Operation Terminal was an Allied operation during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Part of
Operation Torch (the Allied invasion of
French North Africa
French North Africa (french: Afrique du Nord française, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is the term often applied to the territories controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. ...
, 8 November 1942) it involved a direct landing of infantry into the
Vichy French
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its t ...
port of
Algiers with the intention of capturing the port facilities before they could be destroyed.
[Roskill p325]
Background
The attacking forces were two
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
destroyers, and (commanded by
Henry Fancourt
Captain Henry Lockhart St John Fancourt (1 April 1900 – 8 January 2004) was a British pioneering naval aviator, and held important aviation commands with the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War. When Fancourt died at th ...
) carrying 600 troops of the 3d Battalion, 135th Infantry, (commanded by Colonel Edwin Swenson), part of the
US 34th Infantry Division
The 34th Infantry Division is an infantry division of the United States Army, part of the National Guard, that participated in World War I, World War II and multiple current conflicts. It was the first American division deployed to Europe in ...
. The plan was to land the troops directly into the port. It was hoped that either complete surprise would be achieved or that the defenders would support the invasion to the extent at least of refusing to fire on the attackers. However the Vichy forces opened fire on the ships, damaging them heavily.
Action
At 4.00 am on the morning of 8 November 1942 ''Malcolm'' and ''Broke'' approached Algiers Harbour. They were regarded as hostile by the defending Vichy troops, who opened fire at 4.06 am.
''Malcolm'' tried to break through the boom but was hit and severely damaged by a shell fired from the shore. Ten of her crew were dead, many more were injured and three of her four boilers were extinguished, cutting her speed to 4 knots. She was forced to retreat and played no further part in the operation.
Initially, ''Broke'' had better luck. On her third attempt, she sliced through the boom and deposited her troops under fire on the ''Quai de Fécamp'', and then retreated. This was four hours after the operation had started.
''Brokes luck ran out as she withdrew; she was hit by shore batteries which compounded on earlier damage and after being taken in tow, she sank on 10 November.
The landed infantry were surrounded and forced to surrender seven hours later. However they succeeded in preventing the destruction of the port before the defenders in turn surrendered to the larger invading forces.
Aftermath
A similar operation was carried out at
Oran (
Operation Reservist
Operation Reservist was an Allied military operation during the Second World War. Part of Operation Torch (the Allied invasion of North Africa), it was an attempted landing of troops directly into the harbour at Oran in Algeria.
Background
T ...
), but with even less success; however the
Torch
A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. In ...
landings as a whole were successful, the ''Terminal'' and ''Reservist'' segments being the only setbacks in the entire operation.
See also
*
HMS Malcolm (D19)
HMS ''Malcolm'' was one of eight Admiralty-type destroyer leaders (known as ''Scott''-class destroyers) built for the Royal Navy during World War I. She was the first of only two Royal Navy ships to carry the name ''Malcolm'', although w ...
*
HMS Broke (D83)
HMS ''Broke'' was a Thornycroft type flotilla leader of the Royal Navy. She was the second of four ships of this class that were ordered from J I Thornycroft in April 1918, and was originally named ''Rooke'' after Rear Admiral Sir George ...
*
*
*
List of French military equipment of World War II
Uniforms and Protective equipment
* Adrian helmet
* Combat uniform (go to France section)
Weapons
* List of World War II weapons of France
Utility vehicles
* P107
* Laffly S15
* Laffly V15
* SOMUA MCG
* Citroën U23
* Renault AGx
...
*
Attack on Mers-el-Kébir
The Attack on Mers-el-Kébir (Battle of Mers-el-Kébir) on 3 July 1940, during the Second World War, was a British naval attack on neutral French Navy ships at the naval base at Mers El Kébir, near Oran, on the coast of French Algeria. The att ...
Notes
References
*
Stephen Roskill
Captain Stephen Wentworth Roskill, (1 August 1903 – 4 November 1982) was a senior career officer of the Royal Navy, serving during the Second World War and, after his enforced medical retirement, served as the official historian of the Royal ...
''The War at Sea'' Vol II (1956)
{{coord missing, Algeria
Terminal
Terminal may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together
* Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line
* Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devic ...
Terminal
Terminal may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together
* Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line
* Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devic ...