Madagascar Snake Pit E AFR (id:#60649)

(Dezign Pak 5 ID: ESG #57)   [next]   [previous]

East of Majunga, Madagascar 1942-09-21 (4 others)

Overview:

After the Allies observed Japanese naval demonstrations off the coast of Ceylon in the Indian Ocean, it was believed that further Japanese expansion was inevitable. Suddenly, Madagascar was elevated to priority status. Earlier the Vichy French had permitted the Japanese to enter Indochina. If the Japanese were granted similar access to Madagascar’s deep-water harbor of Diego Suarez it was feared that enemy submarines and aircraft would commence wreaking havoc on the British convoys that passed the tropical island en route to the East by way of the Cape of Good Hope. Such an occurrence would strangle the lifelines to British forces in Egypt and India and all but assure victory for the Axis powers. Having all the earmarks of a potential disaster, it was decided that Diego Suarez should not fall into enemy hands. The British landed forces to seize Diego Suarez in Operation Ironclad. They were successful but Governor General Annet remained loyal to the Vichy government and vowed continued opposition from the island’s rugged interior. As a result, another campaign was launched that September, culminating two months later with Annet’s ultimate surrender. Overall, both campaigns had cost British and Commonwealth forces 135 battle deaths and 394 wounded, not to mention those missing or the many who succumbed to tropical diseases. In the end, Operation Ironclad, the first major British amphibious undertaking since Gallipoli, proved to be for naught. The perceived threat of Japanese occupation proved to be hollow. They had never intended to occupy Diego Suarez. But in the spring of 1942, the threat seemed genuine to beleaguered Britain and the operation justified.

Defender: Vichy French (Elements of Governor General Annet's Malagasy Defenders)  

Errata (source)