DALMATIAN ISLANDS

The Treaty of Rapallo (1920) split the Dalmatians between Yugoslavia and Italy. Germany and Italy jointly governed the islands and the Dalmatian coast of occupied Yugoslavia from April 1941. Most Croats left the Italian zone, or “Governatorato di Dalmazia.” The Italian occupation ended in September 1943, and German troops garrisoned some islands after swiftly disarming the Italians. British troops occupied Vis, where Tito established a partisan headquarters for five months starting in May 1944. British relations with antifascist partisans in the Dalmatian Islands were often fractious and deeply suspicious. The British used Vis as a base to launch amphibious raids against surrounding island and mainland garrisons. The most notable action was a three-day assault on Brac.

To the east of mainland Italy No. 2 Commando, under the command of Lieut. Colonel 'Mad Jack' Churchill, was operating in the Adriatic, off the Dalmatian coast, where Churchill had established his HQ on the island of Vis. There his force was strengthened with the addition of not only 43 RM Commando, but also a number of Yugo-Slav partisans.

From Vis, Churchill carried out a series of raids on nearby islands, occupied by the Germans, with notable successful raids on Solta and Hvar but these successes received a serious set-back when a full scale assault on the island of Brac by No. 2 and 43 RM Commands, supported by the Heavy Weapons Troop of 40 RM Commando, resulted in substantial losses that included Lieut. Colonel 'Pops' Manners (40 RM) killed and the capture of Colonel Jack Churchill - who awaiting the German counter-attack played his bagpipes in defiance!

The German base on Brac was finally overrun in October 1944. An airfield on Vis hosted elements of the Balkan Air Force and serviced wounded bombers returning from Germany. Western Allied bombers hit the island of Zara in 1944. It was “ethnically cleansed” of Italians by the Yugoslavs in 1945.

Liberation of Dalmatia

Tito coming out of his HQ, Vis island,1944.

British naval forces in the Middle East operating in the Adriatic Sea were under the command of the Flag Officer Taranto and Adriatic & Liaison with the Italians (F.O.T.A.L.I). All the naval forces were controlled from Taranto and operated in close coordination with the Coastal attack operations conducted by the BAF. The Yugoslavs used the units in the British navy to transport materials and men, but especially to make landings on the islands of Dalmatia to liberate them from German occupation.

During the Vis period, Partisans carried out several seaborne landings on Dalmatian islands with help of Royal Navy and Commandos:

    Korčula

    Šolta - Operation DETAINED

    Hvar - Operation ENDOWMENT

    Mljet - Operation FARRIER

    Brač - Operation FLOUNCED

The French Navy was involved as well in the first half of 1944, with the 10th Division of Light Cruisers made up of three Fantansque-class destroyers (Le Fantasque, Le Terrible, Le Malin) making high speed sweeps in the Adriatic, destroying German convoys.

In the second half of 1944 the Royal Navy sent a destroyer flotilla in the Adriatic. The biggest engagement happened on 1 November, when two Hunt-class destroyers HMS Avon Vale and Wheatland were patrolling the coastal shipping routes south of Lussino in the Adriatic. That evening, two enemy corvettes were sighted; UJ-202 and UJ-208. The two destroyers opened fire at a range of 4,000 yd (3,700 m). In less than 10 minutes, the enemy ships were reduced to mere scrap, the two British ships were circling the enemy and pouring out a devastating fire of pom-pom and small calibre gunfire. When the first corvette was sunk Avon Vale closed to rescue the Germans while Wheatland continued to shoot up the second corvette which eventually blew up. Ten minutes later, the British came under fire from the German Torpedoboot Ausland destroyer TA-20 (ex-Italian destroyer Audace) which suddenly appeared on the scene. When the two British ships directed their fire at her and the enemy destroyer was sunk. But while the Adriatic campaign continued to the end of the war, the Hunts did not again engage large German warships, although the German Navy was constantly launching and commissioning light destroyer types from the yards of Trieste and Fiume. Moreover, on 14 December, HMS Aldenham struck a mine around the island of Škrda and it was the last British destroyer lost in World War II.

To prevent entrance to North Adriatic in last two years of Second World War, Germans spread thousands mines and blocked all ports and canals, Many of underwater mine fields has been situated at the open sea. Mine sweeping was executed by Britain ships equipped with special mine-sweep technology. On 5 May 1945, the Shakespeare-class trawler HMS Coriolanus hit a mine while it was sweeping the sea in front of Novigrad.

Resistance and Civil War in Greece

Communist partisans being arrested.

Arrested suspected Communist fighters pass British troops during the fighting in Athens, December 1944—two months before the civil war started.

 Forming the new Greek army General Scobie, the British commander in Greece, in discussion with General Saphis, the commander of ELAS, and the bearded General Zervas, who led EDES.

Combating the Axis occupation of Greece was bedevilled by enmity between the two main Resistance groups, although the Special Operations Executive (SOE) did its best to get them to cooperate with each other. When liberation came, a fierce civil war broke out as the Communists tried to take control.

In autumn 1942 the British identified the Gorgopotamos viaduct as a vital target. The viaduct carried the Salonika–Athens rail line and its removal would disrupt the Axis supply lines running down through Greece and across the Mediterranean to North Africa. A sabotage team was parachuted in to blow it up and make contact with both Greek resistance groups, ELAS and EDES, who were able to provide help in destroying the target in November.

Encouraged by this, the team was to continue its coordination efforts. It soon became clear that ELAS, or rather its political wing, the National Liberation Front (EAM), was bent on controlling all resistance activity to strengthen its position for taking over the country on liberation. Efforts were therefore made to boost EDES, thus ensuring them greater respectability from Britain.

Allied deception measures for the July 1943 Sicily landings included leading the Germans to believe that an attack on the Balkans was likely—achieved through widespread sabotage activity in Greece. Given the dominance of the communist ELAS, the SOE realized that it must work with them to bring this about. It therefore helped set up a joint Resistance HQ, with EAM/ELAS being given a dominant role. The operations were successful, and the Axis transferred two divisions to Greece to combat them.

Cooperation falters

This climate of cooperation between the resistance groups did not last long. In August 1943, a resistance delegation arrived in Cairo, accompanied by the head of the British military mission to Greece. With EAM/ELAS delegates forming the majority it demanded that there be a plebiscite held in Greece on whether the king be allowed to return, and three government posts in the areas of Greece controlled by the resistance. The British refused both demands. Disgruntled, the delegates returned to Greece believing that the British intended to reimpose the monarchy by force. Fighting also broke out between ELAS and EDES. A truce was finally arranged in February 1944, after which EDES found its members restricted to just north-western Greece.