An Associated Press wire photograph dated January 26, 1941 depicts the crew of a British A10 Cruiser Tank Mk. IIA enjoying a Christmas Day meal. This would put a date of December 25, 1940 when the photograph was actually taken by the war correspondent. According to the tag line, the men were eating a British Christmas pudding which was made from biscuit rations, prunes, marmalade, and rum. The men appear to be haphazardly uniformed but all five men are wearing the standard tank crew pants that featured large thigh pockets. All of the pants show varying degrees of staining from oil, grease, and other grit and grime found inside tanks as well as staining from having to perform mechanical maintenance on their tank. The pants also show various degrees of sun bleaching. Three of the men sport the British Army peaked cap while the other two have knit hats. Given the temperature can plummet even in the desert during the evening and night, all the men have various jackets and sweaters over their uniform blouses for warmth. Of interest, three of the men appear to be carrying captured Italian Beretta Model 1934 semi-automatic pistols judging by the shape and design of the leather holsters. That they are carrying captured Italian weapons can be bolstered by the Carcano Modello 1891 bolt-action rifle seen on top of the tank turret. The AP photograph stated the tank crew was in the vicinity of the Libyan city of Bardia. If this is accurate, it would mean the men were part of the British 7th. Armored Brigade. This was because the unit, along with elements of the 7th. Royal Tank Regiment (RTR), were attached to Australian forces consisting of the 6th. Australian Division along with the 16th. and 17th. Australian Infantry Brigades for the purposes of assaulting Bardia. That the men belonged to the 7th. Armored Brigade is because the only tanks the 7th. RTR had with them for the attack were Matilda II infantry tanks.
The Australians began building up their forces in the Bardia area beginning in December 1940. The Australian units were not at full compliment and thus it took some effort to fill the gaps with various British forces in the region to ensure the Australian units were at strength. The time was used by the British Royal Air Force to dispatch reconnaissance sorties from No.208 Squadron flying Westland Lysander aircraft escorted by Gloster Gladiator fighters from No.3 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force. In addition, foot patrols goaded Italian artillery to fire which divulged their locations while these patrols also conducted ground reconnaissance of Italian antitank obstacles and barbed wire lines. On December 24, 1940, Christmas Eve, British Major General Richard O'Connor directed the commander of the assembled forces, Australian Lieutenant General Iven Giffard Mackay, to begin planning for the taking of Bardia. Defending Bardia were some 45,000 Italian troops, made up mainly from the remnants of four infantry divisions along with a mixture of Blackshirt divisions, frontier guards, and three companies of elite Bersaglieri infantry troops.
The attack commenced on December 31, 1940 when RAF bombers began a series of sorties against Bardia which lasted until January 2, 1941. Over 100 sorties were flown by No.70 Squadron RAF and No.216 Squadron RAF with fighters patrolling the skies from No.33, No.73, and No.274 Squadrons RAF. Ground artillery added to the bombardment with the Lysanders from No.208 Squadron acting as spotters for the Australian and British guns. On January 3, the Royal Navy battleships HMS Warspite, Valiant, and Barham along with their escorts commenced ship-to-shore bombardment, firing nearly 245 rounds of ammunition from their big guns before departing, leaving the bombardment duties to the elderly HMS Terror (a monitor launched in 1916) and her escorts, the gunboats HMS Ladybird, Aphis, and Gnat. At 0416, the Australian units were on their start lines and at 0530, the artillery bombardment commenced. Sappers went forward in advance of the infantry to clear lanes and once these lanes were open, the assault got underway. By 0920, the Australian forces had achieved their objectives, having made good progress against the Italian defenders. The second wave of Australian forces commenced their attack following an artillery barrage that started at 1125. The Australians again made progress but the Italian resistance was stiffer and at the end of the day, the Australians and British had penetrated nearly two miles into Bardia. On January 4, the attacks resumed at 0900 and as the day wore on, the Italians lost further and further ground until only isolated outposts remained. General Giuseppe Tellera, who commanded the Italian 10th. Army, considered sending a relief force but in the end, saw that the situation at Bardia was hopeless and any relief effort would be doomed to failure. The combat continued but by the close of January 5, 1941, victory belonged to the Australians and British. All told, the Allies attacked with 16,000 men against the Italian strength of 45,000. Of the Allied forces, 130 perished with 326 wounded but the Italians suffered 1,703 killed in action with 3,740 men wounded. Another 36,000 Italians surrendered to Australian and British forces.
No comments:
Post a Comment