| Operation Anglo | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theMediterranean and Middle East theatre of the Second World War | |||||||
 Map of Greece, the Greek Islands and Turkey Rhodes is highlighted in red | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom |  Germany Italy | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Captain Allott | |||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Special Boat Section (SBS) | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 8 British Commandos 4 Greeks | 30,000 garrison | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 10 captured | At least 33 aircraft destroyed and some fuel supplies | ||||||
 | |||||||
Operation Anglo was aBritish Commando raid on the island ofRhodes during theSecond World War. The raid was carried out by eight men of theSpecial Boat Section (SBS) assisted by four Greeks.
In September 1942 their mission was to attack two airfields on the island of Rhodes. The German and Italian bombers based there were being used to attackRoyal Navy convoys. After their attack, the raiding force were to return to theirlanding beach to be picked up by submarine. Only two surviving SBS men made it to the beach after hiding in the countryside for four days.
After the Rhodes raid the depleted SBS was absorbed into theSpecial Air Service, due to the casualties they had suffered. In 1954 the events of the raid were portrayed in the movieThey Who Dare.
By 1942, No1Special Boat Section was based in the Middle East and attached to theSpecial Air Service (SAS) as the Folboat Section (named after a type offolding canoe employed in raiding operations). In July, they had taken part in theraids on airfield in Crete, and were now assigned to attack two airfields on the island ofRhodes in theDodecanese.[1][2][3][4] Rhodes, a part of theKingdom of Italy since 1912,[5] was being used as a base for Italian andGerman bombers who were attackingRoyal Navy convoys.
The No. 1 Special Boat Section raiding force consisted of eightBritish Commandos, two Greek guides and two interpreters. The commander of the raid wasCaptain Richard Allott withLieutenantDavid Sutherland as thesecond in command. The rest of the raiding group wereSergeant Moss,Corporal McKenzie,Private Blake,Marines Barrow, Harris and Duggan. The Greeks includedSub Lieutenant Calambokidis, Pavlos Moustakellis, and Antonios Moustakellis, and an unidentified fourth.
The raiding force leftBeirut in twosubmarines,HMS Traveller and the Greek submarinePapanikolis.[6][7]Their objective were two airfields on the island of Rhodes atKalathos andMaritsa. They reached Rhodes on 31 August 1942. The raiders were landed by using a folding boat and three inflatable floats to reach the shore on the east coast of Rhodes nearCape Feralco. After hiding their boats in some nearby caves they rested for the first day before splitting into two groups. One group, under command of Lieutenant Sutherland, headed for Kalathos 8 miles (13 km) from the beach. The second group, under command of Captain Allott, made for Maritsa (15 miles (24 km) from the beach).[7] Having no radio to contact the Royal Navy or their headquarters, they agreed to return to the beach on the night of 17/18 September to be picked up.[7]
Allott's group penetrated their airfield, and planted their explosives. The following day they estimated from the damage they could see on the airfield, that at least 20 aircraft had been destroyed.[8] Sutherland's group reached Kalathos over the night of 11/12 September. They established an overlooking position to observe the airfield, and settled in to identify targets and observe the airfield for the next day.[7] The following day, they divided into two smaller groups and started their attack. Sutherland and John Duggan formed one group, with and Sub Lieutenant Calambokidis and two SBS soldiers comprising the second. In torrential rain, both groups infiltrated the airfield and placed their charges; Sutherland and Duggan placing charges on at least 13 aircraft and around a fuel dump. However, the men were spotted and fled the airfield. Only Sutherland and Duggan reached the prearranged rendezvous point, and heard shooting coming from the direction they believed the other SBS was located.[7]
The following day, Sutherland and Duggan began their return journey to a rendezvous point near the beach with the expectation that the entire raiding force would reassemble. No one else had arrived, and in the meantime an Italian patrol ship had disembarked soldiers on the beach who had found the hidden boats.[7] The two left a message at the rendezvous for any stragglers, and returned to the beach. Using a torch, they signalled "swimming-come in" to HMSTraveller, which was waiting off shore. The captain of the submarine,Commander Michael St John, was surprised to see the recognition signal coming from the shore and replied by using his periscope to signal back. The boat then moved towards the remnants of the raiding force and expecting to pick them up from their boats. Upon hearing the men shouting in the darkness, the crew of the submarine retrieved the two swimmers. The submarine was spotted by a patrol boat; with the SBS members on board it crash-dived and survived adepth charge attack.[6][7]
The remaining members of the raiding party were captured, and becameprisoners of war. The two Greek guides, who had already escaped from Rhodes earlier in the war, were put on trial accused of treason. Both were found guilty; one was executed and the other imprisoned.[6] Sutherland was awarded theMilitary Cross and Duggan theMilitary Medal for their parts in the raid.[9][10]
After the Rhodes raid what remained of the SBS was absorbed into the SAS due to the casualties suffered.[11] The submarine HMSTraveller was lost with all hands two months after the operation. Captain St John was not on board at the time and survived the war.[6]
In 1954 the events of the raid were portrayed in the movieThey Who Dare, starringDirk Bogarde andHarold Siddons.[6]