*LIVESTREAM Sunday 18 August, **20:00** PM CET* Next week, we will air our 52nd weekly episode of our World War Two series, marking exactly one year since the war broke out and we started covering it. We would love to reflect on the past year together with you all, as well as look at what lies ahead of us. We will of course also be answering many of your questions. Make sure to tune in here on TH-cam at 20:00 CET (GMT+1) next Sunday 18 August to chat with Indy, Spartacus, Astrid and the rest of the TimeGhost team! Cheers, Joram
253 British Casualties vs. 2,000 Italian casualties. Sounds more like it was Italy who got kicked in the nethers trying to take that dry little piece of real estate. Also, love Wavell's response to Churchill. 11 words long, though he might as well have said just one word: Gallipoli.
Chruchill: "General, why didn't more men die in Somaliland?" General Archie: "You might be famous for disastors like Gallipoli, I'm not." *Churchill burned*
I think the burn he gave about the butchers bill might have cost him his career though, over the next few months to a year, Churchill cripples Wavell then sacks him for not being able to lead 5 fronts at once without any support or equipment.... Kind of sad really.
Why didn't the British put more effort in keeping the Thirteen Colonies, grant the colonists representation or maybe send reinforcements? It was their most valuable colony.
@@yourstruly4817 Well Distance had a lot to do with it and well they were fighting elsewhere at the time as well. Bottom line they were Spread thin as they were in the Summer of 1940, Throw in the French Navy and it became a losing thing. Washington didn't have to win a battle all he had to do was to not lose the Army, Time was on his side. It took two to three months to sail from England to the Colonies and well while they had ships the Royal Navy was also stretched thin. From a logistics standpoint, England was on a losing footing from the start. Even as under-equipped as Washingtons Army was. Washington's supply lines were a lot shorter. What is interesting to me is not that the British would lose but they would go on and win everywhere else. This war was just one of many that was kicked off by the French and Indian War and would end with Napoleons Defeat at Waterloo in 1814 and for the next 100 years, it would be pretty much Pax Britiania. Well, the British Aristocracy was as now a pretty smug bunch and got it handed to them. The Hard deals made in 1940 had more than a little to do with it, and well in 2019 with Brexit, Hard deals are being made and not to Britians advantage either. Those 50 old destroyers cost them a lot. Gee's The United States is going to try again to buy Greenland, this is a strategic move, to keep the Chicoms out. President Trump just might pull it off too.
@@yourstruly4817 it wasn't actually that profitable, to the point where trade with an independent US made up for the losses. Evident by how it went on to conquer/own 1/4 of the globe.
@@bkjeong4302 Oh they had the idea alright, just nothing completed. Graf Zeppelin was laid down end of '36, floated end of '38 but never completed/operational
@@bkjeong4302 Ash shoot... Sorry about that, was partially distracted... Yeah, AFAIK the Italians didn't start on two carrier conversions until '41 and '42
Elli being sunk by the Italians was the first major sign of a conflict coming to Greek shores. The torpedoed ship was almost empty because the crew was at church because of the holiday. I know that because my grand uncle was a crewmember on the ship and survived. Nowadays the Italians and Greeks are best friends which we are both proud of, but what was there to come, would be one of the most underrated yet most heroic part of world war 2 (at least in my opinion). I am looking forward for the episodes from October on! Keep it up guys. Much love!
During the 2004 Olympic Games at Athens, I went on holiday in Greece. Walked a fair bit of Athens with my brother and my father. In a small road, close to the Pireo Port, we found this souvenir shop. Its owner had heard us speaking Italian and approached us, asking if we were, in fact, Italians. Turns out, he was the oldest son of one of our soldiers sent by the Regime to conquer Greece and garrison it. He married a Greek woman and settled down there in Athens, deciding to remain there after the Surrender and the call back to Italy of all Italian Forces scattered around the Mediterranean. In the shop, hanging on a little coat hanger, there was an Alpini cap. His father was one of the "Soldato Bruno"/Soldier Bruno. Soldier Bruno, if Indy is interested, it's a today-waning nickname we had, here in Italy, to generalise the many thousands of soldiers, frequently Alpini (Mountain Men, commonly from the North-East) missing and/o presumed dead in the various theatres of action. There were Soldiers Bruno in Greece, there were Soldiers Bruno in Albania and Yugoslavia, a veritable lot even settled down in Soviet Russia, too tired to take the long walk to return to Italy after the Regime had thrown them out there with inadequate equipment and logistical lines. As you said, we Italians and the Greeks are friendly to each other. We share centuries of common history, a tight bloodline and we are similar in many ways. The invasion was a shame; once again, the war pitted brothers against brothers and as the Soldier Bruno shows, many decided that they were not going to head back home.
@@Dany94256late reply, but: settling in the land you were sent to invade is basically the ultimate realization of "italians switching sides"-ism lol. (I'm italian, i'm allowed to make fun of ourselves)
I wonder if Wavell was tempted to write something like "*cough* Gallipoli..." in that telegram to Churchill. May I also congratulate you on acknowledging the existence of Luxembourg ;)
@@SuperLusername OMG your so stupid! Everyone knows that "Japan" and the "Congo" doesn't exist! They are merely fabrications made by the mighty empire of Tannu Tuva to distract you from their nuclear war with their centuries long rivals. Denmark.
Actually invasion of British Somaliland did not provide any gain for Italians. Italian Navy had little presence on Red Sea to exploit the developing situation except a squadron of four destroyers and six submarines which were hunted down and sunk one by one by Royal Navy and RAF till first months of 1941. Since Suez Channel was blocked no new Italian land or naval reinforcements were incoming either. And all British lost was an unhealthy shore on East Africa which Italian garrisons couldn't even hold for six months. Wavell is absolutely correct : "A big butchers bill is not evidence of good tactics" Churchill was pissed though because of image and PR issues about losing a colony.
It was not simply PR. At this point of the war Britain had had a lot of bad news in a row and there was a legitimate concern how much more of this bad news the british public could take before morale would break. So while losing Somaliland was effectively not important the symbolism involved could have had outsized consequences.
@@gildor8866 Playing up the weaknesses and ineptitude of the Italians later was a psychological warfare move to counter this. Before long it was common to refer to the Axis leaders as "Hit and Muss".
@Britannic hayyomatt Italians will try to march Egypt from Libya in a few weeks. They will just stop in front of first British defensive position in front of Mersa Matruh though. And invading British Somaliland , a a pocket on coastal strip of Red Sea and invading Sudan a vast province with an army cut off from Italian mainland are two vastly different things. Actually instead of trying to expand into Somaliland Italians should just evacuate entire East Africa and concentrate defences on Libya since all Italian garrisons Ethiophia and Eritea were all cut off at this point due to closure of Suez Channel. But of course we are talking about Mussolini here , not most rational man at all.
@Britannic hayyomatt Like you said war is not a HOI game. It is one thing to have a large army but another thing to have constant logistical , supply reinforcement system to sustain operaations. Italians had almost 300.000 men at arms (half of them were native troops with dubious quality or loyalty) in East Africa but without a proper sea or land link to mainland Italy , they were virtually POWs (largest POW camp thst fed itself barely) in their own territory
3:04 I'm fairly confident that won't likely be the last, or the most infamous loss yet of the Empire's colonies. At this stage, I wouldn't be too surprised if there were more serious losses of the colonies to come. Only time will tell... Also at 8:35, it seems like the Elli sinking incident will be a preview or foreshadowing of the heightened tensions in the Balkans between Greece and Italy in the coming months. And finally, at 8:51, "the third Benelux country" has finally been revealed as Luxembourg by Indy. He finally said it!!! Congrats!!!
@@morgan3688 Vietnam and Afghanistan's armies were beaten in the battlefield and relied on guerrilla tactics and patience in order to make the invaders leaving their countries. Finland lost and had to give several regions to Soviets. (thought they managed to keep their independence).
"[...] in modern wars numbers always win at the end..." Yes and no. Can numbers alone win the war for you? Obviously, just look at the Red Army. Are they always enough? Not necessarily - see Paul van Riper and the Millennium Challenge 2002. Now, in that scenario, if the US started pulling in their reserves in a steady stream, they probably would win - but I think it's more thanks to the economy, not numbers alone. Large army can be chipped down, bit by bit, until it's not so large anymore, and the playing field has been leveled. But a country with strong economy which can supply a steady income of troops and equipment in large quantities - now THAT might take many, many years to take down, unless a crucial mistake is made. So I think it's more of a "who can supply the most troops and equipment in a shortest time span" question, not "who has the largest army at the beginning of the conflict".
Hey, Indy, you leave us with such a cliffhanger here? 😀 I'll bite my nails until it turns out what will be the consequence of Göring's arrogance. I hope none will spoiler it... 😱 (Because launching attacks again and again and keeping telling 'they're at the breaking point, they'll surely break now...ok, maybe not today, but tomorrow surely...' worked so well in the Great War too on both sides. 😐)
I really find it interesting how even a small nation like Luxembourg keeps its resistance. Props to them, it must have been quite difficult considering the position in which they were in.
I must say, i really love this channel!! The attention to details, you feel that the script isn’t something that’s just quickly written just to make content, each episode you feel all the work that Indy and the team put into this! This channel deserves so many more subscribers! Keep up the good work! :)
Thank you so much! A lot of time and energy goes into our channel, indeed, to make this series the best that it could be. We're happy to hear that the quality of the content reflects that! We will do our very best!
The morale of the story is that just becuase you are a good pilot and you leaded a squadron. It does not mean you are able to comand ALL squadrons of the airforce.Specialy in a mission as hard as preparing the ground for something that as not been done since 1066. Not to mention your mood while doing it. Nice ace awful leader (of the Luftwaffe) Thank you for this brilinat Serie :)
Battle of Britain - the Luftwaffe did not target RAF radar sites initially as they thought they were ineffective. That's because when the Luftwaffe ran electronic intelligence gathering missions using their surviving airship, the Graf Zeppelin, before the war to evaluate the RAF's radar effort they assumed the Britiah would use the same frequency ranges as their own Freya and Wurzburg sets, and found no evidence of any RAF radar activity - the British made a similar assumption when they first tried to detect German radars. In fact the British sets were on a much lower frequency than the German ones so both failed initially to recognise the true state of the opposing radar technology at heavy cost to RAF daylight raids against Germany.
#51 Aug 17, 1940.... imagine how much has happened and FDR is still struggling to get Congress and public opinion on board to Hitler’s threat. Somaliland’s lost was not insignificant, the Red Sea aspect is an excellent perspective. • good luck with-year number 2 of your wonderful production. I truly look forward to each week.
If you watch Battle of Britain movie (1969) it explains "Black Thursday" fiasco of Luftwaffe quite well. Luftwaffe High Command assumed that RAF would be so busy defending southern and south west sectors of Britain , they would be unable to shift to north quickly once Luftflotte 5 bombers and fighter groups enter the fray flying all the way from Denmark and Norway over North Sea. However RAF fighter commander in chief Dowding was keeping huge reserves in Midlands , Northern England and Scotland and resting fighter pilots in these quiter sectors by rotating them of Luftwaffe single engine fighters range. By reading ULTRA decrypts RAF recognised Luftlottte 5 would be attacking on 15th August and by tracking aproaching Luftwafe air groups with radar on 15th August , they put up nine squadrons to intercept them. Result was a massacre for Luftwaffe. Luftflotte 5 lost 31 aircraft out of 125 in total and was disbanded after 15th August. RAF did not suffer any loss in north that day (though suffered heavy fighter losses further south against Luftflotte 2 and Luftflotte 3)
They also thought that they could survive without fighter cover because they assumed that most of the "reserve" squadrons they expected to meet in the north would be flying Gloster Gladiators. The Hurricanes came as quite a shock.
I am British and I like to think I have a good understanding of the events of WW2. I have never heard of General Archie until today. Thanks for the intro! I will have to do more reading as he sounds like a sensible chap. From the brief time spent on the battle in this episode it does sound like his conclusion was correct and Churchill's was not!
My great uncle is on the front line of this battle as an RAF mechanic. He has been telling us of how the pilots have been coming back in the Spit's and Hurri's all shot up and he will have to take canvas and glue to patch them up. He admires them as when they get down from the planes they will go back to the huts and have tea and their hands are as steady as ever.
The canvas hull lightened the planes although I believe later versions were all-metal. It was possible for a careless mechanic to accidentally put a finger through the canvas.
I like the new lighting! It is more dramatic, tense, and authentic feeling to what I imagine it would have looked like in an office or bunker in 1940. I hope you keep the new set up!
"It is doubtful whether there is any point in continuing attacks on radar sites, in view of the fact that not one of those attacked so far has been put out of action." Reichsmarschall Hermann Wilhelm Göering, 15 August 1940
They didn't have the planes, tactics or ability to knock out GBs air defense infrastructure. It made sense instead to get the Brits to fight big air battles. Except Park, a true genius, knew it was best to stay in the game and interfere with bombing raids. Damaged bombers were out of the battle, killed or injured crew,, it wasn't just about kills. Park was one of the greatest 'generals' ever. The only man in history who could have destroyed western civilization, in an hour.
Very poor analysis of the BoB - the Nazis had a strategy that made sense, but were I against the worlds first and only fully integrated air defense system. Easily a force multiplier of 3 simply by looking at how the air defence system, turned the defender into the attacker. Luftwaffe pilots referred to Spits (they were "never" shot down by Hurricanes due to the shame) as "bandits" like "ref Indians" in cowboy movies attacking wagon trains. Except the "red Indians" had machine guns.....
Actually, Italy was the only Axis member to succeed in conquering a big part of British territory. (Germany just captured Guernsey and Jersey little islands without any battle)
Love indy. Such a great guy, always apolitical and with strong facts. The difference between his videos and other yt "history" channels videos is huge.
Yay! This is my first “live” episode, I had to watch the other 50 episodes in a week (or chose to lol). I thought you were starting this year, not had already started in 2018. That timeghost stuff caused some confusion for me, I’m sure I’m not the only one.
I don't think Somaliland was a futile colony, because it is the western beach of Aden Strict, the main entrance of Red Sea, the most important way for oil from Middle East and the only way to take troops from Australia and India to Egypt... I think you are like the boy who someone steals the candy and then he says "I don't like candies!"
I was told this story by family members as a child and had forgotten all about it until, on Tuesday this week, in a book I'm currently reading called The Silent Service by Ion l Idriess, I came across a chapter in which Hugh Jones in his own words recounts The Battle of Tugargan Gap . It describes how he and two others were chosen from 251 other volunteers aboard the HMAS Hobart, to take a 3" Hotchkiss gun with makeshift mounts ashore to help bolster the retreating British rear guard against the advancing Italian forces while the British were evacuating British Somaliland. They held them off for a few days until they were overwhelmed by the Italians and then became the first Aussies to be taken as POWs in WW2. Hugh Jones was my Uncle.
Later a combined British-Free French force invaded Syria, held by Vichy-supporting officers. I saw a photo of a dead Senegalese infantryman killed in the service of Vichy. His corpse was bloated up badly in the heat. Some of the Free French troops were also Senegalese. Were African casualties even counted?
Most of the Somali soldiers deserted and the British officers allowed it so no African casualties of great Britain wasn't as much as the Italian casualties
Man, I wish I had the opportunity to work with you guys. Indy, sir, you are living the dream. From on history obsessed Texan to another, you are living the dream. Thank you for all your awesome work.
Hi Indy and Team! Will you make a special about the Second Vienna Award? I'm expecting it to be in regular episodes (which isn't that far away now) but I would like to see a special about it. Thank you for your work and keep it up!
Loving the energy at the end! I've learned a lot about the battle of britain in the last 2 decades (I live in Manchester and have travelled all over the UK), but somehow each week I learn 5 new things and I cannot thank you enough for so brilliantly mixing history and entertainment. I wish Indy was the host of every show I watch!
Regarding the lack of continued attacks on British radar installations, I read that Goring was shown the inside of a radar control console. He remarked that it was just a collection of wires and was not impressed. Apparently, his arrogance extended to the value of destroying enemy radar stations. That's your air strategy on heroin, I suppose.
At this point, they had built 150 radar stations all along the east coast of Great Britain. They have 90 physicists working on radar and "in July 1940, Professor J. T. Randall (later Sir John Randall) of Birmingham produced a cavity magnetron which was the first high-power generator of centimetric waves anywhere in the world." They mounted the first one on to night fighters and was used to direct fighters on to bombers directly. Germany probably thought that because they were able to blow up 100 British planes on the ground that radar was pretty worthless. The Brits still didn't have enough experienced operators of their radar system and actually had some of their physicist at radar sites. But that radar development won the war against German U-boats and greatly improved radar on ships for the allies.
When you mentioned the Black Watch I thought "how did Canadians get there so fast?". I now realize there are at least 2 Black Watch regiments in Commonwelath countries, the original one being Scottish. Either way I dont think you want to meet either the Canadians or Scotts opposite you in a battle.
I may be wrong, but I think the numbers regarding Italian/British troops and casualties are wrong. Italy mustered 35.000 troops (only 5.000 of them were actually Italians). British forces were as big as 11.000 counting King's African Rifles and irregulars. About the casualties, about 500 Italians and Ascari + 1.000 irregulars died vs about 50 British troops + 2.000 Somali. So the Italians did outnumbered the British forces but just 3:1 and not 15:1 as you stated, also the defending forces did suffer more casualties than the Italians and not vice-versa. With huge respect for the work you've been doing. Source: La Conquista dell'Impero by Andrea Molinari
The Luftwaffe never recovered from the Battle of France and the low countries, mainly suffering at the hands of french pilots. It started the Battle of Britain at 50 % strength, 30% efficiency. It might have helped a bit. And therefore, be a bit relevant.
@Rohan Krishna I'm not. As I recall the LW looses in France were btw 1200 and 1500 planes. That in just 5 weeks. The BOB costed the germans 1600 planes.
8:20 worth noting the us still has access to some land if they want a base there for another 20 years or so, if they're taking the 99-years thing literally
@@lapisleafuli1817 However I hope for a 'special' episode about Switzerland: Armed neutrality, General Henri Guisan, the Reduit, Operation Tannenbaum, agreements made with the Axis, the question of Jewish refugees, the role of banking, the Swiss secret service, violation of Swiss airspace, and bombings of Swiss towns...
Hi. Huge fan, I've been watching since the beginning of the great war series. I just wanted to say that my grandfather (Mikey) was one of the American military brought over to the United kingdom to help install the radar systems along the coast just before the battle of Britain. It's those radar personnel that helped contribute significantly to change the war. My would things be different if that single battle was lost.
Around this time the "Battle of the Beams" was taking place en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Beams , very interesting for those with a technical bent. It's amazing that the frequency the Germans were using just happened to be the same one BBC1 had transmitted on before they took it off the air.
This time last year I was at an Iron Maiden concert in London. They opened with Aces High, and after the song did their intro. After introducing themselves (Like that was fucking required) they go on to say that tonight is the 78th anniversary of Eagle Day, the day, that the Nazi Luftwaffe launched their greatest operation... to overwhelm the British Royal Air Force on the ground... And destroy it utterly... Paving the way... For an invasion... The international audience grows silent, wrapped by his slowing words and excellent delivery and the memory of how close the world came to fascist victory. The silence lasted for a full 10 seconds before the drums beat up and Bruce Dickinson declares in a loud clear voice: "WELL THAT DIDN'T FUCKING WORK DID IT!?" I've never felt tension snap so completely lol
Lol this is the most coveted program of anything I watch right now. To hell with youtube. This series should eventually be on netflix. I guess the History channel is just a name, or they would want to air this. Nothing I have ever seen gets into the detail of WW2 in such a way that I can really grasp it like seeing it in these weekly segments. Fantastic work!
Thank you so much! TH-cam is still the best medium for our short, weekly episodes, along with some specials, but there's always room to expand to other mediums in the future!
Albania was heavily dependent on Italy economically and its small armed forces were dominated by Italian advisers. Only scattered resistance to the Italian invasion was mounted.
I really hope that you will shed more light on the Destroyers-for-Bases deal, since it involved political powerplay in the US, backchanneling and lots of correspondence between Churchill and Roosevelt.
Maybe I am biased, since I wrote my masters thesis in History on the topic of American Neutrality and the political and national discurse in the United States, but this deserves more than just two or three sentences. 🤔
My grandfather worked in the luxemburgian administration. He received "My Kampf" like every other government workers. He refused to germanize the luxemburgian names that sounded "too french" and was dismissed. After that, he refused to fight for the Wehrmacht (even after they tried to force him to wear the uniform) and was therefore sent to the camps. When he came back after the war, he weighted mere 40 kgs. He refused the pension for the deportees that the government created because he thought that it was his duty until the end to refuse the occupation. His name was Melchior Schumacher, his three brothers, my three granduncles died on the eastern front as "malgré-nous" (forced-draft soldiers of the german army, we thought that perhaps they tried to desert but were killed by the soviet soldiers unable to make difference between german speakers). Six months ago, we found the "Mein Kampf" he received. He had read it, and annotated it with many comments like "bullshit", "how does he know it?", "stupid". There were hundred of thousand of resistants to the totalitarian horror: It inspired me and I hope that never again in Europa, people will have to lose everything just to be able to stand for their ideas. It was a horrible war.
@@runi5413 will we do not know a confirmed kill count at this battle for italy however we will see why most likely influenced it maybe has something to do with greece but that's just a random guess
@@lulu-oo9cc & @Fraz Yes, you both have a good point there. But, regardless of the numbers, the fact that Churchill criticized Wavell for not "fighting harder" in light of their own low casualty figures does carry with it a lot of contempt for the Italian forces. The Brits were outnumbered by a whopping 15:1 after all, I think that's a number we can probably trust is somewhat accurate.
It's been years but it doesn't matter. Kudos for mentioning Luxembourg here and the war. Less so now, but people who grew up there in the 90s can definitely attest to meeting old people that were around during that time. The Germanisation and changes of names were common: The people called "René" having to change it to Renatus. The many French customs like wearing a beret being suddenly banned, as "Französische Entartung" (French Degeneracy). There was a famous, or at least famous in Luxembourg, documentary that tells the story of the occupation called "Heim ins Reich". Anyone interested in this part of WW2 should consider looking it up.
Hello, Congratulations again for this excellent summary for the conquest of British Somalia and talk about these forgotten fights of East Africa. Eventually, if some are interested, an excerpt from my research on the conquest of British Somaliland (mainly oriented towards air operations). Still sorry for my bad English and my translation. Sorry for the very long post, I hope it will interest some people. Introduction : In late July, the Italians successfully completed the first stage of the defensive plan to ensure the safeguarding of the Empire. Indeed, the capture of the main forts at the borders makes it possible to ensure the control of the rare roads and water points, the possession of which is of strategic importance in a particularly arid and hostile environment. With security assured, the Italian command is now able to think of other actions, while being able to proceed with troop movements. A number of writers have expressed surprise at the Italian decision not to continue the offensive in Sudan, pointing to the deadly danger of a second front to Egypt and the British. These authors explain this failure by the quality of the intelligence services that would have made believe the presence of large troops at the borders. We can sweep this hypothesis. Admittedly, British Somaliland is a territory of limited interest, but which allows Italy to reduce its lines of defense. Thus, the capture of this territory finds all its logic in the Italian defensive strategy. Moreover, it is clear thatan offensive towards Sudan is more fantasy than reality. On the one hand, the Italian forces are adapted to two missions: the colonial police and the defense of the borders. They are not, under any circumstances, equipped with the necessary equipment for an operation requiring extreme mobility. On the other hand, such an operation would have been a nightmare in terms of logistics. At the end of July, the Regia Aeronautica carries out several unit transfers neart the front for supporting troops. The RAF, for lack of aerodrome and protection is not able to deploy its aircrafts except some Gladiator. The Italians are able to field 25 000 men under the command of Generale Guglielmo Nasi, but only one road allows access to Berbera Harbor favoring the defender's position. Hence a relatively cautious attitude during the attack, the Italian command betting that the British will not be able to block them permanently. It is true that, on the other hand, Somaliland has never been considered as a priority in the face of a confrontation against Italy, because it is difficult to defend. Djibouti was considered the starting point of any offensive towards Italian East Africa. But, the armistice requires reconsideration, and reinforcements are sent in disaster to help the 600 men of Somaliland Camel Corps under the orders of Lieutnant-Colonel Arthur R. Chater. Finally, the latter has about 4,000 men composed of battalions from various regiments, beings without artillery and any support vehicle. The now Brigadier (promoted to give better impression) decides, thus, to anchor his troop on the two main positions along the access road to Berbera: Hargeisa and Tug Argan. In case of failure to hold these points, evacuation of troops is envisaged. On the aerial plan, the Regia Aeronautica is able to align 25 Fiat CR.42 and Fiat CR.32 (410 Squadriglia CT, 411 Squadriglia CT and 413 Squadriglia CT), 9 IMAM Ro 37bis (110 Squadriglia RT) , 11 Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 (44bis Gruppo BT), 19 Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 (4bis Gruppo BT and 29bis Gruppo BT) and 12 Caproni Ca.133 (27bis Gruppo BT). The RAF for lack of aerodrome and protection is not able to deploy aircraft except detachment of some Gloster Gladiator of No.94 (RAF) Squadron, other units based in Sudan or Aden do not can intervene in immediate support of ground troops. 3 August 1940 The Italian troops take action on this day, when the first elements cross the border. Some firefighting takes place between the advance guards and patrols of Somaliland Camel Corps in charge of monitoring the enemy advance. For its part, the Regia Aeronautica decided to conduct a first raid against Berbera with three Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 of 4 bis Gruppo BT. However, when arriving over the target, No.94 (RAF) Squadron detachment came into action with Flight Lieutenant Reid (N5778) and Sergeant Hendy (L9047) and managed to damage one of the bombers. The latter, piloted by Capitano Parmeggiani return to Jijiga, but heavily damaged and with a member of the crew killed. 4 August 1940 On the ground, the main Italian column, under the orders of General Carlo De Simone managed to reach the first defensive position on the road to Berbera: Hargeisa. Violent clashes erupt with the Somaliland Camel Corps and elements of the Northern Rhodesia Regiment, however, due to lack of artillery and air support, British forces begin to rally Tug Argan's position. To this end, the RAF requests No.94 (RAF) Squadron to detach two Gladiator Gladiators (with Flight Lieutenant Reid and Gordon S.K. Haywood, as well as Sergeant William H. Dunwoodie) on Laferug's forward airfiled in an attempt to provide air cover to the troops. However, after hesitation, decision is made to risk no bomber deemed too valuable, while the state of the airfield does not allow to accommodate an offensive force. 5 August 1940 In British Somaliland, the column under General Sisto Bertoldi is heading towards the eastern border without encountering any opposition. The border with Djibouti is quickly under control and the Italian troops enter the port of Zeila, before starting to move on the road towards Berbera. In the center, the troops of General Carlo De Simone finish cleaning the position of Hargeisa thanks to the support of some light armored vehicles. Nevertheless, the Italian command decides to take a short break in order to reinforce and recognize British positions. As a result, Regia Aeronautica will launch a series of reconnaissance flights using IMAM Ro37bis from 110 Squadriglia RT, while Caproni Ca.133, Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 and Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 are sent to harass defensive positions, as well as the ports of Berbera and Aden in an attempt to disrupt communications. The Gloster Gladiators (including the N5778), based in Berbera and Laferug, take off several times to intercept the Italian bombers, but without success. After the wait-and-see attitude of the early days, tRAF decided to intervene with Bristol Blenheim Mk I of No.8 (RAF) Squadron based in Khormaksar (Aden). For this purpose, nine aircraft take off to shell enemy concentrations near Hargeisa between 06h25 am and 18h20. However, during the last mission, the Bristol Blenheim L8375 (Pilot Officer Roy K. Felstead, Sergeant Aubrey D. Wright and Pilot Officer Tom M. Mitchell) is missing. He seems to have been shot down by the Sottotenente Vincenzo Forcheri (410a Squadriglia CT) who claims a Bristol Blenheim during an air cover west of Hargeisa. 6 August 1940 Bristol Blenheim of No.8 (RAF) Squadron continue to attack Italian vehicles on Hargeisa. They are joined by those of No.39 (RAF) Squadron. In all, six flights are carried out by both squadrons, but the attacks produce no results. In the early morning, around 09h30, Sottotenente Miroslav Komjanc (413 Squadriglia CT) claims an enemy bomber probably destroyed. This could be conected with the mission conducted between 08h10 and 10h40 by L8503 and L8506 of No.8 (RAF) Squadron which suffered a series of attacks by a Fiat CR.42. One of the aircraft is damaged on the left tank. The ORB does not specify the identity of the damaged aircraft, but it appears that if the L8503 leaves on mission the next day, the L8506 will have to wait until the 10 ... Nevertheless, the L4910, L8385 and L8543 of No.39 (RAF ) Squadron also reports that it fought with two Italian fighters between 11h25 am and 15h20, but the British bombers managed to escape. Anyway, the RAF aircraft, taking off far from the front and operating without an escort, can hardly have any impact on the battle unlike the Regia Aeronautica which is able to have many planes in the immediate vicinity. 7 August 1940 The day is relatively calm in British Somaliland, with each side seeking to strengthen these positions, while the RAF and Regia Aeronautica multiply recon flights and attacks on opposing positions. For example, No. 8 (RAF) Squadron sends two Bristol Blenheims on Hargeisa, while five other aircraft of No. 11 and No.39 (RAF) Squadron take off at 09h30 to bomb the airfield of Dire Dawa to try to disrupt the enemy air activity. Finally, in order to relieve the few Gladiator Gladiators, two Bristol Blenheim Mk IVF of No.203 (RAF) Squadron are sent on patrol over Berbera between 12h20 and 17h00 but no Italian aircraft is seen. Both crews are entitled to a little fright when, returning to Aden, they receive an intense reception by the DCA of the Royal Navy. On their side, after securing Hargeisa, the Italians decided to build an advanced terrain to accommodate some fighters, in the immediate vicinity of the area of operation. Next on my first reply ( the comment seems too long for youtube )
8 August 1940 While General Carlo De Simone orders to resume the offensive towards Tug Argan, Regia Aeronautica decides to strike a blow to gain air superiority over British Somaliland. Thus, two Fiat CR.32s (Capitano Corrado Ricci and Sergente Maggiore Giovanni Tellurio) of 410a Squadriglia CT and two Fiat CR.42 (Tenente Luciano Cacciavillani and Sottotenente Miroslav Komjanc) of 413a Squadriglia CT are sent from the advanced airfield of Hargeisa, on Berbera. Two Gloster Gladiators of No.94 (RAF) Squadron are on alert, when the Italians fall on them. One of the pilots tries to take off immediately (N5778) before its destruction by Capitano Corrado Ricci. The second (N5890) suffered the attacks of Sottotenente Miroslav Komjanc and Sergente Maggiore Giovanni Tellurio, reducing it to ashes, and eliminating the detachment based in Berbera. According to Capitano Corrado Ricci : "I was the first to take off, with Tellurio at my wing; soon after started Cacciavillani and Komjanc, but the first skipped on ground, and then stood with tail up: what could have happened to him? Komjanc joined us. I checked my compass with a pocket light to keep the course. After half an hour of flight, the light is coming, but we could not yet see Berbera; five minutes more: nothing again... I again checked the chart; the course is right, but I have no reference point on the ground because it is so flat; I know that the wind is strong, and its direction change as the sun rise, but I can't evaluate it. I continue a little bit on chance. At the end, I decide to turn 90-degrees left; after a few minutes, a sparkling ahead makes me happy: it's the sea! I start a light dive, and I increase it as we are approaching, so we find us to fly grazing to the yellowish sand: it's the only way to come unseen! I can see the town, it's small, whitish; there's a ship in the harbour. Here is the airfield: two dark aircraft, side by side, stand out. They are Gladiators. My wingmen close at me, and this bothers me; slowly, I gain speed and I put them away from me. We are skimming the ground and some small hills cover us to enemy's sight; just a little bit... Here we are! With a steep climb, I gain 500 m height, then I dive on the fighter at left; while I'm aiming a man leaves it and falls headlong... what a long-legged he is! I shoot: a strong wind disturbs my shoot, my rounds are on ground, but some hit the target. I pull hard, quite skimming the wing of the enemy aircraft; I hear behind my shoulders that Tellurio and Komjanc are firing too. The anti-aircraft weapons awake; bluish tracer shells, shrapnel explosions; the ships fires like a volcano, the machine-guns in their nest at the airfield's edge are shooting: the air is hot! A big turn: the other Gloster is burning, mine is not, but with a second burst, I get it burning too. We can go! I take a snapshot with my old camera that I bring with me at every flight: I have to prove the results of the action. We go away, with a grazing flight. A sand column rise just in front of me; here another and other around: they are the British grenades. I climb to 200 m altitude: black burst around us, some other sand gush here and there, then all is over." Hearing the news, RAF command decides to urgently call back to Aden the two Laferug-based aircraft. From now, the British can only rely on the Bristol Blenheim Mk IVF of No.203 (RAF) Squadron, the only fighters with the necessary autonomy. L9459 (Pilot Officer Kenneth B. Corbould) engages three Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 over the port of Berbera, claiming one destroyed, nevertheless, the latter managed to return damaged , on his base, and with a dead on board. In any case, this action does not prevent the Italians from multiplying their appearances and attacks over British Somaliland. 9 August 1940 In order to finish the job, two Fiat CR.32 from 410a Squadriglia CT (Tenente Elio Pesce and Ubaldo Buzzi) and a Fiat CR.42 from 413a Squadriglia CT (Sottotenente Miroslav Komjanc) take off from Hargeisa in the direction of Berbera. Arrived above at 06h00, Italian pilots can confirm that no more British aircraft are operating from the airfield. Otherwise, some vehicles are strafed, while a very strong DCA is always reported. Despite the loss of advanced airfield, the RAF manages to conduct seven flights over British Somaliland: four by No. 8 (RAF) Squadron, one by No. 11 (RAF) Squadron, and two by No. 203 (RAF) Squadron. 10 August 1940 In view of imminent fighting, the Italians continue to strengthen Regia Aeronautica closer to the front. For example, one Fiat CR.42 and two additional Fiat CR.32 are deployed in Hargeisa, while five Savoia-Marchetti SM.7s from 44bis Gruppo BT are joining Dire Dawa. At the same time, the RAF is not inactive as several aircrafts of No.8 (RAF) Squadron are sent to attack Italian troops in the immediate vicinity of Tug Argan. However, these operations are not easy. At the first, the three Bristol Blenheims are engaged by a Fiat CR.42 that claims a victory, however the L8433 can return damaged to Khormaksar. In the afternoon, three more aircraft take off under the command of Squadron Leader Dudley S. Radford to bomb the village of Dhubbato. Unfortunately, soon after, two of the three : L8503 (Flying Officer Aubrey G. Curtis, Sergeant Vernon HF Witt, Leading Aircraftman Harold J. McEleavy) and L8506 (Pilot Officer JG Albert Bisson, Sergeant Norman F. Wilson, Leading Aircraftman Donald JR Wilson ) collide, killing all crew members. In all, sixteen flights take place over British Somalia. 11 August 1940 According to an officer of the 1st Battalion Northern Rhodesian Regiment: "The road from Hargeisa to Berbera runs through a a mountain pass. This is the only way, by which, they [Italians] can move. We, Rhodesians, with four guns of the East African Light Artillery, are responsible for holding them. My company is on Knobbly Hill. Suddenly, they arrive, facing us... about 2,000 men. Our shots repel them quickly in disorder. We see an officer, wearing a black jacket and white boots on a white horse, trying to group them together. But, it is quickly eliminated by a burst of shells (...). " Indeed, General Carlo De Simone launches, at dawn, the assault against the position of Tug Argan to break any resistance and opens the road towards Berbera. Nevertheless, the British troops, now under the command of Major General Alfred R. Godwin-Austen, have an advantageous situation since the one and only road crosses a mountain pass flanked by several heights to block any advance. However, this potentially favorable situation is weak points: very small means of artillery and almost no air support for lack of a nearby aerodrome, in opposition to the Regia Aeronautica based in the immediate vicinity of the front. The Rhodesians are positioned on the five hills (Black Hill, Knobbly Hill, Mill Hill, Observation Hill and Castle Hill) bordering the entrance to the passage with the four unique guns available; elements of the Punjab Regiment are responsible for protecting the left flank by holding the Punjab Ridge; Finally, the 2nd Battalion Kings African Rifles must cover the rear on Block Hill and Jerato Hill. Regia Aeronautica actively supports the troops since at least six Caproni Ca.133 from 27bis Gruppo BT and three Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 are sent to Punjab Ridge at 08h00, where several shelling and strafing are carried out, despite the loss of one of the Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 hit by fire. Following these actions, considered a success, the Italian artillery opened fire in anticipation of the assault scheduled around noon against Punjab Ridge. Violent clashes take place throughout the afternoon and evening to capture the position, while the hills are preserved by the Rhodesians after several cycles of attacks / counter-attacks. At the same time, three Fiat CR.32 take off from Hargeisa towards Laferug where several vehicles and a fuel tank are claimed destroyed. They are followed, shortly thereafter, by a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 of the 44bis Gruppo BT which drops some bombs on the British HQ. With its limited means, the RAF is also trying to influence the fate of the battle and six Bristol Blenheim of No.8 (RAF) Squadron intervened against the Italian artillery near Observation Hill, but without success. Next on second reply.
12 August 1940 Following the partial failures of the day before, the Italians revive their assaults against the positions held by the Rhodesians. Again, the latter manage to hold the opponent, concede only the loss of Mill Hill. However, before leaving this height definitely, the soldiers are forced to sabotage the two guns deployed on the spot. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the two others on Knobbly Hill only have ... seven shells. As in the previous day, Regia Aeronautica actively supports the operations since at least six Caproni Ca.133, from 27bis Gruppo BT, are reported on Laferug. Unfortunately again the lack of available archives does not allow to know more. For its part, the RAF is still trying to influence events. Thus, at dawn, two Bristol Blenheim of No.11 and No.39 (RAF) Squadron take off at 05h00 to attack artillery positions. Above the objective, the crews are confronted with a strong concentration of shots coming from the ground, and three Fiat CR.42. Both aircraft are heavily damaged while trying to flee, one being forced to land on Berbera (L8387). Shortly thereafter, at 07h30, three more aircraft were sent by No.39 (RAF) Squadron. Here again, the British are intercepted by the Italian fighters. The Fiat CR.32 of Sottotenente Alberto Veronese (410 Squadriglia CT) immediately attacks the leader of the formation, but his attack is interrupted when Flight Sergeant Bertram J. Thomas, in command of the L8402, decides to intervene. Making a pass, face-to-face, he manages to damage and injure his opponent, but at the same time his Blenheim takes many shots killing his observer, Sergeant Geoffrey M. Hogan. He is himself badly wounded in the left shoulder, but nevertheless manages to return to Berbera. The Distinguished Flying Medal will be awarded shortly thereafter. The day was, however, not over as the Bristol Blenheim Mk IVF L9173 of No.203 (RAF) Squadron, in charge of providing Berbera's air cover, was damaged and its crew injured during an attempt to engagement of three Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 over the harboor. 13 August 1940 The Rhodesians continue to resist all day, however, the situation worsen in the night when the Italians begin to infiltrate from the southern flank and the Assa mountains. Thus, a column of the 2d Battalion Black Watch, in charge of supplying the advanced positions, is ambushed. To support this bypass attempt, several Caproni Ca.133 from 27bis Gruppo BT are bombarding Jerato Pass at regular intervals, while Fiat CR.32s are being sent strafing the Berbera aerodrome to prevent the recovery of two Bristol Blenheims damaged. In Aden, on the other hand, the Bristol Blenheims are at the limit of their uses, and the RAF can only send three No.8 (RAF) Squadron aircraft to bomb Jijiga airfield in order try to stop the action of the Regia Aeronautica, but without results. In a last desperate effort, No.223 (RAF) Squadron and his eleven Vickers Wellesley are ordered to join Aden from Sudan. Nevertheless, the length of the trip does not allow to hope for an entry into action before two to three days. 14 August 1940 If attacks against the various Rhodesian positions still fail, the situation begins to deteriorate very seriously for the British. The Italians continue, indeed, to infiltrate Tug Argan. At the same time, on the coast, the column of General Sisto Bertoldi managed to capture the port of Zeila, despite a bombing by the Royal Navy and to threaten Berbera from the west. Faced with this situation, Major General Alfred R. Godwin-Austen sends a telegram to General Henry M. Wilson informing him that in case of Tug Argan fall, the only alternative would be an evacuation saving about 70% of the force. Berbera is indefensible, while stating that he and his troops are ready to fight to the end if necessary. Unsurprisingly, the Regia Aeronautica is active above Tug Argan and on the coast where the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 of the 44bis Gruppo BT bomb British ships off Bulhar. The RAF, meanwhile, waiting for the arrival of the Vickers Wellesley to intervene in force. However, during the transfer, the squadron loses the Squadron Leader, J.C. Larking, when one of the engines of his aircraft catches fire, forcing him to a forced landing near Aden. If it is quickly recovered, after five hours of walking, this incident has the effect of delaying the entry into action of No.223 (RAF) Squadron, whose presence is however strongly needed. 15 August 1940 Following the telegram of the day before, General Henry M. Wilson decided to authorize the evacuation of British Somaliland from Berbera. The initial plan is to stay in Tug Argan as long as possible, before leaving the remaining civilians in the first place and the troops between three and four nights. Nevertheless, the situation changes radically, at the end of the afternoon, when after a new assault the defenses of Observation Hill crack leading the Rhodesians to evacuate the position in order to escaping from capture. From then, orders were given to evacuate Black Hill, Knobbly Hill and Castle Hill and retire to Berbera, while elements of the Black Watch and Kings African Riffles are responsible for delaying the Italian advance. Due to the early retirement movements, Regia Aeronutica operates, mainly, on the rear of Tug Argan by shelling vehicle concentrations in Laferug and Berbera with several Caproni Ca.133, Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 and Savoia-Marchetti SM. 81. The RAF receives the reinforcement of six Bristol Blenheim No.84 (RAF) Squadron. They take off on a mission near Berbera, during which a Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 is sighted and shot down. For its part, No.223 (RAF) Squadron comes into action, from Aden, when seven Vickers Wellesley are sent, between 06h15 and 12h20 on Dessie with two objectives: on the one hand to make a low passage above the city to impress the local population and demonstrate British power against the Italian colonizer, on the other hand in order to bomb the airfield. If the attack proves to be a failure due to a lack of visibility, one can wonder about the interest of a "propaganda operation" with probably negligible results at the very moment when the British forces are suffering from an absence of aircrafts over Tug Argan. Likewise, while No.8 (RAF) Squadron is very activity with no less than seven flights, again almost all is devoted to attacks on airfields in western Eritrea and northern Ethiopia without great results. No.11 and No.39 (RAF) Squadron, meanwhile, intervene mainly on the coast west of Berbera to support the Royal Navy which attempts to block the Italian advance between Darboruk and Bulhar with five sorties during which several Italian fighters are are observed. Next on the third reply.
16 August 1940 If the situation could seem close to the disaster, the evening before, the decision of General Carlo De Simone to suspend temporarily the advance allows the British to organize the evacuation. It is true that the confirmation of the evacuation by the Regia Aeronautica may have encouraged the Italians to limit unnecessary losses for a territory whose conquest is only a matter of days. In fact, Italian aircraft are mainly used above Berbera to disrupt the maritime evacuation. Therefore, the main events of the day take place in this sector. Thus, two Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 and a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 are damaged by the anti-aircraft defense over the harbor. The British decided to conduct an aerial bombardment of the Hargeisa airfield with five Vickers Wellesley of No.223 (RAF) Squadron and three Bristol Blenheim No.8 (RAF) Squadron. However, the weather is deteriorating rapidly, preventing the attack. The crews are diverted towards the secondary objective: Jijiga, but here again the climatic conditions imposing the bombers to offload their bombs on the Zeila surroundings. 17 August 1940 The Italians begin their advance towards Berbera. They are, however, quickly stopped by the Black Watch, which throughout the day succeed in repelling the enemy assaults, not hesitating due to lack of heavy weaponry to lead several charged with the bayonet. Nevertheless, Major General Alfred R. Godwin-Austen, understanding that it is now impossible to hold, accelerated the evacuation during the day, before ordering the Black Watch to evacuate their positions in the night to go on the harboor. Due to the immediate evacuation of British Somaliland, the Regia Aeronautica begins to withdraw its aircrafts. Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 of 4bis Gruppo BT leaves Dire Dawa for Shashamane (Southern Ethiopia) while Savoia-Marchetti SM. 79 of 44bis Gruppo BT are sent to Addis Ababa. On the other hand, Aden-based squadrons are on the verge of being out of breath since, for example, No.11 and No.39 (RAF) Squadron can only line up a maximum of five aircraft. Nevertheless, in a final effort, a force of five Bristol Blenheims is sent to Hargeisa, while seven others attack various vehicles and troops on the south and west roads leading to Berbera. 18 August 1940 The British evacuation, from Berbera, ends successfully when the rearguard formed by the Black Watch embarks aboard the last ships. Italians, always cautious, prefer to wait for the next day to enter the city, to conclude the conquest of British Somaliland. The fighting has left about 38 dead, 102 wounded and 120 missing, mainly members of the Northern Rhodesian Regiment, captured during the retreat of Tug Argan. For the Italians, the losses are slightly higher : 465 killed, 1 530 wounded and 34 missing. Note that it would be advisable, also, to add the irregular troops employed by the various belligerents, whose figures are not known with precision, some sources speaking of 2 000 Italian sides and 1 000 opposite. Regia Aeronautica continues to repatriate its units, however, some Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 of the 44bis Gruppo BT return to Berbera to conduct armed reconnaissance, along with Fiat CR.42. In the early afternoon, Italians engage two Bristol Blenheim of No.8 (RAF) Squadron above the ships, but without consequences. The RAF organizes a last fight by engaging a maximum of aircraft. Thus, at dawn (05h35), three Bristol Blenheim of No.8 (RAF) Squadron take off from Aden to bombard enemy troop concentrations towards Laferug. However, arrived over the objective, they are immediately intercepted by two Fiat CR.32 of 410a Squadriglia CT (Sottotenente Alberto Veronese and Sergente Maggiore Gaetano Volpe) and the L1479 went down in flame. If all three crew members can jump, only one of them, Sergeant Albert T. Gay, will survive. The other two: Leading Aircraftman Ernest C. Clarke and Matthew E. Porter will die of their injuries. Three other aircraft of the squadron will also meet with the Italian fighters in the afternoon, but this time without consequence. The air operations ended the following day when the No. 120 (RAF) Squadron Bristol Blenheim Mk IVF L9458 made a final reconnaissance on Berbera and then escorted the HMAS Hobart, the last ship to leave the port with part of the British command. Conclusion During the the battle for British Somaliland, the RAF made 184 sorties and dropped 60 tons of bombs, losing seven aircraft (five Bristol Blenheim Mk I, two Glamer Gladiators), eleven damaged (eight Bristol Blenheim Mk I, two Bristol Blenheim Mk IVF and a Vickers Wellesley), causing the death of eleven men for four claimed victories (two Savoia-Marchetti SM.79, a Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 and a Fiat CR.32). The Regia Aeronautica reportedly lost, at least, three planes (one Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 and two Savoia-Marchetti SM.81), eight damaged (two Savoia-Marchetti SM.79, three Savoia-Marchetti SM.81, two Fiat CR.32 and a Fiat CR.42), causing the death of ten men, for twelve claims (six Bristol Blenheim and six Gloster Gladiator). Sadly, the destruction of the Italian archives does not allow to know all the air operations carried out by Regia Aeronautica. Alexis Rousselot
i don't need the notification, but that it doesn't count my thumbs up on some videos makes me wonder... (and I'm not australian, for my country you would have to ditch 2 letters)
Wing Commander Eric James Brindley Nicolson , [VC], [DFC-Distinguished Flying Cross] (29 April 1917 - 2 May 1945) was a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. due to his actions on 16th August 1940 Nicolson was 23 years old and a flight lieutenant in [No. 249 Squadron during the Second World War when he was awarded the Victoria Cross. On 16 August 1940 having departed RAF Boscombe Down, near Nicolson’s Hawker Hurricane was fired on by a Messerschmitt Bf 110 , injuring the pilot in one eye and one foot. His engine was also damaged and the petrol tank set alight. As he struggled to leave the blazing machine he saw another Messerschmitt, and managing to get back into the bucket seat, pressed the firing button and continued firing until the enemy plane dived away to destruction. Not until then did he bail out, and he was able to open his parachute in time to land safely in a field. On his descent, he was fired on by members of the Home Guard, who ignored his cry of being a RAF pilot. The announcement and accompanying citation for the decoration was published in supplement to the London Gazette on 15 November 1940, reading Air Ministry, 15 November 1940. The KING has been graciously pleased to confer the Victoria Cross on the undermentioned officer in recognition of most conspicuous bravery : - Flight Lieutenant James Brindley NICOLSON (39329) - No. 249 Squadron. During an engagement with the enemy near Southampton on 16th August 1940, Flight Lieutenant Nicolson’s aircraft was hit by four cannon shells, two of which wounded him whilst another set fire to the gravity tank. When about to abandon his aircraft owing to flames in the cockpit he sighted an enemy fighter. This he attacked and shot down, although as a result of staying in his burning aircraft he sustained serious burns to his hands, face, neck and legs. Flight Lieutenant Nicolson has always displayed great enthusiasm for air fighting and this incident shows that he possesses courage and determination of a high order. By continuing to engage the enemy after he had been wounded and his aircraft set on fire, he displayed exceptional gallantry and disregard for the safety of his own life
The loss of British Somaliland is totally unknown in the UK today. In fact most people are, I suspect, unaware that there was any war in Africa outside of the Western Desert.
The Grand Duchess and family fled to France, then to Portugal via Spain, then to the UK and finally to north America. One of her sisters would end up in a concentration camp and her elder son joined the British Army and served in the Irish Guards.
According to Wikipedia. "Shortly before the surrender, the government had fled the country along with Grand Duchess Charlotte, eventually arriving in London, where a Government-in-exile was formed. " en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg_in_World_War_II
Why does losing British Somaliland hand Italy control of the Red Sea? Does it not only hand them the ability to contest British control? Britain still has the other coast and the shortest distance between the two is 27km, with a British-controlled island in the middle.
*LIVESTREAM Sunday 18 August, **20:00** PM CET*
Next week, we will air our 52nd weekly episode of our World War Two series, marking exactly one year since the war broke out and we started covering it. We would love to reflect on the past year together with you all, as well as look at what lies ahead of us. We will of course also be answering many of your questions. Make sure to tune in here on TH-cam at 20:00 CET (GMT+1) next Sunday 18 August to chat with Indy, Spartacus, Astrid and the rest of the TimeGhost team!
Cheers,
Joram
"Italy is the sort underbelly of Europe"
Sir
Winston
Churchill
A bad week for britain
253 British Casualties vs. 2,000 Italian casualties. Sounds more like it was Italy who got kicked in the nethers trying to take that dry little piece of real estate.
Also, love Wavell's response to Churchill. 11 words long, though he might as well have said just one word: Gallipoli.
For those wondering, 20:00 CET is 3:00pm EST and 12:00pm PST. I think. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Why YT demonetize educational videos about WW2? What is the logic behind that? It really makes no sense.
Where it hurts? No... not his drinks cabinet... :(
his tobacco plantations
His rotten paintings. ROTTEN!!
Or pizza
Not his humidor :(
"where it hurts" ? Did Italy bomb tea plantations ?
Indy's phone bill is now higher than the bill germany got from the treaty of versailles
those international calls at $4.50 a minute
Good thing he's up to date
mostly because he has 4 in his room. 4!
It's a phone that is also a Time machine. Of course its expensive
Don't forget the "gas bill"!
Luxembourg. he finally said it!!! The small duchy's will shall never be broken
#thirdBeneluxCountry
@@TheCimbrianBull And the only one that provides three letters to Benelux instead of only two!
Viva la resistance!
get germanized!
how badly was the banks etc stripped of its wealth and did it get anything back?
Chruchill: "General, why didn't more men die in Somaliland?"
General Archie: "You might be famous for disastors like Gallipoli, I'm not."
*Churchill burned*
Oof! 😂 🤣 😅
@@auguststorm2037
*painting therapy intensifies*
I think the burn he gave about the butchers bill might have cost him his career though, over the next few months to a year, Churchill cripples Wavell then sacks him for not being able to lead 5 fronts at once without any support or equipment.... Kind of sad really.
@@mitchverr9330 He was unsuccessful against Rommel - had he been successful it would have made him hard to remove.
@@mitchverr9330 a good book is the desert war by Alan Moorehead
"Britain hates losing a colony."
USA: "Yeah, we know."
Why didn't the British put more effort in keeping the Thirteen Colonies, grant the colonists representation or maybe send reinforcements? It was their most valuable colony.
@@yourstruly4817 they did offer concessions eventually but by that point the Continental Congress was deadset on independence.
@@yourstruly4817 Well Distance had a lot to do with it and well they were fighting elsewhere at the time as well. Bottom line they were Spread thin as they were in the Summer of 1940, Throw in the French Navy and it became a losing thing. Washington didn't have to win a battle all he had to do was to not lose the Army, Time was on his side. It took two to three months to sail from England to the Colonies and well while they had ships the Royal Navy was also stretched thin. From a logistics standpoint, England was on a losing footing from the start. Even as under-equipped as Washingtons Army was. Washington's supply lines were a lot shorter. What is interesting to me is not that the British would lose but they would go on and win everywhere else. This war was just one of many that was kicked off by the French and Indian War and would end with Napoleons Defeat at Waterloo in 1814 and for the next 100 years, it would be pretty much Pax Britiania. Well, the British Aristocracy was as now a pretty smug bunch and got it handed to them. The Hard deals made in 1940 had more than a little to do with it, and well in 2019 with Brexit, Hard deals are being made and not to Britians advantage either. Those 50 old destroyers cost them a lot. Gee's The United States is going to try again to buy Greenland, this is a strategic move, to keep the Chicoms out. President Trump just might pull it off too.
@@yourstruly4817 it wasn't actually that profitable, to the point where trade with an independent US made up for the losses.
Evident by how it went on to conquer/own 1/4 of the globe.
@@GeorgeSemel
As a Dane I was shocked to read that Trump wants to buy Greenland. He is being ridiculed by the media and social media here in Denmark.
Britain: *loses colony*
Also Britain: bold moves for someone in bombardment distance
Also Britain: Bold moves for someone without RADAR on his ships
Bold moves for a navy that has no idea what a carrier is!
@@bkjeong4302 Oh they had the idea alright, just nothing completed.
Graf Zeppelin was laid down end of '36, floated end of '38 but never completed/operational
Michael Tempsch
We were talking about the Italians?
@@bkjeong4302 Ash shoot... Sorry about that, was partially distracted...
Yeah, AFAIK the Italians didn't start on two carrier conversions until '41 and '42
congratulations on the new phone!
That comment of yours is suspiciously early.
#'. . And it's the biggest Astrid-phone-desk in the world! . . .'#
How much did it cost?
Latest model :)
@@taufiqutomo pay TimeGhost $3/mo and you can post suspiciously early too
Elli being sunk by the Italians was the first major sign of a conflict coming to Greek shores. The torpedoed ship was almost empty because the crew was at church because of the holiday. I know that because my grand uncle was a crewmember on the ship and survived. Nowadays the Italians and Greeks are best friends which we are both proud of, but what was there to come, would be one of the most underrated yet most heroic part of world war 2 (at least in my opinion). I am looking forward for the episodes from October on! Keep it up guys. Much love!
During the 2004 Olympic Games at Athens, I went on holiday in Greece. Walked a fair bit of Athens with my brother and my father. In a small road, close to the Pireo Port, we found this souvenir shop. Its owner had heard us speaking Italian and approached us, asking if we were, in fact, Italians.
Turns out, he was the oldest son of one of our soldiers sent by the Regime to conquer Greece and garrison it. He married a Greek woman and settled down there in Athens, deciding to remain there after the Surrender and the call back to Italy of all Italian Forces scattered around the Mediterranean.
In the shop, hanging on a little coat hanger, there was an Alpini cap.
His father was one of the "Soldato Bruno"/Soldier Bruno.
Soldier Bruno, if Indy is interested, it's a today-waning nickname we had, here in Italy, to generalise the many thousands of soldiers, frequently Alpini (Mountain Men, commonly from the North-East) missing and/o presumed dead in the various theatres of action.
There were Soldiers Bruno in Greece, there were Soldiers Bruno in Albania and Yugoslavia, a veritable lot even settled down in Soviet Russia, too tired to take the long walk to return to Italy after the Regime had thrown them out there with inadequate equipment and logistical lines.
As you said, we Italians and the Greeks are friendly to each other. We share centuries of common history, a tight bloodline and we are similar in many ways. The invasion was a shame; once again, the war pitted brothers against brothers and as the Soldier Bruno shows, many decided that they were not going to head back home.
What a coincidence that your grandfather was a crew member on that very ship. Thanks for the kind words! We're glad to have you with us!
@@Dany94256late reply, but: settling in the land you were sent to invade is basically the ultimate realization of "italians switching sides"-ism lol.
(I'm italian, i'm allowed to make fun of ourselves)
I wonder if Wavell was tempted to write something like "*cough* Gallipoli..." in that telegram to Churchill.
May I also congratulate you on acknowledging the existence of Luxembourg ;)
#thirdBeneluxCountry
Gallipoli was the first thing that came to my mind as well :)
Luxembourg doesn really exist though. It is a ploy by the Japanese and Kiwis to extract Cobalt from Congo without paying taxes to lizardmen
@@SuperLusername OMG your so stupid! Everyone knows that "Japan" and the "Congo" doesn't exist! They are merely fabrications made by the mighty empire of Tannu Tuva to distract you from their nuclear war with their centuries long rivals. Denmark.
@@SuperLusername Grrrrr
"land is swamped from constant rain"
Blackwatch soldiers: Finally, feels like home...
Too warm. They didn't even need sheep to keep warm at night.
I gather they have now been renamed as the rainbow watch.
Actually invasion of British Somaliland did not provide any gain for Italians. Italian Navy had little presence on Red Sea to exploit the developing situation except a squadron of four destroyers and six submarines which were hunted down and sunk one by one by Royal Navy and RAF till first months of 1941. Since Suez Channel was blocked no new Italian land or naval reinforcements were incoming either. And all British lost was an unhealthy shore on East Africa which Italian garrisons couldn't even hold for six months. Wavell is absolutely correct : "A big butchers bill is not evidence of good tactics" Churchill was pissed though because of image and PR issues about losing a colony.
i mean didn't gallipoli prove that to him
It was not simply PR. At this point of the war Britain had had a lot of bad news in a row and there was a legitimate concern how much more of this bad news the british public could take before morale would break. So while losing Somaliland was effectively not important the symbolism involved could have had outsized consequences.
@@gildor8866 Playing up the weaknesses and ineptitude of the Italians later was a psychological warfare move to counter this. Before long it was common to refer to the Axis leaders as "Hit and Muss".
@Britannic hayyomatt Italians will try to march Egypt from Libya in a few weeks. They will just stop in front of first British defensive position in front of Mersa Matruh though. And invading British Somaliland , a a pocket on coastal strip of Red Sea and invading Sudan a vast province with an army cut off from Italian mainland are two vastly different things. Actually instead of trying to expand into Somaliland Italians should just evacuate entire East Africa and concentrate defences on Libya since all Italian garrisons Ethiophia and Eritea were all cut off at this point due to closure of Suez Channel. But of course we are talking about Mussolini here , not most rational man at all.
@Britannic hayyomatt Like you said war is not a HOI game. It is one thing to have a large army but another thing to have constant logistical , supply reinforcement system to sustain operaations. Italians had almost 300.000 men at arms (half of them were native troops with dubious quality or loyalty) in East Africa but without a proper sea or land link to mainland Italy , they were virtually POWs (largest POW camp thst fed itself barely) in their own territory
3:04 I'm fairly confident that won't likely be the last, or the most infamous loss yet of the Empire's colonies. At this stage, I wouldn't be too surprised if there were more serious losses of the colonies to come. Only time will tell...
Also at 8:35, it seems like the Elli sinking incident will be a preview or foreshadowing of the heightened tensions in the Balkans between Greece and Italy in the coming months.
And finally, at 8:51, "the third Benelux country" has finally been revealed as Luxembourg by Indy. He finally said it!!! Congrats!!!
Singapore will never fall!
#thirdBeneluxCountry
As usual, great episode! Archie Wavell's response to Churchill is excellent. Thank you and Greetz from France. Keep going, folks !
"In war, numbers alone confer no advantage. Do not advance relying on sheer military power." - _Sun Tzu_
In ancient time yes, but in modern wars numbers always win at the end...
@@auguststorm2037 Because Finland is not a thing. Because Vietnam is not a thing. Because Afghanistan is not a thing.
@@morgan3688 Vietnam and Afghanistan's armies were beaten in the battlefield and relied on guerrilla tactics and patience in order to make the invaders leaving their countries. Finland lost and had to give several regions to Soviets. (thought they managed to keep their independence).
"[...] in modern wars numbers always win at the end..."
Yes and no.
Can numbers alone win the war for you? Obviously, just look at the Red Army.
Are they always enough? Not necessarily - see Paul van Riper and the Millennium Challenge 2002.
Now, in that scenario, if the US started pulling in their reserves in a steady stream, they probably would win - but I think it's more thanks to the economy, not numbers alone. Large army can be chipped down, bit by bit, until it's not so large anymore, and the playing field has been leveled. But a country with strong economy which can supply a steady income of troops and equipment in large quantities - now THAT might take many, many years to take down, unless a crucial mistake is made. So I think it's more of a "who can supply the most troops and equipment in a shortest time span" question, not "who has the largest army at the beginning of the conflict".
@@Xoruam I don't know if it's fair to say the Soviets won by sheer numbers. They also had very good equipment and some very skilled commanders.
Ah yes, Indy's phone bill, a disaster matched only by the Italian military's leadership.
Hey, Indy, you leave us with such a cliffhanger here? 😀 I'll bite my nails until it turns out what will be the consequence of Göring's arrogance. I hope none will spoiler it... 😱
(Because launching attacks again and again and keeping telling 'they're at the breaking point, they'll surely break now...ok, maybe not today, but tomorrow surely...' worked so well in the Great War too on both sides. 😐)
I really find it interesting how even a small nation like Luxembourg keeps its resistance. Props to them, it must have been quite difficult considering the position in which they were in.
It's a very lackluster resistance though
I’m so happy you finally said a goodbye before hanging up at the beginning of the episode. I love it.
I must say, i really love this channel!! The attention to details, you feel that the script isn’t something that’s just quickly written just to make content, each episode you feel all the work that Indy and the team put into this! This channel deserves so many more subscribers!
Keep up the good work! :)
Thank you so much! A lot of time and energy goes into our channel, indeed, to make this series the best that it could be. We're happy to hear that the quality of the content reflects that! We will do our very best!
"A big butchers bill was not necessarily evidence of good tactics."....Galipoli? 1915? Rings any Bells?
*1915
Churchill probably looked at the low KIA figure and assumed hardly any fighting was done - they had just given up territory to the Italians.
New telephone, Indy mentioning Luxembourg, British fighting Ze Luftwaffe with the growing confidence in the air = wonderful WW2 episode.
#thirdBeneluxCountry
@@TheCimbrianBull YEAH! LUXEMBOURG
@@luxembourgishempire2826
Are you happy now? 🤗
“Ooh… he got me right in the colonies! Ouch…”
thanks for noticing Luxembourgs struggle in wwii. And very nice pronunciation of 'Spengelkrisch'.
Bravissimo ..spiegata così la seconda guerra mondiale è spettacolare
Broke: Simpsons couch gag
woke: Indy's phone gag
The morale of the story is that just becuase you are a good pilot and you leaded a squadron. It does not mean you are able to comand ALL squadrons of the airforce.Specialy in a mission as hard as preparing the ground for something that as not been done since 1066.
Not to mention your mood while doing it.
Nice ace awful leader (of the Luftwaffe)
Thank you for this brilinat Serie :)
Battle of Britain - the Luftwaffe did not target RAF radar sites initially as they thought they were ineffective. That's because when the Luftwaffe ran electronic intelligence gathering missions using their surviving airship, the Graf Zeppelin, before the war to evaluate the RAF's radar effort they assumed the Britiah would use the same frequency ranges as their own Freya and Wurzburg sets, and found no evidence of any RAF radar activity - the British made a similar assumption when they first tried to detect German radars. In fact the British sets were on a much lower frequency than the German ones so both failed initially to recognise the true state of the opposing radar technology at heavy cost to RAF daylight raids against Germany.
Wow, that new Horn gives you a lot of swagger, Indy. Together with those spiffy glad rags, you really are the big cheese!
ROFL! 🤣 😂 😅
7:26 - Spitfire in blast pen being strafed. The blast pen is at least partially shielding it.
Indy is such a cool kid now with the new phone!
I'm so glad to see ads on your videos again!
#51 Aug 17, 1940.... imagine how much has happened and FDR is still struggling to get Congress and public opinion on board to Hitler’s threat.
Somaliland’s lost was not insignificant, the Red Sea aspect is an excellent perspective.
• good luck with-year number 2 of your wonderful production. I truly look forward to each week.
This is so well done. All of these documentaries are very watchable.
Hahaha, Indy, you crack me up! OH I'll be sure to tune in next week!!!
If you watch Battle of Britain movie (1969) it explains "Black Thursday" fiasco of Luftwaffe quite well. Luftwaffe High Command assumed that RAF would be so busy defending southern and south west sectors of Britain , they would be unable to shift to north quickly once Luftflotte 5 bombers and fighter groups enter the fray flying all the way from Denmark and Norway over North Sea. However RAF fighter commander in chief Dowding was keeping huge reserves in Midlands , Northern England and Scotland and resting fighter pilots in these quiter sectors by rotating them of Luftwaffe single engine fighters range. By reading ULTRA decrypts RAF recognised Luftlottte 5 would be attacking on 15th August and by tracking aproaching Luftwafe air groups with radar on 15th August , they put up nine squadrons to intercept them. Result was a massacre for Luftwaffe. Luftflotte 5 lost 31 aircraft out of 125 in total and was disbanded after 15th August. RAF did not suffer any loss in north that day (though suffered heavy fighter losses further south against Luftflotte 2 and Luftflotte 3)
P1- Niemcy, niemcy!
P2- gdzie? Nie widze !
P1- na dole, na dole!
XO:- you Poles stop that chatter!
🤣🤣🤣
"Help yourself, there's no fighter escort."
@@Acin75 repeat please!
@@Acin75 "Germans, Germans!" "Where, I don't see (them )!" "Below!"
They also thought that they could survive without fighter cover because they assumed that most of the "reserve" squadrons they expected to meet in the north would be flying Gloster Gladiators. The Hurricanes came as quite a shock.
Indy smiling warms my heart!
I am British and I like to think I have a good understanding of the events of WW2. I have never heard of General Archie until today. Thanks for the intro! I will have to do more reading as he sounds like a sensible chap. From the brief time spent on the battle in this episode it does sound like his conclusion was correct and Churchill's was not!
"simulacrum" is a fancy word 11:00. I keep learning new things here!
*OUCH! RIGHT IN THE SOMALILAND!*
My great uncle is on the front line of this battle as an RAF mechanic. He has been telling us of how the pilots have been coming back in the Spit's and Hurri's all shot up and he will have to take canvas and glue to patch them up. He admires them as when they get down from the planes they will go back to the huts and have tea and their hands are as steady as ever.
The canvas hull lightened the planes although I believe later versions were all-metal. It was possible for a careless mechanic to accidentally put a finger through the canvas.
I like the new lighting! It is more dramatic, tense, and authentic feeling to what I imagine it would have looked like in an office or bunker in 1940. I hope you keep the new set up!
"It is doubtful whether there is any point in continuing attacks on radar sites, in view of the fact that not one of those attacked so far has been put out of action."
Reichsmarschall Hermann Wilhelm Göering, 15 August 1940
They didn't have the planes, tactics or ability to knock out GBs air defense infrastructure. It made sense instead to get the Brits to fight big air battles. Except Park, a true genius, knew it was best to stay in the game and interfere with bombing raids. Damaged bombers were out of the battle, killed or injured crew,, it wasn't just about kills. Park was one of the greatest 'generals' ever. The only man in history who could have destroyed western civilization, in an hour.
Very poor analysis of the BoB - the Nazis had a strategy that made sense, but were I against the worlds first and only fully integrated air defense system. Easily a force multiplier of 3 simply by looking at how the air defence system, turned the defender into the attacker. Luftwaffe pilots referred to Spits (they were "never" shot down by Hurricanes due to the shame) as "bandits" like "ref Indians" in cowboy movies attacking wagon trains. Except the "red Indians" had machine guns.....
That ending made me anticipate what happens next more than any movie or TV cliffhangers
Actually, Italy was the only Axis member to succeed in conquering a big part of British territory. (Germany just captured Guernsey and Jersey little islands without any battle)
How about Japan?
Love indy. Such a great guy, always apolitical and with strong facts. The difference between his videos and other yt "history" channels videos is huge.
Yay! This is my first “live” episode, I had to watch the other 50 episodes in a week (or chose to lol). I thought you were starting this year, not had already started in 2018. That timeghost stuff caused some confusion for me, I’m sure I’m not the only one.
This was the best episode as my country by name was mentioned
i know your pain
I just love your series and also I finally caught you all the way from Great war to ww2 starting in 7 April, 2019.
That's an impressive binge. We're glad to have you with us! Make sure to check out our Between Two Wars series on the Time Ghost channel as well!
Italy: conquers the least important bit of the *EMPIRE*
🅱️RITAIN: *BLIMEY!* *IT'S BOMBING TIME*
normie
I don't think Somaliland was a futile colony, because it is the western beach of Aden Strict, the main entrance of Red Sea, the most important way for oil from Middle East and the only way to take troops from Australia and India to Egypt...
I think you are like the boy who someone steals the candy and then he says "I don't like candies!"
Nope… you don’t admit that it is an humiliation. We conquered an important colony
@@historyofitaly4364 : And then what happened?
@@samy7013 the invasion of British somalia
Another excellent video
Thank you
I bet they would have held out longer if the Imperial Camel Corps was there
Love this presentation...you're the best!
Thanks a lot!
im ready for an episode on the 331 squadron, if you are planning on doing episodes that go more into depth on armed forces in exile
Dope video. I wait every week for these
Wavell: "A big butchers bill was not necessarily evidence of good tactics."
Sir Douglas Haig: **stern disapproval**
I was told this story by family members as a child and had forgotten all about it until, on Tuesday this week, in a book I'm currently reading called The Silent Service by Ion l Idriess, I came across a chapter in which Hugh Jones in his own words recounts The Battle of Tugargan Gap .
It describes how he and two others were chosen from 251 other volunteers aboard the HMAS Hobart, to take a 3" Hotchkiss gun with makeshift mounts ashore to help bolster the retreating British rear guard against the advancing Italian forces while the British were evacuating British Somaliland.
They held them off for a few days until they were overwhelmed by the Italians and then became the first Aussies to be taken as POWs in WW2. Hugh Jones was my Uncle.
I didn't know that Italy won something in WW2 lol
@AstrraTV they also got Tunisia from the French
15 to 1 force ratio was recipe for victory.
tomek3579 *laughs in Operation Compass*
@@PillzSufrie *Lols in Canadian soldiers landing in Sicily*
@@PillzSufrie laughs in Battle of Izbushensky
'It's not exactly the jewel of the empire. More like the dustbowl'
You forgot to mention the 2000 or so African casualties that the British empire took. The Real body count in Somaliland wasn't so lopsided.
Later a combined British-Free French force invaded Syria, held by Vichy-supporting officers. I saw a photo of a dead Senegalese infantryman killed in the service of Vichy. His corpse was bloated up badly in the heat. Some of the Free French troops were also Senegalese. Were African casualties even counted?
Most of the Somali soldiers deserted and the British officers allowed it so no African casualties of great Britain wasn't as much as the Italian casualties
@Alya Romani go watch the video salty Italian
@Alya Romani ohh no plz don't shoot me
@Alya Romani angwy italian over here
Man, I wish I had the opportunity to work with you guys. Indy, sir, you are living the dream. From on history obsessed Texan to another, you are living the dream. Thank you for all your awesome work.
Thanks for the kind words! We're all very lucky to be able to work on this project for a living. I can't possibly think of a better job
Hi Indy and Team! Will you make a special about the Second Vienna Award? I'm expecting it to be in regular episodes (which isn't that far away now) but I would like to see a special about it. Thank you for your work and keep it up!
Loving the energy at the end! I've learned a lot about the battle of britain in the last 2 decades (I live in Manchester and have travelled all over the UK), but somehow each week I learn 5 new things and I cannot thank you enough for so brilliantly mixing history and entertainment.
I wish Indy was the host of every show I watch!
With deepfakes maybe he can be
Thanks a lot! We're happy to hear that!
Regarding the lack of continued attacks on British radar installations, I read that Goring was shown the inside of a radar control console. He remarked that it was just a collection of wires and was not impressed.
Apparently, his arrogance extended to the value of destroying enemy radar stations.
That's your air strategy on heroin, I suppose.
At this point, they had built 150 radar stations all along the east coast of Great Britain. They have 90 physicists working on radar and "in July 1940, Professor J. T. Randall (later Sir John Randall) of Birmingham produced a cavity magnetron which was the first high-power generator of centimetric waves anywhere in the world." They mounted the first one on to night fighters and was used to direct fighters on to bombers directly.
Germany probably thought that because they were able to blow up 100 British planes on the ground that radar was pretty worthless. The Brits still didn't have enough experienced operators of their radar system and actually had some of their physicist at radar sites.
But that radar development won the war against German U-boats and greatly improved radar on ships for the allies.
When you mentioned the Black Watch I thought "how did Canadians get there so fast?". I now realize there are at least 2 Black Watch regiments in Commonwelath countries, the original one being Scottish.
Either way I dont think you want to meet either the Canadians or Scotts opposite you in a battle.
And you are in deep shit if you get both....
Thanks for the video
I may be wrong, but I think the numbers regarding Italian/British troops and casualties are wrong. Italy mustered 35.000 troops (only 5.000 of them were actually Italians). British forces were as big as 11.000 counting King's African Rifles and irregulars. About the casualties, about 500 Italians and Ascari + 1.000 irregulars died vs about 50 British troops + 2.000 Somali.
So the Italians did outnumbered the British forces but just 3:1 and not 15:1 as you stated, also the defending forces did suffer more casualties than the Italians and not vice-versa.
With huge respect for the work you've been doing.
Source: La Conquista dell'Impero by Andrea Molinari
2:43 Oh boy...
2:46 Here it comes...
2:48 Oh Jesus I didn't expect it to be THAT bad.
The Luftwaffe never recovered from the Battle of France and the low countries, mainly suffering at the hands of french pilots. It started the Battle of Britain at 50 % strength, 30% efficiency.
It might have helped a bit. And therefore, be a bit relevant.
@Rohan Krishna I'm not. As I recall the LW looses in France were btw 1200 and 1500 planes. That in just 5 weeks. The BOB costed the germans 1600 planes.
8:20 worth noting the us still has access to some land if they want a base there for another 20 years or so, if they're taking the 99-years thing literally
I didn't know that.
Hey when are you going to talk about litchtinstien you talked about Luxembourg
probably never
Considering that its not in the war and is tiny. Probably Never.
Its Liechtenstein
@@lapisleafuli1817 However I hope for a 'special' episode about Switzerland: Armed neutrality, General Henri Guisan, the Reduit, Operation Tannenbaum, agreements made with the Axis, the question of Jewish refugees, the role of banking, the Swiss secret service, violation of Swiss airspace, and bombings of Swiss towns...
@@oliverludwig6148 They made a similar video for the Netherlands in WW1. It might be a video on its own
Hi. Huge fan, I've been watching since the beginning of the great war series. I just wanted to say that my grandfather (Mikey) was one of the American military brought over to the United kingdom to help install the radar systems along the coast just before the battle of Britain. It's those radar personnel that helped contribute significantly to change the war. My would things be different if that single battle was lost.
That's awesome, thanks for sharing his story. You have every reason to be proud of him
Around this time the "Battle of the Beams" was taking place en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Beams , very interesting for those with a technical bent. It's amazing that the frequency the Germans were using just happened to be the same one BBC1 had transmitted on before they took it off the air.
An interesting read, thanks for sharing!
Wow, Luxembourg got mentioned
This time last year I was at an Iron Maiden concert in London. They opened with Aces High, and after the song did their intro. After introducing themselves (Like that was fucking required) they go on to say that tonight is the 78th anniversary of Eagle Day, the day, that the Nazi Luftwaffe launched their greatest operation... to overwhelm the British Royal Air Force on the ground... And destroy it utterly... Paving the way... For an invasion...
The international audience grows silent, wrapped by his slowing words and excellent delivery and the memory of how close the world came to fascist victory. The silence lasted for a full 10 seconds before the drums beat up and Bruce Dickinson declares in a loud clear voice:
"WELL THAT DIDN'T FUCKING WORK DID IT!?"
I've never felt tension snap so completely lol
Where it hurts? Did Mussolini steal Churchill’s entire cigar collection?
Damn, that timing on the Between to Wars plug!
1:20
Poland: 40-1
Uk: 15-1
Ehh... the brits had it EZ
Lol this is the most coveted program of anything I watch right now. To hell with youtube. This series should eventually be on netflix. I guess the History channel is just a name, or they would want to air this. Nothing I have ever seen gets into the detail of WW2 in such a way that I can really grasp it like seeing it in these weekly segments. Fantastic work!
Thank you so much! TH-cam is still the best medium for our short, weekly episodes, along with some specials, but there's always room to expand to other mediums in the future!
Didn't Italy control Albania at this point as well?
Yes. King Zog's inability to defend his country against the Italians did much to discredit Albanian monarchism.
Albania was heavily dependent on Italy economically and its small armed forces were dominated by Italian advisers. Only scattered resistance to the Italian invasion was mounted.
@1:25 the Blackwatch! Even with Genji and McCree our noble heroes lost. :(
I really hope that you will shed more light on the Destroyers-for-Bases deal, since it involved political powerplay in the US, backchanneling and lots of correspondence between Churchill and Roosevelt.
Maybe I am biased, since I wrote my masters thesis in History on the topic of American Neutrality and the political and national discurse in the United States, but this deserves more than just two or three sentences. 🤔
My grandfather worked in the luxemburgian administration. He received "My Kampf" like every other government workers. He refused to germanize the luxemburgian names that sounded "too french" and was dismissed. After that, he refused to fight for the Wehrmacht (even after they tried to force him to wear the uniform) and was therefore sent to the camps. When he came back after the war, he weighted mere 40 kgs. He refused the pension for the deportees that the government created because he thought that it was his duty until the end to refuse the occupation. His name was Melchior Schumacher, his three brothers, my three granduncles died on the eastern front as "malgré-nous" (forced-draft soldiers of the german army, we thought that perhaps they tried to desert but were killed by the soviet soldiers unable to make difference between german speakers).
Six months ago, we found the "Mein Kampf" he received. He had read it, and annotated it with many comments like "bullshit", "how does he know it?", "stupid". There were hundred of thousand of resistants to the totalitarian horror: It inspired me and I hope that never again in Europa, people will have to lose everything just to be able to stand for their ideas.
It was a horrible war.
Schumacher?
@@ΑΡΗΣΚΟΡΝΑΡΑΚΗΣ Yep it's a common german name.
"Italy is the soft underbelly of Europe"
Sir Winston Churchill
British PM
33 British soldiers KIA to Italy's 2000... I think I'm starting to see where he got that idea.
@@runi5413 It's not 2000 dead, probably mostly wounded.
@@runi5413 those are the numbers given by the British, Italian gave different numbers, who should we trust?
@@runi5413 will we do not know a confirmed kill count at this battle for italy however we will see why most likely influenced it maybe has something to do with greece but that's just a random guess
@@lulu-oo9cc & @Fraz Yes, you both have a good point there.
But, regardless of the numbers, the fact that Churchill criticized Wavell for not "fighting harder" in light of their own low casualty figures does carry with it a lot of contempt for the Italian forces. The Brits were outnumbered by a whopping 15:1 after all, I think that's a number we can probably trust is somewhat accurate.
"First the civilians." Bravo!
Ill Duce was a badass
Well, he was definitely bad and an ass.
It's been years but it doesn't matter. Kudos for mentioning Luxembourg here and the war. Less so now, but people who grew up there in the 90s can definitely attest to meeting old people that were around during that time.
The Germanisation and changes of names were common: The people called "René" having to change it to Renatus. The many French customs like wearing a beret being suddenly banned, as "Französische Entartung" (French Degeneracy).
There was a famous, or at least famous in Luxembourg, documentary that tells the story of the occupation called "Heim ins Reich". Anyone interested in this part of WW2 should consider looking it up.
THANKYOU for such an insightful and unbiased review of the war. Not the same cliche stuff of one perspective
Hello,
Congratulations again for this excellent summary for the conquest of British Somalia and talk about these forgotten fights of East Africa.
Eventually, if some are interested, an excerpt from my research on the conquest of British Somaliland (mainly oriented towards air operations). Still sorry for my bad English and my translation. Sorry for the very long post, I hope it will interest some people.
Introduction :
In late July, the Italians successfully completed the first stage of the defensive plan to ensure the safeguarding of the Empire. Indeed, the capture of the main forts at the borders makes it possible to ensure the control of the rare roads and water points, the possession of which is of strategic importance in a particularly arid and hostile environment. With security assured, the Italian command is now able to think of other actions, while being able to proceed with troop movements. A number of writers have expressed surprise at the Italian decision not to continue the offensive in Sudan, pointing to the deadly danger of a second front to Egypt and the British. These authors explain this failure by the quality of the intelligence services that would have made believe the presence of large troops at the borders. We can sweep this hypothesis. Admittedly, British Somaliland is a territory of limited interest, but which allows Italy to reduce its lines of defense. Thus, the capture of this territory finds all its logic in the Italian defensive strategy. Moreover, it is clear thatan offensive towards Sudan is more fantasy than reality. On the one hand, the Italian forces are adapted to two missions: the colonial police and the defense of the borders. They are not, under any circumstances, equipped with the necessary equipment for an operation requiring extreme mobility. On the other hand, such an operation would have been a nightmare in terms of logistics. At the end of July, the Regia Aeronautica carries out several unit transfers neart the front for supporting troops. The RAF, for lack of aerodrome and protection is not able to deploy its aircrafts except some Gladiator. The Italians are able to field 25 000 men under the command of Generale Guglielmo Nasi, but only one road allows access to Berbera Harbor favoring the defender's position. Hence a relatively cautious attitude during the attack, the Italian command betting that the British will not be able to block them permanently. It is true that, on the other hand, Somaliland has never been considered as a priority in the face of a confrontation against Italy, because it is difficult to defend. Djibouti was considered the starting point of any offensive towards Italian East Africa. But, the armistice requires reconsideration, and reinforcements are sent in disaster to help the 600 men of Somaliland Camel Corps under the orders of Lieutnant-Colonel Arthur R. Chater. Finally, the latter has about 4,000 men composed of battalions from various regiments, beings without artillery and any support vehicle. The now Brigadier (promoted to give better impression) decides, thus, to anchor his troop on the two main positions along the access road to Berbera: Hargeisa and Tug Argan. In case of failure to hold these points, evacuation of troops is envisaged. On the aerial plan, the Regia Aeronautica is able to align 25 Fiat CR.42 and Fiat CR.32 (410 Squadriglia CT, 411 Squadriglia CT and 413 Squadriglia CT), 9 IMAM Ro 37bis (110 Squadriglia RT) , 11 Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 (44bis Gruppo BT), 19 Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 (4bis Gruppo BT and 29bis Gruppo BT) and 12 Caproni Ca.133 (27bis Gruppo BT). The RAF for lack of aerodrome and protection is not able to deploy aircraft except detachment of some Gloster Gladiator of No.94 (RAF) Squadron, other units based in Sudan or Aden do not can intervene in immediate support of ground troops.
3 August 1940
The Italian troops take action on this day, when the first elements cross the border. Some firefighting takes place between the advance guards and patrols of Somaliland Camel Corps in charge of monitoring the enemy advance. For its part, the Regia Aeronautica decided to conduct a first raid against Berbera with three Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 of 4 bis Gruppo BT. However, when arriving over the target, No.94 (RAF) Squadron detachment came into action with Flight Lieutenant Reid (N5778) and Sergeant Hendy (L9047) and managed to damage one of the bombers. The latter, piloted by Capitano Parmeggiani return to Jijiga, but heavily damaged and with a member of the crew killed.
4 August 1940
On the ground, the main Italian column, under the orders of General Carlo De Simone managed to reach the first defensive position on the road to Berbera: Hargeisa. Violent clashes erupt with the Somaliland Camel Corps and elements of the Northern Rhodesia Regiment, however, due to lack of artillery and air support, British forces begin to rally Tug Argan's position. To this end, the RAF requests No.94 (RAF) Squadron to detach two Gladiator Gladiators (with Flight Lieutenant Reid and Gordon S.K. Haywood, as well as Sergeant William H. Dunwoodie) on Laferug's forward airfiled in an attempt to provide air cover to the troops. However, after hesitation, decision is made to risk no bomber deemed too valuable, while the state of the airfield does not allow to accommodate an offensive force.
5 August 1940
In British Somaliland, the column under General Sisto Bertoldi is heading towards the eastern border without encountering any opposition. The border with Djibouti is quickly under control and the Italian troops enter the port of Zeila, before starting to move on the road towards Berbera. In the center, the troops of General Carlo De Simone finish cleaning the position of Hargeisa thanks to the support of some light armored vehicles. Nevertheless, the Italian command decides to take a short break in order to reinforce and recognize British positions.
As a result, Regia Aeronautica will launch a series of reconnaissance flights using IMAM Ro37bis from 110 Squadriglia RT, while Caproni Ca.133, Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 and Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 are sent to harass defensive positions, as well as the ports of Berbera and Aden in an attempt to disrupt communications. The Gloster Gladiators (including the N5778), based in Berbera and Laferug, take off several times to intercept the Italian bombers, but without success.
After the wait-and-see attitude of the early days, tRAF decided to intervene with Bristol Blenheim Mk I of No.8 (RAF) Squadron based in Khormaksar (Aden). For this purpose, nine aircraft take off to shell enemy concentrations near Hargeisa between 06h25 am and 18h20. However, during the last mission, the Bristol Blenheim L8375 (Pilot Officer Roy K. Felstead, Sergeant Aubrey D. Wright and Pilot Officer Tom M. Mitchell) is missing. He seems to have been shot down by the Sottotenente Vincenzo Forcheri (410a Squadriglia CT) who claims a Bristol Blenheim during an air cover west of Hargeisa.
6 August 1940
Bristol Blenheim of No.8 (RAF) Squadron continue to attack Italian vehicles on Hargeisa. They are joined by those of No.39 (RAF) Squadron. In all, six flights are carried out by both squadrons, but the attacks produce no results.
In the early morning, around 09h30, Sottotenente Miroslav Komjanc (413 Squadriglia CT) claims an enemy bomber probably destroyed. This could be conected with the mission conducted between 08h10 and 10h40 by L8503 and L8506 of No.8 (RAF) Squadron which suffered a series of attacks by a Fiat CR.42. One of the aircraft is damaged on the left tank. The ORB does not specify the identity of the damaged aircraft, but it appears that if the L8503 leaves on mission the next day, the L8506 will have to wait until the 10 ... Nevertheless, the L4910, L8385 and L8543 of No.39 (RAF ) Squadron also reports that it fought with two Italian fighters between 11h25 am and 15h20, but the British bombers managed to escape. Anyway, the RAF aircraft, taking off far from the front and operating without an escort, can hardly have any impact on the battle unlike the Regia Aeronautica which is able to have many planes in the immediate vicinity.
7 August 1940
The day is relatively calm in British Somaliland, with each side seeking to strengthen these positions, while the RAF and Regia Aeronautica multiply recon flights and attacks on opposing positions. For example, No. 8 (RAF) Squadron sends two Bristol Blenheims on Hargeisa, while five other aircraft of No. 11 and No.39 (RAF) Squadron take off at 09h30 to bomb the airfield of Dire Dawa to try to disrupt the enemy air activity. Finally, in order to relieve the few Gladiator Gladiators, two Bristol Blenheim Mk IVF of No.203 (RAF) Squadron are sent on patrol over Berbera between 12h20 and 17h00 but no Italian aircraft is seen. Both crews are entitled to a little fright when, returning to Aden, they receive an intense reception by the DCA of the Royal Navy.
On their side, after securing Hargeisa, the Italians decided to build an advanced terrain to accommodate some fighters, in the immediate vicinity of the area of operation.
Next on my first reply (
the comment seems too long for youtube )
8 August 1940
While General Carlo De Simone orders to resume the offensive towards Tug Argan, Regia Aeronautica decides to strike a blow to gain air superiority over British Somaliland. Thus, two Fiat CR.32s (Capitano Corrado Ricci and Sergente Maggiore Giovanni Tellurio) of 410a Squadriglia CT and two Fiat CR.42 (Tenente Luciano Cacciavillani and Sottotenente Miroslav Komjanc) of 413a Squadriglia CT are sent from the advanced airfield of Hargeisa, on Berbera. Two Gloster Gladiators of No.94 (RAF) Squadron are on alert, when the Italians fall on them. One of the pilots tries to take off immediately (N5778) before its destruction by Capitano Corrado Ricci. The second (N5890) suffered the attacks of Sottotenente Miroslav Komjanc and Sergente Maggiore Giovanni Tellurio, reducing it to ashes, and eliminating the detachment based in Berbera.
According to Capitano Corrado Ricci : "I was the first to take off, with Tellurio at my wing; soon after started Cacciavillani and Komjanc, but the first skipped on ground, and then stood with tail up: what could have happened to him? Komjanc joined us. I checked my compass with a pocket light to keep the course. After half an hour of flight, the light is coming, but we could not yet see Berbera; five minutes more: nothing again... I again checked the chart; the course is right, but I have no reference point on the ground because it is so flat; I know that the wind is strong, and its direction change as the sun rise, but I can't evaluate it. I continue a little bit on chance. At the end, I decide to turn 90-degrees left; after a few minutes, a sparkling ahead makes me happy: it's the sea! I start a light dive, and I increase it as we are approaching, so we find us to fly grazing to the yellowish sand: it's the only way to come unseen! I can see the town, it's small, whitish; there's a ship in the harbour. Here is the airfield: two dark aircraft, side by side, stand out. They are Gladiators. My wingmen close at me, and this bothers me; slowly, I gain speed and I put them away from me. We are skimming the ground and some small hills cover us to enemy's sight; just a little bit... Here we are! With a steep climb, I gain 500 m height, then I dive on the fighter at left; while I'm aiming a man leaves it and falls headlong... what a long-legged he is! I shoot: a strong wind disturbs my shoot, my rounds are on ground, but some hit the target. I pull hard, quite skimming the wing of the enemy aircraft; I hear behind my shoulders that Tellurio and Komjanc are firing too. The anti-aircraft weapons awake; bluish tracer shells, shrapnel explosions; the ships fires like a volcano, the machine-guns in their nest at the airfield's edge are shooting: the air is hot! A big turn: the other Gloster is burning, mine is not, but with a second burst, I get it burning too. We can go! I take a snapshot with my old camera that I bring with me at every flight: I have to prove the results of the action. We go away, with a grazing flight. A sand column rise just in front of me; here another and other around: they are the British grenades. I climb to 200 m altitude: black burst around us, some other sand gush here and there, then all is over."
Hearing the news, RAF command decides to urgently call back to Aden the two Laferug-based aircraft. From now, the British can only rely on the Bristol Blenheim Mk IVF of No.203 (RAF) Squadron, the only fighters with the necessary autonomy. L9459 (Pilot Officer Kenneth B. Corbould) engages three Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 over the port of Berbera, claiming one destroyed, nevertheless, the latter managed to return damaged , on his base, and with a dead on board. In any case, this action does not prevent the Italians from multiplying their appearances and attacks over British Somaliland.
9 August 1940
In order to finish the job, two Fiat CR.32 from 410a Squadriglia CT (Tenente Elio Pesce and Ubaldo Buzzi) and a Fiat CR.42 from 413a Squadriglia CT (Sottotenente Miroslav Komjanc) take off from Hargeisa in the direction of Berbera. Arrived above at 06h00, Italian pilots can confirm that no more British aircraft are operating from the airfield. Otherwise, some vehicles are strafed, while a very strong DCA is always reported.
Despite the loss of advanced airfield, the RAF manages to conduct seven flights over British Somaliland: four by No. 8 (RAF) Squadron, one by No. 11 (RAF) Squadron, and two by No. 203 (RAF) Squadron.
10 August 1940
In view of imminent fighting, the Italians continue to strengthen Regia Aeronautica closer to the front. For example, one Fiat CR.42 and two additional Fiat CR.32 are deployed in Hargeisa, while five Savoia-Marchetti SM.7s from 44bis Gruppo BT are joining Dire Dawa.
At the same time, the RAF is not inactive as several aircrafts of No.8 (RAF) Squadron are sent to attack Italian troops in the immediate vicinity of Tug Argan. However, these operations are not easy. At the first, the three Bristol Blenheims are engaged by a Fiat CR.42 that claims a victory, however the L8433 can return damaged to Khormaksar. In the afternoon, three more aircraft take off under the command of Squadron Leader Dudley S. Radford to bomb the village of Dhubbato. Unfortunately, soon after, two of the three : L8503 (Flying Officer Aubrey G. Curtis, Sergeant Vernon HF Witt, Leading Aircraftman Harold J. McEleavy) and L8506 (Pilot Officer JG Albert Bisson, Sergeant Norman F. Wilson, Leading Aircraftman Donald JR Wilson ) collide, killing all crew members. In all, sixteen flights take place over British Somalia.
11 August 1940
According to an officer of the 1st Battalion Northern Rhodesian Regiment:
"The road from Hargeisa to Berbera runs through a a mountain pass. This is the only way, by which, they [Italians] can move. We, Rhodesians, with four guns of the East African Light Artillery, are responsible for holding them. My company is on Knobbly Hill. Suddenly, they arrive, facing us... about 2,000 men. Our shots repel them quickly in disorder. We see an officer, wearing a black jacket and white boots on a white horse, trying to group them together. But, it is quickly eliminated by a burst of shells (...). "
Indeed, General Carlo De Simone launches, at dawn, the assault against the position of Tug Argan to break any resistance and opens the road towards Berbera. Nevertheless, the British troops, now under the command of Major General Alfred R. Godwin-Austen, have an advantageous situation since the one and only road crosses a mountain pass flanked by several heights to block any advance. However, this potentially favorable situation is weak points: very small means of artillery and almost no air support for lack of a nearby aerodrome, in opposition to the Regia Aeronautica based in the immediate vicinity of the front. The Rhodesians are positioned on the five hills (Black Hill, Knobbly Hill, Mill Hill, Observation Hill and Castle Hill) bordering the entrance to the passage with the four unique guns available; elements of the Punjab Regiment are responsible for protecting the left flank by holding the Punjab Ridge; Finally, the 2nd Battalion Kings African Rifles must cover the rear on Block Hill and Jerato Hill.
Regia Aeronautica actively supports the troops since at least six Caproni Ca.133 from 27bis Gruppo BT and three Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 are sent to Punjab Ridge at 08h00, where several shelling and strafing are carried out, despite the loss of one of the Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 hit by fire.
Following these actions, considered a success, the Italian artillery opened fire in anticipation of the assault scheduled around noon against Punjab Ridge. Violent clashes take place throughout the afternoon and evening to capture the position, while the hills are preserved by the Rhodesians after several cycles of attacks / counter-attacks.
At the same time, three Fiat CR.32 take off from Hargeisa towards Laferug where several vehicles and a fuel tank are claimed destroyed. They are followed, shortly thereafter, by a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 of the 44bis Gruppo BT which drops some bombs on the British HQ.
With its limited means, the RAF is also trying to influence the fate of the battle and six Bristol Blenheim of No.8 (RAF) Squadron intervened against the Italian artillery near Observation Hill, but without success.
Next on second reply.
12 August 1940
Following the partial failures of the day before, the Italians revive their assaults against the positions held by the Rhodesians. Again, the latter manage to hold the opponent, concede only the loss of Mill Hill. However, before leaving this height definitely, the soldiers are forced to sabotage the two guns deployed on the spot. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the two others on Knobbly Hill only have ... seven shells.
As in the previous day, Regia Aeronautica actively supports the operations since at least six Caproni Ca.133, from 27bis Gruppo BT, are reported on Laferug. Unfortunately again the lack of available archives does not allow to know more.
For its part, the RAF is still trying to influence events. Thus, at dawn, two Bristol Blenheim of No.11 and No.39 (RAF) Squadron take off at 05h00 to attack artillery positions. Above the objective, the crews are confronted with a strong concentration of shots coming from the ground, and three Fiat CR.42. Both aircraft are heavily damaged while trying to flee, one being forced to land on Berbera (L8387).
Shortly thereafter, at 07h30, three more aircraft were sent by No.39 (RAF) Squadron. Here again, the British are intercepted by the Italian fighters. The Fiat CR.32 of Sottotenente Alberto Veronese (410 Squadriglia CT) immediately attacks the leader of the formation, but his attack is interrupted when Flight Sergeant Bertram J. Thomas, in command of the L8402, decides to intervene. Making a pass, face-to-face, he manages to damage and injure his opponent, but at the same time his Blenheim takes many shots killing his observer, Sergeant Geoffrey M. Hogan. He is himself badly wounded in the left shoulder, but nevertheless manages to return to Berbera. The Distinguished Flying Medal will be awarded shortly thereafter.
The day was, however, not over as the Bristol Blenheim Mk IVF L9173 of No.203 (RAF) Squadron, in charge of providing Berbera's air cover, was damaged and its crew injured during an attempt to engagement of three Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 over the harboor.
13 August 1940
The Rhodesians continue to resist all day, however, the situation worsen in the night when the Italians begin to infiltrate from the southern flank and the Assa mountains. Thus, a column of the 2d Battalion Black Watch, in charge of supplying the advanced positions, is ambushed.
To support this bypass attempt, several Caproni Ca.133 from 27bis Gruppo BT are bombarding Jerato Pass at regular intervals, while Fiat CR.32s are being sent strafing the Berbera aerodrome to prevent the recovery of two Bristol Blenheims damaged.
In Aden, on the other hand, the Bristol Blenheims are at the limit of their uses, and the RAF can only send three No.8 (RAF) Squadron aircraft to bomb Jijiga airfield in order try to stop the action of the Regia Aeronautica, but without results. In a last desperate effort, No.223 (RAF) Squadron and his eleven Vickers Wellesley are ordered to join Aden from Sudan. Nevertheless, the length of the trip does not allow to hope for an entry into action before two to three days.
14 August 1940
If attacks against the various Rhodesian positions still fail, the situation begins to deteriorate very seriously for the British. The Italians continue, indeed, to infiltrate Tug Argan. At the same time, on the coast, the column of General Sisto Bertoldi managed to capture the port of Zeila, despite a bombing by the Royal Navy and to threaten Berbera from the west. Faced with this situation, Major General Alfred R. Godwin-Austen sends a telegram to General Henry M. Wilson informing him that in case of Tug Argan fall, the only alternative would be an evacuation saving about 70% of the force. Berbera is indefensible, while stating that he and his troops are ready to fight to the end if necessary.
Unsurprisingly, the Regia Aeronautica is active above Tug Argan and on the coast where the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 of the 44bis Gruppo BT bomb British ships off Bulhar.
The RAF, meanwhile, waiting for the arrival of the Vickers Wellesley to intervene in force. However, during the transfer, the squadron loses the Squadron Leader, J.C. Larking, when one of the engines of his aircraft catches fire, forcing him to a forced landing near Aden. If it is quickly recovered, after five hours of walking, this incident has the effect of delaying the entry into action of No.223 (RAF) Squadron, whose presence is however strongly needed.
15 August 1940
Following the telegram of the day before, General Henry M. Wilson decided to authorize the evacuation of British Somaliland from Berbera. The initial plan is to stay in Tug Argan as long as possible, before leaving the remaining civilians in the first place and the troops between three and four nights. Nevertheless, the situation changes radically, at the end of the afternoon, when after a new assault the defenses of Observation Hill crack leading the Rhodesians to evacuate the position in order to escaping from capture. From then, orders were given to evacuate Black Hill, Knobbly Hill and Castle Hill and retire to Berbera, while elements of the Black Watch and Kings African Riffles are responsible for delaying the Italian advance.
Due to the early retirement movements, Regia Aeronutica operates, mainly, on the rear of Tug Argan by shelling vehicle concentrations in Laferug and Berbera with several Caproni Ca.133, Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 and Savoia-Marchetti SM. 81.
The RAF receives the reinforcement of six Bristol Blenheim No.84 (RAF) Squadron. They take off on a mission near Berbera, during which a Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 is sighted and shot down.
For its part, No.223 (RAF) Squadron comes into action, from Aden, when seven Vickers Wellesley are sent, between 06h15 and 12h20 on Dessie with two objectives: on the one hand to make a low passage above the city to impress the local population and demonstrate British power against the Italian colonizer, on the other hand in order to bomb the airfield. If the attack proves to be a failure due to a lack of visibility, one can wonder about the interest of a "propaganda operation" with probably negligible results at the very moment when the British forces are suffering from an absence of aircrafts over Tug Argan. Likewise, while No.8 (RAF) Squadron is very activity with no less than seven flights, again almost all is devoted to attacks on airfields in western Eritrea and northern Ethiopia without great results.
No.11 and No.39 (RAF) Squadron, meanwhile, intervene mainly on the coast west of Berbera to support the Royal Navy which attempts to block the Italian advance between Darboruk and Bulhar with five sorties during which several Italian fighters are are observed.
Next on the third reply.
16 August 1940
If the situation could seem close to the disaster, the evening before, the decision of General Carlo De Simone to suspend temporarily the advance allows the British to organize the evacuation. It is true that the confirmation of the evacuation by the Regia Aeronautica may have encouraged the Italians to limit unnecessary losses for a territory whose conquest is only a matter of days.
In fact, Italian aircraft are mainly used above Berbera to disrupt the maritime evacuation. Therefore, the main events of the day take place in this sector. Thus, two Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 and a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 are damaged by the anti-aircraft defense over the harbor.
The British decided to conduct an aerial bombardment of the Hargeisa airfield with five Vickers Wellesley of No.223 (RAF) Squadron and three Bristol Blenheim No.8 (RAF) Squadron. However, the weather is deteriorating rapidly, preventing the attack. The crews are diverted towards the secondary objective: Jijiga, but here again the climatic conditions imposing the bombers to offload their bombs on the Zeila surroundings.
17 August 1940
The Italians begin their advance towards Berbera. They are, however, quickly stopped by the Black Watch, which throughout the day succeed in repelling the enemy assaults, not hesitating due to lack of heavy weaponry to lead several charged with the bayonet. Nevertheless, Major General Alfred R. Godwin-Austen, understanding that it is now impossible to hold, accelerated the evacuation during the day, before ordering the Black Watch to evacuate their positions in the night to go on the harboor.
Due to the immediate evacuation of British Somaliland, the Regia Aeronautica begins to withdraw its aircrafts. Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 of 4bis Gruppo BT leaves Dire Dawa for Shashamane (Southern Ethiopia) while Savoia-Marchetti SM. 79 of 44bis Gruppo BT are sent to Addis Ababa.
On the other hand, Aden-based squadrons are on the verge of being out of breath since, for example, No.11 and No.39 (RAF) Squadron can only line up a maximum of five aircraft. Nevertheless, in a final effort, a force of five Bristol Blenheims is sent to Hargeisa, while seven others attack various vehicles and troops on the south and west roads leading to Berbera.
18 August 1940
The British evacuation, from Berbera, ends successfully when the rearguard formed by the Black Watch embarks aboard the last ships. Italians, always cautious, prefer to wait for the next day to enter the city, to conclude the conquest of British Somaliland. The fighting has left about 38 dead, 102 wounded and 120 missing, mainly members of the Northern Rhodesian Regiment, captured during the retreat of Tug Argan. For the Italians, the losses are slightly higher : 465 killed, 1 530 wounded and 34 missing. Note that it would be advisable, also, to add the irregular troops employed by the various belligerents, whose figures are not known with precision, some sources speaking of 2 000 Italian sides and 1 000 opposite.
Regia Aeronautica continues to repatriate its units, however, some Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 of the 44bis Gruppo BT return to Berbera to conduct armed reconnaissance, along with Fiat CR.42. In the early afternoon, Italians engage two Bristol Blenheim of No.8 (RAF) Squadron above the ships, but without consequences.
The RAF organizes a last fight by engaging a maximum of aircraft. Thus, at dawn (05h35), three Bristol Blenheim of No.8 (RAF) Squadron take off from Aden to bombard enemy troop concentrations towards Laferug. However, arrived over the objective, they are immediately intercepted by two Fiat CR.32 of 410a Squadriglia CT (Sottotenente Alberto Veronese and Sergente Maggiore Gaetano Volpe) and the L1479 went down in flame. If all three crew members can jump, only one of them, Sergeant Albert T. Gay, will survive. The other two: Leading Aircraftman Ernest C. Clarke and Matthew E. Porter will die of their injuries. Three other aircraft of the squadron will also meet with the Italian fighters in the afternoon, but this time without consequence.
The air operations ended the following day when the No. 120 (RAF) Squadron Bristol Blenheim Mk IVF L9458 made a final reconnaissance on Berbera and then escorted the HMAS Hobart, the last ship to leave the port with part of the British command.
Conclusion
During the the battle for British Somaliland, the RAF made 184 sorties and dropped 60 tons of bombs, losing seven aircraft (five Bristol Blenheim Mk I, two Glamer Gladiators), eleven damaged (eight Bristol Blenheim Mk I, two Bristol Blenheim Mk IVF and a Vickers Wellesley), causing the death of eleven men for four claimed victories (two Savoia-Marchetti SM.79, a Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 and a Fiat CR.32). The Regia Aeronautica reportedly lost, at least, three planes (one Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 and two Savoia-Marchetti SM.81), eight damaged (two Savoia-Marchetti SM.79, three Savoia-Marchetti SM.81, two Fiat CR.32 and a Fiat CR.42), causing the death of ten men, for twelve claims (six Bristol Blenheim and six Gloster Gladiator). Sadly, the destruction of the Italian archives does not allow to know all the air operations carried out by Regia Aeronautica.
Alexis Rousselot
VINCERE!
8:40 pytogyros *INTENSIFIES*
TH-cam, TH-cam, TH-cam... why won’t you notify me? Is it because I’m Australian?
You have to klick the bell button next to 'subscriptions'.
Yeah us Aussies got the rough end of the pineapple. Bloody youtube.
You ought to subscribe to Indy’s phone list so he can call you at the start of every episode.
i don't need the notification, but that it doesn't count my thumbs up on some videos makes me wonder... (and I'm not australian, for my country you would have to ditch 2 letters)
Dear Indie and Spartacus, Shalom from Jerusalem, ISRAEL. Mr. Lowell Joseph Gallin
Wing Commander Eric James Brindley Nicolson , [VC], [DFC-Distinguished Flying Cross] (29 April 1917 - 2 May 1945) was a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. due to his actions on 16th August 1940
Nicolson was 23 years old and a flight lieutenant in [No. 249 Squadron during the Second World War when he was awarded the Victoria Cross. On 16 August 1940 having departed RAF Boscombe Down, near Nicolson’s Hawker Hurricane was fired on by a Messerschmitt Bf 110 , injuring the pilot in one eye and one foot. His engine was also damaged and the petrol tank set alight. As he struggled to leave the blazing machine he saw another Messerschmitt, and managing to get back into the bucket seat, pressed the firing button and continued firing until the enemy plane dived away to destruction. Not until then did he bail out, and he was able to open his parachute in time to land safely in a field. On his descent, he was fired on by members of the Home Guard, who ignored his cry of being a RAF pilot.
The announcement and accompanying citation for the decoration was published in supplement to the London Gazette on 15 November 1940, reading
Air Ministry, 15 November 1940.
The KING has been graciously pleased to confer the Victoria Cross on the undermentioned officer in recognition of most conspicuous bravery : -
Flight Lieutenant James Brindley NICOLSON (39329) - No. 249 Squadron.
During an engagement with the enemy near Southampton on 16th August 1940, Flight Lieutenant Nicolson’s aircraft was hit by four cannon shells, two of which wounded him whilst another set fire to the gravity tank. When about to abandon his aircraft owing to flames in the cockpit he sighted an enemy fighter. This he attacked and shot down, although as a result of staying in his burning aircraft he sustained serious burns to his hands, face, neck and legs. Flight Lieutenant Nicolson has always displayed great enthusiasm for air fighting and this incident shows that he possesses courage and determination of a high order. By continuing to engage the enemy after he had been wounded and his aircraft set on fire, he displayed exceptional gallantry and disregard for the safety of his own life
And he died in the last days of the war?
This is a real irony...
The only VC associated with the Battle of Britain.
Have it a like and a comment. TH-cam will ignore it, but you guys deserve it. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing.
Did you do the attack Italians did to the Greek Ship Eli ? They sunk a Greek warship during peace time , that is when Metaxas knew War was coming
8:34
The loss of British Somaliland is totally unknown in the UK today. In fact most people are, I suspect, unaware that there was any war in Africa outside of the Western Desert.
what happened to the Luxembourgish royal family?
The Grand Duchess and family fled to France, then to Portugal via Spain, then to the UK and finally to north America. One of her sisters would end up in a concentration camp and her elder son joined the British Army and served in the Irish Guards.
According to Wikipedia.
"Shortly before the surrender, the government had fled the country along with Grand Duchess Charlotte, eventually arriving in London, where a Government-in-exile was formed. "
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg_in_World_War_II
@@geoffreymowbray6789 right so I'm guessing it's safe to say that Luxembourg collaborators weren't monarchists
@Fabian Kirchgessner just curious
They fled.
Why does losing British Somaliland hand Italy control of the Red Sea? Does it not only hand them the ability to contest British control? Britain still has the other coast and the shortest distance between the two is 27km, with a British-controlled island in the middle.
man i cant wait to see who wins ww2