The Battle for the Mediterranean
March, 1940
Everything Ventured, Anything Gained?
As printed in the New York Times, March 1st, 1950
By J.D. Drew

Ten years ago, the world's largest conflict was still rising to a boil. France had only recently joined the Axis cause, and the Allied nations were in the midst of rearranging priorities. Fighting in North Africa was swaying back and forth as both sides rushed reinforcements across the water.

Long the master of the seas, the British Royal Navy was once again becoming both shield and sword of England. Whilst protecting the supply convoys in the Atlantic that were the lifeblood of the country, the Royal Navy also struck repeatedly at the enemy's own transports, especially in the Mediterranean. As more and more Axis troops poured into Libya, the convoys needed to keep them fed and supplied became larger, and more vulnerable. Protecting them was the main function of the Regia Marina; the Italian navy. Outnumbered in capital ships by and large, the Italian fleet benefited from the small size of the area she was required to protect, as well as from land-based air cover at both ends of the sea lanes. Both sides were fighting a war of attrition that neither enjoyed very much. The Royal Navy kept the upper hand through the first two months of 1940, despite their defeat at the Battle of Rock Sea. The island of Malta provided an excellent staging area for raids on Italian supply lines, and British subs played havoc with transport convoys. While it didn't help matters that a large number of Italian destroyers had been moved to East Africa prior to the outbreak of hostilities, the Regia Marina still had enough ships to protect most of her convoys at the beginning of March.

Spurred on by the events in France, both sides sought a quick way to gain a permanent upper hand in the Mediterranean. The UK desired to
bring the Italian fleet to battle in the open sea so that her veteran crews and excellent seamanship could take their toll on the weaker Italian fleet. The Italians wished to draw the RN into range of their bombers, and let aircraft wear the English ships down.

In the end, and apparently by sheer coincidence, both sides chose March of 1940 as the month in which to first attempt to achieve their
respective goals. The Admiralty in London labeled their plan as Operation Rabbit Hunt. Based on the fact that the Italians HAD to send the majority of their convoys to Tripoli, the British planned a naval pincer movement designed to engage the Italian fleet halfway between Italy and Libya. All of the available naval forces in the Med were involved in one manner or another, and even ships normally reserved for defense of the home islands were sent south for this mission. In all, Rabbit Hunt involved approximately 85% of British capital ships, and every escort ship that could be spared from normal convoy duty. Their main goal was to bring the Italian navy, and specifically her battleships, to battle and render them harmless to UK operations in the Med.

Meanwhile, in Naples, Italian naval plotters spent the month of February in constant communication with their new French allies as well as
Berlin. Taking a far different tact from their British counterparts, the Italian staff concentrated on funneling as much airpower as possible into the route to Malta from Gibraltar, as well as as many submarines as were available. They requested several Geschwader of bombers from Germany, and fighters from France. When the plans were first drawn up, it was expected that all the planes in question would be stationed in Sicily, and would be in place on March 1st. Sicily's capacity at the time of six hundred planes was far exceeded by this plan, and the date of March 1st was an impossible goal for either the Luftwaffe or the French Air Force, which was still ravaged by desertion and battle damage. The submarines were easier to come by, but harder to coordinate. Naval forces that were recently enemies don't usually cooperate well, especially when there is a language barrier.

Finally, any real coordination between Italian and French submarines was scrapped in favor of flooding designated areas with subs and hoping the British ships didn't outrun the subs before a few could get some torpedoes off. The final form of this plan was given the nomenclature of Operation Trafalgar.

The end result was that the Italian and French surface fleets were free to escort the convoys, and carry out other plans. Plans which would have a dramatic impact on the war in North Africa in the months to come.

It is of interest to note that despite massive losses on the battlefield, riots in the cities, and an old enemy just recently turned ally, the new French leadership was anxious to take the offensive. Subordinate officers delivering "can't be done" messages to the Prime Minister's Offices were usually given a severe tongue lashing, and on more than one occasion, shot. When all the shouting stopped, two separate operations involving land forces were conceived.

The first, dubbed Operation Kasserine Dawn, called for the French carrier Bearn, recently brought out of retirement, to lead an escort group for several divisions of French troops in an invasion of Cyprus. This flotilla was to meet up with the Italian battleship Andrea Doria and her escorts southeast of Italy, and then reach Cyprus before March 20th. As we will see later, things did not go quite as planned.

The second, named Operation Hummus Again, was to depart after the Kasserine Dawn group, and was to be escorted by the remaing French surface ships in the Med, as well as an Italian flotilla of cruisers and destroyers. This group included several more French infantry divisions destined for Syria. It is still hotly debated as to the wisdom of this move, as Syria wasn't exactly the easiest place to launch an offensive from, and any worthwhile targets were quite a distance away along a very poor road network. But that's an argument for another day. What isn't arguable is that the French army was in no shape for offensive operations, yet the French leadership insisted on sending out formations that were missing key elements of their organization, having been recently destroyed by the Wermacht. Replacements and veterans alike were herded to southern France in the last days of February and first weeks of March, and then crammed aboard transports, leaving their command staffs to try and sort out the final details while at sea. Needless to say, the French troops would not arrive at their destinations well prepared to fight. Such were the general plans of both the Axis and Allied high commands. As we shall see, not much went according to plan.

Since movements of fleets is not instantaneous, both sides began preparations days before any fighting was to take place. The United Kingdom
knew that the narrow area of sea below Sicily was a danger zone, and began moving aircraft to the area. Fighter Wing 20 had been moved to
Tunisia in February, and immediately took up patrolling the sea lanes as March began. Initial British plans called for three further wings of Spitfires to be sent to Tunisia, but while the crews could easily be ferried by long-range transport aircraft, the fighters themselves lacked the range to reach the area from the Egyptian border airfields. The British solved this problem by using the carrier Furious to ferry the planes to within launching distance. In an operation that was the first of its kind, the Furious made three separate runs towards Malta from Alexandria, launching a wing towards Tunisia each time. No major delays hampered the operation, as the Furious and her escorts simply made a beeline in the direction of Malta each time, launched the fighters, and then returned to Alexandria at top speed to take on another load. It would take until March 8th for all four fighter wings to reach operational status again, but they would prove their worth just days later.

The Italian Comando Supremo was aware of the single British fighter wing in Tunisia when March began. Knowing that they had at least a week
before any large Royal Navy force was likely to approach, the Regia Aeronautica ordered the three fighter squadrons based on Sicily to begin a series of sweeps towards Tunisia. Composed mainly of Re 2000 fighters, the three squadrons in question contained nearly 200 planes.
Historians still argue whether the designation of these units as squadrons was an attempt at subterfuge, or a simple bookkeeping error.

The first air contact was made on March 2nd, as the 15th Fighter Squadron and the 20th Fighter Wing bumped into each other outside of a rain
squall. The British airmen downed three of their Italian counterparts for the loss of one of their own. Even equipped with the newer RE 2000 fighters, the Regia Aeronautica men were no match for the Spitfires of the RAF. It was a kill ratio that would vary little in even combat between the two forces. The Italian airmen fled the scene, calling for their compatriots' help, but the British fighters had been instructed not to pursue any fleeing planes, and withdrew to base.

March 4th brought the second air skirmish as the men of the 20th were set upon by the MC 200's of the 17th Fighter Squadron. Despite their
initial advantage, the Italians again were forced to retreat, leaving four parachutes floating in the breeze; only one of them British. The
next two days brought similar skirmishing, as the 5th and 6th Fighter Wings made their arrivals known. The fascists constantly found themselves outclassed, and were unable to do much more than keep the RAF flyers occupied for a short while during each engagement.

The morning of the 7th heralded a change in tactics for the Italians, as their scouts and longer-range bombers began making sweeps in an
attempt to detect the British ships as far out as possible. The Italian fighters were encouraged to intercept any British flights as close to the Tunisian coast as possible, and suffered more losses in their attempt to keep the scouts free from British interference. They were successful in doing so, and the scouts continued their patrols without success until March 9th, when the first large group of ships entered the area.

Hampered by bad weather on March 9th, the Axis scout planes did not detect the British fleets approach until nearly noon. By then the slower
merchantmen had been dropped off at the docks in Bizerte, and the remaining ships were picking up speed. Several bomber squadrons were
scrambled to intercept. Scattered rain made interception difficult, but two wings, the 77th and 32nd, managed to find them in the clutter. Escorted by the comparatively fresh 23rd fighter squadron, the bombers attempted to hit the Royal Navy flotilla despite their Spitfire guardians. The escorting Re 2000s threw in a good effort, but the Spitfires clawed the bombers down one at a time. Displaying an elan rarely seen in the Italian fighting man, the BR 20 bombers dropped bomb after bomb on the dodging ships beneath. Several destroyers took minor hits, as did a single transport. But the raid in itself was a failure. What it did do was attract the Axis submarines in the immediate area. Several of them struck elements of the British fleet as they passed, taking advantage of their dispersal to even inflict hits on at least two transports, and drawing first blood on the seas by sinking two destroyers. Seeing the death of their comrades, a contingent of Royal Navy escorts took out after the submarines. Records indicate that three submarines were lost that day, but British lookouts only reported two confirmed kills. Interestingly enough, two of the submarines lost were French ones, indicating that they may have wandered out of their assigned kill zones; a lucky break for the Axis fleet in that the subsurface attack did far more damage than the aerial assault.

March 10th dawned on a the western British fleet splitting into two parts. Task Force 9, spearheaded by the battleship Resolution, was headed east towards Malta.

The remainder of the western fleet was to loiter in the area under Spitfire air cover and do a speedy search for any Italian surface assets.
At this point, English commanders had not yet realized the danger they were in, and gave no indication that they wanted to withdraw from the
straits. The Axis were about to give them plenty of reason.

Unbeknownst to the British, the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia were now home to several newly arrived Geschwader of Luftwaffe Ju-87 Stukas. A large contingent of these German planes happened upon the British western fleet as it separated. Again escort was provided by the 23rd fighter squadron, but this time the Spitfires were joined by Skuas from the Carrier Glorious in intercepting the German planes. The Combat Air Patrol fighters gave a good accounting of themselves, but it wasn't enough to dissuade the veteran German pilots. The battleship Warspite was their primary target, and took bomb hit after bomb hit. The Warspite fired back as well, downing twenty enemy aircraft. Other planes from different airfields attacked the escorts around the Warspite, sinking two destroyers outright. When their bomb racks were empty, the Stukas turned back for Italian airfields, greatly diminished in number. The stunned British leaders, astounded at the appearance of German aircraft, immediately hurried Task Force 9 on their way, and withdrew the rest of the flotilla westward. Axis submarines still prowled the area, though, and two separate attacks would result in futher damage to the Warspite, as well as one of her destroyer escorts. At least one offending sub was sent to the bottom, but by and large the Axis defenses had sent the Royal Navy into retreat.

In the meantime, Task Force 9 was speeding towards Malta and a rendevouzs with the eastern half of the British Med Fleet. In between these
two converging elements lay the main Italian supply lines. A heavily trafficked area whose protectors were the real target of Operation Rabbit Hunt. As the Royal Navy squadrons closed in on the area, several targets of opportunity were sighted. Escorted by a large squadron of Italian ships, the merchantmen were not going to be easy pickings, but the British commander was not overly concerned with the transports at the moment. With the wind calm, the carrier Furious launched her torpedo bombers towards the enemy. A mixed strike group of Skuas and Swordfish, the group closed the distance to the enemy ships quickly, and pounced on the destroyers on the outer ring of the Italian flotilla. Three destroyers succumbed to torpedo hits, and while none of the flimsy Swordfish returned to the Furious, first blood in the engagement had been drawn much in favor of Her Majesty's Navy. As the range closed, the battleship Barham unleashed a salvo, sinking another destroyer and damaging another. Not to be outdone, the Italian battleship Caio Duilio returned fire, striking and sinking a British escort. The battleship Malaya was next to fire, heavily damaging yet another Italian destroyer. Her rounds were returned by the Littorio, another Rega Marina battleship, who crippled a second British escort vessel. As the gap between the groups continued to close, elements of Task Force 12 joined in. Cruisers on both sides exchanged fire, and the battleship Valiant threw in her weight as well. The fascists took the short end of the stick, as two more destroyers and a light cruiser went to the bottom. The British did not escape unscathed, but managed not to lose any more ships. As their escort ring disintegrated, the two Italian capital ships turned and ran for home. Two more light cruisers were finished off before they could escape, but the rest of the Italian force threw up a smokescreen and slid away from their pursuers. Radioing madly for air cover, the Italians were luckily in range of the CR 42's of the 16th Fighter Squadron. The Furious' remaining Skuas chose this time to return for a second strike, and were forced to fight through the newly arrived intercepor screen. Despite several losses, they broke through hitting the heavy cruiser Pola a good lick and taking minor losses from anti-aircraft fire. As night fell, the British contingent turned east once again towards Malta.

The next week brought no major action, as both sides licked their wounds. The British fighters in Tunisia returned to supporting the ground
war, as they were greatly needed in the face of ever-increasing German airpower in Libya. The Axis forces kept their submarine screen in
place, along with their roaming scouts. French fighters finally began to arrive in number, assuring the Axis bombers of quality escorts. It is interesting to note the the FAF's arrival added quite a bit to the logistical problems of the Axis, as there were now three different nations' aircrafts and support personnel in the same area, requiring three different sets of supplies and parts. Needless to say, there were quite a few foul-ups, including some that may have cost Axis pilots their lives. During the lull, while British naval assets busied themselves with escorting a few remaining transports to Malta and beyond, patching up what damage they could, getting some rest and relaxation in a few cases, and generally making a nuisance of themselves in the sea lanes to Libya, the ships of Operations Kasserine Dawn and Hummus Again began to assemble and make their separate journeys eastward. Their route would take them around the heel of Italy before heading into the open sea in an attempt to skirt well south of Crete without running into any Commonwealth units. Along the way, they collected a goodly number of guards, mostly destroyers from the Agean Fleet. What is still not fully known to this day is how the British fleet found the Kasserine Dawn group, but find them they did, and with negative results for the Axis forces.

Daybreak on March 19th found the Kasserine Dawn ships heading northeast in the general direction of Cyprus. They were closely grouped for
defense, but out of range of Axis land-based air cover. The French carrier Bearn was the centerpiece of the group, along with the transports
carrying the French troops. Overhead, American-made SB2U's provided combat air patrol. Normally functioning as torpedo bombers, the SB2U's were the best available option in case of air attack. They wouldn't be good enough. At 8:17am, two groups of Skuas and Swordfish from the carriers Furious and Formidable dove on the group, trading fire with the CAP on the way in. Several planes on both sides splashed into the sea, but the far more Allied planes got through than were destroyed. The first torpedoes staggered the destroyer Camicia Nera, forcing her to limp out of line, and opening a hole in the defensive ring. Behind that hole lay the battleship Andrea Doria. The behemoth was already at flank speed, but the white trails could not be avoided. She took six torpedoes, and her speed dropped to a crawl as her crew struggled to keep her afloat. In response to the attack, the Bearn launched her own strike group made up of twenty-four LN 401 torpedo bombers. These aging aircraft were not very agile, but did carry a punch that had to be respected. Following the British aircraft south, the LN's were intercepted by the small CAP of Skua's from the Furious. Losing only one of their number, they bore in on the battleship Barham. A wall of flak rose to greet them, and only two torpedoes managed to hit the Barham before all of the attacking planes were downed.

By now the two fleets were in gun range, and the big ships began to trade salvos. The aging French battlewagon Provence opened fire on the
British destroyers out front, dealing one a small blow. The Andrea Doria joined in with her much more accurate fire control, destroying one
British escort, and hulling another. The battleship Resolution targeted the Provence in response, sinking her in a single flurry of shells that lifted the entire ship out of the water. The Barham joined in as well, finishing off the crippled Andrea Doria with a wall of fire that broke the proud ship's back. A veteran of the First World War, the Doria sank to a watery grave at 10:38 in the morning.

With both of their battleships sunk, the Axis fleet fell apart. The battlecruiser Strasbourg moved in with several destroyers and cruisers to protect the transports and the Bearn, but the rest of the flotilla fled in the direction of the Italian base at Rhodes. Four Italian
destroyers were picked off by superb British gunnery, as the Royal Navy ships ignored the damage the Strasbourg and her friends dealt out. Finally, after a round hit the battleship Malaya, the British seaman turned their attention to the French. Downing several destroyers on the side, the British gunners dealt severe blows to the Strasbourg, slowly knocking her guns out of action. The battlecruiser Renown provided the killing blow, and the Strasbourg turtled quickly, trapping much of her crew below decks.

By now, both sides were in disarray, and easy pickings for the accompanying submarines that had been following each force. The British subs
busied themselves with sinking troop ships and French destroyers, while the Italian subs struck a slight blow to the Barham and heavily damaged a light cruiser.

Desparate to buy time, the Bearn had rearmed her CAP with torpedoes, and sent them to attack the scattered UK fleet. A single successful hit scathed another light cruiser, and all of the attacking planes were lost. The Formidable's remaining planes targeted several individual transports around the same time, sinking most of them. An almost anti-climatic arrival of the Italian 60th bomber squadron resulted in little damage to the British ships, and the loss of twenty-seven of the thirty-two Italian SM 81 bombers.

When night fell, the count stood very much in favor of the Allies. Two battleships, the battlecruiser Strasbourg, and seven destroyers lost
for the Axis, plus transports carrying nearly half an infantry division. Several more ships were damaged, some severely. The Royal Navy had
lost only four destroyers, and much of the non-fatal damage had been restricted to the larger ships, which were more able to bear the load. The Barham and Malaya would retire to Alexandria during the night, leaving a still formidable fleet to patrol the region in search of further targets. Much has been made of this decision to retire the two damaged big ships, and some historians have argued that their presence two days later would have resulted in the Commonwealth retaining possession of Cyprus.

March 20th brought no further conflict as the Axis fleet regrouped near Rhodes. In constant communication with the Comando Supremo, the fleet commander made the decision to wait on the Hummus Again flotilla before trying once more to reach Cyprus. The Hummus group would arrive the next morning, and the comibined fleets would set sail for Cyprus soon after.

The British fleet protecting Cyprus, led by the battleship Resolution, chose to remain east of Cyprus, and waited to attack until the invasion fleet was sighted by lookouts on Cyprus. A squadron of Skua's from the Formidable started the day's fighting with a strike on the enemy's escort ring. All twelve planes were shot down in short order. Outnumbered thanks to the new arrivals, the Royal Navy ships nonetheless pressed the attack.

The Resolution and the Renown led the UK ships into a furious melee, attempting to get at the enemy transports. The Axis forces suffered
several heavy blows, but held. The heavy cruisers Fiume and Goriza were out front for the Italians, and suffered because of it. Lacking destroyer support, the British heavy ships were open to striking attacks, and when the Resolution took three torpedoes from a destroyer, the decision was finally made to withdraw. When the smoke cleared, the Italians had lost another five destroyers, and only sunk one British light cruiser.

But, they had held the enemy away from the transports. As the troops began to make their descent down the ropes to the waiting assault boats, the decision was made to abandon the Fiume. Planes full of Italian paratroops passed overhead, and were greeted by the site of the Fiume exploding as the fire reached her magazines.

The invasion of Cyprus was not what either side had expected. As the Italian paras wafted down outside the main cities and the two airstrips
on the island, the French troops from the 10th Army went in near Morphu. Expecting heavy resistance, the Axis forces were rather agressive in their use of prepatory fire. Several friendly fire incidents were to occur throughout the day as communication difficulties and nervous
trigger fingers were the rule of thumb. Unbeknownst to the enemy, the UK had chosen to withdraw their entire garrison from the island and onto ships waiting at the port of Limassol on the eastern shore. The garrison headed south to Alexandria as the civilian leaders of Cyprus attempted to convince the Axis forces to cease all firing. In retrospect, this was probably the wisest move the UK commanders could have made, as they were badly outnumbered, and the small strategic importance of Cyprus was not worth the sacrifice of the garrison.

Ironically, Cyprus would not be declared secure for two more days as the Axis troops stumbled about the island on foot still looking for
resistance. The French troops were the source of most of the confusion, as many units still had not taken ownership of their heavy weapons or vehicles scattered on transports throughout the fleet, and more than one officer of high rank would be sacked over this embarassment.

The Hummus Again forces would depart on the 24th, and began offloading their own troops at various Syrian ports on the 26th. They were
greeted with many of the same problems as the Cyprus assault troops, and wouldn't be capable of carrying out any real offensive movements of a large scale until after the 1st of April.

There was still one chapter yet to be written in the book of March, 1940. Task Force 9, now devoid of any slow merchantmen, had orders to
make the run the journey back to the Home Islands by way of Gibraltar.

The flotilla passed Malta on the 26th, and entered the Straits of Sicily on the 27th. The forces in position for Operation Trafalgar were still on the alert, but most units were preparing to change target priorities in the next few days. the Royal Navy ships were sighted. An Italian sub made the report, but by now the UK fleet was nearly through the danger area, and running full out.

Escorted by French D.520 fighters, three bomber wings and a Stuka Geschwader were scrambled to intercept before the ships could escape.
Guarded by the few Skua's still left on the Formidable, Task Force 9 was bereft of most escorts, and ill-prepared to defend against an air attack except through sheer speed. No ships would escape unscathed, as both the Resolution and Renown took heavy hits. The naval airmen did their best to intercept what planes they could, but were simply overwhelmed by sheer numbers and the French escorts. Just before they had to turn back at extreme range, a flight of Stukas managed to cripple the British heavy cruiser Exeter. The rudderless ship continued to put up a heavy wall of fire, and drew much attention from the enemy planes for her troubles. SM 79 bombers from the 42nd Bomber Wing finally put the Exter down, and she sunk with all hands, the last naval casualty of a very bloody month.

Which side benefitted more from the month of March, 1940 is still of much debate. Both sides accomplished some of their goals, but not all.
The Royal Navy had only sunk one Italian battleship, but had managed to cripple the French fleet. The Axis forces had taken Cyprus, and had
damaged most of the British capital ships so much that drydock time would be required for nearly all of them. Many minor skirmishes along the supply lines were not covered in this article, but they too had an effect on the balance of power.

The butcher's bill for the month as whole was horrific. When fighting along the supply lines is included, the losses are as follows:
The British lost 93 planes of various design, 9 destroyers, 3 cruisers, and a single submarine. In addition, they had more than 20 ships
heavily damaged, including several battleships.

The Axis lost nearly 190 plans, 4 cruisers, 2 battleships, 1 battlecruiser, 5 subs, several fully loaded troop ships, and an amazing 19
destroyers. They had around 10 ships heavily damaged as well.

Strategists at the time quickly realized that the horrific losses to the Axis escort ships would lead to a severe weakening of their convoy
defenses. However, the Royal Navy was not at full strength, and the Commonwealth now had a new front to draw its attention as well.

We all know how things turned out, and what actions, correct or incorrect were taken after these key days, but at the time, the fate of the
Mediterranean theatre still hung in the balance, and the world watched with baited breath to read the headlines from the days that would follow.

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