Battle of Madagascar

Diego-Suarez is a large bay with a fine harbour near the northern tip of the island of Madagascar and has an opening to the east through a narrow channel called Oronjia Pass. The naval base of Diego-Suarez lies on a peninsula between two of the four small bays enclosed within Diego-Suarez Bay. Diego-Suarez Bay cuts deeply into the northern tip of Madagascar (Cape Amber), almost severing it from the rest of the island.[11]^:133 In the 1880s, the bay was coveted by France, which claimed it as a coaling station for steamships travelling to French possessions farther east. The colonization was formalized after the first Franco-Hova War when Queen Ranavalona III signed a treaty on 17 December 1885 giving France a protectorate over the bay and surrounding territory, as well as the islands of Nosy Be and St. Marie de Madagascar. The colony's administration was subsumed into that of French Madagascar in 1897.[12]

In 1941, Diego-Suarez town, the bay and the channel were well protected by naval shore batteries.[11]^:133

Following the Japanese conquest of Southeast Asia east of Burma by the end of February 1942, submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy were moving freely throughout the north and eastern expanses of the Indian Ocean. In March, Japanese aircraft carriers conducted the Indian Ocean raid upon shipping in the Bay of Bengal and bases in Colombo and Trincomalee in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). This raid drove the British Eastern Fleet out of the area and they were forced to relocate to a new base at Kilindini, near Mombasa, Kenya.

The move made the British fleet more vulnerable to attack. The possibility of Japanese naval forces using forward bases in Madagascar had to be addressed. The potential use of these facilities particularly threatened Allied merchant shipping, the supply route to the British Eighth Army and also the Eastern Fleet.

Japanese submarines had the longest range of any Axis submarines at the time – more than 10,000 miles (16,000 km) in some cases, but being challenged by the United States Navy's then-relatively new Gato-class fleet submarines' 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) top range figures. If the Imperial Japanese Navy's submarines were able to utilise bases on Madagascar, Allied lines of communication would be affected across a region stretching from the Pacific and Australia, to the Middle East and as far as the South Atlantic.

On 17 December 1941, Vice Admiral Fricke, Chief of Staff of Germany's Maritime Warfare Command (Seekriegsleitung), met Vice Admiral Naokuni Nomura, the Japanese naval attaché, in Berlin to discuss the delimitation of respective operational areas between the German Kriegsmarine and Imperial Japanese Navy forces. At another meeting on 27 March 1942, Fricke stressed the importance of the Indian Ocean to the Axis powers and expressed the desire that the Japanese begin operations against the northern Indian Ocean sea routes. Fricke further emphasized that Ceylon, the Seychelles, and Madagascar should have a higher priority for the Axis navies than operations against Australia.[11]^:116 By 8 April, the Japanese announced to Fricke that they intended to commit four or five submarines and two auxiliary cruisers for operations in the western Indian Ocean between Aden and the Cape of Good Hope, but they refused to disclose their plans for operations against Madagascar and Ceylon, only reiterating their commitment to operations in the area.[11]^:117

The Allies had heard the rumours of Japanese plans for the Indian Ocean and on 27 November 1941, the British Chiefs of Staff discussed the possibility that the Vichy government might cede the whole of Madagascar to Japan, or alternatively permit the Japanese Navy to establish bases on the island. British naval advisors urged the occupation of the island as a precautionary measure.[11]^:131 On 16 December, General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French in London, sent a letter to the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, in which he also urged a Free French operation against Madagascar.[13]^:223 Churchill recognised the risk of a Japanese-controlled Madagascar to Indian Ocean shipping, particularly to the important sea route to India and Ceylon, and considered the port of Diego-Suarez as the strategic key to Japanese influence in the Indian Ocean. However, he also made it clear to planners that he did not feel Britain had the resources to mount such an operation and, following experience in the Battle of Dakar in September 1940, did not want a joint operation launched by British and Free French forces to secure the island.[13]^:223

By 12 March 1942, Churchill had been convinced of the importance of such an operation and the decision was reached that the planning of the invasion of Madagascar would begin in earnest. It was agreed that the Free French would be explicitly excluded from the operation. As a preliminary battle outline, Churchill gave the following guidelines to the planners[13]^:225 and the operation was designated Operation Bonus:[13]^:225

• Force H, the ships guarding the Western Mediterranean, should move south from Gibraltar and should be replaced by an American Task Force
• The 4,000 men and ships proposed by Lord Mountbatten for the operation, should be retained as the nucleus around which the plan should be built
• The operation should commence around 30 April 1942
• In the event of success, the commandos recommended by Mountbatten should be replaced by garrison troops as soon as possible[13]^:225

On 14 March, Force 121 was constituted under the command of Major-General Robert Sturges of the Royal Marines with Rear-Admiral Edward Syfret being placed in command of naval Force H and the supporting sea force.[11]^:132

Following many reconnaissance missions by the SAAF, the first wave of the British 29th Infantry Brigade and No. 5 Commando landed in assault craft on 5 May. Follow-up waves were by two brigades of the 5th Infantry Division and Royal Marines. All were carried ashore by landing craft to Courrier Bay and Ambararata Bay, just west of the major port of Diego-Suarez, at the northern tip of Madagascar. A diversionary attack was staged to the east. Air cover was provided mainly by Fairey Albacore and Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers which attacked Vichy shipping and the airfield at Arrachart. They were supported by Grumman Martlets fighters from the Fleet Air Arm. A small number of SAAF planes assisted. The Swordfish sank the armed merchant cruiser Bougainville and then the submarine Bévéziers, although one Swordfish was shot down by anti-aircraft fire and its crew was taken prisoner.[14] The aircraft shot down had been dropping leaflets in French that encouraged the Vichy troops to surrender.[15]

The defending Vichy forces, led by Governor General Armand Léon Annet, included about 8,000 troops, of whom about 6,000 were Malagasy tirailleurs (colonial infantry). A large proportion of the rest were Senegalese. Between 1,500 and 3,000 Vichy troops were concentrated around Diego-Suarez.[2] However, naval and air defences were relatively light and/or obsolete: eight coastal batteries, two armed merchant cruisers, two sloops, five submarines, 17 Morane-Saulnier 406 fighters and 10 Potez 63 bombers.

Captured French troops marching away from their HQ after the British had captured Diego-Suarez on 7 May

Negotiations for the surrender of Diego-Suarez at the British headquarters in the town

The beach landings met with virtually no resistance and these troops seized Vichy coastal batteries and barracks. The Courier Bay force, the 17th Infantry Brigade, after toiling through mangrove swamp and thick bush took the town of Diego-Suarez taking a hundred prisoners of war. The Ambararata Bay force, the 29th Independent Brigade, headed towards the French naval base of Antisarane.[2] With assistance from six Valentines and six Tetrarch light tanks of B Special Service Squadron they advanced 21 miles overcoming light resistance with bayonet charges.[16] Antisarane itself was heavily defended with trenches, two redoubts, pillboxes, and flanked on both sides by impenetrable swamps.[17] Arrachart airfield was attacked, with five of the Morane fighters being destroyed and another two damaged, while two Potez-63s were also damaged. This attack effectively resulted in the Vichy air strength on the island being reduced by 25 per cent. Two Morane fighters did briefly appear and strafe beaches at Courier Bay, but two more Vichy aircraft would be lost on the first day.[18]

On the morning of 6 May a frontal assault on the defences failed with the loss of three Valentines and two Tetrarchs.[16] Three Vichy Potez 63s attempted to attack the beach landing points but were intercepted by British Martlets and two were shot down.[18] Albacores were used to bomb French defences, while a Swordfish managed to sink the submarine Le Heros.[19] By the end of the day fierce resistance had caused 10 out of the 12 tanks the British had brought to Madagascar to be destroyed.[20] The British had been unaware of the strength of the French defences known as the 'Joffre line', and were hugely surprised at the level of resistance they had come across.[21] Another assault by the South Lancashires worked their way around the Vichy defences but the swamps and bad terrain meant they were broken up into groups. Nevertheless, they swung behind the Vichy line and caused chaos. Fire was poured on the Vichy defences from behind and the radio station and a barracks were captured.[17] In all 200 prisoners were taken, but the South Lancashires had to withdraw as communication with the main force was nonexistent after the radio set failed. At this time, the Vichy government in France began to learn of the landings, and Admiral Darlan sent a message to Governor Annet telling himto "Firmly defend the honour of our flag", and "Fight to the limit of your possibilities... and make the British pay dearly." The Vichy forces then asked for assistance from the Japanese, who were in no position to provide substantial support.[22]

With the French defence highly effective, the deadlock was broken when the old destroyer HMS Anthony dashed straight past the harbour defences of Antisarane and landed fifty Royal Marines from Ramillies amidst the Vichy rear area.[17] The marines created a "disturbance in the town out of all proportion to their numbers" taking the French artillery command post along with its barracks and the naval depot. At the same time the troops of the 17th Infantry Brigade had broken through the defences and were soon marching in the town. The Vichy defence was broken and Antisarane surrendered that evening, although substantial Vichy forces withdrew to the south.[23] On 7 May British Martlets encountered three Morane French fighters, with one Martlet being shot down. All three of the French fighters were then shot down, meaning that by the third day of the attack on Madagascar, twelve Moranes and five Potez 63s had been destroyed out of a total of 35 Vichy aircraft on the entire island.[18] A further three Potez bombers were destroyed on the ground during a raid on Majunga on 15 May.[18] Fighting continued into 7 May but by the end of the day Operation Ironclad had effectively concluded. In just three days of fighting the British had seen 109 men killed and 283 wounded, with the French suffering 700 casualties.[24]

The Japanese submarines I-10, I-16, and I-20 arrived three weeks later on 29 May. I-10's reconnaissance plane spotted HMS Ramillies at anchor in Diego-Suarez harbour, but the plane was spotted and Ramillies changed her berth. I-20 and I-16 launched two midget submarines, one of which managed to enter the harbour and fired two torpedoes while under depth charge attack from two corvettes. One torpedo seriously damaged Ramillies, while the second sank the 6,993-ton oil tanker British Loyalty (later refloated).[25] Ramillies was later repaired in Durban and Plymouth.

The crew of one of the midget submarines, Lieutenant Saburo Akieda and Petty Officer Masami Takemoto, beached their craft (M-20b) at Nosy Antalikely and moved inland towards their pick-up point near Cape Amber. They were betrayed when they bought food at the village of Anijabe and both were killed in a firefight with Royal Marines three days later. One marine was killed in the action as well. The second midget submarine was lost at sea and the body of a crewman was found washed ashore a day later.[25]

19 September 1942. Allied troops disembarking from an LCA in Tamatave harbour.

Hostilities continued at a low level for several months. After 19 May two brigades of the 5th Infantry Division were transferred to India. On 8 June, the 22nd (East Africa) Brigade Group arrived on Madagascar.[26] The 7th South African Motorized Brigade arrived on 24 June.[27] On 2 July, an invasion force was sent to the Vichy-held island of Mayotte in order to take control of its valuable radio station and to utilise it as a useful base for British operations in the area. The island's defenders were caught by surprise and the key radio station and most of the sleeping defenders were captured. The Chief of Police and a few others attempted to escape by car but were stopped by roadblocks that had been assembled. The island's capture was carried out with no loss of life or major damage.[28]

The 27th (North Rhodesia) Infantry Brigade (including forces from East Africa) landed in Madagascar on 8 August.[29] The Vichy governor of Madagascar Annet attempted to obtain reinforcements from the central Vichy government, particularly in terms of aircraft, but was unable to do so. By August, Vichy air strength on the island primarily consisted of only four Morane fighters and three Potez-63s.[30]

The operation code-named "Stream Line Jane" (sometimes given as "Streamline Jane") consisted of three separate sub-operations code-named Stream, Line and Jane. Stream and Jane were, respectively, the amphibious landings at Majunga on 10 September and Tamatave on 18 September, while Line was the advance from Majunga to the French capital, Tannanarive, which fell on 23 September.[31][32]

On 10 September the 29th Brigade and 22nd Brigade Group made an amphibious landing at Majunga, another port on the west coast of the island. No. 5 Commando spearheaded the landing and faced machine gun fire but despite this they stormed the quayside, took control of the local post office, stormed the governor's residence and raised the Union Jack.[33] Having severed communications with Tannanarive, the Allies intended to re-launch the offensive ahead of the rainy season. Progress was slow for the Allied forces. In addition to occasional small-scale clashes with Vichy forces, they also encountered scores of obstacles erected on the main roads by Vichy soldiers. Vichy forces attempted to destroy the second bridge on the Majunga-Tananarive road, but only succeeded in causing the central span of the bridge to sag merely 3ft into the river below, meaning that Allied vehicles could still pass over. Once the Vichy forces realised their mistake, a Potez-63 aircraft was sent to drop bombs to finish off the bridge, but the attack failed.[34] The Allies eventually captured the capital, Tananarive, without much opposition, and then the town of Ambalavao, but the devoutly Vichy Governor Annet escaped.[35]

Eight days later a British force set out to capture Tamatave. Heavy surf interfered with the operation. As HMS Birmingham's launch was heading to shore it was fired at by French shore batteries and promptly turned around. Birmingham then opened her guns up on the shores batteries and within three minutes the French hauled up the white flag and surrendered. From there the South Lancashires and the Royal Welch Fusiliers set out to the south to link up with forces there. After they reached Tananarive they pressed on towards Moramanga and on 25 September they linked up with the King's African Rifles having secured the British lines of communication around the island. At the same time the East African infantry and South African armoured cars set out to find the elusive Governor Annet.[35] The same day, a bombing raid was launched by South African Marylands on a Vichy-held fort in Fianarantsoa, the only major centre of population that was still in French hands and where the remainder of the Vichy aircraft were now based.

On 29 September, two companies of the South African Pretoria Highlanders performed the only amphibious landing by South African forces of the entire war at the west coast harbor town of Tulear some 900 miles south of Diego Suarez.[36] HMS Birmingham, 2 destroyers and 200 Royal Marines supported the unopposed landing.

On 6 October, a Morane fighter strafed British positions near Antinchi, and on 8 October a British bombing raid on Ihosy airfield destroyed four Vichy aircraft.[37]

The last major action took place on 18 October, at Andramanalina, a U-shaped valley with the meandering Mangarahara River where an ambush was planned for British forces by Vichy troops. The King's African Rifles split into two columns and marched around the 'U' of the valley and met Vichy troops in the rear and then ambushed them. The Vichy troops suffered heavy losses which resulted in 800 of them surrendering.[35] A single Morane fighter was operational until 21 October, and even strafed South African troops, but by 21 October the only serviceable aircraft the Vichy forces had was a Salmson Phrygane transport aircraft.[38] On 25 October the King's African Rifles entered Fianarantsoa but found Annet gone, this time near Ihosy 100 miles south. The Africans swiftly moved after him, but they received an envoy from Annet asking for terms of surrender. He had had enough and couldn't escape further. An armistice was signed in Ambalavao on 6 November, and Annet surrendered two days later.[39]

The Allies suffered about 500 casualties in the landing at Diego-Suarez, and 30 more killed and 90 wounded in the operations which followed on 10 September 1942.

Julian Jackson, in his biography of de Gaulle, observed that the French had held out longer against the Allies in Madagascar in 1942 than they had against the Germans in France in 1940.[40]

Jacob van Heemskerck, a Dutch cruiser involved in the operations off Madagascar

Modern-day view of the bay

Battleships

HMS Ramillies

Aircraft Carriers

HMS Illustrious

HMS Indomitable

Cruisers

HMS Birmingham[43]

HMS Dauntless[43]

HMS Gambia[43]

HMS Hermione

HMS Devonshire

HNLMS Jacob van Heemskerck

Minelayer

HMS Manxman[43]

Monitor

HMS Erebus[43]

Seaplane Carrier

HMS Albatross[43]

Destroyers

HMS Active

HMS Anthony

HMS Arrow[43]

HMS Blackmore[43]

HMS Duncan

HMS Fortune[43]

HMS Foxhound[43]

HMS Inconstant

HMS Hotspur[43]

HMS Javelin

HMS Laforey

HMS Lightning

HMS Lookout

HMAS Napier[43]

HMAS Nepal[43]

HMAS Nizam

HMAS Norman

HMS Pakenham

HMS Paladin

HMS Panther

HNLMS Van Galen[43]

HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes[43]

Corvettes

HMS Freesia

HMS Auricula

HMS Nigella

HMS Fritillary

HMS Genista

HMS Cyclamen

HMS Thyme

HMS Jasmine

Minesweepers

HMS Cromer

HMS Poole

HMS Romney

HMS Cromarty

Assault transports

HMS Winchester Castle

HMS Royal Ulsterman

HMS Keren

HMS Karanja

MS Sobieski (Polish)

Special ships

HMS Derwentdale (LCA)

HMS Bachaquero (LST)

Troop ships

SS Oronsay

RMS Duchess of Atholl

RMS Franconia

Stores and MT ships

SS Empire Kingsley

M/S Thalatta

SS Mahout

SS City of Hong Kong

SS Mairnbank

SS Martand II[44]

A Valentine tank of the type used during the invasion.

Organization of British ground forces for Operation Ironclad, during the invasion of Madagascar 5 May 1942[45][46]

29th Infantry Brigade (independent) arrived via amphibious landing near Diego-Suarez on 5 May 1942

2nd South Lancashire Regiment

2nd East Lancashire Regiment

1st Royal Scots Fusiliers

2nd Royal Welch Fusiliers

455th Light Battery (Royal Artillery)

MG company

'B' Special Service Squadron with 6 Valentine and 6 Tetrarch tanks

Commandos arrived via amphibious landing near Diego-Suarez on 5 May 1942

No. 5 Commando

British 17th Infantry Brigade Group (of 5th Division) landed near Diego-Suarez as second wave on 5 May 1942

2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers

2nd Northamptonshire Regiment

6th Seaforth Highlanders

9th Field Regiment (Royal Artillery)

British 13th Infantry Brigade (of 5th Division) landed near Diego-Suarez as third wave on 6 May 1942. Departed 19 May 1942 for India

2nd Cameronians

2nd Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

2nd Wiltshire Regiment

East African Brigade Group arrived 22 June to replace 13 and 17 Brigades

South African 7th Motorised Brigade

Rhodesian 27th Infantry Brigade arrived 8 August 1942; departed 29 June 1944

2nd Northern Rhodesia Regiment

3rd Northern Rhodesia Regiment

4th Northern Rhodesia Regiment

55th (Tanganyika) Light Battery

57th (East African) Field Battery[44]

Aboard HMS Illustrious

881 Squadron - 12 Grumman Martlet Mk.II

882 Squadron - 8 Grumman Martlet Mk.II, 1 Fairey Fulmar

810 Squadron - 10 Fairey Swordfish

829 Squadron - 10 Fairey Swordfish

Aboard HMS Indomitable

800 Squadron - 8 Fairey Fulmar

806 Squadron - 4 Fairey Fulmar

880 Squadron - 6 Hawker Sea Hurricane Mk IA

827 Squadron - 12 Fairey Albacore

831 Squadron - 12 Fairey Albacore[44]

Japanese submarine I-10 in Penang, 1942.

Merchant Cruiser Bougainville 2

Sloop D'Entrecasteaux

Submarines

Bévéziers

Héros

Monge[44]

The following order of battle represents the Malagasy and Vichy French forces on the island directly after the initial Ironclad landings.[47]

Members of the Japanese imperial navy midget submarine attack group which included those who carried out the attacks on Diego-Suarez.

West coast

Two platoons of reservists and volunteers at Nossi-Bé

Two companies of the Régiment mixte malgache (RMM – Mixed Madagascar Regiment) at Ambanja

One battalion of the 1er RMM at Majunga

East coast

One battalion of the 1er RMM at Tamatave

One artillery section (65mm) at Tamatave

One company of the 1er RMM at Brickaville

Centre of the island

Three battalions of the 1er RMM at Tananarive

One motorised reconnaissance detachment at Tananarive

Emyrne battery at Tananarive

One artillery section (65mm) at Tananarive

One engineer company at Tananarive

One company of the 1er RMM at Mevatanana

One company of the Bataillon de tirailleurs malgaches (BTM - Malagasy Tirailleurs Battalion) at Fianarantsoa

South of the island

Other

One company of the BTM at Fort Dauphin

One company of the BTM at Tuléar

• Submarines I-10 (with reconnaissance aircraft), I-16, I-18 (damaged by heavy seas and arrived late), I-20
• Midget submarines M-16b, M-20b