Capture of Mombasa and the French Riviera
Recap: After the Italian victory in Ethiopia in May 1936, the large build-up of British forces on the Ethiopian-Sudanese Border unnerved the Italians. Marshal Balbo pitched a “grand plan” for a war against the Allies to Mussolini. It was accepted and a multi-front war began between Italy and the Allies on the 11th May.
Following the fall of the Little Maginot Line (in the Alps) and the capture of Malta on the 20th May, the Italians were able to capture other strategic locations of Port Sudan and Berbera in East Africa. In Provence, the French had fled Nice and looked like they were abandoning the whole of the French Riviera including Marseille.
Europe
Alpine Front
28th May: Battles were now being fought along the entire front, from the southern coast where the Italian 4th Army was engaged along the French Riviera, in the north where the Italian 1st Army were fighting right up to the point where the Italian, Swiss and French borders meet near Mont Blanc. In the north, the 1st Alpine Division had now joined in on the attack on the lone French division defending Annecy.
In the south, a French division was desperately attempting to break out from the coast to the west by attacking the 2nd Infantry Division at Brignoles. Its attack was soon arrested, when the 1st Infantry Division assaulted its position from the north.
Battles of the Alpine Front
29th May: The British, Armstrong Whitworth Whitely’s returned and continued to drop their payloads on Milan. The air defences of Milan had been wiped out in the first bombing runs and now the heavy industry was being targeted.
An overworked French interceptor squadron continued to harass the Italian bombers, it was significantly outnumbered and failed to achieve any significant results because of the Italian escort fighters.
Bombings and air battles on the Alpine Front
At ground level, the French forces in the north and the centre of the front suffered a trio of defeats throughout the day as the Italian 1st Army continued to hit them hard. The French defeat at Annecy was a bitter one for the Italians, having lost almost 500 men.
Victories on the Alpine Front: Chambery, Annecy and Corps
Mussolini touring the conquests, much to the delight of irredentists
30th May: In the south the Italian 4th Army continued its conquests with the 11th Infantry Division marching uncontested into Nice. At the same time Italian bombers incessantly harassed the French infantry throughout the day. When the 11th Infantry Division in Nice hit west against the French infantry division trying to break out of Cogolin, it proved too much for the French and the entire French 30th Division surrendered to the Italians. French bombers flying out of Marseille counterattacked against the 2nd Infantry Division which was marching on Toulon and inflicted heavy casualties.
Battle of Cogolin on the French Riviera
31st May: On the night of the 31st, Italian recon forces brought back news that French armour had been sighted that day at St-Claude, directly to the northwest of Italian 1st Army positions at Annecy.
French FCM 36 Infantry Light Tank unloading from its transport
1st June: Recon indicated that the French armoured continued to journey south along the Italian lines. Along the Mediterranean coast the Italian 4th Army had now been occupied Cogolin. The 2nd Infantry Division was close to taking Toulon as it advanced south.
2nd June: The 2nd ‘Sforzesca’ Infantry Division advanced into Toulon early in the morning of the 2nd of June and secured the airbases, AA and shore batteries for the Kingdom. The seizure of the Toulon airbase was very important as it would allow Italian bombers to launch more effectively against Marseille with the goal of bombing it into submission. French bombers flying out of Marseille continued to attack the 2nd ‘Sforzesca’ Division.
Italian and French bombing, reported French forces on the front and the siege of Marseille
With rumours of two French armour divisions heading south, the 4th Army had no option but to launch an immediate attack against Marseille. Following orders from General Pintor, Maj. General Dalmazzo ordered the 2nd ‘Sforzesca’ Infantry Division to advance to the west against the city. In the air, the interceptor squadrons which had been escorting the Italian bombers since the beginning of the war were formed into their own unit. At the forward airbase at Toulon, it was expected that they could continue to cover the Italian bombers and intercept the French bombers and gain control of the skies, putting an end to the devastating attacks on Italian troops.
The siege of Marseille had begun.
The Mediterranean
The Italian submarine convoy raiders had recently adopted a new strategy of spreading out their forces to cover a broader area of the Mediterranean. This yielded better results but at the same time the French Marseille convoys were fitted out with heavier escorts. Italian losses were low, with British attacks in the east and a French attack in the west.
The convoy war in the Mediterranean
North Africa
Nile Delta
30th May: At the Nile Delta forward elements of the 10th and the 6th Army, the 102nd ‘Trento” and the 1st Division ‘Eugenio di Savoia’ had bypassed Alexandria to the south. The 102nd now aimed to take undefended Cairo while the 1st hooked north around Alexandria. There it found, just east of Alexandria, none other than the British Middle East Command headquarters who had safely positioned themselves outside of Alexandria in the case of an attack. Di Berdolo ‘Eugenio di Savoia’ Division immediately launched an attack.
Italian forces skirt around Alexandria and the defeat of the British Middle East Command
31st May: After a stinging attack, by the ‘Eugenio di Savoia’ Division, the outgunned Middle East Command retreated west toward Alexandria before it was completely overwhelmed. Intelligence reports indicated that both British and Iraqi units were present in the city itself.
French Tunisia
1st June: In French Tunisia, the Italian 9th Army’s advance continued without resistance. The 3rd Eritrean Division was currently advancing on ancient port city of Sousse on the Gulf of on the Hammamet. To the south of this division, the 2nd Libyan Division and the 3rd ‘Principe Amedeo’ Divisions had reached the port of Gades.
AOI
Sudanese Border
28th May: At Nek’emte at the southern section of the border, the British 23rd and 20th Indian Divisions continued to make progress as they assaulted the position of the 1st Arab-Somali Division dug in on the other side of the Dindar River. Further south the tired Italian 24th Infantry Division and the 4th Eritrean ‘Celere’ Division continued their counterattack against the 20th Indian Division which had slipped east of the Dindar to attack Nek’emte from the south.
The battle for Nek’emte still rages, while the Italian counterattack on Jima continues
Artillery position of the Arab-Somali Division
29th May: In the north of the long front, the battle for Gondar still raged. Here the 4th Blackshirts Division which had driven off two previous British assaults earlier in the month, could no longer sustain its positions against the two fresh British divisions. The 4th Blackshirts began their retreat to Lake Tana. This was outcome could be a serious threat to the Italian position in the north because Gondar holds a strategic position in northern Ethiopian, where the British divisions could strike north toward Eritrea or east to link up with French Somaliland.
Defeat of the 4th Blackshirts in Gondar
30th May: Further south at Nek’emte things were not much better. Under attack from two directions, the 1st Arab-Somali Division, despite is strong position, was forced to retreat from Nek’emte to Debre Markos in the north. Casualties for this defeat were never able to be accurately reported. To the south, the tired Italian 24th Infantry Division and the 4th Eritrean ‘Celere’ Division which were counter attacking against Jima called off their attack. The attempt to relieve the Arab-Somali Division had failed.
Defeat of the 1st Arab-Somali Division at Nek’emte. The 24th Infantry and 4th Eritrean ‘Celere’ pull back from their attack on Jima.
Along this front the Italians had now suffered defeats in the south at Nek’emte and Gondar in the centre. The only saving grace for this front, were the Eritrean I and II Infantry Divisions. These divisions went undefeated during the Ethiopian War and had fully recovered at Debre Markos in the centre of the line.
31st May: East of Jima in the Ethiopian Highlands, the 3rd Blackshirts Division and the 29th ‘Piemonte’ Division were pushing south to Arba Minch. The Ovest Bassacampi ‘Celere’ Division, further south was advancing from Arba Minch into British North Horr, its aim to hook west and cut of the British troops to the north from supplies being transported up the British East Africa and the Uganda Protectorate.
Inset: Italian troop movements behind the front; Main: British 20th Indian Division retreats from Jima
Mobile forces of the 'Celere' Division travel across the arid savannah east of Lake Rudolf (Turkana)
1st June: The 3rd Blackshirts Division arrived in Arba Minch and attacked northwest against the British 20th Indian Division in Jima. At the same time the Ovest Bassacampi ‘Celere’ Division had reached North Horr and continued its advance to the southwest towards Uganda. The 20th Infantry Division in Jima declined battle and wisely began a retreat to the southwest, their commander new that they did not want to be cut of completely from the supply route coming up from British East Africa.
3rd June: Tto the west of Eritrea, the 5th ‘Cosseria’ Division had now moved within striking distance of Khartoum and immediately launched a probing attack across the Blue Nile. Its sister division of II-AOI Corps, the 2nd Blackshirts, had not advanced anywhere after beating the Tanganyika Colonial Division at Kassala on the 22nd May due to poor supplies.
Failed attack on Khartoum
An enraged Major General Vilanen called off the attack on Khartoum as it was suicide without the support of the 2nd Blackshirts. Several days later when Marshal Graziani got word of the delay, he had General Ettore Bastico of the II-AOI Corps demoted to Lt General and dismissed from his unit. His replacement was Lt General Mario Berti.
French and British Somaliland
28th May: The beleaguered French HQ units trapped in British Somaliland continued to be hunted across the deserts of Lughaye.
In Djibouti, de Stefanis’s 30th and 18th Infantry Divisions beat back the counterattack from the French mountain division, dishing out severe losses – would they now be able to take the initiative and attack the main French force to the north?
The main French positions in Daddato were suffering from the poundings of the Italian bombers, while the troops in the French breakout in Afrera Terar to the northeast appeared to be setting themselves for another move.
De Stefanis beats of the French counterattack on Djibouti. Italians bombers plague the French forces in Daddato
1st June: With the French counterattack beaten, di Stefanis was able to take the initiative and launch his own attack against Daddato. Coinciding with his attack, a series of bombing runs were also rolled out on the French positions. Much to the relief of Marshal Graziani in Asmara, the French troops withdrew from their advance into Ed to the northwest. Casualties were very high on both sides. They French were now in a battle for their own survival and could not afford to fight two battles at once.
Victorious battles against the French forces in British and French Somaliland
2nd June: Finally in the deserts of Lughaye, the mixed Arab-Somali and Dubat Divisions were able to roll up the fleet-footed French HQ units. After killing a few, the rest surrendered. French command in East Africa was almost completely decimated.
Jubaland Offensive (British East Africa (Kenya))
28th May: Nasi and Orsi crossed the British border into Jubaland and no resistance was sighted. Along the coast, the Somaliland Zaptie brigade had reached the outskirts of Mombassa. Their first target was to seize the Uganda Railway. This line extended from the port of Mombasa, to Kisumu on the shore of Lake Victoria and from there to Kampala in the Uganda Protectorate.
Italian flag is raised over a fort in Wajir (Jubaland)
This was another terrible blow to the supply lines of the heavily concentrated British troops along the Sudanese-Ethiopian Border to the north.
Capture of Mombasa