Action off Bastia

Last updated

Action off Bastia
Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of the Second World War
Ligurian Sea map.png
Corsica in the Ligurian Sea
Date9 September 1943
Location
Ligurian Sea near Bastia
42°42′03″N09°27′01″E / 42.70083°N 9.45028°E / 42.70083; 9.45028
Result Italian victory
Belligerents
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Kingdom of Italy Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Germany
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg Carlo Fecia di Cossato War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg
Strength
Casualties and losses
70 killed
1 torpedo boat (severely damaged)
1 torpedo boat (damaged)
160 killed
25  (POW)
2 submarine chasers sunk
5 Marinefährprahme sunk
1 motor boat sunk
Corse region relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Bastia
The French island of Corsica

The action off Bastia (bataille navale de Pietracorbara) was a naval engagement fought on 9 September 1943 between German vessels and Italian ships and coastal artillery. Bastia is the main port of Corsica in the Ligurian Sea. Secret negotiations between the Italian government and the Allies led to the Armistice of Cassibile (3 September 1943) and the defection of Italy from the Axis.

Contents

The Germans were suspicious of Italian intentions and devised Operation Achse, a coup against the Italian government and the disarming of the Italian armed forces. At midnight on 8/9 September, German marines attacked Bastia harbour and captured the Italian ships moored there except for the torpedo boat Aliseo. At dawn, Italian troops counter-attacked, retook the port and the German vessels sailed to avoid capture.

Aliseo attacked the German vessels as they left port and turned north; Italian coastal guns also engaged the German vessels and when the corvette Cormorano arrived it joined the engagement. Two German vessels and three Marinefährprahme (MFP, ferry barges) were sunk and two MFP were forced aground. The action was one of the first examples of Italian resistance against Nazi Germany.

Background

Corsica in 1943

Corsica was garrisoned by the VII Corps (Generale Giovanni Magli) which was short of weapons, had inadequate transport and suffered from poor morale. Order 111 CT was sent to commanders from 10–15 August and late in the month, the Army General Staff transmitted Memoria 44 to military forces outside Italy which expanded Order 111 CT preventing Italian forces from engaging in hostilities with the Germans. [1] The Armistice of Cassibile was signed on 3 September 1943, in which the Italians withdrew from the Axis and Magli applied Memoria 44. [2]

German forces in Corsica comprised the Brigade Reichsführer SS, a battalion of the 15th Panzergrenadier Division, two heavy coastal artillery batteries and one of heavy anti-aircraft guns. On 7 September, General Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin arrived to take command. Magli gave assurances that the Italian garrison would continue to fight against the local resistance and not oppose the arrival of German troops from Sardinia. There were about 20,000 French Maquis on the island and the Germans suspected that many of the Italians would defect. [2]

Operation Achse

Unternehmen Achse (Operation Axis) a German plan to forestall an Italian surrender and defection to the Allies, began on 8 September and included the evacuation of the garrison of Sardinia to Corsica. When news of the Armistice was announced on 8 September, German forces began to embark from ports on the north coast of Sardinia and land at Corsican ports on the south coast. Italian coastal gunners nearby refrained from firing on the German parties. [3]

Prelude

Present in Bastia harbour were the Italian Ciclone-class torpedo boats Aliseo (Commander Carlo Fecia di Cossato) and Ardito, the Italian merchant ship Humanitas (7,980  GRT) and a MAS motor torpedo boat. German vessels present were the anti-submarine warfare vessels UJ 2203, UJ 2219 and five Marinefährprahme (MFPs) F366, F387, F459, F612, F623 and the motor launch FL.B.412. German Marines had prepared a surprise attack on the harbour and the Italian ships there. The Germans attacked at midnight on 8/9 September; Ardito was damaged and 70 men of her 180 crew were killed. Humanitas and the MAS boat were also damaged. Aliseo managed to cast off in time and got outside the harbour, where Cossato waited for orders. After dawn on 9 September, Italian troops counter-attacked and recaptured the port, Ardito, Humanitas and the MAS. [4]

Action

Generale
Giovanni Magli Giovanni Magli.jpg
Generale Giovanni Magli

The Italian port commander ordered Cossato to prevent the German vessels from leaving port. As the German flotilla left harbour, in column to pass through the narrow harbour mouth, the ships were bombarded by the 76 mm guns of Italian coastal batteries, damaging UJ 2203 and some of the MFPs. [4] There was a thin fog along the coast at dawn and the German flotilla could be seen emerging from the harbour and turning north, close to the coast. The German vessels outgunned Aliceo, the two UJ craft carrying an 88 mm gun each and the barges mounting a 75 mm gun and a 37 mm or a 20 mm gun. [5]

Aliseo closed on the German flotilla and UJ2203 opened fire, the other vessels joining in as their guns bore on Aliseo, which zig-zagged until 8,000 yd (7,300 m) from the German vessels, opening fire at 7:06 a.m.. For 25 minutes Aliseo steamed northwards, parallel to the Germans firing at a rapid rate. At 7:30 a.m.Aliseo was hit by an 88 mm shell in the engine room and brought to a stop. Damage control repaired the boiler and plugged holes to get Aliseo under way again. [5]

The torpedo boat closed in and engaged the German vessels one after the other. At 8:20 a.m.UJ 2203, after suffering several hits, exploded with the loss of nine men killed; ten minutes later UJ 2219 was destroyed when her magazines exploded. [5] The column of MFPs dispersed as their crews sought shelter. Machine-gun fire struck the fire director and damaged it; with the range so short, the loss of director control had little effect, the gunners on Aliseo continuing under local control. [6]

Return-fire from German 20 mm guns inflicted only superficial damage on Aliseo and by 8:35 a.m. three of the MFPs had been sunk. Five minutes later, Aliseo engaged the other two MFPs which were carrying ammunition. Shore batteries at Marina de Pietro and the corvette Cormorano , which had arrived also fired on the MFPs and forced then to run aground. Aliseo ceased fire at 8:45 a.m. and from 10:00 and 10:50 a.m. rescued survivors and then sailed towards La Spezia before diverting to Elba, arriving during the afternoon. [6]

Aftermath

Analysis

In 2009, Vincent O'Hara wrote that Italian naval officers were out of contact with Supermarina after it stopped broadcasting on the evening of 10 September and were ignorant of the Armistice conditions. The skirmishing with German forces at Bsatia and elsewhere was conducted under individual initiative and the Italian destroyers Legionario and Alfredo Oriani sailed from Malta on 13 September to carry an American OSS detachment and supplies from Algiers to Ajaccio to assist Free French and Italian troops fighting the Germans. [7]

Casualties

A Marinefahrprahm
(MFP, German naval ferry barge) Marinefaehrprahm Skizze.JPG
A Marinefährprahm (MFP, German naval ferry barge)

Nine men were killed on UJ2203, 160 Germans were killed in the engagement and 25 were rescued by the Italian ships. [6] The damage suffered by Ardito later caused this ship to be left behind in Portoferraio, where she was taken over and repaired by the Germans as TA.25. [8] The German navy reported that during the evacuation of Sardinia and Corsica it lost a J-boat, seven naval ferry barges, two anti-submarine vessels, a tug, three Siebel ferries, a peniche and three steamers of 16,943 GRT each. [9]

Orders of battle

Italian ships

Italian ships, data from O'Hara (2009) [4]
ShipFlagTypeNotes
Ardito Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Kingdom of Italy Ciclone-class torpedo boat Damaged in a German attack
Aliseo Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Kingdom of Italy Ciclone-class torpedo boatSailed in time to escape the German attack
CormoranoFlag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Kingdom of Italy Gabbiano-class corvette On patrol outside Bastia harbour

German vessels

German vessels, data from O'Hara (2009) [4]
ShipFlagTypeNotes
UJ2203War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg  Kriegsmarine Anti-submarine warfare (ASW)Sunk by Aliseo
UJ2219War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg  Kriegsmarine ASWSunk by Aliseo
F366War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg  Kriegsmarine Marinefährprahm Ferry barge, sunk by Aliseo
F387War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg  Kriegsmarine MarinefährprahmFerry barge, run aground
F459War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg  Kriegsmarine MarinefährprahmFerry barge, sunk by Aliseo
F612War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg  Kriegsmarine MarinefährprahmFerry barge, run aground
F623War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg  Kriegsmarine MarinefährprahmFerry barge, sunk by Aliseo
FL.B.412War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg  Kriegsmarine Motor launchSunk by Cormorano

Related Research Articles

<i>Regia Marina</i> 1861–1946 branch of Italian military; predecessor of the Marina Militare

The Regia Marina (RM) or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic, the Regia Marina changed its name to Marina Militare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Leros</span> WWII battle on Greek island in 1943

The Battle of Leros was a combat over the Greek island of Leros between the Allies defending it and invading forces of Nazi Germany waged between 26 September and 16 November 1943. Regarded as the central event of the Dodecanese campaign of the Second World War, the term is widely used as an alternative name for the whole campaign. After the Armistice of Cassibile the Italian garrison on the Greek island Leros was strengthened by British forces on 15 September 1943. The battle began with German air attacks, continued with the landings on 12 November, and ended with the capitulation of the Allied forces four days later.

<i>Ciclone</i>-class torpedo boat

The Ciclone class were a group of torpedo boats or destroyer escorts built for the Italian Navy which fought in the Second World War. They were modified, slightly heavier, versions of the previous Orsa class, with improved stability and heavier anti-submarine armament. These ships were built as part of the Italian war mobilization programme and completed in 1942–43.

HMS <i>Sickle</i> British S-class submarine

HMS Sickle was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in 1942, she made her initial war patrol off the Norwegian coast. Sickle then sailed to Gibraltar, from where she conducted one patrol, then to Algiers, French North Africa. From 10 May to 10 October, the boat patrolled the Gulf of Genoa five times and sank a German submarine as well as three minesweepers and an escort ship. She then moved to Beirut, French Lebanon, and conducted two patrols in the Aegean Sea, sinking three caïques and a merchant ship, in addition to landing resistance operatives in Greece.

HMS <i>Saracen</i> (P247) S-class submarine of the Royal Navy

HMS Saracen was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Completed in 1942, Saracen conducted a patrol in the North Sea where she sank a German U-boat. She was then assigned to the 10th Submarine Flotilla in Malta, from where she made three patrols; on her second, she sank an Italian submarine. Saracen was then reassigned to the 8th Submarine Flotilla, based in Algiers, French North Africa.

HMS <i>Sportsman</i> S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy

HMS Sportsman was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in 1942, she spent most of the war serving in the Mediterranean Sea. After an initial patrol off Norway, she sank the heavy transport Général Bonaparte in the Mediterranean in 1943 and missed a French oil tanker. She was heavily damaged after a mistaken attack by an Allied bomber, and was sent east after repairs to participate in operations in the Black Sea. After the operation was cancelled, Sportsman patrolled the Aegean Sea, sending several Greek and German ships to the bottom. She sank the German transport SS Petrella in early 1944 despite it being clearly marked as a prisoner-of-war ship, killing 2,670 out of 3,173 Italians aboard. Sportsman sank several more ships, and suffered minor damage when she was detected and sighted while attempting to attack a convoy.

HMS <i>Unrivalled</i> British submarine

HMS Unrivalled (P45) was a U-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. The boat has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to ever bear the name Unrivalled. Completed in 1942, the boat spent most of the war in the Mediterranean. She sank a number of small merchant ships and naval auxiliaries, but major success eluded her during the war. Too small and slow for the post-war environment, Unrivalled was scrapped in 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlo Fecia di Cossato</span>

Carlo Fecia di Cossato was an officer in the Regia Marina, in command of submarines and torpedo boats during World War II. He was credited with the confirmed sinking of 23 enemy ships. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and of the Gold Medal of Military Valor, the highest decoration of the Italian Armed Forces.

<i>Redoutable</i>-class submarine (1928) French class of submarine

The Redoutable-class submarines were a group of 31 submarines built between 1924 and 1937 for the French Navy. Most of the class saw service during the Second World War. The class is also known in French as the Classe 1 500 tonnes, and they were designated as "First Class submarines", or "large submarine cruisers". They are known as the Redoutable class in reference to the lead boat Redoutable, in service from 1931 to 1942. The class is divided into two sub-class series, Type I, known as Le Redoutable and Type II, Pascal.

The Marinefährprahm was the largest landing craft operated by the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The MFP was used for transport, minelaying, as an escort and a gunboat in the Mediterranean, Baltic and Black Seas as well as the English Channel and Norwegian coastal waters. Originally developed for Operation Sea Lion the proposed invasion of England, the first of these ships was commissioned on 16 April 1941, with approximately 700 being completed by the end of war. Allied sources sometimes refer to this class of vessel as a "Flak Lighter" or "F-lighter".

Yugoslav torpedo boat <i>T3</i> Austro-Hungarian then Yugoslav torpedo boat operating between 1921 and 1945

T3 was a sea-going torpedo boat that was operated by the Royal Yugoslav Navy between 1921 and 1941. Originally 78 T, a 250t-class torpedo boat of the Austro-Hungarian Navy built in 1914, she was armed with two 66 mm (2.6 in) guns, four 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, and could carry 10–12 naval mines. She saw active service during World War I, performing convoy, escort and minesweeping tasks, anti-submarine operations and shore bombardment missions. In 1917 the suffixes of all Austro-Hungarian torpedo boats were removed, and thereafter she was referred to as 78. She was part of the escort force for the Austro-Hungarian dreadnought Szent István during the action that resulted in the sinking of that ship by Italian torpedo boats in June 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italian occupation of Corsica</span> WWII event (1942–1943)

The Italian occupation of Corsica refers to the military occupation by the Kingdom of Italy of the French island of Corsica during the Second World War, from November 1942 to September 1943. After an initial period of increased control over the island, by early spring 1943 the Maquis had begun to occupy the hinterland. In the aftermath of the Armistice of Cassibile, the Italian capitulation to the Allies, the Germans evacuated Sardinia via Corsica and occupied the island with the support of Italian units who had defected to them. Italian troops under Giovanni Magli, the Maquis and Free French Forces joined forces against the Germans and liberated the island.

The action of 1 November 1944, also known as the Ambush off Pag Island, was a naval engagement in the Kvarner Gulf of the Adriatic Sea, between the islands of Pag and Lussino on 1 November 1944. It was fought between a British Royal Navy destroyer flotilla and a Kriegsmarine force of two corvettes and a destroyer. The German flotilla was deployed to escort a convoy retreating from Šibenik to Fiume. The British managed to destroy all three German ships in return for no loss.

Yugoslav destroyer <i>Beograd</i> Yugoslav ship active in WWII

Beograd was the lead ship of her class of destroyers, built for the Royal Yugoslav Navy in France during the late 1930s, and designed to be deployed as part of a division led by the flotilla leader Dubrovnik. She entered service in April 1939, was armed with a main battery of four 120 mm (4.7 in) guns in single mounts, and had a top speed of 35 knots.

Italian destroyer <i>Audace</i> (1916) Destroyer of the Italian Regia Marina

Audace was a destroyer of the Italian Regia Marina. Originally, the Imperial Japanese Navy ordered her as the Urakaze-classKawakaze, but the Japanese sold her to the Kingdom of Italy in 1916 while she was under construction. Commissioned in 1917, she played an active role in the Adriatic campaign of World War I. During the interwar period, she operated in the Adriatic, Aegean, Mediterranean, and Red seas and was reclassified as a torpedo boat in 1929.

Yugoslav torpedo boat <i>T7</i> Sea-going torpedo boat operated by the Royal Yugoslav Navy

T7 was a sea-going torpedo boat operated by the Royal Yugoslav Navy between 1921 and 1941. Originally 96 F, a 250t-class torpedo boat of the Austro-Hungarian Navy built in 1915–1916, she was armed with two 66 mm (2.6 in) guns and four 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, and could carry 10–12 naval mines. She saw active service during World War I, performing convoy escort, patrol, and minesweeping tasks, and anti-submarine operations. In 1917 the suffixes of all Austro-Hungarian torpedo boats were removed, and thereafter she was referred to as 96.

Yugoslav torpedo boat <i>T5</i> Sea-going torpedo boat

T5 was a sea-going torpedo boat operated by the Royal Yugoslav Navy between 1921 and 1941. Originally 87 F, a 250t-class torpedo boat of the Austro-Hungarian Navy built in 1914–1915, she was armed with two 66 mm (2.6 in) guns and four 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, and could carry 10–12 naval mines. She saw active service during World War I, performing convoy, patrol, escort and minesweeping tasks, anti-submarine operations and shore bombardment missions. In 1917 the suffixes of all Austro-Hungarian torpedo boats were removed, and thereafter she was referred to as 87. She was part of the escort force for the Austro-Hungarian dreadnought Szent István during the action that resulted in the sinking of that ship by Italian torpedo boats in June 1918, and rescued many of her crew.

Schichau-class torpedo boat Class of Austro-Hungarian torpedo boats

The Schichau class consisted of 22 torpedo boats built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy between 1885 and 1891. The class was one of the first torpedo boat classes built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy, and they were initially powered by steam from a single locomotive boiler and were armed with two 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss guns and two 356 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes. The entire class was reconstructed between 1900 and 1910, when they received two Yarrow boilers and a second funnel.

The German torpedo boat TA37 was an Ariete-class torpedo boat operated by the German Kriegsmarine during the Second World War. The ship was built for the Italian Navy by the shipbuilder CRDA at their Trieste shipyard with the name Gladio in 1943, but was incomplete when Italy surrendered to the Allies in September 1943, and was seized by Nazi Germany. The ship entered service as TA37 in 1944, serving in the Adriatic and Aegean seas and was sunk by British destroyers on 7 October 1944.

The German torpedo boat TA24 was an Ariete-class torpedo boat operated by the German Kriegsmarine during the Second World War. The ship was built for the Italian Navy by the shipbuilder Ansaldo at their Genoa shipyard with the name Arturo in 1943, but was incomplete when Italy surrendered to the Allies in September 1943, and was seized by Nazi Germany. The ship entered service as TA24 in October 1943, serving in the Tyrrhenian Sea and was sunk by British destroyers on 18 March 1945.

References

  1. Agarossi 2006, pp. 60, 96, 110.
  2. 1 2 Molony et al. 2004a, p. 375.
  3. Molony et al. 2004a, pp. 374–375.
  4. 1 2 3 4 O'Hara 2009, p. 220.
  5. 1 2 3 O'Hara 2009, pp. 220–221.
  6. 1 2 3 O'Hara 2009, p. 221.
  7. O'Hara 2009, p. 223.
  8. Brown 1995, p. 96.
  9. Schreiber 2017, p. 1134.

Bibliography

Further reading