Operation Archery, also known as the Måløy Raid, was a British Combined Operations raid during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

against

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

positions on the island of

Vågsøy Vågsøy is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The municipality's administrative center was the town Måløy. Other population centers in Vågsøy included ...

, Norway, on 27 December 1941.

British Commandos The Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the World War II, Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out Raid (military), raids against German-occ ...

No. 3 Commando No. 3 Commando was a battalion-sized Commando unit raised by the British Army during the Second World War. Formed in July 1940 from volunteers for special service, it was the first such unit to carry the title of "Commando". Shortly afterwards th ...

, two troops of

No. 2 Commando No. 2 Commando was a battalion-sized British Commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The first No.2 Commando was formed on 22 June 1940 for a parachuting role at Cambrai Barracks, Perham Down, near Tidworth, Hants. The un ...

, a medical detachment of No. 4 Commando, a demolition party from 101 Troop (canoe) of No. 6 Commando, and a dozen

Norwegians Norwegians () are an ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the Norsemen, Norse of the Early ...

from

Norwegian Independent Company 1 Norwegian Independent Company 1 (NOR.I.C.1, pronounced ''Norisén'' (approx. "noor-ee-sehn") in Norwegian) was a British Special Operations Executive (SOE) group formed in March 1941 originally for the purpose of performing commando raids during ...

conducted the raid. The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, led by the

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

, with the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s , , and , provided fire support.''London Gazette'', 2 July 1948. The submarine was in support as the force navigational check. and transported the troops. Also in support were

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

bombers and fighter-bombers.

Objectives

Central to the operation was the destruction of fish-oil production and stores which the Germans used in the manufacture of high explosives. Another intention was to cause the Germans to maintain and increase forces in Norway, which would reduce forces deployed on the Eastern Front, thereby giving a numerical advantage to Allied forces. The commando force of 570 troops was divided into five parties to # Secure the area north of the town of

Måløy Måløy () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in the List of municipalities of Norway, municipality of Kinn in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the southeastern side of the Vågsøy (island), island of Vågsøy, about northea ...

in South Vågsøy and engage any enemy reinforcements # Subdue and secure Måløy town # Eliminate the enemy on Måløy Island which dominated the town # Eliminate the enemy strongpoint at Holvik west of Måløy # Provide a floating reserve offshore

Raid

The dawn landing was preceded by a very effective naval bombardment and objectives were achieved, except in

. German opposition in the town was much stiffer than expected as, unknown to the British, a ''

Gebirgsjäger ''Gebirgsjäger'' () is a German language, German military term for light infantry trained in mountain warfare. Currently used in the militaries of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the term includes the word ''Jäger (military), jäger'', anot ...

'' (mountain troops) unit of experienced troops from the Eastern Front was there on leave. The defenders' experience in

sniping A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

and street fighting caused the operation to develop into a bitter house-to-house battle. The British commander, John Durnford-Slater, called on the floating reserve and troops from Vågsøy Island. Several local citizens assisted the commandos by acting as porters for

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

s and other explosives and in carrying away the wounded. At around 14:00, the commandos started their withdrawal having destroyed four factories, the fish-oil stores, ammunition and fuel stores, the

telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...

and various military installations, leaving much of the town in flames. The naval assault force of one cruiser and four destroyers had sunk 10 vessels, some found in the act of being scuttled to prevent capture. Technical difficulties had prevented the German

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

from being fully effective, with one of their three guns scoring one hit on the cruiser. File:Raid on Vaagso, 27 December 1941 N451.jpg, Commandos with POWs File:Raid on Vaagso, 27 December 1941 N459.jpg, British troops watch an oil factory burn

Aftermath

No Royal Navy ships were lost but the navy suffered four men killed and four wounded. The Commandos sustained 17 killed and 53 wounded. The commander of the

, Captain

Martin Linge Martin Jensen Linge, (11 December 1894 – 27 December 1941) was a Norwegian actor who, in World War II, became the commander of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 (NOR.I.C.1) (pronounced as ''Norisen'' by the Norwegians), formed in March 19 ...

, was killed in an attack on the local German headquarters and eight Royal Air Force aircraft were shot down. (A Norwegian civilian was hit by shrapnel during the raid, and died from the resulting injuries the following night). The commandos accounted for at least 120 defenders killed and returned with 98 prisoners and a complete copy of the German Naval Code. Wounded British officer norway

Several

Quislings ''Quisling'' (, ) is a term used in Scandinavian languages and in English to mean a citizen or politician of an occupied country who collaborates with an enemy occupying force; it may also be used more generally as a synonym for ''traitor'' or ...

and over 70 loyal Norwegians (Jøssing) were also brought back. In conjunction with this raid,

Operation Anklet Operation Anklet was the codename given to a British Commando raid during the Second World War. The raid on the Lofoten Islands was carried out in December 1941, by 300 men from No. 12 Commando and the Norwegian Independent Company 1. The land ...

was mounted by No. 12 Commando on the

Lofoten Islands Lofoten ( , ; ; ) is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches, and untouched lands. There are two towns, ...

as a diversion. The raid was enough to persuade

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

to divert 30,000 troops to Norway and to build more coastal and inland defences.

Notes

External links

"SUPPLEMENT to The ''London Gazette'' Of FRIDAY the 2nd of July 1948 RAID ON MILITARY AND ECONOMIC OBJECTIVES IN THE VICINITY OF VAAGSO ISLAND.
ibiblio.org
Combined Operations: Operation Archery

I Was There! – We Went to Vaagso with the Commando Men
'' The War Illustrated'', 20 January 1942.
Newsreel coverage of the raid
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archery 1941, Operation Conflicts in 1941 World War II British Commando raids Battles and operations of World War II involving Norway Military history of Norway during World War II 1941 in Norway Norwegian resistance movement Military operations of World War II involving Germany History of Vestland Articles containing video clips Amphibious operations of World War II December 1941 in Europe Amphibious operations involving the United Kingdom Urban warfare in World War II Ammunition depot bombings Building bombings in Norway Factory fires Attacks on military installations in 1941 Attacks on residential buildings in Norway Attacks on military installations in Norway

Objectives

Raid

Aftermath

Notes

Further reading

External links