The Commando Raids That Shook Hitler - Operations Claymore and Archery

The time is 1 minute past midnight on the 1st of March 1941. A Royal Navy flatillaa of five destroyers and two ocean liners converted into landing ships is leaving the anchorage of Scappa Flow in the Ornne Islands in Scotland. Designated as force rebel, the line of vessels exit through the anti-ubmarine barrier and head west before turning north, disappearing into the night. Task Force Rebel is on route to the Lotan Islands just off the coast of mainland Norway. The two large landing ships are carrying 552 specially trained British and Norwegian commandos who have 3 days to steal themselves for the task ahead. This is Operation Claymore, the first large-scale commando raid on Nazi occupied Europe and one which will have important consequences for the course of the Second World War. The United Kingdom and her Commonwealth stands alone in confronting Nazi Germany following the fall of France and Norway in June of 1940. Although the Royal Air Force scored a decisive victory in the Battle of Britain, the British and their Commonwealth allies are nowhere close to being ready to return to the European continent. The question now becomes how best to strike back at the enemy. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is not content with remaining on the defensive and orders his military leaders to explore different possibilities of hitting back at Germany. RAF Bomber Command is still in its infancy and incapable of launching large raids against German cities. Meanwhile, the British are directly engaging the Axis powers in North Africa, but this campaign is limited to fighting the Italians and small parts of the German army. Churchill searches for ways to take the fight to the Nazis. Always an idealist, Churchill is especially interested in special forces. He urges the Imperial General Staff to explore the idea, telling his generals, "I looked to the Joint Chiefs of Staff to propose measures for ceaseless offensive against the whole German occupied coastline, leaving a trail of German corpses behind. Enterprises must be prepared with specially trained troops of the Hunter class, who can develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast." Luckily, Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Clark had already raised the prospect of forming commando units in June of 1940, allowing recruitment to begin immediately. Under Clark's leadership, the first commando units were formed by the middle of June of 1940. The commandos come under the command of combined operations headquarters and Admiral Sir Roger Keys, a First World War veteran of the Gipoly campaign and the infamous Seaber raid. Combined operations headquarters begins conducting commando missions just 3 weeks after Clark began recruiting willing volunteers. While there have been small-scale raids against German installations in France and the Channel Islands, they have only been a minor nuisance to the enemy. Operation Ambassador, the raid on Gernzi in July of 1940, was a complete failure and four commandos were captured as prisoners of war by the Germans. The operation was played with poor planning, inadequate resources, and insufficient training for the commandos, leading an insensed Churchill to demand that there be no more silly fiascos like those perpetrated at Gernzi. Under the direction of Brigadier Joseph Charles Hayden, the commander of the Special Service Brigade, the military leadership goes back to the drawing board, seeking a location remote enough to allow for a mostly uncontested landing, but one which is also important to the German war effort. The Lotan Islands are chosen as the target for Operation Claymore. This is William Hackvorg, the founder of the Lotan War Remembrance Museum in Sulva, Norway. >> We had a lot of fishery installations here and there was not so many Germans here. So I think that was also a great point. So they don't think that would be so difficult to to take smallware and also Stumpson Hannings where there was no Germans very little only a few in Stumpson and here was very little was very little fortifications that time so that was also what it should be easy task to take this place. >> This is Jane Gullifford Lowe's author and military historian who is currently writing a book on the 1941 lootin raids. She is the producer and co-host of the Bomber Command podcast, Never Mind the Dam Busters. >> The Loftton raids were part training exercise, part grand gesture, part publicity stunt, part intelligence gathering operation, and part desperately needed more victory. I think the raids were undertaken for a mix of military, political, and psychological reasons. The time when Britain had few opportunities to strike directly at German occupied Europe. The objective will be to destroy factories producing fish oil, to capture valuable German cryptologic equipment, and to galvanize the local population to join the free Norwegian forces. Most importantly, a successful operation will demonstrate the effectiveness of commandos and serve as a warning to Hitler that the Allies are capable of striking anywhere in Germany's European Empire. In practical terms, the raids combined limited economic warfare with much neededed operational experience and a chance to demonstrate that Britain could still mount defensive action. Just as important, I think were their symbolic and intelligence roles. So, the raids offered a morale boosting successor Britain in early 1941 and also reassured the Norwegian government in exile and served as a propaganda demonstration that occupied territory was actually vulnerable. At the same time, they were used to gather intelligence, capture prisoners and documents, and exploit opportunities such as seizing shipping or cord material. For all these reasons, I think the Loftton raids are best described as being deliberately multi-purpose operations. >> Task Force Rebel begins to assemble in Scapplow on the 21st of February, 1941. And after a week of preparations, the flatillaa leaves harbor bound for Norway. Overall command of the operation falls to Rear Admiral Lewis Keell Hamilton while Brigadier Hayden will lead the ground forces. Accompanying Task Force Rebel are 52 men of the first Norwegian independent company commanded by Captain Martin Linger. Captain Linger was one of the first Norwegians to arrive in the United Kingdom following the capitulation of his country, having been wounded during the German invasion. He was originally treated with suspicion after volunteering to fight, but was given the opportunity to raise a unit of free Norwegians after British intelligence confirmed that he was not a German spy. Trained to commando standards, Linger's Norwegians were indispensable in raids, able to fight alongside the British while also liazing with civilians and rounding up collaborators. Due to the rough seas and Arctic temperatures, the trip to the Lotan Islands is an unpleasant one for all involved. One British commando later recalled, "The ship did everything but turn upside down, and I am sure that everyone was seasick, even the captain. The cramped conditions aboard the warships only adds to the miserable voyage. Apparent disaster strikes the day before task force rebel arrives at its destination when a liftfaer reconnaissance aircraft spots the flotilla as it approaches the lootons. The aircraft circles the convoy before disappearing and the pilots report sighting a group of Royal Navy warships. The sighting is acknowledged by a German station on Norway, but luckily for the Allies, the enemy makes no effort to alert coastal defenses. Task Force Rebel arrives off the coast of the Lofosen Islands at 4:00 a.m. early in the morning of the 4th of March with the operation due to kick off at 6:30 a.m. The British and Norwegians guess they have achieved total surprise when they see the port and navigational beacons still shining brightly in the dark of night. The commandos are woken up and are served breakfast before dawning their kit. The temperatures here are below freezing. One officer later remarked, "I was wearing two vests, two pullovers, a shirt, a waist coat, a woollined raincoat, and a pair of furlined boots. I was still cold." Commencing at 6:00 a.m., the converted troop ships HMS Queen Emma and HMS Princess Beatatrix begin disembarking their commando units into landing craft, which will take them to the shore. Princess Beatatrix is transporting the 250 men of number three commando under the command of Latutenant Colonel John Durnford Slater. Number three commando's objectives are the small fishing ports of Stamzund and Hennings. Just to the east, number four commando under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Listister is leaving HMS Queen Emma. Their targets are the ports of Salva and Bretestnes. Accompanying them are 52 men from number 55 Field Company Royal Engineers and 52 free Norwegian soldiers commanded by Captain Linger. The engineers and Norwegians are split up to support all four landing forces with the engineers tasked with rigging explosive charges while the Norwegians are to act as guides and interpreters. At 6:20 a.m., the tribal class destroyer HMS Somali is sailing towards Stamson and Helennings Van when an unidentified vessel is spotted leaving Spalva. Somali moves to investigate when the vessel opens fire at a range of 3,000 yd. This ship is the Krebs, an armed twler of the Creeks Marine, which carries a six pounder gun in the bow and two machine guns. The round misses and Somali returns fire with its four 4.7 in main batteries. Krebs fires three more shells until a devastating salvo from Somali scores three direct hits, wrecking the wheelhouse and the boiler room. The armed troller stops dead in the water and is set a flame, but Somali is ordered to hurry back towards Stamund and Hennings to support the landings. Somali takes no damage while 13 of the 18 men aboard Krebs have been killed in the short engagement. Petrolic reps was sent out early morning and a story I have heard my life is that they had a Norwegian girl here. She was helping them to translate letter and things like this. She was working for the Germans but even so rather okay. She was wake up in early in the morning with this crew from Krebs and they was very depressed and some was crying. They were sent out on the suicide mission and they will say goodbye to her because she have been kind to help them with small things and so and then they she was very shocked and when they walking down to the the creps we're crying and went out and start fighting with the Somali that was there and Somali was very modern for the time and banging out this traveler hit one in the bridge and one in the machine and so they had to leave their crypt. >> Another tribal class destroyer HMS Bedawin sites the Norwegian passenger ferry Mirror leaving Bretestnes. Bedawin sails in front of Mirror to block her path, but the ferry continues on a constant bearing. A warning shot is fired across her bow, but the vessel refuses to stop. Acting in accordance with orders to destroy any and all vessels encountered, Bedwin fires two rounds into Mirror's fauxil, Steam paws from the ship's funnel, and Meera comes to a stop while lifeboats are seen being lowered into the water. Bedwin breaks off to support the landings, but returns later to sink Mirror and pick up survivors. 13 Germans are taken prisoner and an unknown number of Norwegian civilians are killed or wounded. The commander of the British destroyer squadron is later told that a German officer forced the captain of the mirror to continue out of the harbor at gunpoint. >> The incident quickly became controversial because the raid was meant to demonstrate Allied support for Norway. Yet here a Norwegian coastal ferry had been destroyed. Now, according to some accounts, there was a tense exchange on the bridge in which the captain protested that stopping was necessary, only to be overruled by the German officer. If true, this would explain why the ship appeared to ignore British warnings and thus became the target. However, the gunpoint story has been debated ever since. Certainly, some Norwegian testimonies and later research question whether the captain was actually forced to proceed in this way or whether the account emerged after the sinking to rationalize the tragedy. In wartime British reporting, the ferry was presented largely as a vessel operating under German control and civilian losses. The uncertainty surrounding the captain's exchange with the German officer kind of downplayed or it omitted from public narratives. I think this selective emphasis helped avoid damaging Norwegian goodwill meant that the fuller discussion of the incident and of whether the captain had truly been coerced only surfaced gradually in postwar Norwegian and historical accounts. Was there a cover up? Possibly. >> In the planning stages, the landings had been scheduled to happen simultaneously at 6:30 a.m., but was postponed to 6:45 a.m. to allow the commandos to land in daylight. Due to the favorable weather, the landing craft approached the islands in what a report written after the raid noted rather better light conditions than were required or were desirable. Lieutenant Colonel Durnford Slater is leading the first landing crafts ashore when the vessel passes several Norwegian fishing boats heading out to sea. The fishermen believe they are witnessing a German naval drill. Until one of the Norwegian interpreters shouts, "Where are the Germans?" To which a startled fisherman replies, "There are none." This confirms British intelligence that there are only 50 German soldiers on the Lotans. But many of the commandos are disappointed that they will not get a taste of combat. By 6:50 a.m., all four commando groups are ashore and are met by cheering crowds of Norwegians. Some British and Norwegian troops hand out packs of tea and coffee to the civilians and toys to young children, while the locals hand over scarves, gloves, and hot Ursat coffee. By 7:35 a.m., all four landing sites have been secured and the commandos move to destroy their targets. In Sulvan, the men of number four commando prepare to assault the town's hotel, which acts as a barracks for the German garrison in the Lotans. Lance Corporal Ken Phillip later recalled the tense but ultimately uneventful storming of the hotel. We have been told to shoot anyone seen leaving. I say shoot, but we were so cold that we could hardly hold our rifles, let alone pull the trigger. In fact, the only shots fired were in the room occupied by two German propaganda ministry officials. They were asleep when a commando shot off their door lock, then shot their chamber pot for good measure. The German garrisons in each town are quickly subdued. The element of surprise has been total. Just after 9:00 a.m., the stricken troller Krebs has drifted into the middle of the field, and its surviving crew raises a white flag on the main mast. HMS Somali comes alongside and sends across a boarding party. The five creeks marine sailors, still on board, are taken prisoner while the boarding party searches the ship for anything of intelligence value. They find that the captain had thrown the Enigma machine into the water before he was killed in the exchange of gunfire with Somali, but he had failed to destroy a set of rotor wheels along with the Enigma code books. These are recovered, and at 10:15 a.m., HMS Somali sinks the Krebs with its 4.7 in guns. Norwegian fisherman toss fresh fish aboard Somali's deck as thanks. The raid unquestably produced valuable cipher gains when British forces captured code documents and wrote components from the Krebs enabling temporary access to naval communications. Some historians drawing on that sort of wider pattern of British pinch planning argued this outcome reflects deliberate design suggesting operation claymore forward part of an emerging strategy of commando raids structured to obtain cryptographic material whenever possible. I'm not so sure. >> Back on the islands, the commandos are busy burning anything of value to the enemy and rounding up prisoners. Although intelligence estimated that only 50 German soldiers are based in the area, the British and Norwegians eventually count 225 prisoners, many from the German merchant marine. This number includes 12 Norwegians known as Quizlings. Collaborators named after Norway's pro-Nazi prime minister Vidken Quizling. Captain Linger's men are also able to recruit 315 volunteers to return to the United Kingdom with them joining the ranks of the free Norwegians fighting alongside the Allies. At 10:35 a.m., the crew of the Norwegian troller Mirand informs Rear Admiral Hamilton that they too would like to join the Allies. >> So, these are mostly young men in their late teens and early 20s, but some were older like 42year-old journalist Yala Holtree from Stamson who had gone to work for the Norwegian government press office in London. There were also eight young women from Spea who volunteered for nursing duties and the British manager of one of the fish oil plants there. Many of the young islanders who'd spent much of their lives at sea working in the fishing industry ended up in the Norwegian merchant fleet nautra ship and served with great distinction on the Atlantic and Arctic convoys. Others joined Norwegian military units like the Norwegian Independent Company. Others still like Leaf Len and Stamund joined the ex-commandos. Leaf lost his life at the battle of Vulcran in November 1944. Some joined the Royal Air Force, serving in bomber, fighter, coastal, and ferry commands. >> Explosions can be heard throughout the late morning as the Royal Engineers blow up fuel storage tanks, fish oil facilities, and anything that could be valuable to the enemy. The main economic target for the raid are the glycerine and fish oil plants along with their storage facilities. Norway is one of the largest exporters in Europe of fish oil, which is a key ingredient in making explosives and vitamin supplements. At the lootin's cod boiling plant in Stamund, an argument breaks out between two British officers of number three commando and the factory owner. The owner pleads with the officers not to destroy his factory, claiming he had never sold fish oil to the enemy. One of the officers looks around and asks, "Then where does all this fish oil go?" After being met with a stony silence, the engineers are called in to plant demolition charges. The charges explode one after another throughout the early afternoon. At 1:00 p.m., the commandos are ordered back to their landing craft and prepare to depart. Before setting off, Lieutenant RL Willis enters the main telegraph office at Stamson and sends a message to one a Hitler in Berlin. You said in your last speech that German troops would meet the British wherever they land. Where are your troops? The destruction of the facilities is extensive as 18 fish oil factories are burned, 20,000 tons of shipping are sunk in the harbor and nearly a million gallons of oil and petrol are destroyed by the commandos. A victory no doubt, but it should be noted that while the civilians are cheering a bloody nose given to the Reich, they will be the ones to suffer. And they also blow up one oil tank oil tanks here and in Stumpion. And they also blow up fishing oil factories, rather many. But people even they were blowing up their places where many were. People cheering hoay and fishing boats had their flags in the most crazy situation. So, but when the English went back 2:00 p.m., people was more depressed because they was afraid what will now happen. Operation Claymore might have been a small commando raid, but it is psychologically significant for both sides. After almost a full year of reporting battlefield failures, the British press is ecstatic at the success of Operation Claymore. The Allied home front greets the outcome of the raid with considerable pride and relief. For the Germans, Claymore is an embarrassing episode which prompts highlevel discussions in Berlin on the direction of the war. In addition to the destruction of the fish oil plant, the Enigma rotor wheels and code books ceased from the sinking Krebs proved to be important intelligence. The code books contained the creeks marine home waters cipher key from the previous month. Using this key, Alan Turing and crypto analysts at Bletchley Park are able to solve the yubot traffic key for April, allowing the British Admiral Tivert convoys away from enemy submarines for almost 2 months at a crucial moment in the Battle of the Atlantic. April 1941 still sees significant Ubot successors, but Allied countermeasures, especially ultra intelligence from the Lotan Enigma Hall, help prevent even greater losses. Strategically, this period represents the beginning of the end of what the creeks marine calls the first happy time when newbot could roam the oceans without much interference. The German response to the raid is harsh. The SS burned down several homes in the Lotan Islands and 100 Norwegian civilians are randomly picked and sent to labor camps. Immediately the very next day after operation claymore had taken place German troops to escrived in the fishing communities impacted. Their response was immediate and brutal. Vicious reprisals were carried out against the families of those boys who'd fled to Britain with homes being burnt down and elderly parents beaten and thrown into jail. That's precisely what happened to old John Tree Yala Holtz's father. He was dragged from his home, beaten and his house sat alike by German troops. He was destined never to see his son again as he died just a few months later. In fact, 64 islanders were arrested and were the first occupants of the infamous Greeny prison camp just outside Ols. These men known as the Greeny 64. Most were eventually released a year or two later, but only one I believe one or two may have died in captivity. The raid also inevitably resulted in the arrival of the Gestapo on the islands. A permanent headquarters was set up in the main town of Salva and remained there until the end of the war. Local collaborators, the Quizlings, are used more aggressively to spy on and suppress resistance. To avoid another surprise raid, creeks marine destroyers and armed trollwers are assigned in greater numbers to patrol Norway's coast. The vulnerable fish oil plants are also more heavily guarded and yubot pens are expanded at Tronheim and Bergen. The fura is determined to make Norway into an impregnable fortress. This does not dissuade the allies from striking in Scandinavia. From the 25th of August to the 3rd of September, a combined British, Canadian, and Free Norwegian forts attack the isolated island of Spitsburgen in Operation Gauntlet. The Allies succeed in destroying half a million tons of coal and 275,000 gallons of petrol bound for the German military. They also rescue more than 800 Norwegian civilians and 186 French prisoners of war. The commandos make a clean getaway without a single casualty or the German military even knowing they were there. Yet another embarrassment for the enemy. But despite these successes, Churchill is growing impatient behind the scenes. He urges Sir Roger Keys to launch larger and more ambitious raids against the Germans rather than the low-risk pin prick operations thus far. While universally respected, the 69-year-old Keys is seen as old-fashioned compared to younger and more dynamic officers. For his own part, the independent-minded and outspoken Keys is growing increasingly frustrated at the lack of resources he has given for these operations. Ultimately, he can see the writing on the wall as his vision simply does not align with Churchill's. Admiral Keys resigns as leader of combined operations headquarters in October of 1941. He is replaced by a man who will become one of the highest profile figures of 20th century Britain. 41-year-old Lord Louie Mountbatton, a cousin of King George V 6th, Mount Batton is already a rising figure in the Royal Navy. He encountered naval service in 1913 as a cadet and saw his first action in the first world war aboard the battle cruiser HMS Lion. In the inter war years he specialized in communications and signals developing a reputation for technical skill and modern thinking. At the outbreak of the second world war, Mountbatton commanded the destroyer HMS Kelly and then the fifth destroyer flatillaa. Bold and often daring, he led his ships in the North Sea and Mediterranean, where Kelly was repeatedly damaged before being sunk off Cree in May of 1941. Mountbatton survived and the story of HMS Kelly boosts his public profile. Churchill takes note and despite Mountbatton's youth promotes him to chief of combined operations in October of 1941, entrusting him with Britain's growing commando and amphibious warfare program. Mountbatton begins planning at once. This time seeking to inflict the most damage possible rather than a simple harassment raid. He lays out the requirements for this new operation. It must be against a target within a mile of the sea with good landing features, one whose defenses and garrison strength are known, and one that is clear of enemy concentration areas. Combined operations headquarters planners identify a list of targets that match this description. Mbatan makes his decision. The small village of Mole on the Norwegian island of Vogce is chosen for two reasons. It has a substantial but known German garrison and is a center for fish oil production. The plan code named Operation Archery will be the largest commando raid of the war so far. The raiding force consists of number three commando of the special service brigade under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Durnford Slater and a company of three Norwegian commandos led by Captain Martin Linger. Combined operations headquarters specialists in London construct a detailed model of the area of operations which Danford Slater takes to Scotland to brief his men. The commandos conduct several successful dress rehearsals in Scapplow to prepare for the raid and the force is ready by mid December of 1941. On the 26th of December, British and Norwegian commandos are on route to Volce to conduct Operation Archery. Meanwhile, another force is slipping quietly into the fields of northern Norway. This force is conducting Operation Anklet, a raid against the Lotan Islands, the same chain struck 9 months earlier in Operation Claymore. It is often assumed that operation angllet is only conducted to distract the Germans from the primary focus in Norway, operation archery. >> I think this is a common misconception. For a start, the Loftton Islands are thousand kilometers from Voy and Maroy and relatively few Germans were based there at the time. The idea that you're going to try to camp thousands of Germans to pour the Locker Islands to distract them from what is basically a hit and run rate a thousand kilometers away with no long-term strategic objective is quite frankly bizarre. But by the time the Germans found out about it and could get any number of troops up there, archery would have been pretty much all done and dusted anyway. There's even an argument that it was in fact the other way around. The archery is a distraction for Ankllet. I think the proper way to view these attacks is as concurrent rather than one being a distraction for the other though. So when you think about it, Anklet targeted the far west of the Leffortton Islands, focusing on the small town of Rhina and the fishing hammock of Mushionesses and the Sherka fjord which at that time provided a large natural harbor. It was this fjord which had caught the attention of the British military planners and various plans were discussed to seize the area including the complete evacuation of the islanders patronizingly referred to in the intelligence reports as simple fisher fog to Scotland in order that the British could establish a naval base there on the very fringe of occupied Norway. Yes, that plan is as mad as it sounds. Operation Anklet was as breathtakingly naive as it was illconceived to be honest. eventure which would subsequently make operation marker garden look well thought out. >> In the gray light of morning, the cruiser HMS Arathusa, four destroyers, and a handful of smaller craft knows their way through the icy waters. On board are roughly 300 men of number 12 commando accompanied by a detachment of free Norwegian soldiers. Their mission is clear. sink shipping, destroy fish oil factories, and remind the Germans that the Lotans remain vulnerable. After two days of occupying the Norwegian town of Rin and the immediate surrounding area, the raiding force is withdrawn and returns to Scapper Flow by New Year's Day 1942. Nine merchant vessels totaling roughly 9,000 tons have been sunk in the harbor. 30 German prisoners and more than 200 suspected collaborators are rounded up. 200 Norwegian volunteers climb aboard Royal Navy vessels, choosing exile over occupation and swelling the ranks of the free Norwegian forces in Britain. The raiders lose no commandos killed and all men are safely withdrawn. The Germans however expend far more. Luftwfuffer aircraft harassed the flatilla forcing the Royal Navy to fight off repeated air attacks with anti-aircraft fire. The crease marine fearing a larger invasion scrambles patrols along the coast. After operation anklet, there were also reprisals but these were more limited in scale. German occupation authorities carried out security sweeps in the fishing villages of Rhino and Moshkin. German forces and the Gestapo conducted arrests and interrogations of local men suspected of assisting the British commandos or maintaining contacts with the resistance. Several residents from Re Machines were detained and deposed to prisons and concentration camps in Norway and Germany, including Greeny and camps on the continent. While Operation Anklet is underway to the north, Operation Archery begins in the eerie pre-dawn light of the 27th of December 1941. A flight of three RAF Hampton bombers cruise over the Varjordan in western Norway, turning north and commencing their bombing run. Just one of many small bomber raids of the night, they drop their payload through streams of AA fire on a German coastal gun battery on the island of Rukunda. They bank back down the field and out to sea. Pressing on through the darkness, thousands of feet below them, is a small flatillaa of ships. The German lookouts are not alarmed at the sight of the ships, believing them to be a German convoy expected that day. However, aboard the converted landing ships, Prince Charles and Prince Leopold, 570 British and Norwegian commandos are clambering into their landing craft and heading towards their target of Vauce. At 8:48 a.m., the German coastal battery on the island of Molden is engaged by a volley of 6in shells from the light cruiser HMS Kenya. Leading the force around the headland, she opens up with another full broadside of 12 6-in shells joined shortly after by the destroyers HMS Onslow and HMS Offer, contributing their own fire to the barrage. The coastal battery at Molden along with a surviving gun from Rugunda attempts to return fire. The Germans have greatly reinforced their coastal artillery batteries since Operation Claymore, but they are still no match for the Royal Navy's firepower. Kenya and the destroyers continue to bombard both German batteries with Molden receiving over 400 shells in just 9 minutes. As the furious engagement ensues on the Vox field, the fleet of landing craft slip into the field behind, approaching their objectives. The commando battle group has been split into five groups, each with a specific objective. 50 commandos from group one in two landing craft land south of Moane to silence a suspected coastal battery at the hamlet of Holvik. However, they find no coastal battery at their objective and only a handful of German troops. They clear the area and advance on foot towards the village. Kenya ceases her bombardment and the landing craft carrying group two fire a salvo of flares. This is the signal for seven Hamn bombers standing off at a safe distance to make their attack. Braving considerable anti-aircraft fire, the Hamptons sweep over the Vagfield at low level, over the flatillaa of assault boats pressing towards the shore and on towards their two targets, the landing beaches at Mole and Molden. Each bomber releases a stick of phosphorous smoke bombs, covering the landing beaches in smoke to conceal them from enemy fire. One Hampton is badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire and in its attempt to ditch his payload and get clear. One of the phosphorus bombs lands squarely in one of the second group's wooden landing craft, killing two men, injuring everyone else on board and damaging several nearby craft. Nonetheless, the landing craft press on to the beach and three commando co Lieutenant Colonel Danford Slater, despite his uniform briefly catching fire, leads his force ashore. Group two, the bulk of three commando strength, presses on up the cliff above them and encounter the main German defensive position. It had been set up around an anti-aircraft position with a machine gun sighted nearby. Taking this position is delegated to two groups number three troop led by left tenant Giles who attacks promptly and aggressively advancing in bounds towards the German position. One half of the 50-man troop covers and the other half advances forward and then they swap roles exacting heavy casualties on the defenders and killing its commanding officer. Number three troop overruns the position and rejoins the rest of the group in clearing more lane. Above the den of gunfire, the skull of bagpipes can be heard echoing across the field from the island of Molden. To raise the spirits of his men, Lieutenant Colonel John Madjack Churchill stands on the bow of third group's lead landing craft, claymore broadsword at his side, and bag pipes tucked beneath his arm. Madjac is a proud Scotsman and a veteran of the Dunkirk campaign where legend has it that he killed a German soldier using a long bow, becoming perhaps the only man in the Second World War to achieve this. He enthusiastically plays March of the Cameron men as the group hits the beach, stopping only to throw grenades at the enemy once ashore. Third group's objective is to silence the four howitzers of the coastal battery on Molden. Sprinting out of the smoke, the commandos overrun a machine gun post guarding the beach before the stunned defenders can even get a shot off. Moving forward, the 105 commandos strike in a pinser movement with number six troop advancing up the west side of the island to destroy the bulk of the guns and number five troop up the eastern side to eliminate the rest and destroy the Germans ammo dump. Despite their dramatic entry, the British seized the first three German guns without further resistance in just 8 minutes. The bulk of the German garrison is found shortly after, still in their shelter, and they surrender. Third group continues to mop up minor pockets of resistance and demolishes the fish oil factory and the German barracks. At 9:20 a.m. Churchill informs the headquarters aboard HMS Kenya that the island of Molden is secure >> in Mole. There was was heavily fighting you know that was more fortificated by the Germans. >> In Mole second group's attack has faltered. The Germans have concentrated their forces to create a defensive line halfway up the town centered on their headquarters in the Olver Hotel. Unbeknownst to the British, the approximately 150 strong German garrison has also been reinforced with a group of 50 elite Gibs Jagger, mountain troops on leave from the eastern front. Some Gibers Jerger are harassing the advance with sniper fire from the hills to the west. In a brutal and close quarters firefight, Captain Giles of number three troop and three of his men have been killed. Number four troop is in an even worse state with all of its officers dead. Captain Linger of the Norwegian company assumes command and absorbs number four troop into his force, determined to reach the German headquarters as quickly as possible. After operations Claymore and Gauntlet, the Gestapo and Vermart have implemented harsher reprisals against civilians suspected of aiding raiders. By operation archery, this is a known risk, and Captain Linger insists on pushing into the town as quickly as possible to spare the local civilians impromptu reprisals from the German garrison. >> During operating archery, Lydia had a much more hands-on role and actually got involved in the fighting. Now, originally his personnel file reveals that there was no part for him in the raid. It's not entirely clear how he ended up there. Perhaps he pressed his case. Perhaps the Norwegian contingent of troops demanded he lead them. He was, after all, dead talisman. There's no dyke that Ling possessed leadership qualities and enthusiasm and abundance, but he was not a skilled military tactician and didn't have a great deal of knowledge of urban warfare, which is pretty much what was demanded in Marlo. This was street to street house fighting. As a result, Lia ended up leading a needless and somewhat naive attack, I think, on the hotel. Just as he leads his men out of cover, Linger is killed and the attack falters before it begins. The commandos, furious at the loss of the Norwegian officer and the casualties taken thus far, up the amount of fire directed at the hotel. Number one troop, previously securing the landing beach, arrives to help with several 3-in mortars and rapidly gets to work battering the German position. This alone does not turn the tide against the German defenses. Lieutenant Colonel Danford Slater, arriving from his headquarters at the beach, surveys the scene for himself and radios back to HMS Kenya to deploy group 4, the reserve force, and signals to Molden to see if Churchill's third group can lend any assistance, hoping the fresh reinforcements will crack the German line. With the gun battery at Molden silenced permanently, Kenya and her destroyers have had little to do other than periodically exchange fire with the lone surviving gun at Brook Sununda. However, with the smoke from the assault on the island clearing, it is now possible for destroyers HMS Enslow and Aribi to sail through the narrow sound east of Molden. Alarmed by the presence of the two British destroyers so close to shore, the German defenders subject Aribe to a torrent of rifle and machine gun fire, injuring three of the ship's company. But the destroyers press on regardless, streaming their battle ensons and pass through the narrow sound in a superb display of seammanship. Once through, the warships set about their tasks. HMS Aribi steams north to the top end of Mole and offloads 75 commandos of fifth group. They land and go to ground in a blocking position around the road leading into Mole from the north cutting the telephone lines and preventing German reinforcements from reaching the village by cratering the road. Onslow, meanwhile, has a more destructive task. Sailing across to the other side of theund to sink the German merchant vessels anchored there. One German armed twer, the fo, makes a valiant attempt to buy time for nearby merchant men and opens fire with the 70 mm autoc cannon on her bow. She strikes Enslow's superructure, but Enslow's return fire cripples the little twler and kills her skipper. She is able to make it ashore where her crew continues to defiantly engage the destroyer with rifle fire. They are killed by a final salvo from Onslow's 4.7 in guns. Of the other merchant ships, two managed to beach themselves and are seized by boarding parties from Onslow shortly after. A third is unable to start her engines in time and is sunk by the two British destroyers. Unaware of the carnage, a German tug and another merchant vessel enter the field from the north. Seeing the destruction before them, they too make a desperate break for the shore, only to be sunk by volleys of 4.7 in gunfire. Between the smoke and the flame of the demolished fish oil factories and the burning battlecard houses, Mole has started to take on the appearance of an apocalyptic scene. But the balance is beginning to tip in the commando's favor. Group one have arrived along with the reserves from group four, two 50man troops, and half a troop from Churchill's group three. With the far greater firepower at his disposal, Dunford Slater orders his men into the attack. The strategy is simple. Advance quickly and bring as much firepower to bear as possible. Across the entire line, the commandos push forward by fire and movement with particular emphasis on fire. They pour tremendous amounts of lead into enemy occupied buildings to keep them suppressed. They move quickly to minimize their exposure to sniper fire and clear out the snipers and German positions with grenades or for particularly stubborn resistance. They simply set the building alike. The commando later recalled, "Our captain led the attack here and although it was slow as we had to go from house to house, we were able to spot and shoot the snipers who were doing the damage. One of our sergeants received three shots in the back from a sniper who had let us part. We opened fire on this sniper's window and settled him. We dashed to the next house. We threw in petrol, set fire to it, and went on our way, leaving one man to deal with the Hun when he eventually appeared. All the while, the 3-in mortars and the 4.7in guns of the destroyers HMS Offer and HMS Chittingoot hammer German strong points ahead of the commando's advance. The fighting is methodical and vicious, but the commandos successfully clear the German headquarters in the hotel, taking dozens of prisoners. With most of the garrison defeated, the commandos begin mopping up the remaining enemy further north in the village and finished demolishing the fish oil facilities. The British and Norwegians face stubborn resistance from a building nicknamed the Red Warehouse. To solve the problem, three commandos rush the building and brave enemy fire to set fire to the building. The German soldiers inside evacuate into the street where they are gunned down by concentrated small arms fire. North of the village, fifth group have completed their objective and request that HMS Aribi come and pick them back up. With the village now firmly in British hands, there is little need for them to stay in their position. German patrols have bumped into the commandos, but have been beaten back with a fuselage of small arms fire. But the Germans now return with a full platoon. As HMS Aari approaches and the commandos begin their withdrawal, the German platoon seizes the opportunity and opens fire, attacking the British troops midm movement. Aribi's gunners let fly with a full broadside, hammering the advancing Germans with everything they have. 4.7 in batteries, 40 mm fire from their pom- pom AA guns, and 20 mm autoc cannon. Seeing the commotion, Enslow rushes over, further plastering the German position with shells. In the face of this withering hail of incoming fire, the remaining Germans seek cover. And under the covering fire, fifth group is able to board its small boats and rejoin Aribe. With the commando safely aboard, the destroyers head south, passing through the sound again to rejoin Kenya and the other two destroyers. The last major German attack of the day comes from the air. As the other two destroyers return to the formation, two flights of three Hanklore H111s rumble over Vogs towards the British flagship. Kenya's 4-in secondary batteries kick off the reception, blasting flack at the oncoming German bombers. They're joined shortly by the AA guns from the destroyers. While no hits on the bombers are scored, it's sufficient to throw off the enemy's aim with all of the bombs landing hundreds of yards wide. Quiet now falls on the Vfield as the warships wait for the commandos to finish up in the town. After around 30 minutes, the lone howitzer at Rukunda opens up again, this time with surprising accuracy. It strikes the British cruiser twice, although causing virtually no damage. Fed up with the constant pot shots they've received all morning from the battery, Kenya's gunnery team decides to silence the battery once and for all. Letting loose with her after 6-in guns, Kenya thoroughly hammers the island. And after a few minutes, the gun at Rrookunda remains silent. By now, the whole area is ablaze and thick black smoke rises into the winter sky. Thousands of sardine can labels from a destroyed warehouse flutter around the commandos as they evacuate. During the operation, the commandos have used 300 lb of plastic explosive, 150 incendiary bombs, 1,100 lb of gun cotton, and 150 lb of ammonal. By 2:30 p.m., the re-mbarkation is complete. All of the British and Norwegian commandos are accounted for. 71 Norwegian civilians are brought aboard, as well as 98 German soldiers, sailors, and suspected Norwegian collaborators. Kenya leads the four destroyers and two landing ships back down the Voxfield, leaving Molay's fish oil factories ablaze. Around 150 German personnel are dead, and every German military building has been demolished. 15,630 tons of shipping has been sunk and valuable intelligence captured. In total, the force has suffered 22 men killed, 17 commandos, two Royal Navy sailors, Captain Linger, the only three Norwegian casualty, and two RAF airmen. Despite the ferocity of the battle, just one Norwegian civilian, has been killed to stray shrapnel. As sun begins to set, Kenya leads the victorious force out of Voxfield and into the Norwegian Sea. Despite the successful outcomes, operations archery and anklet lead to a minor diplomatic dispute amongst the allies. The Norwegian government in exile, led by King Harkin IIIth, had not been informed of the raids and is unhappy with the British government. The Norwegians make it clear to Prime Minister Churchill that they wish to be consulted on operations against their homeland, fearful of civilian casualties and the inevitable German reprisals. Wherever the Allies land, the local population must either choose to self-deport by leaving with the raiders or stay in their homes and face the consequences. Churchill is able to smooth over these disputes by promising less raids against Norway and more against the European continent. A telegram reveals just how successful the commando operations have been in spooking the enemy. The message from Stockholm to the foreign office in London reads, "The raiders have caused bickerings amongst commanders and that fresh dispositions of occupying troops are being made and garrisons increased. Raids are being regarded by the Germans as being practice raids rather than preludes to a serious invasion. News of the Mole raid caused a stampede amongst garrisons. Many soldiers running away and hiding in the mountains and leaving garages open and electric lights burning. The commando raids of 1941 frighten Hitler so much that he decides to massively reinforce the occupation forces in Norway, which he refers to as the zone of destiny in this war. He is consumed by paranoia about Norway being the allies back door into Europe and is convinced that a future invasion is imminent. If the British go about things properly, the Furer explains to his generals, they will attack northern Norway at several points. By means of an all-out attack by their fleet and ground troops, they will try to displace us there, take Narvik, if possible, and thus exert pressure on Sweden and Finland. This might be of decisive importance for the outcome of the war. Fearing a British invasion of the continent through Norway and worried the raids may cause disruption to the supplies of minerals coming from Sweden down through Narvik, German troops were poured into Norway with a peak of around 400,000 by 1943. At one point it was roughly one German soldier for every eight Norwegians, which is a huge number. And bear in mind, most of them are sitting around doing pretty much nothing for the duration of the conflict. Postal defenses, including bunkers, artillery and placement and observation points, were very hastily built. Many of them are still there if you know where to look. Norway is literally still full of German concrete. These troops were better off being out of the way in Norway than they were creating reinforcements in Normandy. Even when hostilities were concluded in May 1945, there was still well over 300,000 German troops in Norway. >> At Hitler's command, the Crem Marine moves most of its major fleet units to Norway in order to defend the country and threaten the Arctic convoy routes from Britain to the Soviet Union. The battleship Turpets, battle cruisers Shanhost and Nisenau, pocket battleship Lutzau, heavy cruisers Hippa and Prince Oyen are all sent north where they will mostly remain confined to port for the next 3 years. These commando attacks in 1941 are the most successful British attacks on occupied Europe during the Second World War. Not only have they provided a massive morale boost to the Western Allies, the raids have given the British valuable experience in conducting amphibious operations in both opposed and unopposed landings. Archery is the last large-scale raid on Norway during the war. True to his word, Prime Minister Churchill switched his focus from Norway to launching attacks against mainland Europe. Lord Louis Mountbatton mounts even more elaborate and ambitious attacks the following year, including the famed raid on the French port of San Nazair. However, this is followed up by the disastrous attack on Die in Operation Jubilee, which nonetheless provides important lessons in the conduct of naval invasions. By the time the allies were ready for the invasion of Europe in 1944, they were still using tactics pioneered by operations claymore and archery. These later successes were made possible by the commandos and their free Norwegian comrades. The commandos were the first Allied men to set foot in occupied Europe and brought much needed hope to the home front during the darkest days of the war. In Colonel Durnford Slater's words, the commandos and their Norwegian allies were men of character beyond the normal. Thanks again to William Hackfor, the founder of the Lotan War Remembrance Museum in Solva in Norway. and to Jane Gullifford Lowe's, author, military historian, producer, and co-host of the Bomber Command podcast Never Mind the Dam Busters, and who is currently writing a book on the 1941 Loan raids.