Force H - Amphibious Assaults and The End of Force H

Amphibious Assaults and The End of Force H

Force H was not actually extant for a portion of 1942. It was stripped bare in May to provide ships for the assault on Vichy French forces at Diego Suarez in Madagascar during Operation Ironclad. This operation succeeded, but many argue that it was a waste of British naval resources at a critical time in the war.

November saw the turning point of the conflict. Operation Torch saw British and American forces landed in Morocco and Algeria under the British First Army. Force H was reinforced to cover these landings. The two main threats were the Italian fleet and French forces. In the end, only French forces fought, and the most significant battles took place at Casablanca where only American naval units were supporting operations.

The end of the campaign in North Africa saw an interdiction effort on a vast scale. The aim was to cut Tunisia completely off from Axis support. It succeeded and 250,000 men surrendered to 18th Army Group; an equal number to those who surrendered at Stalingrad. Force H again provided heavy cover for this operation.

Two further sets of landings were covered by Force H against interference from the Italian fleet. Operation Husky in July 1943 saw the invasion and conquest of Sicily, and Operation Avalanche saw an attack on the Italian mainland at Salerno.

Following the Allied landings on Italy itself, the Italian government surrendered. The Italian fleet mostly escaped German capture and much of it formed the Italian Co-Belligerent Navy. However, two German Fritz X radio-controlled missiles did hit and sink the battleship Roma, killing the Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina), Admiral Carlo Bergamini.

Force H met the Italian fleet near Sardinia and escorted it to Malta. Admiral Cunningham sent a very traditional signal to the Admiralty in London:

"Be pleased to inform their Lordships that the Italian fleet lies under the guns of the fortress at Malta."

With the surrender of the Italian fleet, the need for heavy units in the Mediterranean disappeared. The battleships and aircraft carriers of Force H dispersed to the Home Fleet and Eastern Fleet and the command was disbanded. Naval operations in the Mediterranean from now on would be conducted by lighter units.