Operation Abstention

{{Infobox military conflict

| conflict = Operation Abstention

| partof = the Battle of the Mediterranean of the Second World War

| image = RM-Crispi in the Aegean Sea.jpg

| image_upright = 1.23

| caption = {{ship|Italian destroyer|Francesco Crispi||6}}

| date = 25–28 February 1941

| place = Island of Kastelorizo, eastern Aegean Sea

| coordinates = {{coord|36|09|00|N|29|35|24|E|type:landmark|display=title}}

| result = Italian victory

| combatant1 = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
{{flag|Australia}}

| combatant2 = {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy}}

| commander1 = Andrew Cunningham
Edward Renouf
Henry Egerton

| commander2 = Luigi Biancheri
Francesco Mimbelli

| strength1 = 2 light cruisers
7 destroyers
1 gunboat
1 submarine
1 armed yacht
200 commandos
200 soldiers and marines

| strength2 = 2 destroyers
2 torpedo boats
2 MAS boats
SM.79 bombers
SM.81 bombers
280 soldiers
88 marines

| casualties1 = 5 killed
10 wounded
20 captured or interned
7 missing{{sfn|Castelrosso|2015}}
1 destroyer damaged
1 gunboat damaged

| casualties2 = 14 killed
12 captured{{sfn|Smith|Walker|1974|p=22}}

| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Mediterranean Naval WW2}}

}}

Operation Abstention (25–28 February 1941) was the code name of a British invasion of the Italian island of Kastelorizo (Castellorizo) off the Turkish Aegean coast, during the Second World War. The goal was to establish a motor torpedo-boat base to challenge Italian naval and air supremacy on the Greek Dodecanese islands.{{sfn|Simpson|2004|p=85}} The British landings were opposed by Italian land, air and naval forces, which forced the British troops to re-embark amidst some confusion and led to recriminations between the British commanders for underestimating the Italians.

Background

After the attack on Taranto and the success of Operation Compass, an offensive in Cyrenaica, Libya from December 1940 – February 1941, the British conducted operations to neutralise Italian forces in the Dodecanese islands. Admiral Andrew Cunningham, the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet planned to occupy Kastelorizo, the easternmost Greek island in the chain just off the Turkish coast, about {{cvt|80|nmi}} from Rhodes to establish a motor torpedo boat base at a time when Axis air attacks on Malta had led to the last flying boat being withdrawn to Alexandria.{{sfn|Greene|Massignani|1998|p=145}} The operation was intended as a first step towards the control of the Aegean Sea.{{sfnm|1a1=Simpson|1y=2004|1p=85|2a1=Koburger|2y=1993|2pp=107–108}} Despite isolation, Italian naval and air forces in the area were still capable of carrying out hit-and-run attacks on Allied shipping between Egypt and Greece.{{sfn|Bragadin|1957|p=80}}

Battle

=24 February=

The British planned to land a force of about 200 men of No. 50 Commando, assisted by a 24-man detachment of Royal Marines to establish a beachhead on the island, to be followed 24-hours later by an army unit to consolidate the British position.{{sfnm|1a1=O'Hara|1y=2009|1p=98|2a1=Seymour|2y=1985|2pp=69–70}} On 24 February the commandos, transported by the destroyers {{HMS|Decoy|H75|6}} and {{HMS|Hereward|H93|2}} and the marines on the gunboat {{HMS|Ladybird|1916|6}}, sailed from Suda Bay. The second force, a company of Sherwood Foresters on board the armed yacht {{HMS|Rosaura||6}}, escorted by the light cruisers {{HMAS|Perth|D29|6}} and {{HMS|Bonaventure|31|6}}, awaited developments in Cyprus.{{sfn|Castelrosso|2015}}

=25 February=

File:Meyisti.png

Before dawn, fifty of the Commandos landed from ten whaleboats on Nifti Point, south of the settlement, while the Royal Marines occupied the harbour.{{sfn|Castelrosso|2015}} The landings were supported by the submarine {{HMS|Parthian|N75|6}}, which had made a reconnaissance of the landing points and acted as a beacon for the incoming ships.{{sfnm|1a1=Bragadin|1y=1957|1p=80|2a1=Rohwer|2a2=Hümmelchen|2y=2005|2p=61}} The Italian garrison on Kastelorizo consisted of 35 soldiers and agents of the Guardia di Finanza in charge of a wireless station.{{sfn|Bragadin|1957|p=80}} The commandos ambushed an Italian patrol on the truck between Nifti Point and the port, killing two soldiers and wounding one.{{sfn|Castelrosso|2015}} The British surprised the garrison, seized the radio outpost and inflicted 13 casualties, including twelve prisoners, the rest of the commandos coming ashore during the action.{{sfn|Greene|Massignani|1998|p=145}} Before being overrun, the Italians had managed to send a message to Rhodes, the main Italian air and naval base in the Dodecanese. {{lang|it|Ammiraglio di Divisione}} (Vice Admiral) Luigi Biancheri, commander of the Italian naval forces in the Aegean Sea reacted swiftly. From 08:00 and 09:30, aircraft of the {{lang|it|Regia Aeronautica}} (Italian Royal Air Force) raided the harbour castle and the main hills of the island, where the commandos were dug in. Ladybird was struck by a bomb and three sailors were wounded. Short of fuel, Ladybird re-embarked the Royal Marines and made for Haifa, which cut the radio link of the commandos with Alexandria.{{sfn|O'Hara|2009|pp=99–101}}{{sfn|Titterton|2002|pp=72–73}} After communications breakdowns and other mishaps, the follow-up force from Cyprus was diverted to Alexandria.{{sfn|Playfair|Stitt|Molony|Toomer|1957|p=326}}

=26 February=

File:Kastelorizo.svg

The {{lang|it|Regia Marina}} (Royal Italian Navy) counter-attack began after sunset on 26 February, when the torpedo boats {{ship|Italian torpedo boat|Lupo||2}} and {{ship|Italian torpedo boat|Lince||2}} landed about 240 soldiers north of the port and used their {{convert|3.9|in|mm|abbr=on}} guns to bombard British positions at the docks and the Governor's palace, killing three and wounding seven Commandos. The Italian warships evacuated a number of Italian civilians who had gathered at harbour after learning of their presence in the port.{{sfnm|1a1=Bragadin|1y=1957|1p=80|2a1=O'Hara|2y=2009|2p=101}}

=27 February=

Biancheri, with Lupo, Lince, MAS 546 and MAS 561, landed troops on the morning of 27 February, the operation having been delayed by high seas. Italian forces already ashore harassed the exhausted and isolated British Commandos, who were equipped only for a 24-hour operation.{{sfnm|1a1=Bragadin|1y=1957|1p=80|2a1=Seymour|2y=1985|2p=70}} The destroyers {{ship|Italian destroyer|Francesco Crispi||2}} and {{ship|Italian destroyer|Quintino Sella||2}} arrived later in the day with more ground forces; a total of 258 troops and 80 marines were eventually disembarked by Italian ships. As the Italians attacked, the Commandos retreated to their encampment at the landing beach near Nifti point, under fire from Lupo. One company remained in the area of the local cemetery.{{sfn|Castelrosso|2015}} The captain of Hereward was warned by the commandos and joined Decoy, about {{cvt|40|nmi}} off the coast. The commander ordered the warships to disrupt the Italian landings but the destroyers did not find the Italian ships. Hereward reported that the Italian surface action threatened the landing of the main British force embarked on Rosaura, which had already been compromised by the air attacks on the harbour. The landing was postponed and rearranged, to be carried out by the destroyers Decoy and {{HMS|Hero|H99|2}}, after embarking the Sherwood Foresters company from Rosaura. The ships were ordered to Alexandria to reorganise; Admiral Renouf fell ill and was replaced by Captain Egerton, commander of Bonaventure, which complicated matters.{{sfn|Titterton|2002|pp=73–74}}

=28 February=

More British forces from Alexandria arrived in the early hours of 28 February. A platoon of the Sherwood Foresters found the landing point abandoned by the Commandos; along with scattered equipment and ammunition were a dead soldier and two stragglers, who told them of the Italian counter-attack.{{sfn|Smith|Walker|1974|pp=4–6}} Major Cooper of the Sherwood Foresters, who had sailed back to Decoy, concluded, after talks with the other commanders, that lack of naval and air support made withdrawal inevitable. The bulk of the landing party, isolated on a small plateau in the east end of Kastelorizo, was re-embarked by 03:00.{{sfn|Titterton|2002|pp=73–74}} Italian troops surrounded and eventually captured a number of Commandos who had been left behind.{{sfn|Castelrosso|2015}} While covering the withdrawal, {{HMS|Jaguar|F34|6}} was attacked by Crispi, which had fired twenty shells on British positions at Nifti Point, steaming from the south.{{sfn|O'Hara|2013|p=116}} The Italian destroyer fired two torpedoes which missed and Jaguar replied with her {{convert|4.7|in|mm|abbr=on}} main armament. Jaguar received a 40 mm hit on her searchlight that made its gunfire ineffective and the British force sailed back to Alexandria.{{sfnm|1a1=Titterton|1y=2002|1pp=73–74|2a1=O'Hara|2y=2013|2p=116}} The destroyers {{HMS|Nubian|F36|6}}, {{HMS|Hasty|H24|2}} and Jaguar made a sweep between Rhodes and Kastelorizo after a radar contact and detecting wireless traffic in the area but failed to intercept the Italian warships as they returned to base.{{sfn|Cunningham|1999|pp=292–293}}

Aftermath

=Analysis=

File:Palazzina.2.jpg

Cunningham described the operation as "a rotten business and reflected little credit to everyone" and laid blame on Renouf.{{sfnm|1a1=Simpson|1y=2004|1p=85|2a1=O'Hara|2y=2009|2p=102}} A Board of Inquiry found that Hereward{{'}}s commander made a misjudgement by rejoining Decoy, instead of engaging the Italian force without delay, which caused the failure of the main landing and the isolation of the commandos.{{sfn|Titterton|2002|pp=73–74}} British commanders had also been surprised by the Italian riposte, especially the frequent air attacks which were unopposed.{{sfnm|1a1=Sadkovich|1y=1994|1p=119|2a1=Smith|2a2=Walker|2y=1974|2p=32|3a1=Playfair|3a2=Stitt|3a3=Molony|3a4=Toomer|3y=1957|3p=326}} Greene and Massignani, writing in 1998, noted the British capture of Y-I, an Italian cipher book.{{sfn|Greene|Massignani|1998|p=145}}

In 2009, Vincent O'Hara wrote that the operation showed that the Italians dominated the seas around even their outlying bases and that this was not to be the last time that the British underestimated them.{{sfn|O'Hara|2009|p=102}} The Italians retained control of the Dodecanese Islands until the armistice of September 1943. When Italy changed sides, British forces landed on the islands to support the Italian garrisons in the Dodecanese Campaign (8 September – 22 November 1943). British and Italian troops were attacked and defeated by a German operation and the islands came under German control until the end of the war.{{sfn|Roskill|1960|pp=191–205}}

=Casualties=

In 1998, Greene and Massignani wrote that the British suffered three men killed, eleven wounded and 27 missing for an Italian loss of eight men killed, eleven wounded and ten missing.{{sfn|Greene|Massignani|1998|p=145}}

Order of battle

=Regia Marina=

File:Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg

Admiral Luigi Biancheri
destroyers
{{ship|Italian destroyer|Francesco Crispi||2}}
{{ship|Italian destroyer|Quintino Sella||2}}
torpedo boats
{{ship|Italian torpedo boat|Lupo||2}}
{{ship|Italian torpedo boat|Lince||2}}
MAS motor launches
MAS-541
MAS-546
Garrison:
30 signallers
10 carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza (custom agents)
Landing force
240 infantry
88 marines

=Royal Navy=

File:Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg

Admiral Andrew Cunningham
Suda Force:
destroyers
{{HMS|Hereward|H93|6}}
{{HMS|Decoy|H75|6}}
gunboat
{{HMS|Ladybird|1916|6}}
submarine
{{HMS|Parthian|N75|6}}
Commandos: 200
Marines: 24
Cyprus Force (3rd Cruiser Squadron)
{{HMAS|Perth|D29|6}}
{{HMS|Bonaventure|31|6}}
Armed yacht
Rosaura
Garrison Force {{circa| 150}} soldiers
Alexandria Force destroyers
{{HMS|Jaguar|F34|6}}
{{HMS|Hero|H99|6}}

Footnotes

References

=Books=

{{cite book |last=Bragadin |first=Marc'Antonio |year=1957 |title=The Italian Navy in World War II |publisher=United States Naval Institute |location=Annapolis, MD |isbn=0-405-13031-7}}
{{cite book |last=Cunningham |first=Andrew Browne|year=1999 |title=The Cunningham Papers: Selections from the Private and Official Correspondence of Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, O.M., K.T., G.C.B., D.S.O. and Two Bars, Volume 140 |publisher=Ashgate for the Navy Records Society|location=London |isbn=9781840146226}}
{{cite book |last1=Greene |first1=Jack |last2=Massignani |first2=Alessandro |year=1998 |title=The Naval War in the Mediterranean, 1940–1943 |publisher=Chatham |location=London |isbn=1-86176-057-4}}
{{cite book |last=Koburger |first=Charles W. Jr |year=1993 |title=Naval Warfare in the Eastern Mediterranean (1940–1945) |publisher=Praeger |location=Westport, CN |isbn=0-275-94465-4}}
{{cite book |last=O'Hara |first=Vincent |year=2009 |title=Struggle for the Middle Sea: The Great Navies at War in the Mediterranean Theater, 1940–1945 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=978-1-59114-648-3}}
{{cite book |last=O'Hara |first=Vincent P. |year=2013 |title=In Passage Perilous: Malta and the Convoy Battles of June 1942 |location=Bloomington, Indiana |publisher=Indiana University Press. |isbn=978-0-253-00603-5}}
{{cite book |first1=I. S. O. |last1=Playfair |author1-link=Ian Stanley Ord Playfair |first2=G. M. S. |last2=Stitt |first3=C. J. C. |last3=Molony |first4=S. E. |last4=Toomer |editor-last=Butler |editor-first=J. R. M. |editor-link=James Ramsay Montagu Butler |series=History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series |title=The Mediterranean and Middle East: The Early Successes Against Italy (to May 1941) |volume=I |publisher=Naval & Military Press |year=1957 |orig-year=1st. pub. HMSO 1954 |isbn=1-84574-065-3 |name-list-style=amp}}
{{cite book |last1=Rohwer |first1=Jürgen |author-link1=Jürgen Rohwer |last2=Hümmelchen |first2=Gerhard |title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |year=2005 |edition=3rd rev. |isbn=1-59114-119-2}}
{{cite book |last=Roskill |first=S. W. |author-link=Stephen Roskill |series=History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series |title=The War at Sea 1939–1945: The Offensive Part 1: 1st June 1943 – 31st May 1944 |volume=III |year=1960 |publisher=HMSO |location=London |oclc=1099743425}}
{{cite book |last=Sadkovich |first=James |year=1994 |title=The Italian Navy in World War II |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport |isbn=1-86176-057-4}}
{{cite book |last=Seymour |first=William |year=1985 |title=British Special Forces |url=https://archive.org/details/britishspecialfo0000seym |url-access=registration |publisher=Sidgwick and Jackson |location=London |isbn=0-283-98873-8}}
{{cite book |last=Simpson |first=Michael |year=2004 |title=A Life of Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Cunningham. A Twentieth-Century Naval Leader |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=0-7146-5197-4}}
{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Peter |last2=Walker |first2=Edwin |year=1974 |title=War in the Aegean |publisher=Kimber |location=London |isbn=0-7183-0422-5}}
{{cite book |last=Titterton |first=G. A. |year=2002 |title=The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=0-7146-5205-9 }}

=Websites=

{{cite web |url=http://24grammata.com/?p=10764 |title=Fasti e declino di un'isola del Mediterraneo |trans-title=Glory and Decline of a Mediterranean Island |language=it |year=2015 |website=Castelrosso |access-date=2 March 2015 |ref={{harvid|Castelrosso|2015}}}}