Invasion of Elba
| Invasion of Elba | |||||||||
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| Part of the Italian Campaign of World War II | |||||||||
 Elba between Corsica and Italy |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Free France United Kingdom United States
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 Germany
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Land General Jean de Lattre de TassignyNaval Rear Admiral Thomas Hope Troubridge
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Generalleutnant Franz Gall (general)
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| Units involved | |||||||||
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French 9th Colonial Infantry Division Bataillon de Choc Commando 2nd Groupe de Tabors Marocains British Naval Force N Royal Navy Commandos 26 Vickers Wellington United States Landing Craft PT boats 87th Fighter Wing 57th Bombardment Wing |
two infantry battalions several coastal artillery batteries totalling 60 guns of medium and heavy calibre |
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| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 290 dead 644 wounded British 38 dead and nine wounded French 252 dead and 635 wounded (land casualties only, naval casualties not known) |
500 dead 1,995 prisoners of war |
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The invasion of Elba, codenamed Operation Brassard, was part of the Italian campaign during the Second World War.
The invasion was carried out by Free French Forces supported by British and American ships and aircraft. It came as a complete surprise to the German garrison although it had been reinforced for just such a possibility. The defenders resisted for two days before being given permission to withdraw to the mainland.
The Allied 15th Army Group—under the command of General Sir Harold Alexander—captured Rome on 4 June 1944 and forced the German 14th and 10th Armies to withdraw into Northern Italy. This success was followed by orders for the invasion of southern France, Operation Dragoon. The 15th Army Group were asked to supply the majority of the troops for the landings. This reduced the U.S. 5th Army to five divisions. The whole of the 15th Army Group now only consisted of 18 divisions, and the reduction in strength put on hold any plans Alexander had of reaching the Gothic Line by August 1944.
One operation they could still carry out was the invasion of Elba (Operation Brassard), which had initially been scheduled for 25 May, at the same time as Operation Diadem. The landings had then been postponed because of the shortage of support aircraft and to allow the inexperienced French troops more time for training. The objectives of the invasion were to prevent the Germans using the island as a forward outpost and to provide a gun position for Allied artillery to interdict traffic on the Piombino canal. It is not known if the Germans were aware of the Allied plans, but Adolf Hitler "attached great importance to holding Elba as long as possible." On 12 June, the German commander in Italy—Field Marshal Albert Kesselring—was informed that "Elba must be defended to the last man and the last cartridge." On 14 June, German reinforcements started to arrive on Elba from Pianosa. The decision to reinforce Elba was not known to the Allies who believed the naval activity between the island and the mainland was in fact an evacuation.
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