§ The First Lord of the Admiralty (Mr. A. V. Alexander)I can now give the House an account of the Naval operations connected with the expedition to North Africa.
The vast armada necessary to carry the assault and the support troops had to be escorted across thousands of miles of ocean, from the United States and from this country, through waters where a formidable concentration of U-boats might take place within a matter of hours of the order being given by the German Admiralty; it had to be held together in the rough waters of the Atlantic; and the difficulties of manœuvring large numbers of vessels in the Straits of Gibraltar and in the approaches to the landing beaches without lights and with no moon had to be overcome; finally the troops had to be landed on a potentially hostile shore dead on time and possibly also in the face of submarine, surface and air attacks by the Axis forces. It is difficult to convey an adequate picture of what the organisation of this—the greatest amphibious expedition ever undertaken—has meant. The work entailed in the shipyards, amongst many other things, the mounting of 1,250 anti-aircraft guns, with provision of special stowage for the ammunition and accommodation for the guns' crews. After months of elaborate preparation, the success of the expedition depended largely on the enemy remaining in complete ignorance of its destination. Masses of men and material had to be gathered together but the purpose of their assembly kept secret. The risks to be taken were considerable but success in deceiving the enemy was complete. The elaborate precautions taken resulted in complete surprise.
The expedition was organised in three separate forces. One, which sailed from the United States, was entirely the responsibility of the Americans. This unit assaulted Casablanca and French Morocco. The other two units sailed from this country under the protection of the Royal Navy. They comprised both American and British troops, and were destined, one for the assault on Oran, and the other on Algiers. The convoys contained not only British and United States merchantmen, but Belgian, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian and Polish vessels also. 1316 The Royal Navy escorts were assisted by Royal Canadian Navy corvettes and the Polish, Dutch and Norwegian Navies were represented. The diversity of the nations present and the delicacy of the co-ordination to be achieved emphasise the forethought, care and skill required in the planning, for which the Planning Staffs deserve high praise. Every step was taken to ensure the greatest protection possible for the convoys. This was mainly achieved by the escorts themselves and by a co-operation between carrier-borne aircraft and aircraft of the Royal Air Force, which reached a high pitch of perfection. Anti-submarine patrols by Coastal Command aircraft in the Bay of Biscay and off Gibraltar were intensified, and close air cover for movements of the convoys was provided by carrier borne aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm. These naval aircraft especially distinguished themselves. Apart from giving protection to the landings, they secured such a dominance of the air over the airfields that the R.A.F. and U.S. Air Forces were able to land on them as soon as they were reached by the troops. The anti-submarine measures also proved outstandingly successful. Here is an instance of co-operation between the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm. A German U-boat was sighted and attacked by a Hudson aircraft of the R.A.F., forced to the surface and disabled. The Hudson then had to return, but the news had passed to one of our carriers whose aircraft were immediately on the track. The submarine was sighted on the surface by an Alba-core and sunk by a torpedo from that machine. This is the first occasion on which a submarine has been sunk by an aircraft torpedo.
Our operations clearly led to a regrouping of enemy submarines as soon as the surprise was over. We had expected this and to sustain losses as a result. A very large number of attacks on U-boats were carried out both by warships and by aircraft of the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm. The assessment of all these attacks is not complete but already we know of more than 30 which caused damage or destruction. The U-boat assault has slackened a little but we have to keep our forces supplied by sea and we must expect losses in consequence.
In these great tasks our losses so far have been considerably less than expected, and having regard to the scale of the 1317 operations can be considered light and are far less than the enemy claims. We shall not publish merchant shipping losses, preferring that the enemy should continue to rely on his false claims as in the past. The following ships of His Majesty's Navy were lost:
In addition the Royal Netherlands Navy lost the destroyer "Isaac Sweers," which fought many battles along with us and which, on 13th December, 1941, took such a gallant part in the action which led to the destruction of two Italian cruisers and the crippling of a torpedo boat. H.M. Ships "Walney" and "Hart-land" were two ex-American coastguard cutters. They were lost in a gallant attempt to prevent the scuttling of block-ships in the harbour of Oran. They broke through the boom and, although on fire, succeeded in penetrating the inner harbour and before being sunk' landed' troops at the west end of the Bassin Gueybin. His Majesty's destroyer "'Broke" successor of the earlier destroyer of that name which in the last war rammed and boarded a German destroyer in the English Channel, was damaged as she burst through the boom at Algiers, enabling our Forces to enter the harbour. In this gallant action she was so severely damaged that she subsequently sank. Before H.M.S. "Ibis" was sunk by an air attack her guns disposed of two Ju. 88's and 1 He. 111.
- The destroyers H.M.S. "Broke" and H.M.S. "Martin."
- The corvette H.M.S. "Gardenia."
- The cutters H.M.S. "Walney" and H.M.S. "Hartland."
- The sloop H.M.S. "Ibis."
- The depot ship H.M.S. "Hecla."
- The minesweeper H.M.S. "Algerine."
- The anti-aircraft escort ship H.M.S. "Tynwald" and
- The small aircraft carrier H.M.S. "Avenger."
Tales of gallantry and devotion to duty could be told to include every ship that Was in action. The examples given demonstrate, if that were necessary, that the spirit of the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy remains as always equal to every demand upon them.
Since the landings on the North Africa coast took place, we have been able to 1318 announce that His Majesty's submarines in the Mediterranean have destroyed three tankers, seven supply ships and two destroyers, while, in addition, a six-inch gun cruiser, two destroyers and four supply ships have been severely damaged. In the air, up to the last assessment, 25 enemy aircraft were destroyed by the antiaircraft gunfire of our ships, and 15 more were so severely damaged as to be probably destroyed. Eight other aircraft were destroyed by naval aircraft operating from carriers and two possibly destroyed, while a further 39 are known to have been damaged either by gunfire or by carrier-borne fighter aircraft.
This then is the balance-sheet. The United States Navy and the Royal Navy have landed in North Africa forces sufficient to seize the vast area and launch mortal battle with the Axis for the control of the Sicilian Narrows. The Royal Navy has unostentatiously transported to Egypt forces sufficient to hurl Rommel from Egypt and Cyrenaica. It has at the same time with the Royal Air Force contributed to that victory by seriously interfering with Rommel's supply lines. Could the contrast be more striking? Rommel's army, whose supply lines stretch over 200 miles of water, is routed by the Eighth Army, whose communications cover no less than 12,000 miles of water, and is threatened in the rear by the Allied Armies whose supply must be brought over some 3,000 miles.
I am pleased to be able to add for the information of the House that on Tuesday night Naval Forces under the command of Rear-Admiral Harcourt, after an air reconnaissance sighting, were successful in intercepting an important enemy convoy bound for Tunisia. When contact was made the convoy scattered but our forces were nevertheless successful in sinking two of the escorting destroyers and four of the transports. Our ships suffered no casualties or damage during the action but while withdrawing one of our destroyers was hit in an air attack and later sank. The majority of her company have been rescued. Further details of this engagement will be given in an Admiralty communique which is about to be issued.
§ Mr. MaxtonWhat about the casualties in these operations? The right hon. Gentleman mentioned the ships, but there was no mention of the men.
§ Mr. AlexanderI referred to the spirit of the Royal Navy and of the Merchant Navy, and with regard to casualties, the next-of-kin have already been notified.
§ Earl WintertonWill the right hon. Gentleman consider whether, without departing from the general rule which the Government have laid down that the general tonnage of merchant ships sunk shall not be disclosed, he cannot make a departure from that rule in regard to future operations of this sort, in view of the fact that it may give an invidious impression to mention the individual gallantry of the crews of naval ships without mentioning the crews of those merchant ships which also showed great individual gallantry in the landing, but which cannot now be mentioned? Will he consider that point?
§ Mr. AlexanderCertainly, I will consider it, but I would like to have notice of the first part of the Noble Lord's question. I have already paid a tribute to the gallantry of the Merchant Navy, and other steps are being taken to give publicity to it.