In November of 1940 the Italian Fleet was poised at Taranto, in Southern Italy, in an attempt to threaten the British naval lifeline to Africa. The Italians were practicing “Fleet in Being”; A military strategy that runs on the premise that the mere presence of a military of significant size will deter the enemy, without having to ever engage in battle. Therefore, the Italians stayed in port at Taranto, rather than risk their fleet in battle with the British. The British, however, did not choose to avoid battle in fear. Rather they planned Operation Judgment; a surprise attack on Taranto. Winston Churchill was determined to reduce the Italian Fleet before the Germans could arrive and reinforce them.
The Battle of Taranto took place on November 11 and 12, 1940. A British task force launched Operation Judgment from the British carrier the HMS Illustrious. The plan called for British planes to attack the Italian Fleet in two waves. Twenty-one Swordfish torpedo bombers were poised on the Illustrious to take off on the night of November 11. Eleven of the planes were armed with torpedoes, the remainder carried flares and bombs. The first wave of fighters arrived at Taranto Harbor at approximately 10:58 pm. The second wave arrived at approximately midnight. The Italians were surprised and the British succeeded in halving the Italian Fleet. The Italian Battleship Conte Di Cavour was sunk and two other battleships were damaged. The British lost only two Swordfish to anti-aircraft fire. The Italians withdrew the remainder of their sea worthy vessels to harbors on Italy’s west coast.
The success of the British in the Battle of Taranto changed the way military experts viewed aircraft carrier attacks. It had been military practice to attempt torpedo attacks against ships only at water depths of 100 ft or over. The port at Taranto had a shallow depth of 40ft. The British compensated for the shallow water by designing special torpedoes and dropping them from a very low altitude. This method was studied by the Japanese and subsequently used in the attack on Pearle Harbor.
After the fall of mainland Greece, it became essential that the Germans take the Ally controlled island of Crete. From the island of Crete, the Allies controlled shipping in the Aegean Sea. From the air fields on the island the Allies could potentially raid the Romanian oil fields which the Germans relied on heavily. Hitler also needed Crete under German control in order to move forward towards Cyprus and the Egyptian Delta. Operation Mercury began on May 20, 1941. The plan was contingent on two waves of attacks quickly overtaking the islands air fields.
On the morning of May 20, unaware that Allied intelligence knew of the attack, German Fallschirmjager (paratroopers) began to drop on the Maleme air field. Many Germans were killed during their descent as Allied forces peppered the paratroopers from well concealed hiding places. Simultaneously another group of German paratroopers landed at Hania and the Souda Bay area. These groups also met with significant resistance from the Allies.
Unaware of the difficulties the first wave of paratroopers were facing, the second wave began their descent. These troops attempted landings at Heraklion and Rethymnon airfields. This wave of parachutists suffered greater devastation than the first. By the evening the Germans had not succeeded in taking any of the airfields. However, the Germans were making some progress at the Maleme field, taking the hill at the north end of the airfield.
During the night of May 20 – 21, the German and British Navies battled in the waters around Crete. The Germans succeeded in sinking one British destroyer and damaging two cruisers. After this initial evening battle, the German convoy continued on to the island where troops were awaiting supplies and reinforcements. However, at 23:00, the Germans were once again attacked by the British. This time the British succeeded in stopping the convoy.
On the morning of May 22 the German Luftwaffe attacked the British fleet. This battle ended in a German victory, changing the course of the battle for Crete. Paratroopers continued to land on the island, while troop carriers sailed into ports carrying men and supplies. The Allied forces persisted in battle despite the fact that the Germans now maintained air and sea superiority. Local rebels also fought to avoid German occupation. Greek men, women and children fought valiantly using whatever means available; including pans, shovels, knives and bare hands.
After six more days of grueling battle, Allied forces began to evacuate the island of Crete on the night of May 28, 1941. The evacuation lasted three days. Approximately 16,500 troops escaped the island.
The Battle (or fall) of France, in World War II, was conducted from June 5 through June 22. In reality, however the story of the Fall of France begins a few weeks earlier. On May 10, 1940 the Germans invaded neutral Belgium. As the Belgium people were unaware they were at war, they were ill prepared to stop Germany’s invasion. British and French forces attempted to aid Belgium. However, by the time the British and French arrived at the cities of Antwerp and Liege both had been taken by German paratroopers. Additionally, the German’s advanced through the Ardennes Forest. This was unexpected and effectively trapped the Allied Forces between the two German Armies. On May 28, 1940 Belgium surrendered to Germany. Little could be done to stop the German advance on France, despite armies of seemingly equal numbers.
June 5, 1940 the Germans attacked France along a 100 mile front that stretched from Sedan to Abbeville along the Somme and Aisne rivers. The French fought valiantly for four days. However the Germans broke through the line by June 9. Much of the success of the attack was due to the massive air strikes of the Luftwaffe.
On June 10, 1940 Italy ended its neutrality and declared war on France. War was now being waged against France in the north by Germany and in the South by Italy. By June 14 the German army advanced into Paris forcing the French government to flee the city. Fighting continued and on June 15 the Fortress of Verdun, a stronghold that never fell in the War to end all Wars, fell to the hands of the Germans.
On June 16, 1940, the French requested a release from the Anglo-French agreement to allow France to negotiate surrender terms with Germany. The following day, France requested an armistice with Germany. The Franco-German Armistice was signed on June 22, 1940. Under the agreement, Germany now occupied the French coast from the Belgium to the Spanish borders, as well as all of northern France; giving Germany control of three-fifths of France. The French army was disarmed. A smaller French Government, under Marshall Henri-Philippe Petain, established its capitol in Vichy.
On June 24, 1940 a Franco-Italian Armistice was signed ending the fighting in southern France. In the meantime, on June 23, General Charles De Gaulle established the Free French Government in London and vowed to continue to oppose the Germans.