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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Operation Abercrombie was an Anglo-Canadian reconnaissance raid on the area around the French coastal village of Hardelot, located south of Boulogne-sur-Mer, in the Pas-de-Calais. It had been scheduled for the night of 19/20 April 1942, but delayed until 21/22 April. The raid was largely unopposed but, on review, the benefits were thought not to have been worth the effort. Due to a navigation error the Canadian detachment lost their way and had to abort.

Objectives

The operation was a reconnaissance in force, intended to reconnoitre the beaches off the village of Hardelot, to capture prisoners and destroy as much equipment as possible, including a searchlight battery.

Preparation and plans

The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H18953

The force comprised B and C

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Tr ...

s (about 100 men) of

No. 4 Commando No. 4 Commando was a battalion-sized British Army commando unit, formed in 1940 early in the Second World War. Although it was raised to conduct small-scale raids and harass garrisons along the coast of German occupied France, it was mainly empl ...

, 50 men from the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Carleton and York Regiment The Carleton and York Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia (now the Canadian Army). In 1954, the regiment was amalgamated with The New Brunswick Scottish and The North Shore (New Brunswic ...

, ( 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade) and some

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

, under the overall command of Major The

Lord Lovat Lord Lovat ( gd, Mac Shimidh) is a title of the rank Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for Hugh Fraser by summoning him to the Scottish Parliament as Lord Fraser of Lovat, although the holder is referred ...

of No.4 Commando. The Commandos trained in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, fea ...

and

Lepe Lepe is a Spanish town in the province of Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is near the Portuguese border. According to the 2009 census, the city has a population of 25,886 inhabitants. Economy Until the late 1970s its econo ...

, near

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, based aboard the landing ship, HMS ''Prince Albert'' on which they were transported to

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

on 18 April. The force was to be carried to France on

motor gun boat The motor gun boat (MGB) was a small, high-speed British military vessel of the Second World War, which was armed with a mix of guns, in contrast to the physically similar motor torpedo boat (MTB), whose main offensive weapon were torpedoes. ...

s (MGBs) and there transferred to assault landing craft (LCAs), which the MGBs had towed. C Troop was to land first, clear obstacles and establish a beachhead; B Troop would pass through C Troop, head inland and execute their tasks. The return journey would be in the LCAs.

Raid

This was the first occasion the new LCS (Landing Craft Support) was employed, equipped with two machine guns and a mortar. The convoy of MGBs and LCAs set off on the evening of April 19 but after two hours, an LCA took on water and sank. The two crewmen were recovered but two commandos who had manned a

Bren gun The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also used ...

were lost and after the search was abandoned the force returned to Dover. A second attempt was made on April 21, with a replacement LCA. The Canadian detachment experienced navigational problems and became separated, eventually attracting tracer fire from the shore returned by their accompanying MGBs (Motor Gun Boats). No Canadian troops disembarked. The Commandos landed further north than intended but were unopposed and escaped detection until among the deep sand dunes and wire entanglements. Support fire from the LCSs partially suppressed moderate German tracer fire from the flanks and the commandos were able to progress. Defences were found to be light and/or abandoned as they advanced and only three Germans were encountered at close quarters who withdrew immediately. The official report recorded, ''"no determined opposition"''. A fighting patrol of 12 men sent to destroy the searchlights reached their objective but had to retire before pressing home their attack due to lack of time remaining signaled by the re-call rocket. The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H18957

The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H18957

The only Allied casualty was a commando who was shot through the ankles after failing to respond to a beachhead sentry's challenge quickly enough. Supporting

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

craft encountered and engaged enemy vessels, including E Boats, sinking at least one and damaging others, for three naval casualties. Enemy casualties were unknown.

Review

Experience of the operation contributed towards

Operation Jubilee Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was an Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a regime ...

, the major Combined Operations raid on

Dieppe, France Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Ne ...

, the following August.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abercrombie, Operation Conflicts in 1942 Battles of World War II involving Canada Military operations of World War II involving Germany World War II in the Pas-de-Calais World War II British Commando raids Amphibious operations of World War II Amphibious operations involving the United Kingdom Amphibious operations involving Canada