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Sea soldiers back on dry land
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The 11th Battalion at Tobruk
The 11th Battalion at Tobruk
In September 1942 the 11th Battalion RM undertook a raid on the North African port of Tobruk.
The battalion’s aim was to destroy oil tanks, ammunition dumps, repair facilities, harbour defences and installations.
In addition, another force was to attack inland with the Royal Marines attacking from the shoreline.
Tobruk was 300 miles from the German Panzer tanks under Rommel were fighting the British 8th Army at Alamein.
The port of Tobruk provided most of the German Army with their supplies and therefore was a prime target for an attack.
The assault proved disastrous for the battalion who lost most of its men in the raid.
Due to the lack of equipment for the landing operation the 11th Battalion RM had to use vessels and tactics not unlike those used in the Dardanelles during World War One.
The battalion set off from the destroyers HMS Sikh and HMS Zulu on to wooden lighters joined in groups of three.
From there the lead boats, which possessed the only motorised means of approaching the shore, towed their adjoined crafts.
The land attack failed and German searchlights spotted the amphibious attack as the first wave approached the shore.
The inferior craft floundered in the high seas and many men drowned. Only 70 marines reached the shore, but they were two miles away from their target.
By 0830 only 21 marines had survived. The remainder of the battalion hid in caves hoping to be able to escape to safety but the Germans captured all of them just after nightfall.
