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Battle of Knightsbridge

The Battle of Knightsbridge was an episode of the Battle of Gazala, which took place on 10 June 1942. In this episode the British forces, which were moving south to intercept the Afrikakorps, were blocked and pushed back by the Ariete Division south of the junction between the Bir Hacheim track and the Trigh Capuzzo.

Battle of Knightsbridge
Part of Battle of Gazala of the Second World War

A group of M13/40 Ariete tanks in the Libyan desert (photo taken in 1941)
Date10 June 1942
Location
Ain el-Gazala, Libya
32°4′N 23°18′E / 32.067°N 23.300°E / 32.067; 23.300
Result Italian victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Italy British Empire
Commanders and leaders
Giuseppe De Stefanis Raymond Briggs
Alexander Gatehouse
Strength
Unknown Unknown
Casualties and losses
9 killed 20 killed

Background

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On 10 June 1942, with the fall of Bir Hacheim ( Arabic Biʾr Ḥakīm, "Well of Ḥakīm" or "Well of the Wise"), the final phase of the Battle of Gazala began, with the opening of Axis communications south of the line defended by the Commonwealth forces.[1] Rommel immediately moved the 15th Panzer towards the north, while the Ariete took up position in front of the crossroads between the Trigh Capuzzo and Trigh Bir Hacheim caravan routes, a crossroads which was manned by British forces and was indicated as "Knightsbridge". At the same time the British generals decided to engage the Axis armoured forces, trying to take them on the flank as they moved towards the north. The movements of the British armoured forces led them to directly oppose the Ariete, which was positioned as a defence. These movements were followed by a clash between British forces (equipped with Stuart and Grant tanks ) against Italian forces (equipped with M 13/40 and Semoventi 75/18 ).

Opposing Forces

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British

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The British forces in the area included:

  • Knightsbridge Garrison
    • 3 companies of the Coldstream Guards
    • 1 company of the Scots Guards
    • 16 × 25-pounder guns
    • 32 × 6-pounder anti-tank guns
    • 4 × 3.7-inch anti-aircraft guns employed in an anti-tank role.[2]
  • 2nd Armoured Brigade (major general Raymond Briggs)
    • 2nd Armoured Brigade Headquarters
    • 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays), with four tank squadrons, totaling 7 Stuart, 17 Grant and 25 Crusader tanks
    • 9th Lancers (non-operational)
    • 10th Hussars (non-operational)
    • 1st Battalion, The Rifle Brigade
    • 11th RHA (Royal Horse Artillery)
    • Various anti-tank and anti-aircraft units
  • 4th Armoured Brigade (Brigadier A.H. Gatehouse) with a total of 44 Stuart tanks and 60 Grant tanks
    • 4th Armoured Brigade Headquarters
    • 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (RTR)
    • 5th Royal Tank Regiment (RTR)
    • 1st Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC)
    • 1st RHA
    • ZZ Anti-Tank Battery
    • 1st Troop, 4th Field Squadron, Royal Engineers (reconnaissance)
    • 1st Armoured Brigade (under the operational control of the 4th Armoured Brigade): 1st RTR, 6th RTR and one squadron of Stuart tanks from 3rd RTR detached to 6th RTR
  • 67th Medium Regiment (artillery), supporting the 4th Armoured Brigade, with 16 × 4.5-inch howitzers

Italians

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The Italian forces were part of the 132nd Armoured Division "Ariete", commanded by General Giuseppe De Stefanis:

  • Group equipped with 100/17 guns from the 1st Artillery Regiment (presence not confirmed)[3]

Preparations (June 9)

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The situation of the battle between 10 and 12 June 1942

On 9 June the 4th Armoured Brigade moved forward the 6th RTR, so that it could scout out positions to hold Trigh Bir Hacheim. The regiment held its position throughout the day, engaging objectives with the support of an RHA battery. As evening fell it moved to a bivouac area about 10 km south-east of Knightsbridge. The 1st RTR remained in its bivouac area (about 2 km south of that of the 6th RTR) throughout the day, ready for a possible intervention in support of the other regiment.[3]

Battle

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Orders for the 4th Armoured Brigade were to occupy Hill 176, west of Trigh Bir Hacheim, then attack the Ariete and force it to withdraw. The 2nd Armoured Brigade was to carry out a demonstration action in support of the 4th Armoured Brigade.[3]

The Ariete, for its part, had orders to hold its position in a purely defensive attitude. On June 9th, an 88/55 gun was moved forward until it was in line with the Bersaglieri deployment. The deputy commander of the battery to which the gun belonged was assigned to operate as a forward observer for the gun, operating from an M13 tank.[4]

The attack from the North

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At 5.45 on 10 June l, C Squadron, equipped with M3 Grant tanks, of Queen's Bays left the bivouac between Rigel Ridge to the north and Trigh Capuzzo to the south, heading towards the Ariete positions. At 7 am, C Squadron of Queen's Bays came into contact with the Ariete tank units, which sustained the shock and by about 8 am forced the British to retreat.[4]

The attack from the South

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At 6.00 the 6 RTR sent two patrols westwards to check the situation in the positions where the regiment had been stationed the previous day, while the gunnery duel between the Italians and the British began. At 7.45 the 6 RTR moved from its bivouac position, followed at 8.00 by the 1 RTR, both heading towards the starting line for the attack, located about 3 km from Trigh Bir Hacheim, with a north–south orientation, the total strength of the two regiments was about 70 tanks, both M3 Stuarts and M3 Grants.[4]

On the start line, 6 RTR was positioned on the right, with C Squadron on the left, B Squadron on the right and A Squadron ready to intervene on both flanks. Instead, 1 RTR was deployed on the left with A Squadron in the lead (intended to cover the regiment's left flank), followed by C Squadron, the headquarters, B Squadron and a battery of 1 RHA. At 08.40 the British tanks of 6 RTR, preceded by a two-hour artillery preparation and covered by fog bombs, invested the 2nd Company/VIII Battalion of the 132nd Infantry Tank Regiment. The formation saw the Grants in the centre and the Stuarts on the wings, but the M13s and the self-propelled guns managed to prevent the envelopment, and indeed forced the British to march along the front, exposing the flank, less protected than the front, of the tanks to Italian fire. At 9am, finding itself under fire from anti-tank guns as well as tanks, C Squadron of 6 RTR closed in on the Italian tanks, managing to hit an Italian vehicle. The pressure on the Italian tanks managed to push them to within about 200m of the anti-tank defence line, which then found it difficult to acquire the enemy tanks in its sights, masked by the very close Italian tanks. However, the 88/55 gun, after adjusting its fire, at 9.40am destroyed two British tanks and immobilised a third, then C Squadron began its retreat, followed after ten minutes by the rest of 6 RTR while the anti-tank gun was countered by counter-battery fire from the RHA.[5]

The Stuarts of A Squadron of 1 RTR, having moved ahead of the rest of the force and aimed for a point south of the Italian line, were ineffectively opposed by four PzKpfw IIIs positioned about two kilometres away. However, when the Stuarts came into contact with the Ariete line they came under fire from tanks and anti-tank guns, which destroyed two tanks and hit five others. At this point A Squadron broke contact and moved further south to cover the flank of the rest of the force. C Squadron advanced towards the Italian line, but having lost their line, only five Grants made contact with the enemy, all of which were either immobilised or destroyed. B Squadron overtook C Squadron on the right, being engaged and losing four tanks, while the others withdrew to take up a 'hull under' position.[6]

Against the 1st RTR the German artillery of the 15th and 21st Panzers came into action and the 1st Panzer kompanie of the 8th Panzer regiment (15th Panzer) attacked Squadron B. At 11am a patrol from the 6th RTR, sent ahead to reconnoitre the battlefield situation, was repulsed by artillery fire, and at 11.30am an attempted attack by the surviving British forces was repulsed by concentrated fire from the Italian defences. At 2pm the Queen's Bays were ordered to intervene to support the hard-pressed 4th Armoured Brigade, and having reached the position where the retreating regiments had halted, they exchanged positions with those of the 1st RTR, without there being any further clashes with the Italians.[7]

Casualties

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During the day, the British lost 2 Stuarts and 9 Grants of the 1st RTR and 2 Stuarts and 3 Grants of the 6th RTR, with numerous vehicles damaged, including at least 10 tanks of the 1st RTR. In combat they suffered 20 killed, 17 wounded and several prisoners of the 1st and 6th RTR, for a total of 55 soldiers of all ranks. The Italians lost 24 tanks, almost all of which were recovered in a short time, 1 75/27 gun and 1 heavy truck. There were 9 casualties and 23 wounded.[8]

References

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  1. ↑ Carver, p. 265.
  2. ↑ Carver, p. 267.
  3. 1 2 3 Mosolo 2013, p. 54.
  4. 1 2 3 Mosolo 2013, p. 55.
  5. ↑ Mosolo 2013, p. 56–57.
  6. ↑ Mosolo 2013, p. 57.
  7. ↑ Mosolo 2013, p. 58.
  8. ↑ Mosolo 2013, p. 59.

Bibliography

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  • Carver, Michael. Tobruk (in Italian). Edizioni Accademia.
  • Mosolo, Enzo (2013). "10 giugno 1942, Africa Settentrionale". Storia Militare (in Italian) (239): 52–61.
  • Falessi, Cesare; Pafi, Benedetto (1976). Combat Vehicles of the Italian Army from 1939 to 1945. Intyrama Books.
  • Gander, Terry; Chamberlain, Peter (1977). American Tanks of World War 2. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 0-85059-260-7.
  • Pignato, Nicola (2010). Semovente da 75/18 (in Italian). Albertelli Special Editions.
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