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= = German forces = =
The Germans had around 5 @,@ 000 troops in the immediate area of St Nazaire . The port was defended by the 280th Naval Artillery Battalion under the command of Kapitän zur See Edo <unk> . The battalion was composed of 28 guns of various calibres from 75 mm to 280 mm railway guns , all positioned to guard the coastal approaches . The heavy guns were supplemented by the guns and searchlights of the 22nd Naval Flak Brigade under the command of Kapitän zur See Karl @-@ Konrad Mecke .
The brigade was equipped with 43 anti @-@ aircraft guns ranging in calibre from 20 to 40 mm . These guns had a dual role as both anti @-@ aircraft and coastal defence weapons . Many were in concrete emplacements on top of the submarine pens and other dockside installations of the St Nazaire submarine base .
The harbour defence companies were responsible for local defence and for the security of the ships and submarines moored in the harbour . These companies and the harbour defence boats used to patrol the river were under the command of Harbour Commander Korvettenkapitän Kellerman . The 333rd Infantry Division was the German Army unit responsible for the defence of the coast between St Nazaire and Lorient . The division had no troops based in the town , but some were located in villages nearby and would be able to respond to any attack on the port .
The Kriegsmarine ( German navy ) had at least three surface ships in the Loire estuary : a destroyer , an armed trawler and a Sperrbrecher ( minesweeper ) , the latter being the guard ship for the port . On the night of the raid there were also four harbour defence boats and ten ships from the 16th and 42nd Minesweeper flotillas berthed in the basin , while two tankers were berthed inside the Normandie dock . The 6th and 7th U @-@ boat flotillas , commanded by Kapitänleutnant Georg @-@ Wilhelm Schulz and Korvettenkapitän Herbert Sohler respectively , were permanently based in the port . It is not known how many submarines were present on the day of the raid . The submarine base had been inspected by the U @-@ boat Commander in Chief , Vizeadmiral Karl Dönitz , the day before the raid . He asked what would they do if the base was subject to an attack by British Commandos . Sohler replied that " an attack on the base would be hazardous and highly improbable " .
= = The raid = =
= = = Outward journey = = =
The three destroyers and 16 small boats left Falmouth , Cornwall at 14 : 00 on 26 March 1942 . They formed into a convoy of three lanes , with the destroyers in the middle . On arrival at St Nazaire the portside MLs were to head for the Old Mole to disembark their Commandos , while the starboard lane would make for the old entrance to the basin to disembark theirs . Not having the range to reach St Nazaire unaided , the MTB and MGB were taken under tow by Campbeltown and Atherstone .
On 27 March at 07 : 20 Tynedale reported a U @-@ boat on the surface and opened fire . The two escort destroyers left the convoy to engage the U @-@ boat , later identified as U @-@ 593 . The U @-@ boat promptly dived and was unsuccessfully attacked by depth charges . The two destroyers returned to the convoy at 09 : 00 .
The convoy next encountered two French fishing trawlers . Both crews were taken off and the ships sunk for fear they might report the composition and location of the convoy . At 17 : 00 the convoy received a signal from Commander @-@ in @-@ Chief Plymouth that five German torpedo boats were in the area . Two hours later another signal informed them that another two Hunt class destroyers , HMS Cleveland and HMS Brocklesby , had been dispatched at full speed to join the convoy .
The convoy reached a position 65 nautical miles ( 120 km ; 75 mi ) off St Nazaire at 21 : 00 and changed course toward the estuary , leaving Atherstone and Tynedale as a sea patrol . The convoy adopted a new formation with the MGB and two torpedo MLs in the lead , followed by Campbeltown . The rest of the MLs formed two columns on either side and astern of the destroyer , with the MTB bringing up the rear . The first casualty of the raid was ML 341 , which had developed engine trouble and was abandoned . At 22 : 00 the submarine Sturgeon directed her navigation beacon out to sea to guide the convoy in . At about the same time Campbeltown raised the German naval ensign in an attempt to deceive any German lookouts into thinking she was a German destroyer .
At 23 : 30 on 27 March , five RAF squadrons ( comprising 35 Whitleys and 27 Wellingtons ) started their bombing runs . The bombers had to stay above 6 @,@ 000 feet ( 1 @,@ 800 m ) and were supposed to remain over the port for 60 minutes to divert attention toward themselves and away from the sea . They had orders to only bomb clearly identified military targets and to drop only one bomb at a time . As it turned out , poor weather over the port ( 10 / 10ths cloud ) meant that only four aircraft bombed targets in St Nazaire . Six aircraft managed to bomb other nearby targets .
The unusual behaviour of the bombers concerned Kapitän zur See Mecke . At 00 : 00 on 28 March , he issued a warning that there might be a parachute landing in progress . At 01 : 00 on 28 March , he followed up by ordering all guns to cease firing and searchlights to be extinguished in case the bombers were using them to locate the port . Everyone was placed on a heightened state of alert . The harbour defence companies and ships ' crews were ordered out of the air raid shelters . During all this a lookout reported seeing some activity out at sea , so Mecke began suspecting some type of landing and ordered extra attention to be paid to the approaches to the harbour .
= = = Ramming the dry dock = = =
At 00 : 30 hours on 28 March the convoy crossed over the shoals at the mouth of the Loire estuary , with Campbeltown scraping the bottom twice . Each time she was able to pull free , and the group proceeded on up toward the harbour in darkness . They had got to within about eight minutes passage from the dock gates when at 01 : 22 the entire convoy was illuminated by the combined searchlights of both banks of the estuary . A naval signal light demanded their identification .
The MGB @-@ 314 replied in a coded response obtained from a German trawler boarded during the <unk> raid . A few bursts were fired from a shore battery and both Campbeltown and MGB @-@ 314 replied : " Ship being fired upon by friendly forces " . The deception gave them a little more time before every German gun in the bay opened fire . At 01 : 28 , with the convoy 1 mile ( 1 @.@ 6 km ) from the dock gates , Beattie ordered the German flag lowered and the White Ensign raised . The intensity of the German fire seemed to increase . The guard ship opened fire and was quickly silenced when the ships in the convoy responded , shooting into her as they passed .
By now all the ships in the convoy were within range to engage targets ashore and were firing at the gun emplacements and searchlights . Campbeltown was hit a number of times and increased her speed to 19 kn ( 35 km / h ) . The helmsman on her bridge was killed ; his replacement was wounded and replaced as well . Blinded by the searchlights , Beattie knew they were close to their objective . Still under heavy fire , the MGB turned into the estuary as Campbeltown cleared the end of the Old Mole , cut through anti @-@ torpedo netting strung across the entrance and rammed the dock gates , striking home at 01 : 34 , three minutes later than scheduled . The force of the impact drove the ship 33 feet ( 10 m ) onto the gates .
= = = Disembarkation from Campbeltown and the MLs = = =
The Commandos on Campbeltown now disembarked : two assault teams , five demolition teams with their protectors and a mortar group . Three demolition teams were tasked with destroying the dock pumping machinery and other installations associated with the dry dock . The kilt @-@ wearing Captain Donald Roy - ' The Laird ' - and his 14 @-@ man assault troop were tasked with inactivating two pump @-@ house roof @-@ top gun emplacements high above the quayside and securing a bridge to provide a route for the raiding parties to exit the dock area . Roy and Sgt Don Randall used scaling ladders and grenades to accomplish the former , and a head @-@ on rush to secure the bridge and form a bridgehead that enabled Capt. Bob Montgomery and Lt Corran Purdon and their demolition teams to exit the area .
They lost 4 men in this action . The fifth team also succeeded in completing all their objectives but almost half its men were killed . The other two Commando groups were not as successful . The MLs transporting Groups One and Two had almost all been destroyed on their approach . ML 457 was the only boat to land its Commandos on the Old Mole and only ML 177 had managed to reach the gates at the old entrance to the basin . That team succeeded in planting charges on two tugboats moored in the basin .
There were only two other MLs in the vicinity : ML 160 had continued past the dock and was engaging targets upriver , ML 269 appeared to be out of control and was running in circles . By this time the crew of Campbeltown had detonated the scuttling charges and gathered at the rear of the ship to be taken off . ML 177 came alongside the destroyer and took 30 men on board including Beattie and some of the wounded . Major Copland went through Campbeltown and evacuated the wounded towards the Old Mole , not knowing that there were no other boats there to take the Commandos off .
Lt Col Newman aboard the MGB , need not have landed , but he was one of the first ashore . One of his first actions was to direct mortar fire onto a gun position on top of the submarine pens that was causing heavy casualties among the Commandos . He next directed machine @-@ gun fire onto an armed trawler , which was forced to withdraw upriver . Newman organised a defence that succeeded in keeping the increasing numbers of German reinforcements at bay until the demolition parties had completed their tasks .
Some 100 Commandos were still ashore when Newman realised that evacuation by sea was no longer an option . He gathered the survivors and issued three orders :
To do our best to get back to England ;
Not to surrender until all our ammunition is exhausted ;
Not to surrender at all if we can help it .
Newman and Copland led the charge from the old town across a bridge raked by machine gun fire and advanced into the new town . The Commandos attempted to get through the narrow streets of the town and into the surrounding countryside , but were eventually surrounded . When their ammunition was expended their only option was to surrender . Not all the Commandos were captured ; five men reached neutral Spain , from where they eventually returned to England .
= = = Small ships = = =
Most of the MLs had been destroyed on the run in and were burning . The first ML in the starboard column was the first boat to catch fire ; her captain managed to beach her at the end of the Old Mole . Some starboard boats managed to reach their objective and disembark their Commandos . ML 443 , the leading boat in the port column , got to within 10 feet ( 3 @.@ 0 m ) of the mole in the face of heavy direct fire and hand grenades before being set on fire . The crew were rescued by ML 160 , one of the torpedo MLs which had been looking for targets of opportunity such as the two large tankers reported to be in the harbour . The commanders of MLs 160 and 443 , Lieutenants T Boyd and T D L Platt , were awarded the Distinguished Service Order for their bravery . The rest of the port column had been destroyed or disabled before reaching the mole . MLs 192 and 262 were set on fire ; there were only six survivors . ML 268 was blown up ; one man survived .
ML 177 , the launch that had successfully taken off some of the crew from Campbeltown , was sunk on her way out of the estuary . ML 269 , another torpedo @-@ armed boat , had the unenviable task of moving up and down the river at high speed to draw German fire away from the landings . Soon after passing Campbeltown it was hit and its steering damaged . It took ten minutes to repair the steering . They turned and started in the other direction , opening fire on an armed trawler in passing . Return fire from the trawler set their engine on fire .
ML 306 also came under heavy fire when it arrived near the port . Sergeant Thomas Durrant of No. 1 Commando , manning the aft Lewis gun , engaged gun and searchlight positions on the run in . He was wounded but refused to leave the gun for treatment . The ML reached the open sea but was attacked at short range by the German torpedo boat Jaguar . Durrant returned fire , aiming for the torpedo boat 's bridge . He was wounded again but remained at his gun even after the German commander asked for their surrender . Firing drum after drum of ammunition , he refused to give up until after the ML had been boarded . Durrant died of his wounds and , after the recommendation of the Jaguar 's commander , was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross .
After the Commando headquarters group had landed , Commander Ryder went to check for himself that Campbeltown was firmly stuck in the dock . Some of her surviving crewmen were being taken on board the MGB . Ryder returned to the boat and ordered the MTB to carry out its alternative task and torpedo the lock gates at the old entrance to the basin . After a successful torpedo attack , Ryder ordered the MTB to leave . On their way out of the estuary they stopped to collect survivors from a sinking ML and were hit and set on fire . Back at the docks the MGB had positioned itself in mid @-@ river to engage enemy gun emplacements . The forward 2 pounder was manned by Able Seaman William Alfred Savage . Commander Ryder reported that
" The rate of supporting fire had evidently been felt , and the Commandos in the area of the Tirpitz dock had undoubtedly overcome the resistance in that area . There was an appreciable slackening in the enemy 's fire . "
Ryder could see no ships other than seven or eight burning MLs . He then realised that the landing places at the Old Mole and the entrance to the basin had both been recaptured by the Germans . There was nothing more they could do for the Commandos , so they headed out to sea . On their way they were continuously illuminated by German searchlights and were hit at least six times by the German guns . Passing ML 270 , they ordered her to follow and made smoke to hide both boats .
When they reached the open sea the smaller calibre guns were out of range and stopped firing but the heavier artillery continued to engage them . The boats were about 4 miles ( 6 @.@ 4 km ) off @-@ shore when the last German salvo straddled them and killed Savage , who was still at his gun . He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his exploits . His citation recognised both Savage and the bravery of " the many unnamed crews of the Motor Gun Boat , Motor Torpedo Boat and Motor Launches who continued to carry out their duties in exposed positions , in the face of close range enemy fire . "
= = = Return journey = = =
At 06 : 30 the five German torpedo boats that the convoy had evaded the previous day were sighted by HMS Atherstone and Tynedale . The two destroyers turned toward them and opened fire at a range of 7 miles ( 11 km ) . After ten minutes the German boats turned away , making smoke . The destroyers sighted the MGB and two accompanying MLs soon after and transferred their casualties to the Atherstone . Not expecting any more boats to arrive , they headed for home . Just after 09 : 00 the Hunt @-@ class escort destroyers HMS Brocklesby and HMS Cleveland arrived , sent by Commander @-@ in @-@ Chief Plymouth . Shortly after this the ships were spotted by a Heinkel 115 floatplane of the Luftwaffe .
The next German aircraft on the scene , a Junkers 88 , was engaged by a RAF Bristol Beaufighter which had appeared in the area earlier . Both machines crashed into the sea . Other German planes arrived but were driven off by Beaufighters and Hudsons from Coastal Command . The Atlantic weather conditions deteriorated . Amid concerns about the growing German threat and the realisation that the damaged small ships would not be able to keep up , Commander Sayer ordered the crews off the smaller boats and had them sunk .
Three of the small vessels managed to return to England : MLs 160 , 307 and 443 . They had reached the rendezvous and waited until 10 : 00 for the destroyers to appear . Having already been attacked once , they moved further out into the Atlantic to try and avoid the German Air Force , but a Junkers 88 appeared overhead at 07 : 30 and approached them at low level for a closer look . The ships opened fire and hit the Junkers in the cockpit . The plane went into the sea . The next aircraft to appear was a Blohm and Voss seaplane which attempted to bomb the ships , but left after being damaged by machine @-@ gun fire . The surviving MLs eventually reached England unaided the following day .
= = = Campbeltown explodes = = =
The explosive charges in HMS Campbeltown detonated at noon on 28 March 1942 , and the dry dock was destroyed . Reports vary on the fate of the two tankers that were in the dock ; they were either swept away by the wall of water and sunk , or swept to the far end of the dock , but not sunk . A party of 40 senior German officers and civilians who were on a tour of Campbeltown were killed . In total , the explosion killed about 360 men . The wreck of Campbeltown could still be seen inside the dry dock months later when RAF photo reconnaissance planes were sent to photograph the port .
According to Captain Robert Montgomery ( Royal Engineers , attached to No.2 Commando ) , Campbeltown was meant to have detonated at 4 : 30am , the delay caused , he believes , by some of the acid in the pencil fuses being distilled away . As the morning progressed , more and more captured comrades joined him in the German HQ .
The day after the explosion , Organisation Todt workers were assigned to clean up the debris and wreckage . On 30 March at 16 : 30 the torpedoes from MTB 74 , which were on a delayed fuse setting , exploded at the old entrance into the basin . This raised alarms among the Germans . The Organisation Todt workers ran away from the dock area . German guards , mistaking their khaki uniforms for British uniforms , opened fire , killing some of them . The Germans also thought that some Commandos were still hiding in the town , and made a street by street search , during which some townspeople were also killed .
= = Aftermath = =
The explosion put the dry dock out of commission for the remainder of the war . The St Nazaire raid had been a success , but at a cost . Of the 622 men of the Royal Navy and Commandos who took part in the raid , only 228 men returned to England . Five commandos escaped via neutral Spain and Gibraltar with the help of French citizens , and took a ship to England from Gibraltar . 169 men were killed ( 105 RN and 64 Commandos ) and another 215 became prisoners of war ( 106 RN and 109 Commandos ) . They were first taken to La Baule and then sent to Stalag 133 at Rennes . The fallen British raiders were buried at the La Baule @-@ <unk> cemetery with military honours . The cemetery is located 13 kilometres west of St Nazaire .
To recognise their achievement , 89 decorations were awarded for the raid . This total includes the five Victoria Crosses awarded to Lieutenant Commander Beattie , Lieutenant Colonel Newman and Commander Ryder , and posthumous awards to Sergeant Durrant and Able Seaman Savage . Four Distinguished Service Orders were awarded to Major William Copland , Captain Donald Roy , Lieutenant T Boyd and Lieutenant T D L Platt . Other decorations awarded were four Conspicuous Gallantry Medals , five Distinguished Conduct Medals , 17 Distinguished Service Crosses , 11 Military Crosses , 24 Distinguished Service Medals and 15 Military Medals . Four men were awarded the Croix de guerre by France , and another 51 were mentioned in despatches .
Adolf Hitler was furious that the British had been able to sail a flotilla of ships up the Loire unhindered . His immediate reaction was to dismiss Generaloberst Carl <unk> , chief @-@ of @-@ staff to the Commander in Chief West . The raid refocused German attention on the Atlantic Wall , and special attention was given to ports to prevent any repeat of the raid . By June 1942 the Germans began using concrete to fortify gun emplacements and bunkers in quantities previously only used in U @-@ boat pens . Hitler laid out new plans in a meeting with Armaments Minister Albert Speer in August 1942 , calling for the construction of 15 @,@ 000 bunkers by May 1943 to defend the Atlantic coast from Norway to Spain .
The battleship Tirpitz never entered the Atlantic . She remained in Norwegian fjords to threaten Allied shipping until she was destroyed by the RAF on 12 November 1944 .
= = Legacy = =
St Nazaire was one of the 38 battle honours presented to the Commandos after the war . The raid has since been called The Greatest Raid of All . The survivors formed their own association , the St Nazaire Society , which is a registered charity in the United Kingdom .
A memorial to the raid erected in Falmouth bears the following inscription :
A new HMS Campbeltown , a Type 22 Frigate , was launched on 7 October 1987 . She carried the ship 's bell from the first Campbeltown which was rescued during the raid and had been presented to the town of Campbelltown , Pennsylvania at the end of the Second World War . In 1988 the people of Campbelltown voted to lend the bell to the new ship for as long as she remained in Royal Navy service . The bell was returned to the town on 21 June 2011 when HMS Campbeltown was decommissioned .
On 4 September 2002 , a tree and seat at the National Memorial Arboretum were dedicated to the men of the raid . The seat bears the inscription :
In memory of the Royal Navy Sailors and Army Commandos killed in the raid on St Nazaire on 28 March 1942
= = Documentaries and dramatisations = =
A fictionalised version of the raid was the climax of the 1952 British war film , Gift Horse . The film follows the career of an ex @-@ US Navy destroyer , HMS Ballantrae ( actually HMS Leamington ) ; the raid is named Operation Boadicea and portrays the main events of the actual battle .
The war film Attack on the Iron Coast was released in 1968 and was a highly fictionalized version of the raid .
In 2007 , Jeremy Clarkson presented the story of the raid in a BBC documentary entitled The Greatest Raid of All Time .
An episode of the television series ; " World War II 's Greatest Raids " on the Military Channel ( now the American Heroes Channel ) devoted an episode to this raid . Titled " Commando Do or Die ! " it was released in early 2014 ; and has been rerun several times .
A mission in the video game Enemy Front re @-@ enacts the mission from the first person perspective of a British Commando .
A mission in the video game Medal Of Honour : European Assault also re @-@ enacts the mission from the perspective of fictional soldier William Holt .
= Hellblazer =
Hellblazer ( also known as John Constantine , Hellblazer ) is an American contemporary horror comic book series , originally published by DC Comics , and subsequently by the Vertigo imprint since March 1993 when the imprint was introduced . Its central character is the streetwise magician John Constantine , who was created by Alan Moore and Stephen R. Bissette , and first appeared as a supporting character in The Saga of the Swamp Thing # 37 ( June 1985 ) , during that creative team 's run on that title . Hellblazer had been published continuously since January 1988 , and was Vertigo 's longest running title , the only remaining publication from the imprint 's launch . In 2013 , the series concluded with issue 300 , and has been replaced by a DC Universe title , Constantine . Well known for its political and social commentary , the series has spawned a film adaptation , television show , novels , multiple spin @-@ offs and crossovers .
The series was the longest @-@ running and one of the most successful titles of DC 's Vertigo imprint , and was the stepping stone to many British writers . Notable writers who have contributed to the series include Jamie Delano , Garth Ennis , Paul Jenkins , Warren Ellis , Grant Morrison , Neil Gaiman , Mike Carey , Andy Diggle , and Peter Milligan . Hellblazer was one of the first modern occult detective fiction works and heavily influenced the genre to come .
= = Production history = =
After favorable reader reaction to John Constantine 's appearances in the comic book series Swamp Thing , where he had been introduced by Alan Moore during his authorship of the title , the character was given his own comic book series in 1988 . The series was intended to bear the title Hellraiser , but this title was revised before publication due to the contemporaneous release of Clive Barker 's unrelated film of the same name . Initial writer Jamie Delano was , in his own words , " fairly ambivalent " about the change of title .
The initial creative team was writer Jamie Delano and artist John Ridgway , with Dave McKean supplying distinctive painted and collage covers . Delano introduced a political aspect to the character , about which he stated : " ... generally I was interested in commenting on 1980s Britain . That was where I was living , it was shit , and I wanted to tell everybody . " The book , originally published as a regular DC Comics title , became a Vertigo title with the imprint 's launch in March 1993 ( issue # 63 of the series ) . In October 2011 , it was announced that this would join DC titles in being published digitally on the same day as its physical release , starting in January 2012 .
= = = Creative personnel = = =
Many writers had lengthy runs on the series , such as Garth Ennis and Mike Carey , who respectively had the second- and third @-@ longest runs on the book , ( only behind Peter Milligan ) . Other writers who wrote for the series include Paul Jenkins , Warren Ellis , Brian Azzarello , Neil Gaiman , Grant Morrison , Denise Mina , and Peter Milligan .
Numerous artists worked on the series as well , such as John Ridgway ( the original series artist ) , Simon Bisley , Mark Buckingham , Richard Corben , Steve Dillon , Marcelo <unk> , Jock , David Lloyd , Leonardo Manco , and Sean Phillips . Cover artists included Dave McKean ( who designed the first run of the series ' covers ) , Tim Bradstreet ( who designed the most ) , Glenn Fabry , Kent Williams , David Lloyd , and Sean Phillips .
= = In the comics = =