This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(September 2010) |
Capture of Kufra | |||||||
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Part of Operation Compass, during the Second World War | |||||||
UN map of Libya, Kufra (now Al Kufrah) to the south-east | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Capt. Colonna | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
1 FFF Battalion (350 men) 1 LRDG (76 men) 60 trucks | 2 Italian Askari Company (310 men) 1 Auto-Saharan Company (120 men) 20 trucks 4 aircraft | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
4 killed 21 wounded | 3 killed 4 wounded 282 captured 3 aircraft destroyed |
The Capture of Kufra (French : Prise de Koufra, Italian : Cufra) was part of the Allied Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War. Kufra is a group of oases in the Kufra District of south-eastern Cyrenaica in the Libyan Desert. In 1940, it was part of the colony of Italian Libya Libia Italiana, which was part of Africa Settentrionale Italiana (ASI), which had been established in 1934. With some early assistance from the British Long Range Desert Group, Kufra was besieged from 31 January to 1 March 1941 by Free French forces which forced the surrender of the Italian and Libyan garrison.
Kufra, in the Libyan Desert subregion of the Sahara, was an important trade and travel centre for the nomadic desert peoples of the region, including Berbers and Senussi. The Senussi made the oasis their capital at one point against British, Italian and French designs on the region. In 1931, Italy captured Kufra and incorporated it into the Italian North Africa (Africa Settentrionale Italiana) colonisation of the Maghreb. The Italian post at Kufra included the Buma airfield and radio station, used for air supply and communications with Italian East Africa and a fort at the nearby village of El Tag. [1]
After the Allied defeat of 1940 in the Battle of France, the colony of French Equatorial Africa (FEA) declared its allegiance to Free France, the government-in-exile led by Charles de Gaulle. Chad, the northern part of FEA, borders Libya. De Gaulle ordered the Free French in Chad to attack Italian positions in Libya. Kufra was the obvious target and the troops available to the Free French commander in Chad, Lieutenant Colonel Jean Colonna d'Ornano , were 5,000 tirailleurs (riflemen) of the Senegalese Light Infantry Regiment of Chad (Régiment de Tirailleurs Sénégalais du Tchad (RTST) in twenty companies garrisoning various places and three detachments of méharistes (camel cavalry), in Borkou, Tibesti and Ennedi. [2]
Attacking Kufra would be difficult for the motley of Free French troops. The Free French had very little motor transport and needed to cross 250 mi (400 km) of desert, much of which was sand dune or the fine, powdery soil called fech fech which was thought impassable to motor vehicles. The French received assistance from the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG), a reconnaissance and raiding unit formed to operate behind Italian lines, who had become expert in desert navigation. Major Pat Clayton of the LRDG was keen to join with the Free French to test the Italians. Clayton commanded G Guard (Brigade of Guards) and T Patrol (New Zealand) of the LRDG, comprising 76 men in 26 vehicles.
The LRDG and Free French first raided the Italian airfield at Murzuk, in the Territorio Sahara Libico –Fezzan region in south-western Libya. D'Ornano and ten Free French (three officers, two sergeants and five Chadian soldiers) met LRDG patrols on 6 January 1941 at Kayouge. [lower-alpha 1] The combined force reached Murzuk on 11 January and in a bold stroke, surprised the sentries and devastated the base. Most of the force attacked the main fort; a troop from T Patrol (Lieutenant Ballantyne) attacked the airfield, destroying three Caproni aircraft and taking some prisoners; D'Ornano was killed in the raid along with one trooper of T Patrol. [3] Captain Jacques Massu cauterised a leg wound with a cigarette, much to the admiration of the LRDG. [4] A diversionary raid by French camel cavalry failed after it was betrayed by local guides and these troops were relegated to reconnaissance.
Colonel Philippe Leclerc assumed command in place of d'Ornano. After the success of the Murzuk raid, Leclerc marshalled his forces to take on Kufra. The attacking column included about 400 men in sixty trucks, two Laffly S15 (théâtre d'opérations extérieures TOE) scout cars, four Laffly S15R cross country personnel carriers and two 75 mm (2.95 in) mountain guns. Kufra was protected by two defensive lines around the El Tag fort with barbed wire, trenches, machine-guns and light anti-aircraft guns. The Royal Italian Army (Regio Esercito) garrison comprised the 59th and 60th Machine-gun companies, with 280 askari (local infantry) and an Auto-Saharan Company, the Compagnia Sahariana di Cufra. The Saharan companies were a mixed force of motorised infantry with well-armed cross-country vehicles (SPA AS37), which could also call on the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) for support. The Compagnia Sahariana in Kufra was around 120-men strong (45 Italians and 75 Libyans). [5]
Leclerc asked the LRDG to deal with the Saharan company, based in El Tag fort in the Kufra oasis. The LRDG was detected by a radio intercept unit at Kufra and the Italians organised a mobile column of forty men, one AS37 and four FIAT 634 lorries to intercept them. G Patrol had been kept in reserve. On 31 January, Major Clayton was at Bishara (130 km (81 mi) south-south-west of Kufra) with T Patrol (30 men in 11 trucks). The patrol was spotted by an Italian aeroplane in the morning. T Patrol took cover in a small wadi at Gebel Sherif, a few kilometres north. The plane directed the Saharan patrol to attack the LRDG force. Due to the fire-power of the Italian vehicles, armed with 20 mm (0.79 in) cannon, and constant air attack, T Patrol was driven off, losing four trucks and Major Clayton, who was captured with several others. [6] Trooper Ronald Moore led other survivors to safety after a long foot march. The remaining LRDG force withdrew to Egypt for refitting, except for one vehicle of T Patrol, equipped for desert navigation. During the fight, 1st Lieutenant Caputo, in command of the Compagnia Sahariana, was killed as were two Libyan soldiers. [7]
Leclerc pressed on with his attack, even though the Italians had captured a copy of his plans from Major Clayton. After conducting further reconnaissance, Leclerc reorganised his forces on 16 February. He abandoned his two armoured cars and took with him the remaining serviceable artillery piece. Only about 350 men reached Kufra, due to breakdowns of trucks on the march. Aware of the French approach, the Italians organised another strong mobile column from the Saharan company (seventy men, ten AS37 and five trucks). [8] On 17 February, Leclerc's forces met the Compagnia Sahariana north of Kufra. Despite losing many trucks to the 20 mm guns of the Italian AS37 cars, the French drove off the Compagnia Sahariana as the Kufra garrison failed to intervene. The French surrounded El Tag and laid siege to the fort, despite another attack by the Compagnia Sahariana and harassment from the air. The 75 mm gun was placed 3,000 m (3 km; 2 mi) from the fort, beyond range of the defenders and fired twenty shells per day at regular intervals from different places to give the appearance of more guns. [9] Some 81 mm (3.2 in) mortars were placed 1,500 m (1,640 yd) from the fort and bombed the Italian positions to increase the pressure on the defenders. [10]
The fort was commanded by an inexperienced reserve captain, who lacked the will and the determination to fight. [8] Surrender negotiations began on 28 February and on 1 March 1941, the Italian garrison of 11 officers, 18 NCOs and 273 Libyan soldiers (12, 47 and 273, according to French sources) surrendered El Tag and the Kufra oasis to the Free French. During the siege, the Italian garrison had suffered one Italian officer killed, two Libyan soldiers killed and four wounded; the French suffered four fatal casualties and 21 wounded. The Italian garrison was permitted to withdraw to the north-west and the French forces took over eight SPA AS.37 Autocarro Sahariano light trucks, six lorries, four 20 mm cannon and 53 machine-guns. [10]
After the fall of Kufra, Leclerc and his troops swore an oath to fight until "our flag flies over the Cathedral of Strasbourg",
Swear not to lay down arms until our colours, our beautiful colours, fly over Strasbourg Cathedral.
— Leclerc [11]
The oath was fulfilled on 23 November 1944, when Leclerc and the French 2e Division Blindée (2e DB, 2nd Armoured Division) liberated Strasbourg. [12]
The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) was a reconnaissance and raiding unit of the British Army during the Second World War.
The Libyan Desert is a geographical region filling the northeastern Sahara Desert, from eastern Libya to the Western Desert of Egypt and far northwestern Sudan. On medieval maps, its use predates today's Sahara, and parts of the Libyan Desert include the Sahara's most arid and least populated regions; this is chiefly what sets the Libyan Desert apart from the greater Sahara. The consequent absence of grazing, and near absence of waterholes or wells needed to sustain camel caravans, prevented Trans-Saharan trade between Kharga close to the Nile, and Murzuk in the Libyan Fezzan. This obscurity saw the region overlooked by early European explorers, and it was not until the early 20th century and the advent of the motor car before the Libyan Desert started to be fully explored.
Operation Compass was the first large British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) during the Second World War. British metropolitan, Imperial and Commonwealth forces attacked the Italian and Libyan forces of the 10th Army in western Egypt and Cyrenaica, the eastern province of Libya, from December 1940 to February 1941.
From 1939 to 1940, the French Third Republic was at war with Nazi Germany. In 1940, the German forces defeated the French in the Battle of France. The Germans occupied the north and west of French territory and a collaborationist régime under Philippe Pétain established itself in Vichy. General Charles de Gaulle established a government in exile in London and competed with Vichy France to position himself as the legitimate French government, for control of the French overseas empire and receiving help from French allies. He eventually managed to enlist the support of some French African colonies and later succeeded in bringing together the disparate maquis, colonial regiments, legionnaires, expatriate fighters, and Communist snipers under the Free French Forces in the Allied chain of command. In 1944, after the Allies had landed in Normandy and the southern front moved from North Africa across the Mediterranean into Italy and Provence, these forces routed the German Army, and Vichy officials fled into Germany.
Kufra, Kufrah or Kofra, also spelled Cufra in Italian, is the largest district of Libya and the second largest such district in Africa. It is slightly smaller than the country of Turkmenistan. Its capital is Al Jawf, one of the oases in Kufra basin. There is a very large oil refinery near the capital. In the late 15th century, Leo Africanus reported an oasis in the land of the Berdoa, visited by a caravan coming from Awjila. It is possible that this oasis in question was either the Al Jawf or the Taiserbo oasis, and on early modern maps, the Al Kufra region was often labelled as Berdoa based on this report.
Operation Agreement was a ground and amphibious operation carried out by British, Rhodesian and New Zealand forces on Axis-held Tobruk from 13 to 14 September 1942, during the Second World War. A Special Interrogation Group party, fluent in German, took part in missions behind enemy lines. Diversionary actions extended to Benghazi, Jalo oasis and Barce. The Tobruk raid was an Allied disaster; the British lost several hundred men killed and captured, one cruiser, two destroyers, six motor torpedo boats and dozens of small amphibious craft.
Philippe François Marie Leclerc de Hauteclocque was a Free-French general during World War II. He became Marshal of France posthumously in 1952, and is known in France simply as le maréchal Leclerc or just Leclerc.
Popski's Private Army, officially No. 1 Demolition Squadron, PPA, was a unit of British Special Forces set up in Cairo in October 1942 by Major Vladimir Peniakoff who was a Belgian Jewish officer of Russian extraction. Popski's Private Army was one of several raiding units formed in the Western Desert during the Second World War. The squadron also served in Italy, and was disbanded in September 1945.
Murzuk, Murzuq, Murzug or Merzug is an oasis town and the capital of the Murzuq District in the Fezzan region of southwest Libya. It lies on the northern edge of the Murzuq Desert, an extremely arid region of ergs or great sand dunes which is part of the greater Sahara Desert.
Kufra is a basin and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of the 19th century, Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II.
El Tag is a village and holy site in the Kufra Oasis, within the Libyan Desert subregion of the Sahara. It is in the Kufra District in the southern Cyrenaica region of southeastern Libya. The Arabic el tag translates as "crown" in English, and derives from the site's position above the Kufra basin. El Tag, being on a rise, is without an oasis spring and native date palm habitat.
Michel Arnaud was a French Army general who distinguished himself in World War II, and for this was decorated with the Ordre de la Libération and made Grand Officier de la Légion d'honneur.
The Frontier Wire was a 271 km (168 mi) obstacle in Italian Libya, along the length of the border of British-held Egypt, running from El Ramleh, in the Gulf of Sollum south to Jaghbub parallel to the 25th meridian east, the Libya–Egypt and Libya–Sudan borders. The frontier wire and its line of covering forts was built by the Italians during the Second Italo-Senussi War (1923–1931), as a defensive system to contain the Senussi population, who crossed from Egypt during their resistance against Italian colonisers.
The Sudan Defence Force (SDF) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces unit raised in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1925 to assist local police in internal security duties and maintain the condominium's territorial integrity. During World War II, it also served in East Africa as part of the East African campaign and in North Africa during the Western Desert campaign.
Operation Caravan was a subsidiary of Operation Agreement under which four simultaneous raids were carried out against important Axis lines of communication positions in September 1942.
Operation Nicety was an operation in September 1942 during the Second World War by Force Z a battalion of the Sudan Defence Force. It was designed to support the raiding forces taking part in Operation Agreement, Operation Caravan and Operation Bigamy. The objective of the operation was the seizure of the Jalo oasis in the Libyan desert to support the withdrawal of the forces involved in the other operations. The operation was a failure: the Germans had discovered the plans for all four operations on the body of a dead officer taking part in Operation Agreement. Forewarned, the Italian garrison at Jalo had been warned and reinforced which easily repelled the attack on the night 15–16 September.
Brigadier Edward Cecil Osbaldeston Mitford Military Cross was a British officer in the British Army during the Second World War and after. He was an explorer of the Sahara desert before the war which was instrumental in his becoming one of the original members of the Long Range Desert Group. He later commanded five armoured regiments and an armoured brigade. He was also a member of the Mitford family from Northumberland.
The Camionetta Desertica Model 42 was an Italian reconnaissance car of World War II. The AS.42 was developed by SPA-Viberti using the same chassis as the AB 41 armoured car, including its four-wheel steering, but with a 2x4 transmission specifically for desert operations, primarily in a reconnaissance role. Its origins trace back to requests stemming from units operating on the North African front for a long range, highly maneuverable vehicle, similar to those widely used by the highly successful British reconnaissance and raiding force, the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG).
Sonderkommando Blaich was a German unit consisting of a Heinkel He 111H medium bomber supported by an Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.82 transport aircraft and a Messerschmitt Bf 108B. In January 1942 the Heinkel raided the Free French–controlled Fort Lamy in the Chad region of French Equatorial Africa. The raid against a target 1,250 mi (2,010 km) from Axis bases in North Africa was a success but on its return flight the Heinkel ran out of fuel and had to make an emergency landing; the crew and aircraft were rescued a week later.
The Auto-Saharan Companies were Italian military units specialised in long range patrols of the Sahara Desert. Companies were formed around expert soldiers, riding AB 41 armored cars and FIAT and Lancia light trucks customized to operate in the desert. The units operated from the late 1930s to the Italian surrender in 1943.