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| Operation Anklet | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theNorth West Europe Campaign | |||||||
 Lofoten Islands | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom Norway Poland |  Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| AdmiralFrederick Dalrymple-Hamilton Naval: Captain Hugh Dalrymple-Smith Land: Lieutenant Colonel S.S. Harrison | GeneraloberstNikolaus von Falkenhorst | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
Naval: No. 12 Commando 223 men Norwegian Company 77 men | Eight divisions in Norway three coastal defence four infantry oneLuftwaffe Field Division[1] Unknown number of aircraft and naval forces | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 light cruiser heavily damaged | 1 patrol ship sunk 2 wireless stations destroyed | ||||||
 | |||||||
Operation Anklet was thecodename given to aBritish Commando raid during theSecond World War. The raid on theLofoten Islands was carried out in December 1941, by 300 men fromNo. 12 Commando and theNorwegian Independent Company 1. The landing party was supported by 22 ships from three navies.
At the same time, another raid was taking place inVågsøy. This raid wasOperation Archery, on 27 December 1941, and Operation Anklet was seen as a diversionary raid for this bigger raid, intended to draw away the German naval and air forces.[2]
After theBritish Expeditionary Force had been evacuated fromDunkirk in 1940, the then BritishPrime MinisterWinston Churchill called for a force to be assembled and equipped to inflict casualties on the Germans and bolster British morale. Churchill told the joint Chiefs of Staff to propose measures for an offensive against German-occupied Europe, and stated: "they must be prepared with specially trained troops of the hunter class who can develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast."[3]
One staff officer,Lieutenant-ColonelDudley Clarke, had already submitted such a proposal toGeneral SirJohn Dill, theChief of the Imperial General Staff. Dill, aware of Churchill's intentions, approved Clarke's proposal.[3]
The Commandos came under the operational control of theCombined Operations Headquarters. The man initially selected as the commander wasAdmiralSir Roger Keyes, a veteran of theGallipoli Campaign and theZeebrugge Raid in theFirst World War.[4] In 1940, the call went out for volunteers from among the serving Army soldiers within certain formations still in Britain, and men of the disbanding DivisionalIndependent Companies originally raised fromTerritorial Army Divisions who had seen service in Norway.[nb 1]
The Lofoten Islands form part of the north western Norwegian coastline about 100 mi (160 km) inside theArctic Circle. Operation Anklet would be the second raid on the islands. The first,Operation Claymore, had taken place in March 1941, and the third raid,Operation Archery, would take place at the same time as Operation Anklet.[6]
The raid was organised by theCombined Operations Headquarters, and would only use naval and land assets, theRoyal Air Force was not involved. But it would be the last raid undertaken without air support.[7]
The naval force formed for Operation Anklet consisted of 22 ships from three navies. TheRoyal Navy provided the most ships which included thelight cruiserHMS Arethusa; sixdestroyers (HMS Somali,Ashanti,Bedouin,Eskimo,Lamerton andWheatland); threeminesweepers (HMS Speedwell,Harrier andHalcyon); twoLanding Ship Infantry (HMS Prins Albert andPrinses Josephine Charlotte); thesubmarinesHMS Tigris,HMS Sealion; and the survey shipHMS Scott. TheRoyal Fleet Auxiliary provided two fleet tankers (RFAGray Ranger andBlack Ranger); thefreighterGudrun Maersk; and theTugboatJaunty.[8]
TheexiledRoyal Norwegian Navy provided thecorvettesHNoMSAndenes andEglantine, while thePolish Navy provided the destroyersORPKrakowiak andKujawiak.[8]
The landing force was supplied by 223 men ofNo. 12 Commando, supported by 77 men of theNorwegian Independent Company 1.[7]
The naval task force was assembled at three locations:Scapa Flow,Greenock andLerwick. The task force, now known as Force J, left Scapa and Greenock for the Lofoten Islands on Monday 22 December, and those at Lerwick the following day.En route to join up with the main force, the infantry landing shipPrinses Josephine Charlotte developed engine trouble, and together with her destroyer escortWheatland was sent back to Scapa, arriving on 24 December.Wheatland left Scapa alone on 25 December to catch up with the rest of Force J.[8] As the task force approached the islands, the submarineSealion was already in position to act as a navigational beacon for the attack, which was planned for 26 December.
When the task force arrived, the infantry landing shipPrins Albert, escorted by destroyerLamerton and corvettesEglantine andAcanthus, headed towardsMoskenesøya to land the commandos.[8] Some of the other ships conducted operations around the islands. The destroyerBedouin destroyed a radio station atFlakstadøya, while the cruiserArethusa and destroyersSomali,Ashanti, andEskimo entered theVestfjorden. Here they captured the Norwegian coastal steamersKong Harald andNordland andAshanti sank a German patrol boat.[8]
The 300-man landing force landed at 06:00 onBoxing Day. The date had been selected by British planners, who expected the German garrison to be concentrating on theChristmas festivities and would therefore be caught unprepared.[7] The landings were unopposed as the commandos, dressed in white camouflaged overalls, were landed on the western side of the island ofMoskenesøya. They soon occupied the villages ofReine andMoskenes, capturing the small German garrison and a number of NorwegianQuislings at the radio station atGlåpen.[7]
The raiding force was attacked on 27 December 1941 by a German seaplane that bombed the cruiserArethusa. Although it was not hit, it did suffer some damage that would require 14 weeks in dock to repair.[8] With no air support of their own, the commander of the raid,AdmiralHamilton, having occupied the Norwegian villages for two days, decided to pull out and head back to Scapa, where they arrived on 1 January 1942.[7]
During Operation Anklet, two radio transmitters were destroyed, several small German boats were captured or sunk, and a small number of Germans and Quislings were madeprisoners of war.[7] The navy also captured anEnigma coding machine, with its associated wheels and settings, from the patrol ship they had sunk.[9] They also returned with over 200 Norwegians who volunteered to serve in theFree Norwegian Forces.[10] The raid was successful, with no casualties to the Allied force. At least one lesson seemed to have been learnt, as it was the last raid undertaken without air support.[7] During the war, there were 12 commando raids directed against Norway.[6] The German response was to increase the number of troops they stationed there. By 1944, the German garrison in Norway had increased to 370,000 men.[11] A British infantry division in 1944 had 18,347 men.[12]
