New Zealanders with the Royal Air Force (Volume III)
Appendix I — PRINCIPAL EVENTS OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND MEDITERRANEAN CAMPAIGNS 1940–45
page 375
Appendix I
Appendix I
PRINCIPAL EVENTS OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND
MEDITERRANEAN CAMPAIGNS 1940–45
1940 | |
june | |
10 | Italy declared war on Great Britain and France. |
11 | Malta raided by Italian aircraft. First sorties by ‘Faith’, ‘Hope’ and ‘Charity’. |
11 | East African campaign began. |
11 | RAF Blenheim bombers made dawn attack on Italian airfield at El Adem. |
28 | Sunderland flying-boat operating from Malta attacked and sank first Italian U-boat to be destroyed by aircraft during the war. |
28 | Hurricanes made their first sorties from Malta. |
august | |
5 | Italians invade British Somaliland. |
18 | Evacuation of British Somaliland. |
september | |
5 | The first consignment of aircraft for delivery over the West African reinforcement route arrived at Takoradi. |
13 | Italian forces advanced across Egyptian border. |
18 | The first convoy of erected aircraft took off from Takoradi for the Middle East. |
october | |
28 | Italy invaded Greece from Albania. |
november | |
1 | RAF and Fleet Air Arm began attacks on Italian and Albanian ports from Malta. |
11 | First RAF offensive operation over Greece – attack on Valona airfield. |
december | |
9 | First British offensive in the Western Desert began. |
16 | British offensive opened in Italian East Africa. |
16 | Egypt cleared of all Italian forces.page 376 |
1941 | |
january | |
3 | Strong Luftwaffe contingents transferred to Italy and Sicily. |
9 | German and Italian air attacks on convoy in Sicilian Channel. HMS Illustrious damaged. HMS Southampton lost. |
10 | Beginning of the Illustrious blitz on Malta which continued for ten days. |
22 | Australian troops captured Tobruk. |
february | |
6 | British forces entered Benghazi. |
8 | El Agheila occupied by British forces. |
march | |
Enemy air raids on Malta continue. | |
4 | British forces from Egypt disembark in Greece. |
28–29 | Naval battle at Cape Matapan. RAF aircraft from Greece take part. |
29 | South African troops supported by SAAF occupied Diredawa, Abyssinia. |
30 | Enemy counter-offensive in Western Desert. |
april | |
3 | British forces evacuated Benghazi. |
6 | Imperial forces entered Addis Ababa. |
6 | Germans invade Greece and Yugoslavia. |
12 | Siege of Tobruk began. |
18 | Yugoslav Army surrendered to German forces. |
27 | Germans entered Athens. |
27 | Axis forces crossed the Egyptian frontier and occupied Halfaya Pass. |
28 | German forces captured Sollum – front line stabilised at Halfaya-Capuzzo. |
may | |
1 | First attacks by Blenheims based on Malta against enemy shipping in transit to North Africa. |
2 | Evacuation of Imperial forces from Greece completed. |
2 | Siege of RAF Habbaniya began. |
6 | Iraqi rebels driven from Habbaniya. |
17 | Italian forces in East Africa surrendered. |
20 | Germans invaded Crete – first large-scale airborne invasion. |
28–31 | British and Dominion troops evacuated from Crete. |
31 | End of hostilities in Iraq. |
june | |
8 | Imperial and Free French forces entered Syria. |
15–18 | Operation battleaxe to relieve Tobruk failed.page 377 |
july | |
11 | Hostilities in Syria ceased. |
25 | British convoy arrives at Malta after two-day battle. |
25–26 | German air/sea attack on the Grand Harbour of Malta repulsed with heavy enemy losses. |
30 | AVM Arthur Coningham assumes appointment as AOC Desert Air Force. |
august | |
25 | British and Russian forces entered Iran. |
november | |
18 | British crusader offensive in Western Desert began. |
december | |
10 | Siege of Tobruk raised. |
24 | British forces retake Benghazi. |
1942 | |
january | |
11 | AVM Keith Park takes up appointment as AOC Egypt. |
21 | Second counter-offensive in the Western Desert by Rommel, east from El Agheila. |
29 | German forces retake Benghazi and advance on Barce. |
february | |
RAF operates intensively in support of ground forces. Bombers attack airfields in Sicily; and in North Africa the ports of Benghazi and Tripoli and enemy shipping are the main targets. | |
20 | Western Desert battle line stabilised at Gazala. |
march | |
Heavy German air attacks on Malta. | |
10 | First operations by Spitfires from Malta. |
april | |
Peak of enemy air attacks on Malta. | |
may | |
7–10 | Spitfire reinforcements, flown off the aircraft carriers Wasp and Eagle, arrived in Malta. |
26 | Axis offensive opened at Gazala. Beginning of the Battle for Egypt. |
june | |
10 | Bir Hacheim evacuated by Allied forces. |
11–12 | First USAAF attack in the Middle East/Mediterranean theatre. Fifteen Liberators raided Ploesti oilfields. |
17–18 | Eighth Army withdrew to the Egyptian border, leaving a garrison at Tobruk. |
21 | Tobruk captured by the Germans. |
july | |
Further enemy attempt to neutralise Malta by air attack. | |
1 | German forces advancing into Egypt halted at El Alamein. |
15 | AVM Keith Park becomes AOC Malta.page 378 |
AUGUST 31 to SEPTEMBER 6 OCTOBER | Battle of Alam el Halfa. Rommel's final attempt to break through at El Alamein defeated. |
11–19 | Final enemy attempt to subdue Malta by air attack is defeated. |
23–24 | Eighth Army offensive opened at El Alamein. RAF provides maximum air support. |
november | |
RAF makes a great contribution to the defeat of Axis forces in the desert and to the success of the Allied invasion of North-west Africa. | |
3 | In Egypt Axis forces began retreating westwards from El Alamein. |
8 | Allied forces landed in French North Africa (Operation torch). |
11 | Admiral Darlan ordered cease fire of French forces in North Africa. |
German occupation of Tunis and Bizerta. | |
13 | Tobruk recaptured by Allied forces. |
14 | Tunisia entered by British First Army from Algiers. |
20 | Benghazi entered by British Eighth Army. |
december | |
13 | German forces withdraw from El Agheila. |
1943 | |
january | |
23 | British forces entered Tripoli. |
29 | Advanced units of Eighth Army crossed into Tunisia from Tripolitania. |
february | |
14–22 | Battle of Kasserine Pass. |
17 | Re-organisation of Allied Command. Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder assumed command of Allied Mediterranean Air Forces. |
27 | Eighth Army took up positions on the Mareth Line. |
march | |
20–28 | Eighth Army broke through the Mareth Line. |
29 | El Hamma occupied by British forces. |
april | |
10 | Sfax occupied by British forces. |
21 | British forces captured Enfidaville.page 379 |
may | |
7 | Allies captured Tunis and Bizerta. |
13 | Allied campaign in North Africa ended. |
june | |
11 | Pantellaria occupied by Allied forces. |
12 | Surrender of Lampedusa. |
july | |
9–10 | Allied invasion of Sicily by air and sea. |
august | |
16 | Messina, Sicily, captured by Allied forces. |
17 | End of Sicilian campaign. |
september | |
3 | British and Canadian troops landed in southern Italy. |
3 | Armistice signed with Italy but not declared until 8 September. |
9 | British and American troops landed on Salerno beaches. |
14 | Allied landings in Sardinia. |
23 | Allied forces landed in Greece. |
27 | Foggia captured by Eighth Army. |
october | |
1 | Naples occupied by Fifth Army. |
4 | Corsica captured. |
18 | Volturno River line cleared of enemy forces. |
23 | Formation of Mediterranean Allied Strategical Air Force. |
december | |
1 | German line on Sangro River broken. |
1944 | |
january | |
22 | Fifth Army troops landed at Anzio and Nettuno. |
february | |
Battle for Cassino began. | |
15 | Allied Air Forces bombed Montecassino monastery, dropping some 450 tons of bombs. |
march | |
15 | Cassino attacked by Allied Air Forces; 1100 tons of bombs dropped. |
19 | Operation strangle – the rail interdiction programme in Italy – began and continued until 11 May 1944. |
april | |
2 | Russian forces entered Rumania. |
5 | First of a series of twenty-four day and night attacks by American and British aircraft from the Mediterranean on the oil refineries at Ploesti. |
8–9 | RAF bombers flew the first minelaying mission to the Danube. Mines laid near Belgrade.page 380 |
may | |
11–12 | Allied aircraft opened attacks against the Gustav Line in Italy. |
18 | Cassino and the monastery captured by the Allies. |
june | |
1 | Formation of the RAF Balkan Air Force. |
4 | Fifth Army captured Rome. |
6 | Allied armies landed in Normandy. |
july | |
12–16 | Twenty bridges across the Po River put out of use by Allied air attacks. |
17 | Eighth Army crossed the Arno. |
august | |
1 | Polish Underground Army began the Warsaw rising. Allied aircraft dropped supplies and incurred heavy casualties before the fighting ended on 3 October. |
11 | Eighth Army liberated Florence. |
15 | Allied invasion of southern France, preceded by an intensive four-day air bombardment and attacks by airborne troops. |
30 | Ploesti captured by the Russians. |
september | |
2 | Eighth Army broke through the Gothic Line. |
october | |
4–5 | RAF aircraft flew their last minelaying operation to the Danube. |
14 | Liberation of Athens. |
november | |
2 | Greek mainland cleared of German forces. |
december | |
3 | Beginning of civil war in Greece. |
4 | Eighth Army entered Ravenna, Italy. |
1945 | |
january | |
14 | End of civil war in Greece. |
17 | Warsaw occupied by Russian forces. |
april | |
10 | Final offensive by Fifth and Eighth Armies in Italy began. |
20 | Bologna captured by Allies. |
27 | Genoa occupied by Americans. In this month the Mediterranean Allied Air Force dropped its record bomb load for one month – 56,296 tons. |
may | |
2 | Surrender of German forces in Italy. |