Operation Lustre facts for kids
Operation Lustre was a big plan during World War II. It involved moving soldiers from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Poland from Egypt to Greece. This happened in March and April 1941. The reason was that Italy's invasion of Greece had failed. Also, Germany was getting ready to step in and attack Greece.
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Why Troops Were Sent to Greece
Italy's Failed Invasions
In June 1940, Italy joined World War II. Italy's leader, Benito Mussolini, sent his armies to invade Greece from Albania. They also invaded Egypt from Libya.
By spring 1941, both of Italy's invasions had failed. The Greek army had pushed the Italians back into Albania. In North Africa, British and other Allied troops had defeated the Italian army. They had also taken control of Cyrenaica, a region in Libya.
Germany's Threat and British Decisions
However, Germany was now threatening to get involved. This made British leaders, especially Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, very worried. Churchill felt it was important to help Greece. Greece was Britain's only real ally in Europe at the time.
Also, if Allied planes could use airfields in Greece, they could reach the oil fields in Ploieşti, Romania. These oil fields were very important for Germany's war efforts.
Military Plans and Challenges
In January 1941, General Archibald Wavell was in charge of all Allied forces in the Middle East. He was told that helping Greece was more important than any other operations in North Africa. This order was made even stronger in February.
British commanders thought that with their help, the Greek army could stop the Germans. They planned to defend a place called the Aliakmon Line. They knew Germany was sending troops to Libya in Operation Sonnenblume. But they thought these troops would not be a threat until later in the year.
However, it is now clear that sending more Allied troops to Greece would not stop Germany. It also made the Allied forces in North Africa weaker. This led to a successful German counterattack in April. It also caused an Allied attack, Operation Brevity, to fail in May.
Sending the Troops
On March 7, Anthony Eden, a British politician, got Churchill's agreement. They decided to send two British army divisions to Greece. Eden said his military advisors agreed. But he did not mention that top generals thought eight to ten divisions were actually needed to hold the Aliakmon Line.
It would take 20 days to move three Greek divisions from the border. This meant General Wavell would still need five to seven more divisions. But only two divisions from Australia and New Zealand (ANZAC) were available.
Some military leaders were also worried about air and sea attacks. They doubted if they could protect the transport ships from German planes.
Moving the Soldiers to Greece
Starting on March 4, ships carrying troops and equipment sailed from Alexandria to Piraeus, a port in Greece. These convoys sailed every three days. Warships from the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy protected them.
There were some air attacks, but they did not cause much damage. Earlier, in January, Italian torpedo boats had attacked a convoy near Suda Bay. This damaged a large oil tanker. After that, Allied ships avoided a certain strait near Kasos island. Instead, they used the Antikithera strait, which was west of Crete.
The Italian fleet tried to stop these convoys at the end of March. But this attempt ended in a huge defeat for them. This happened in the Battle of Cape Matapan.
Troops Arrive in Greece
The Allies first planned to send about 58,000 soldiers to Greece by April 2. This included the British 1st Armoured Brigade. It also included the New Zealand 2nd Division and the Australian 6th Division.
They had planned to send the Australian 7th Division and the Polish Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade next. However, these units were not sent before the Allies were defeated in Greece.
German Invasion and Allied Retreat
Two brigades from the New Zealand Division and one Australian brigade were set up at the Aliakmon Line. This was southwest of Thessaloniki. Another Australian brigade and the weaker British armoured brigade were blocking the Kleidi Pass on the border.
The Axis invasion, called Operation Marita, began on April 6. The Axis forces included Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria. The Greek Army did not move back to the Aliakmon Line as expected. They were afraid of being surrounded by the faster German troops during a retreat. This left the Allied troops in a dangerous position.
These Allied forces could not stop the German invasion. So, they were evacuated in an operation called Operation Demon. This evacuation happened on and after April 24.
Some of these units were moved to Crete. But they were defeated there too. They were forced to leave the island after a German airborne invasion, known as Operation Mercury.
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