The military history of Gibraltar during World War II exemplifies Gibraltar's position as a British fortress from the early-18th century onwards and as a vital factor in British military strategy, both as a foothold on the continent of Europe, and as a bastion of British sea power.The Rock by Warren Tute, publ. by Companion Book Club,. 1958 During World War II, Gibraltar served a vital role in both the Atlantic Theatre and the Mediterranean Theatre, controlling virtually all naval traffic moving between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.William G.F. Jackson, The Rock of the Gibraltarians. A History of Gibraltar, Grendon : Gibraltar Books (1987) 1998
In addition to its commanding position, Gibraltar provided a strongly-defended harbour from which ships could operate both in the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean. The Royal Navy's Force H, under the command of Vice-Admiral James Somerville was based in Gibraltar and had the task of maintaining naval superiority and providing a strong escort for convoys to and from the besieged island of Malta. During the course of the war, Gibraltar came under aerial bombardment from Vichy French aircraft and from aircraft of the Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) based on Sardinia. Additionally, the fortress was the focus of underwater attacks by the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) commando frogman unit (Decima Flottiglia MAS) and their human torpedoes. This Italian unit was based on the interned Italian ship SS Olterra in the nearby Spanish harbour of Algeciras. A number of attacks were also carried out by Spanish and Gibraltarian agents acting on behalf of the German Abwehr.
Inside the Rock of Gibraltar itself, miles of tunnels were excavated from the limestone. Masses of rock were blasted out to build an "underground city". In huge man-made caverns, barracks, offices, and a fully-equipped hospital were constructed, complete with an operating theatre and X-ray equipment.
Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa in November 1942, was coordinated from the "Rock". General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was given command of the operation, set up his headquarters in Gibraltar during the planning phases of the operation. Following the successful completion of the North African campaign in May 1943 and the surrender of Italy in September 1943, Gibraltar's role shifted from that of a forward operating base to that of a rear-area supply position. The harbour continued to operate dry-docks and supply depots for the convoy routes through the Mediterranean until V-E Day in 1945. __TOC__
Prelude and evacuation
The Second World War dramatically changed the lives of Gibraltarians. The decision to enforce mass evacuation in order to increase the strength of the Rock with more military and naval personnel meant that most Gibraltarians (some for up to ten years) had nowhere to call 'home'. Only those civilians with essential jobs were allowed to stay but it gave the entire community a sense of being 'British' by sharing in the war effort.Bond, pp. 97
In early June 1940, about 13,500 evacuees were shipped to Casablanca in French Morocco. However, following the capitulation of the French to the German armies later in June 1940, the new Pro-German French Vichy Government found the presence of Gibraltarian evacuees in Casablanca an embarrassment and sought opportunities for their removal. The opportunity soon arose when 15 British cargo vessels arrived under Commodore Crichton, repatriating 15,000 French servicemen who had been rescued from Dunkirk. Once their own rescued servicemen had disembarked, the ships were interned until they agreed to take away all the evacuees. Although Crichton was unable to obtain permission to clean and restock his ships (and contrary to British Admiralty orders which forbade the taking on of evacuees), when he saw the mass of civilians pouring through the dockyards, he opened up his gangways for boarding. Just beforehand, the British fleet had destroyed a number of French warships at Mers el-Kebir in order to prevent them ending up in German hands. The attack, during which 1,297 French sailors died, led to high tensions, which were evident when families were forced at bayonet point by French troops to board taking only what they could carry, leaving many possessions behind. However, when they arrived at Gibraltar, the governor would not allow them to land, fearing that once the evacuees were back on the Rock, it would be virtually impossible to evacuate them a second time.Bond, pp. 98 Crowds gathered in John Mackintosh Square in the centre of Gibraltar as the news broke, speeches were made and two city councillors accompanied by the acting president of the exchange and commercial library went to see the governor (Sir Clive Liddell) to ask that the evacuees be allowed to land. After receiving instructions from London, a landing was allowed as long as the evacuees returned when other ships arrived to take them away from the Rock, and by 13 July the re-evacuation back to Gibraltar had been completed.
British conservative politician Oliver Stanley agreed to accept the evacuees in the United Kingdom, but he argued with Gibraltar over the number of people involved. The Governor, he declared, had given the number of evacuees first as 13,000, then as 14,000 and finally as 16,000. He asked for the situation to be clarified, stressing the shortage of accommodation in Britain and insisting that only 13,000 could be accepted, 2,000 of whom were to be sent to the Portuguese Atlantic island of Madeira. The situation, replied General Liddell on 19 July, "is that this is a fortress liable to heavy and immediate attack and there should be no civilians here whereas there are 22,000. The 13,000 was the number sent to Morocco, and more would have been sent had the situation there not altered." In London the evacuees were placed in the hands of the Ministry of Health, and many were housed in Kensington area. Concern for them in Gibraltar mounted as the air raids against London intensified, coupled with the arrival of harrowing letters, describing the circumstances in which the evacuees were living.GGA, Evacuation 1940: General Mechanics of
In September rumours were already circulating among the evacuees, and in Gibraltar, that the possibility of re-evacuating the Gibraltarians once more was being mooted, this time the destination being Jamaica, in the West Indies. After much contention, it was decided to send a party directly from Gibraltar to the island, and 1,093 evacuees left for Jamaica direct, on 9 October, with more following later on. However, petitions followed and the demands were met, partly for strategic reasons and the lack of available shipping. The situation at the end of 1940, therefore, was that approximately 2,000 evacuees were in Jamaica and a lesser number in Madeira, with the bulk of around 10,000 housed in the London area.
Royal Air Force involvement: 1939–1941
Construction of a solid surface runway began in late 1939 and in 1940 it was proposed to extend the existing runway to a length of 1,550 yards (1,417 m). The land reclamation commenced towards the end of 1941 along with the construction of an RAF camp at the "North Front", now RAF Gibraltar. The RAF dispatched their next squadron to Gibraltar at this time and it was in September 1939 that war with Germany was declared and the strong possibility of German submarines concentrating in the Strait of Gibraltar and using Spanish port facilities, loomed large in Admiralty thinking. So at 09:00 (UTC) on 9 September 1939, No. 202 Squadron RAF was ordered to Gibraltar, loaded to the gunwales with equipment.
On 25 September 1939, No. 200 (Coastal) Group RAF was formed as a subordinate formation to HQ RAF Mediterranean in control of No 202 Squadron. The Group's function was the control of Royal Air Force units operating from Gibraltar. In late 1940 the Group was transferred to Coastal Command. Later a combined headquarters was formed which commenced operations in early 1942.
Threats of military action by Spain On 19 June 1940 the Spanish leader Francisco Franco offered to bring Spain into the war on the side of Germany, then on 18 July 1940 Franco declared that Spain had 2,000,000 soldiers ready to retake Gibraltar and expand Spanish interests in North Africa. Nothing came of these threats as Spain realised how well defended Gibraltar was and the economic effects of a blockade of Spanish ports, especially on oil imports, so they pulled back the offer of being willing to enter the war on the side of the Axis forces.
Vichy French attacks: 1940 On 18 July 1940, after the attack on the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kébir by the British, the Vichy government authorized a bombing raid of Gibraltar as a response. Little damage was reported to have been done but caused the first casualties. The attack was half-hearted and the majority of the bombs were deliberately dropped short of their target. However, one soldier and four civilians were killed in the bombing.
On 24 September, the Italian Stefani news agency reported: "As a reprisal for the bombardment of Dakar yesterday morning, one-hundred-and-twenty French aircraft based in Morocco attacked Gibraltar." On the same day, the United Press Agency reported: "The French government has issued an official denial of reports, according to which French aircraft were said to have attacked Gibraltar. Up until now, no reprisals have been undertaken." But the United Press report ended on an ominous note with: "French reprisals are imminent."Piekałkiewicz. Sea War: 1939–1945. p. 90
Again, on the same day, the Vichy French government issued orders for the naval base and city of Gibraltar to be bombarded. As a result, six bomber squadrons of the Vichy French Air Force (Armée de l'Air de Vichy) and four squadrons of the Vichy French Navy (Marine nationale de Vichy) were employed in the operation. The 64 bombers flew from bases in Oran, Tafaroui (in Algeria), Meknes, Mediouna, and Port Lyautey (in Morocco). The French action was approved by both the German Armistice Commission and the Italian Armistice Commission.Piekałkiewicz. Sea War: 1939–1945. p. 102
The French dropped 150 bombs on Gibraltar during the raid.Sutherland and Canwell, p. 29 They inflicted heavy damage on the fortress and encountered no British aircraft while doing so. The South Mole and a large ship in the harbour were heavily damaged. In the northern part of Gibraltar, fires broke out. However, most of the Vichy bombs again fell into the sea.
On 25 September, the French returned with a larger force of eighty-three bombers to cause additional damage to the naval base and harbour installations. Again, aircraft of the British Royal Air Force made no appearance. However, the French crews did report encountering heavy anti-aircraft fire. One LeO 451 bomber was lost and 13 other aircraft were lightly damaged during the two days of bombing attacks. The British armed trawler was sunk by bombs, and several civilians were killed.Naval-History.netSutherland and Canwell, p. 30 The Vichy authorities made it clear that bombing raids of Gibraltar would continue as long as the British continued to attack Dakar.
The air attack on 25 September was the last by Vichy forces on Gibraltar.
Operation Felix: 1940–1941