Operation Ambassador facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Operation Ambassador |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of World War II | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom |
 Germany |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Ronnie Tod John Durnford-Slater |
Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 140 | 469 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 4 captured | None | ||||||
Operation Ambassador was a secret mission by British Commandos during World War II. It happened on July 14-15, 1940. This was the second raid by the new Commandos. Their target was Guernsey, a Channel Island taken over by German forces.
The raiding team had 40 soldiers from No. 3 Commando, led by Lieutenant Colonel John Durnford-Slater. Another 100 men from No. 11 Independent Company joined them, led by Major Ronnie Tod.
This mission faced many problems. It was planned and carried out very quickly. Because of this, the British didn't achieve their goals. However, the experience they gained was very important. It helped them plan and succeed in future Commando missions.
Contents
Why the Raid Happened
On June 30, 1940, German troops landed on the Channel Islands. Two days later, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, wanted to fight back. He asked his staff to plan a raid on the islands. Churchill thought the new Commandos would be perfect for this job.
Things moved very fast after that. The War Office quickly approved the idea for the mission. Soon, detailed planning began for the raid.
Planning the Secret Mission
The mission was given the code name "Ambassador". Before the main raid, two smaller missions, called "Anger", would gather information. The main plan was for 140 men to land on Guernsey. Their goal was to attack the airfield. They wanted to destroy planes and buildings. They also hoped to capture or kill German soldiers there.
The units chosen were 'H' Troop from No. 3 Commando and No. 11 Independent Company. No. 3 Commando had just been formed on July 5. Its soldiers had not even started training yet. No. 11 Independent Company had been formed earlier in June. They had already taken part in Operation Collar. That mission was a quick and mostly unsuccessful raid on Boulogne.
Lieutenant Colonel John Durnford-Slater helped plan the details in London. He worked with David Niven, who was a staff officer.
Gathering Information
On the night of July 7-8, a reconnaissance mission took place. Lieutenant Hubert Nicolle, an officer from the Hampshire Regiment, was part of it. He was from Guernsey originally. A submarine, HMS H43, dropped him off on the island.
Three days later, the submarine picked him up. He reported that 469 German soldiers were on Guernsey. Most of them were around St. Peter Port. He also said that machine gun posts were along the coast. However, it would take about 20 minutes for German reinforcements to arrive after an alarm.
The Raid on Guernsey
The raid was first planned for the night of July 12-13. But it was delayed until July 14-15. Just before they left, Lieutenant Colonel Durnford-Slater got new information. The Germans had strengthened some of the planned landing spots. So, the plan had to be changed at the last minute.
Final preparations happened in a gymnasium. Cadets at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth helped the Commandos. They loaded magazines and prepared weapons. These included Bren guns and Thompson sub-machine guns.
Journey to the Island
At 5:45 PM, the raiding force boarded two destroyers. These were HMS Scimitar and HMS Saladin. Six Royal Air Force (RAF) air-sea rescue launches went with them. These launches would take the soldiers from the destroyers to the beaches.
The engines of the RAF launches were very loud. To hide the noise, RAF Avro Anson planes flew over the island. This was meant to disguise the sound of the boats.
Landing Challenges
The original plan had the independent company attacking the airfield. The Commandos were supposed to create a distraction. Three landing spots were chosen. However, only the distraction force from No. 3 Commando managed to land. This group had only 40 men. They landed at Telegraph Bay at 12:50 AM on July 15. Their launch had a faulty compass, but they still made it ashore.
One group from No. 11 Independent Company went to the wrong island, Sark, because of another faulty compass. They explored La Sablonnerie but found no Germans. They returned safely to the destroyer. Another launch crashed into a rock. The other two launches broke down due to technical problems.
On the Island
The No. 3 Commando party got ashore, even though they were soaking wet. But they couldn't find any of the 469 German soldiers. They found a German barracks and a machine gun nest, but both were empty. They met one islander who had trouble speaking. To keep him quiet, they knocked him unconscious.
They knocked down a garden wall to make a small roadblock. They didn't hear any noise from the airport area. So, they decided to leave quietly. They had to meet the destroyers at 3:00 AM. If they were late, the destroyers would leave without them. The party went back to the beach. On the way, they cut a couple of telephone lines.
When they reached the beach, the tide had risen too high. Their boats couldn't get close to the rocks. The raiders had to swim about 100 meters (100 yards) out to their boats.
Leaving Men Behind
At this point, they found that three men from 'H' Troop, No. 3 Commando, could not swim. They had to be left on the beach with extra French money. Lieutenant Colonel Durnford-Slater asked for a submarine to pick them up. But the Admiralty decided it was too risky. As a result, these men later surrendered to the Germans.
During the escape, a small dinghy was used to carry weapons to the boats. On its fifth trip, it hit a rock and flipped over. One of the two people in the boat, a soldier, was thought to have drowned. However, it was later reported that he made it to shore and was captured.
What Happened Next
The raid was a failure for the British. They didn't achieve any of their goals. No Germans were hurt or captured. The only damage was a cut telephone line. Many people questioned how well the mission was planned and carried out.
Much of the equipment didn't work. Compasses were faulty, and motor launches broke down. Some boats couldn't get close enough to the beach. Some tasks were impossible or hadn't been practiced. For example, the wire for a roadblock was too heavy to carry. Also, the information about German positions was old or wrong. The Commandos also carried useless equipment, like steel helmets and too much ammunition. This was mostly because the mission was planned so quickly. It also showed that the idea of Commandos and raids was still very new.
Politically, the raid was also a problem. Prime Minister Churchill was reportedly very angry about how "comical" the operation was. Some say that the whole Commando idea was "in danger" for several months. Authorities even thought about getting rid of them, but this didn't happen.
The Commandos went on to have great success later in the war. Authors like Durnford-Slater and Parker argue that future successes, like "Overlord", were partly thanks to early failures like "Ambassador". Many important lessons were learned from these early mistakes. These lessons were vital for planning future Commando operations. According to Richard Strappini, the government was so embarrassed that individual acts of bravery were not recognized.
However, there were big changes. The independent companies were disbanded. Their soldiers were used to create the first 12 Commando units. A lot of effort went into training and planning for raids. For the next eight months, the Commandos mostly trained. Formal training programs and schools were set up. Churchill also tried to improve the concept. He replaced General Bourne, who was in charge of Combined Operations, with Admiral Sir Roger Keyes.
Images for kids
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German proclamation of measures against Nicolle, Symes, Sherwill, and others following the raid
