andrew Browne Cunningham directed Operation Torch, the first major combined combat operation during World War II involving American and British forces.

War tunnels

Given that Gibraltar was a small town with only a few defences protecting it, the solution was to build a massive series of tunnels and chambers inside the natural protection of the

. This "town" inside the Rock contained its own power station, water supply, and hospital. Some soldiers posted here would not see the light of day for months on end. Two Canadian engineer companies, the only soldiers with diamond-tipped drills and 5 British engineer companies, added some of such tunnels, a feat thought impossible at the time. That was enough to hold all 30,000 troops on the rock. Today, the rock has more tunnels than roads.

Death of Władysław Sikorski: 1943

On 4 July 1943, a B-24 Liberator, Liberator bomber from RAF Transport Command took off from Gibraltar for England. On board was General Władysław Sikorski, Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, Prime Minister of Second Polish Republic, Poland's London-based Polish Government in Exile, government in exile and Commander-in-Chief of its armed forces, returning from visiting Polish troops in the Middle East. The aircraft climbed normally from the runway, levelled off to gather speed but then suddenly lost height and crashed into the harbour. The 62-year-old general died, along with 15 others. The sole survivor was the Czech-born pilot, Eduard Prchal, who was rescued by an RAF launch. The bodies of five passengers and crew, including Sikorski's daughter, were never found. The coffins of General Sikorski and his Chief-of-Staff, General Kilimecki, were draped in the Polish National Flag and lay in state in the Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned. After a Requiem, Requiem Mass, the bodies were carried in procession to H.M. Dockyard with full Military Honours to be shipped to London in anticipation that General Sikorski's remains would one day be returned to a liberated Poland. The route to the dockyard was lined by British troops and the coffins carried and escorted by Polish Servicemen.

Investigation

In 1943 a British Court of Inquiry investigated the crash of Sikorski's B-24 Liberator, Liberator II ''AL523'', but was unable to determine the probable cause, finding only that it was an accident and the "aircraft became uncontrollable for reasons which cannot be established". A popular theory was insufficient technical maintenance leading to jamming aircraft controls. Various authors
Biuletyn „Kombatant” nr specjalny (148) czerwiec 2003
Special Edition of Kombatant Bulletin No.148 6/2003 on the occasion of the Year of General Sikorski. Official publication of the Polish government Agency of Combatants and Repressed Despite the court's finding, the political context of the event, coupled with a variety of curious circumstances, immediately gave rise to speculation that Sikorski's death had been no accident, and may in fact have been the direct result of a Soviet, British or even Polish conspiracy.

Aftermath

The surrender of Italy in September 1943 lifted any possible objections to the return of the evacuees to the Rock. As a result, a Resettlement Board was established in November, and at a meeting of the Board on 8 February 1944 repatriation priorities were finally agreed.Garcia, pp. 20 On 6 April 1944 the first group of 1,367 repatriates arrived on the Rock directly from the United Kingdom and on 28 May, the first repatriation party left Madeira, and by the end of 1944 only 520 non-priority evacuees remained on the island.Garcia, pp. 20 In London, home-comers were making claims on the evacuees’ wartime accommodation and 500 Gibraltarians were re-evacuated to Scotland and 3,000 to camps in Northern Ireland.Bond, pp. 100 Although the Governor, Lt. General Sir Noel Mason-MacFarlane, fought valiantly on behalf of the evacuees and did not accept the lack of accommodation as a sufficient reason for the delays. As late as 1947 there were still 2,000 in Northern Irish camps. The last of the evacuees did not see the Rock again until 1951.

Notes

ILater President of the United States of America. IIOriginally the Artificer Company during the Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779–1783). IIIBritish admiral Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope led naval forces in several critical Battle of the Mediterranean, Mediterranean naval battles as Commander-in-Chief. These included the Battle of Taranto, attack on Taranto in 1940, the first carrier-based air attack in history and the Battle of Cape Matapan in 1941.

Citations

References

* * * William G.F. Jackson, The Rock of the Gibraltarians. A History of Gibraltar, Grendon : Gibraltar Books (1987) 1998 * * * * * * British Possessions in the Mediterranean, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1945 pp. 438–439 (on events of 1944) * "''Frogmen First Battles''" by retired U.S Captain William Schofield's book () * Gibraltar, in : Americana Annual 1940 p. 389, 1943 p. 318, 1944 p. 303, 1945 p. 321, 1946 pp. 322–323 * Gibraltar, in : New International Year Book, Events of 1940 p. 313, 1941 p. 242, 1942 p. 284, 1943 p. 242, 1944 p. 254 * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Military History Of Gibraltar During World War Ii Mediterranean theatre of World War II, Gibraltar Gibraltar in World War II World War II national military histories, Gibraltar Military of Gibraltar World War II strategic bombing conducted by Italy Military history of the British Empire and Commonwealth in World War II,