By late 1941, the Germans occupied a considerable portion of the European continent,
but an Allied strike against them was not yet feasible. Endorsed by Prime Minister
Winston Churchill, the British then launched daring Commando raids along the coastline.
Aided by a detachment of Free Norwegian Army Commandos, the British targeted the islands of
Vaagso and Maaloy to dismantle strategic targets in the area,
including military facilities, fish-oil factories, and stores.
Operation Archery would eventually become the first time that air support joined sea
and land plans from its conception to carry out an amphibious raid on a defended coast.
As Admiral of the Fleet Louis Mountbatten said to the troops
before the operation was launched: (QUOTE) "Nobody knows quite what is
going to happen and you are the ones who are going to find out."
Preparing an Offensive
The islands of Vaagso and Maaloy are located between Bergen and Trondheim on the coast
of Norway. The territories didn’t have any significant strategic importance in plain sight,
but the British still launched a plan to raid them in late 1941.
Prime Minister Churchill wanted to mount a powerful raid against Trondheim to damage
its dock and repair facilities, which would help protect Allied convoys on their way to Murmansk.
However, the feat was not yet feasible by then.
In October of 1941, Louis Mountbatten was appointed Combined Operations Adviser.
He pondered that a sizable raid would force the Germans to strengthen their forces in Norway,
giving the Allies numerical advantage on the Eastern Front.
In addition, the targeted islands provided a significant opportunity to damage military
establishments in the area, including the destruction of fish-oil factories and stores,
as this component was used to manufacture explosives.
On December 6, Rear Admiral H. M. Burroughs and Brigadier Charles Haydon were appointed naval
and military commanders of the operation. They would lead Commandos No.3, two troops from No. 2,
a medical detachment from No.4, and a demolition party of Royal Engineers from 101 Troop of No. 6.
The landing party would be commanded by Colonel John Durnford-Slater, and a dozen soldiers from
the Norwegian Independent Company 1 led by Captain Martin Linge would also join them.
The British assembled a flotilla led by Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Kenya,
destroyers Onslow, Oribi, Offa, and Chiddingfold for fire support, submarine
HMS Tuna for navigational support, and HMS Prince Charles and Prince Leopold for troop transport.
The Royal Air Force also provided additional air support with bombers and fighter bombers.
It was the first time air support was integrated into raiding plans from the outset.
Overall, the raid consisted of 51 officers and 525 men in various ranks,
many of whom had served on the First Lofoten raid in March under Haydon’s leadership.
But unlike that raid, German troops and sturdy coastal defenses would be defending
both islands this time. British intelligence estimated that there were 150 German soldiers
deployed from the 181st Division, a sole tank, and about 100 construction workers in the town,
while enemy air strength consisted of four fighter and bomber squadrons that totaled 37 aircraft
operating from Herdia, Stavanger, and Trondheim. No German warships were expected.
Maaloy Island was considerably small, with less than 500 by 200 meters of land. However, it had a
concentration of coastal defenses, including four guns, ammunition stores, oil tanks, and barracks.
The island’s position was also key in defending the main access to the Maaloy
and Vaagso communities, and it protected the oil and fish factories and a power station in its
Southern mouth. Meanwhile, the assembling of enemy ships offered a secondary target in the North.
By December 15, the training phase was completed, and the raiding forces were ready. And ten days
later, the British flotilla steamed north, only stopping to enjoy a Christmas dinner.
The Raid
The British troops were divided into five parties aiming at five different objectives.
The first group would secure the area north of Maaloy town and engage with any German
reinforcements they encountered. The second and third would subdue the town and remove the enemies
from the island. The fourth would neutralize the enemy strongpoint at Holvik, west of Maaloy,
while the last would serve as an offshore floating reserve.
A diversionary raid called Operation Anklet was launched on Lofoten,
300 miles to the north, to draw away German naval and air forces. The operation was carried
out by 300 soldiers from Commando No. 12, and included elements from the Norwegian Free Army.
At 7:00 am on December 27, the Commandos rendezvoused with submarine Tuna on station
at Vaagsfjord. They were then provided an accurate navigational reference point,
and the flotilla was now ready to launch the main raid.
Meanwhile, Landing Ships Infantry, or LSIs,
were positioned out of view of the main batteries stationed on Maaloy.
At 8:48 am, the British warships opened fire.
HMS Kenya fired a salvo of star shells to light up the islands. The ships then fired
at the coastal defenses, and a bombardment of 500 shells in 10 minutes rained on the ground.
Meanwhile, smoke bomb screens from Hampdens
in the Bomber Command obscured the path of the ground troops.
Beaufighters and Blenheims provided air cover from the Scottish mainland and the
Shetland archipelago, making round trips of 650 and 400 kilometers, respectively.
The naval bombardment was successful and took the Germans entirely by surprise.
However, they immediately fought back.
Three of the four coastal guns were eventually neutralized by the British bombardment,
which only lifted when the invading troops were less than 50 meters from the shore.
As the fire ceased, the Germans found themselves overrun by over a hundred British Commandos.
However, the British ignored that a Gebirgsjäger unit of experienced
mountain rangers from the Eastern Front was currently on leave at the island.
The skillful German snipers and street fighters then turned the battle into a bitter
urban conflict, securing a defensive line in the Ulversund Hotel and halting the British advances.
Several officers lost their lives, and Captain Linge eventually assumed command. He was
determined to reach the German headquarters, but he was shot as soon as he left cover.
Colonel Durnford-Slater then summoned the floating reserve,
and destroyers Onslow and Oribi soon approached.
Oribi quickly got several Commandos on the islands, and the troops cut telephone lines
and blew craters on the ground to halt the advance of German reinforcements coming from the north.
Meanwhile, Onslow focused on destroying enemy merchant ships along the Ulvesund Sound.
Back on Maaloy, German survivors were rounded up while the Allied
forces completed the demolition work.
The fight then extended to South Vaagso. The British met less resistance than expected at
Hollevik, while local citizens assisted the Commandos by carrying ammunition,
grenades and explosives, and even the wounded.
Simultaneously, two German merchant ships managed to reach the beach before the British
could attack them, but Onslow sank a third one after neutralizing the armed trawler Fohn.
The vessels were eventually seized by boarding parties on the lookout
for confidential papers or secret codebooks.
Although there was still ongoing resistance in the streets, the major demolition tasks
were accomplished. The power station, coastal defenses, wireless station,
factories, and the lighthouse had been decimated and most of the town was now on fire.
Meanwhile, the naval assault force in the north had sunk 10 vessels,
some of which were in the middle of scuttling to prevent capture, and four Heinkels were shot down.
As a last feat, the Herdia and Stavanger airports were bombed,
significantly limiting their operations.
Aftermath
After the savage raid, the Air Force lost eight aircraft, and no Royal Navy ships were lost.
However, the Germans did score a single hit on the HMS Kenya cruiser
after technical difficulties prevented a more effective coastal defense.
Overall, the British Commandos lost 17 men, with 53 wounded, and the Navy lost two men.
As for the enemy, 150 Germans perished, and another 98 were captured,
including four Quislings, fascist collaborators during the occupation.
In addition, 71 Norwegian citizens were brought back to England,
while a single local lost his life during the battle, possibly by shrapnel.
After the defeat, in which the Allies also found a copy of the German Naval Code,
Hitler diverted 30,000 troops to Norway, and more coastal defenses were built in the perimeter.
The Germans believed that Britain would invade the country’s North to pressure Sweden and Finland,
and thus they reinforced the Norwegian Atlantic wall. It is believed that the
Fuhrer was concerned that Norway would become: (QUOTE) "The zone of destiny in this war."
At the same time, the British Press Unit captured some of
the most graphic and dramatic photographs of World War II.
Photos and eyewitness reports were later used in propaganda initiatives
to boost morale when the tide of war had turned against the Allies.
In 2005, British veterans that participated in the operation attended a commemorative trip.
The locals treated the seven former soldiers like royalty,
and they attended several functions and parades in their honor. The men were also
awarded a plaque and a painting by the Mayor of Vaagso and the Norwegian Chief of Defence.
Then, in a symbolic and meaningful act,
they laid a wreath on the grave of the only civilian who perished during the raid.
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