Operation Royal Marine
| Operation Royal Marine | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Second World War | |
Soufflenheim and vicinity
|
|
 Sufflenheim
|
|
| Operational scope | Tactical |
| Location |
Rhine, Moselle, Meuse rivers 48°50′N 7°58′E / 48.83°N 7.96°ECoordinates: 48°50′N 7°58′E / 48.83°N 7.96°E |
| Planned by | Winston Churchill |
| Commanded by | Commander G. R. S. Wellby. |
| Objective | obstructing German rivers and canals with fluvial mines |
| Date | October 1940 |
| Executed by | Military Intelligence Research [MIR(c)], Royal Navy parties |
| Outcome | Temporary suspensions of German river traffic and damage to barge barriers and bridges |
Operation Royal Marine was a military operation in May 1940 during the Second World War, in the Battle of France (10 May – 25 June 1940). Fluvial mines were floated down rivers from France into Germany, to destroy bridges, barges and other water transport. After several postponements insisted on by the French government, fearful of German retaliation, the operation began on 10 May 1940, when the German offensive in the west began. The mines caused some damage and delay to German river traffic on the Rhine, from Karlsruhe to Koblenz and damaged bridges and protective barriers. Part of the plan was for Royal Air Force (RAF) bombers to drop the mines into rivers and canals on moonlit nights but this had hardly begun when the campaign ended. The success of the plot was nullified by the Allied defeat and the Franco-German Armistice of 22 June 1940.
Despite the concerns of the French government during the Phoney War, over German air attacks and reprisals against French waterways, it was intended that the operation would take place simultaneously with Operation Wilfred, a scheme to mine the waters around Norway. The novelty of Operation Royal Marine was intended to divert American attention from the possible illegality of Operation Wilfred. Wilfred was intended to force German convoys transporting Swedish iron ore into international waters, where they could be attacked by the Royal Navy.
Simultaneously attacks with riverine mines against Germany, was intended to deflect criticism that the Allies were not making war on Germany, only the small countries around it that they claimed to be protecting. A decision of the Anglo French Supreme War Council was taken on 28 March 1940, to commence Operation Royal Marine on 4 April and the air-dropping of mines on 15 April but was vetoed shortly afterwards by the French War Committee, for about three months. Operation Wilfred was left to take place on its own on 5 April and was then postponed to 8 April, later parts of the plan being cancelled when news arrived that the German fleet had sailed. The British and French were able to agree that Operation Royal Marine could begin as soon as the German offensive in the west commenced.
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Wikipedia