Operation Dryad

Operation Dryad
Part of North West Europe Campaign
Date2–3 September 1942
LocationCasquets, Channel Islands
Result British victory
Belligerents
 United Kingdom  Nazi Germany
Commanders and leaders
United Kingdom Major 'Gus' March-Phillipps Nazi Germany Unknown
Units involved
No. 62 Commando
Strength
12 7
Casualties and losses
2 minor injuries 0

Operation Dryad was a raid on the Casquets lighthouse in the Channel Islands by British Commandos during World War II. The Commandos captured the lighthouse and its occupants and departed leaving no trace that anyone had ever been there.

Background

The Casquets Lighthouse was built in 1724, and is located 6 miles (9.7 km) west of the island of Alderney in the Channel islands. It is located amongst some of the fastest ocean currents in the English Channel. The Lighthouse consists of a 88 feet (27 m) tower and two shorter towers on a barren rock. After the German occupation of the Channel Islands in 1940, they decided to man the lighthouse and set up an observation post with a naval radio station so that anything seen could be reported and when it was necessary to turn the light on, for a passing German convoy. The crew being rotated every 3 months.[1]:190

Its isolated location made it a perfect objective for a commando raid, in fact there had been seven previous attempts to undertake this raid, all of which were abandoned, due to weather conditions. The commandos selected to carry out the raid belonged to No. 62 Commando also known as the Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF). The planned date would be the night of 2/3 September 1942 with the objective of capturing prisoners.[1]:191

The raiding party consisted of 12 men from the SSRF, the commanding officer Major Gus March-Phillips, his second in command Captain Geoffrey Appleyard,[1]:191 some of the others involved were Captain Graham Hayes, Sergeant Winter, Private Anders Lassen and Dutch Lieutenant Henk Brinkgreve.

Mission

Sailing from Portland aboard HM MTB 344, a motor torpedo boat nicknamed The Little Pisser because of its outstanding turn of speed at 21.00 hrs arriving close to Les Casquets at 22.45 hrs. After anchoring, the landing party rowed ashore, arriving just after midnight,[1]:191 Appleyard was the first to leap ashore and tied their boat forward and Hayes was in control of the stern-line, which had been attached to the kedge-anchor that had been dropped on approach to prevent the boat from being smashed against the rocks. All the landing party made it safely ashore without any damage to the boat. Appleyard handed the bowline to another and Hayes remained in control of the stern-line as the raiding party departed.

The Commandos made their way through barbed wire up the steep rocky surface to the lighthouse courtyard unchallenged. Once in the courtyard the group dispersed to their prearranged objectives. Appleyard and Sergeant Winter dashed up the spiral staircase to the tower light only to find it unoccupied. The garrison was totally surprised.[1]:191 Appleyard said, "I have never seen men so amazed and terrified at the same time." Three were sleeping, two were just turning in and two others were on duty. the seven Germans were taken prisoner without a shot being fired. One German, who was in charge of the lighthouse operation, fainted at the sight of the commandos. Another was initially thought to be a woman because he was wearing a hairnet.

Weapons found included an Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, rifles and stick grenades, which were all dumped in the sea. The radio was smashed with an axe. The boat they had arrived in was designed to take a maximum of 10, now with 19, it was difficult, but they managed.[1]:192 Appleyard suffered an accident and fractured his tibia as he re-boarded their boat.[2]

Setting sail at 01.35 hrs, the seven prisoners, some still in their pyjamas, were taken to England, arriving at Portland at 04.00 hrs.[1]:192 Several codebooks, logs, diaries and letters were found and taken back for analysis.[3]

Aftermath

It was a few days before the Germans were aware of a problem. When a boat arrived, they found the lighthouse deserted. An order to remove all lighthouse crews did not last long when it was realised the benefits outweighed the risks. The Casquets lighthouse was re-armed with a 2.5cm Pak, five machine guns and and a larger crew of 24 installed.[1]:192

The next raid for the SSRF was 12/13 September Operation Aquatint. The raiding party led by March-Phillips would all be killed or captured. Winter and Hayes were captured, Hayes after having succeeded in crossing the French–Spanish border was later executed in Fresnes prison.

In October 1942 Appleyard now in command of the SSRF was in charge of a raid on Sark Operation Basalt where four German prisoners who had been tied up were shot and killed as they tried to escape. Adolf Hitler incensed with the Commando raids, issued the Commando Order which ordered that all captured commandos in or out of uniform were to be shot. He also protested the binding and killing of German prisoners, and gave orders to shackle British prisoners of war who were captured during the Dieppe raid. Appleyard later joined the Special Air Service (SAS), he was posted missing believed killed when returning from a SAS mission the plane he was travelling on was lost over the Mediterranean. Private Anders Lassen would be commissioned and win a posthumous Victoria Cross while serving with the Special Boat Squadron of the SAS in Italy 1945.

In 1943 commandos would again raid the Casquet Lighthouse. This time the actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr. would be one of the raiders.

Notes

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Forty, George. Channel Islands At War: A German Perspective. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-0711030718.
    2. ↑ Binney, p.152
    3. ↑ Foot, M. R. D. (4 November 1993). "Obituary,Peter Kemp". London: The Independent. Retrieved 11 June 2010.

    Bibliography

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