Operation Creek facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Operation Creek
Part of Indian Ocean in World War II
Date 9 March 1943 Location Mormugao, Portuguese Goa 15°24′19″N 73°48′31″E / 15.405248°N 73.8085068°E / 15.405248; 73.8085068 Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Special Operations Executive
Units involved
Calcutta Light Horse Calcutta Scottish
Strength
18 soldiers	4 ships
Casualties and losses
none	4 ships sunk 5 killed, 5 missing & rest interned

Operation Creek (also known as Operation Longshanks) was a secret military mission. It was carried out by Britain's Special Operations Executive during World War II. The operation happened on March 9, 1943. It involved a nighttime attack by British soldiers. They targeted a German merchant ship, the Ehrenfels. This ship was sending important information to German submarines. The messages were sent from Mormugao Harbour in Goa. Goa was a neutral territory belonging to Portugal. The attack was successful. The Ehrenfels and three other enemy ships were sunk. This stopped the secret messages to the submarines.

Why Operation Creek Happened

German Ships in Neutral Goa

When World War II began in 1939, three German cargo ships needed a safe place. These ships were the Ehrenfels, the Braunfels, and the Drachenfels. They found safety in Mormugao Harbour, Goa. Portugal, which owned Goa, was neutral during the war. This meant it did not take sides. Nearby, British India was not neutral. In 1940, an Italian ship, the Anfora, also joined them. The British knew these ships were there. But they did not see them as a threat at first.

Secret Messages and Submarine Attacks

In 1942, something changed. British intelligence agents intercepted secret messages. These messages were going to German Navy submarines. The messages gave details about Allied ships. They told where Allied ships were leaving Bombay Harbour. After these messages started, many Allied merchant ships were attacked. Forty-six ships were hit in the autumn of 1942.

The British then found a German spy named Robert Koch. He was living in Panaji, Goa. British agents went to Goa and captured him. They questioned him to learn more.

The Suspected Transmitter

The British now suspected a secret radio transmitter. They believed it was hidden on the Ehrenfels. They thought this transmitter was guiding German submarine attacks. These attacks continued in the Indian Ocean. In early March 1943, German submarines sank twelve ships. These ships belonged to America, Norway, Britain, and the Netherlands. This was a total of about 80,000 tons of shipping.

Planning a Secret Mission

Britain could not openly invade Portugal's neutral territory. So, the Special Operations Executive (SOE) decided on a secret plan. They would not use regular British armed forces. They recruited members of the Calcutta Light Horse. These were reserve soldiers, mostly middle-aged bankers and lawyers. The SOE chose fourteen volunteers from the Light Horse. They also picked four from the Calcutta Scottish. This team of eighteen would try to capture or sink the Ehrenfels.

The Attack on the Ships

Getting Ready for the Mission

The eighteen-member team was armed and trained by the SOE. Some of them boarded a boat called the Phoebe in Calcutta. They sailed around India to Goa. The rest of the team traveled by train to Cochin. There, they joined the Phoebe and its crew.

Entering the Harbour

Around midnight on March 9, 1943, the town of Vasco da Gama was celebrating Carnival. This town is where Mormugao harbour is located. One team member used SOE money to throw a big party in Vasco. They invited the crews of all ships in the harbour. This meant only a small crew was left on the Ehrenfels.

By "coincidence," the lighthouse and a glowing buoy in Mormugao harbour were not working that night. This allowed the Phoebe to enter the harbour in darkness.

Taking Down the Ehrenfels

The British team attacked the Ehrenfels. They overpowered its captain and some of the crew. They took control of the ship and its transmitter. After the ship was captured, some of the Ehrenfels' crew members opened the ship's sea valves. This caused the ship to sink. The British team had no injuries during the operation. They left on the Phoebe.

Other Ships Scuttled

The crews of the other enemy ships in the harbour saw the Ehrenfels on fire and sinking. These ships were the Drachenfels, the Braunfels, and the Anfora. To prevent the British from capturing them, their crews deliberately sank their own ships. This act is called scuttling. As the Phoebe left Mormugao harbour, it sent a secret message. The codeword was "Longshanks." This told SOE headquarters that all enemy ships had been sunk. Five crew members of the Ehrenfels were reported dead, and four more were missing.

What Happened Next

Reduced Submarine Attacks

After the attack, German submarines in the Indian Ocean sank far fewer ships. In the rest of March, they only sank one ship. In April, they attacked only three ships. This showed how important Operation Creek had been.

The Fate of the Crews

The crews from the four scuttled ships jumped overboard. They swam to shore. There, the Portuguese authorities captured them. They were held in Aguada jail. Local news reported that the crews had started a mutiny (a rebellion). Later, a court ruled that there had been no attack by a foreign ship. The crew members were found guilty of sinking their own ships. They were imprisoned until the end of the war. Some of the Germans later settled in Goa and started families.

Secret Heroes

Since the attack was a secret, the British team members received no official recognition. They did not get medals or public thanks. The members of the Calcutta Light Horse designed a special symbol for themselves: a seahorse. The Light Horse and the Calcutta Scottish military units were closed down in 1947. This happened after India became independent. It was not until 1974 that the British Government made the documents about Operation Creek public.

Salvaging the Ships

In 1951, the remains of the four sunken ships were pulled from the water. This was done by the Mormugao Port Trust. One of the Germans who stayed in Goa helped with this. In 2017, the port announced plans to salvage the remaining parts of the ships for scrap metal.

In 2002, more records were released. They showed that three of the enemy crew members had surrendered to the British. They joined the SOE's operations in India. They worked there until they could return to their home countries after the war. The records also suggested that Operation Creek was meant to capture the ships. But the crews sank them before that could happen.