In this article we have the collaboration of David López Cabia.
David López Cabia was born in Burgos in 1986. After completing his studies at the University of Burgos, he obtained a Diploma in Business Sciences, a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Management, and a Master’s Degree in Teaching. He also has a Master’s Degree in Business Legal Advice from the International University of La Rioja.
Passionate about History and in particular about a period as transcendental as the Second World War, from an early age he became interested in the greatest war conflict that Humanity has known. He made his debut as a writer with his novel “La Última Isla” (Afronta Editorial) in which he narrates the harshness of the Pacific front. In his second work “En el Infierno Blanco” (Afronta Editorial) he changes the war scene and takes us to the battlefields of Normandy and the Ardennes. With “Undesirables” (Editorial Círculo Rojo), David plunges us into the risky world of special operations launched by the allies in World War II.
You can contact him through his website www.davidlopezcabia.es
In the numerous wars fought by Britain, command of the seas has always been a key factor. And in World War II it could not be less. The threats facing the Royal Navy were the dreaded U-boat submarines and the monstrous battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz.
Between May 19 and May 27, 1941, after a desperate pursuit, the British managed to sink the bismarck. But her sister ship, the Tirpitz, was hiding in the Norwegian fjords. Due to the difficulties involved in sinking Tirpitz, the British hatched a plan to prevent the battleship from going out to the open sea.
Tirpitz would not dare to leave its refuge in Norway if it did not have a facility to be repaired. The only port capable of accommodating such a ship was that of Saint Nazaire, located in France, at the mouth of the Loire. Therefore, the British realized that it was imperative to destroy the port facilities of Saint-Nazaire.
Operation Chariot
A new challenge had arrived for the commandos: the Operation Chariot. To get to the port, a peculiar Trojan horse was used: the old destroyer Campbelltown. To pretend that it was a German ship, two chimneys were cut out and the swastika was hoisted. The ship had been lightened, removing the heavy guns to prevent it from running aground in the estuary. Inside it, some four tons of explosives had been hidden. And it is that the Campbelltown had to be embedded against the lock of the dry dock. Once the ship collided, the commandos would descend from the Campbelltown and the escort launch flotilla, wreaking havoc and blowing up the port facilities. In command of the commandos was Lieutenant Colonel Charles Newman, while Lieutenant Commander Robert Red Ryder would command the naval forces.
It was clear that the commandos were facing a suicide mission, as the Germans had a large number of cannons and machine guns to defend the port. The number of German troops guarding Saint-Nazaire and its environs was about 5,000 men.
Arrived on March 26, 1942, the British flotilla set sail from the port of Falmouth. The next morning they located a German submarine. The destroyers tried to give chase. Despite being detected by the U-boat, they continued sailing to the French coast.
A second clash ensued, as the British ran into two fishing boats at work. Fearing that they would inform the Germans, after raiding the fishing boats, the sailors were taken aboard a destroyer and their boats were sunk. They couldn’t risk arousing suspicion if a group of abandoned fishing boats were discovered by a German patrol boat.
Saint Nazaire
At nightfall of March 27, 1942, searchlights illuminated the skies of Saint-Nazaire. Royal Air Force planes were to carry out a destruction bombing raid, but the air raid was short-lived due to overcast skies. Faced with the possibility of causing casualties among the French population, the British aircraft withdrew.
Meanwhile, the Campbelltown and her escort launches approached the port. Commandos and sailors shuddered as the camouflaged destroyer cut through a shallow area and skimmed the surface twice. They knew that if they ran aground, the mission would fail. But fortunately, the Campbelltown managed to break through.
At about 01:22, when the old destroyer and her escort were only ten minutes from port, the searchlights came on. The Germans had detected the fleet, but doubted their intentions. An exchange of light signals began. The flotilla continued to advance and received warning shots.
The British resorted to a code book captured on Vaagso raid (Dec 1941). Thanks to that book of signals they managed to gain time and continued to approach the port facilities.
The Campbelltown and the launches advanced at full speed and the Germans, receiving no reply, resorted to their guns. Pieces of many different calibers flashed in the dark. Given her size, the destroyer became the main target of German fire.
At 01:34, after fighting her way through a slew of discharges, the Campbelltown crashed into the dry dock. The surviving commandos descended from their ships and wreaked havoc in their wake, silencing the cannons that had harassed them.
The demolition crews went to the pumping station and blew it up, depriving the dam of the mechanisms that regulated the water level and destroying the opening and closing system of the locks.
The commandos had scattered across the port, the wounded were piling up, and machine-gun fire harassed them at every step they took. The Germans had reorganized and were beginning to offer a more organized resistance.
When the commandos went to the evacuation point, they were stunned to witness a hopeless panorama. The flotilla of wooden boats that was to take them back home had been sunken. The flimsy wooden boats had been burned to the ground, their remains floating on the water, shrouded in black smoke.
But Newman and his men they were not about to give up without a fight. The commandos decided to go into Saint-Nazaire, divide into small groups, cross occupied France and cross Spain, from there to return to Great Britain.
The British managed to get out of the port, but once they reached Saint-Nazaire, they were discovered by German patrols. The flight ended up becoming an impossible mission. So only five commands They managed to circumvent the relentless German siege and return to their homeland.
With the captive commandos, the Germans boasted of the gallant defense of the port of Saint-Nazaire. The Campbelltown remained flush against the lock, her hull pointing skyward. She was just a pathetic shell stranded. German photographers immortalized the scene as they celebrated her victory.
About 10:55, around four tons of explosives caused a monumental explosion in the port of Saint-Nazaire. The destroyer was split in two and metal rained down on the port city. The objective of Operation Chariot had been fulfilled, the Saint-Nazaire dry dock had been destroyed.
Despite being in the hands of the enemy, the commandos had jealously guarded the explosive secret that the Campbelltown hid. Without a facility where it could be repaired, Tirpitz would not venture out to sea.
The news of the attack on Saint-Nazaire reached the ears of Hitler, who was so enraged that he fired the commander-in-chief of the west, General Carl Hippert. On the other hand, the Führer gave orders to reinforce the defenses of the Atlantic coast.
The raid on Saint-Nazaire contributed to boost british morale and for such a feat of war, five Victoria Crosses were awarded, two of which were posthumous.
If, like us, you are passionate about History and especially the Second World War, we recommend the book by David López Cabia: undesirables. You can find it on Amazon at this link:
The year is 1942 and the war is not going well for the allies. Continental Europe remains under the yoke of the Third Reich and Britain is under siege. One of the few remaining hopes for the Allies is the Commandos, an elite force trained in rapid-fire strikes capable of sowing terror among German troops.
Lieutenant Rodney Moore and his peculiar group of commandos receive a dangerous assignment from British Naval Intelligence. They must carry out a risky mission that can change the course of the war. His next destination: the French city of Dieppe.
Moore and his men are a seasoned unit, the enemy’s bane, commandos who master the battlefield, but nothing can prepare them for the bloody landing that awaits them on the beaches of Dieppe.