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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Military action during the siege of Tobruk in the Second World War}}<br />
{{Infobox military conflict<br />
|conflict = Twin Pimples Raid<br />
|partof = the [[Siege of Tobruk]], during the [[Second World War]]<br />
|image =<br />
|caption =<br />
|date = 17/18 July 1941<br />
|place = [[Tobruk]]<br />
|coordinates = {{Coord|32|06|31.3|N|23|50|07.4|E|display=INLINE,title}}<br />
|casus =<br />
|territory =<br />
|result = Allied victory<br />
|combatant1 = {{flag|United Kingdom}}<br />
* {{flag|British India}}<br />
{{flag|Australia}}<br />
|combatant2 = {{flagcountry|Fascist Italy (1922–1943)}}<br />
|units1 = [[No. 8 (Guards) Commando]]<br />[[Royal Australian Engineers]]<br />[[18th King Edward's Own Cavalry]]<br />
|units2 = [[132 Armoured Division Ariete]]<br />[[101 Motorised Division Trieste]]<br />[[17 Motorised Division Pavia]]<br />[[25 Motorised Division Bologna]]<br />[[27 Motorised Division Brescia]]{{#tag:ref|These are the units besieging Tobruk at the time; the specific unit on the Twin Pimples is not known|group=nb}}<br />
|commander1 = {{flagicon|UK}} [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|Captain]] M Keely<br />
|commander2 = {{flagicon|Fascist Italy (1922–1943)}} Unknown<br />
|strength1 = 43 Commandos<br />Small detachment engineers<br />
|strength2 = Unknown<br />
|casualties1 = 1 dead<br />4 wounded<br />
|casualties2 = 1 [[ammunition dump]] and several mortars destroyed.<br />200 dead (Italian claim).<ref name="Schofield">Schofield</ref><br />
}}<br />
{{Campaignbox Western Desert}}<br />
<br />
The '''Twin Pimples Raid''' was a [[British Commando]] raid on a feature in the Italian lines during the [[siege of Tobruk]] in the [[Second World War]]. The raid, carried out by men of the [[No. 8 (Guards) Commando]] and the [[Royal Australian Engineers]], was a complete success. However it did not end the siege; that continued until November 1941, when the Allied advance during [[Operation Crusader]] reached the town.<br />
<br />
==Background==<br />
During 1941, the [[British Commando]] formation [[Layforce]] were tasked to carry out a campaign of harassment and dislocation against enemy forces in the Mediterranean.<ref>Chappell, p.15.</ref> At the time that Layforce was raised, the British were in the ascendency in the theatre, as they had largely defeated the Italians.<ref name=Saunders52/> It was felt that the Commandos could be employed in the capture of the island of [[Rhodes]].<ref>Moreman, p.20.</ref> However, the arrival of the [[Afrika Korps]] in [[Cyrenaica]] and the [[invasion of Yugoslavia]] and [[Battle of Greece|Greece]] greatly changed the strategic outlook. By the time Layforce arrived in Egypt in March the situation had become dire.<ref name=Saunders52>Saunders, p.52.</ref> The [[Operation Lustre|deployment of forces to Greece]] meant that the Commandos became the only troops in general reserve. As the strategic situation worsened, it became increasingly difficult to employ them in the manner intended, as they were called upon as reinforcements to the rest of the army.<ref name=sa55>Saunders, p.55.</ref><br />
<br />
In May 1941 the majority of Layforce were sent as reinforcements to the [[Battle of Crete]]. Almost as soon as they landed it was decided that they could not be employed in an offensive role and would instead be used to cover the withdrawal route towards the south. They were ill-equipped for this type of operation, as they were lacking in [[indirect fire]] support weapons such as mortars or artillery; they were armed mainly with rifles and a few Bren light machine guns.<ref name=sa55/> By 31 May the evacuation was drawing to a close and the Commandos, running low on ammunition, rations, and water, fell back towards Sphakia. In the end, the vast majority of the Commandos were left behind on the island, becoming [[prisoners of war]].<ref>Saunders, p.57.</ref> By the end of the operation about 600 of the 800 Commandos that had been sent to Crete were listed as killed, missing or wounded; only 179 Commandos managed to get off the island.<ref>Chappell, p.16.</ref> Shortly after being evacuated from Crete, a detachment of 75 men from [[No. 8 (Guards) Commando]] was sent to [[Tobruk]] to assist the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] forces holding out against the [[Axis powers]] that had the [[siege of Tobruk|city under siege]].<ref name=mo39>Mountbatten, p.39.</ref><br />
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==Raid==<br />
[[File:Tobruk trenches.jpg|thumb|alt=Australian troops in trench system|Allied trench on the Tobruk perimeter]]<br />
The Twin Pimples was a feature in the Axis lines surrounding Tobruk. It was a defensive strong point consisting of two hills very close together that dominated the opposing Allied lines and at the time of the raid was held by units of the [[Royal Italian Army (1940–1946)|Italian Army]]. The [[18th King Edward's Own Cavalry]], normally part of the [[3rd Indian Motor Brigade]], held the line across from the Twin Pimples when it was decided to take out the Italian position. The No. 8 Commando was selected to carry out the operation and for some days prior they conducted patrols with the Indians to get to know the lay of the land.<ref name=mo39/><br />
<br />
The plan called for three officers and 40 men of No. 8 Commando and a small number of [[Royal Australian Engineers|Australian Engineers]] (to deal with ammunition dumps and gun emplacements) to cross the Italian forward positions to the road that they used to bring up supplies and then follow the road to the rear of the Twin Pimples and engage the position from behind. The 18th Cavalry were to carry out a diversionary raid just before the commando assault to divert the defenders' attention.<ref name=mo40>Mountbatten, p.40.</ref> The man chosen to lead the raid was [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|Captain]] M. Keely, the [[second in command]] was Captain [[Philip Russell Rendel Dunne|Dunne]] and the third officer was [[Lieutenant]] [[Jock Lewes|Lewes]] On the night of the raid, 17/18 July, half the Commandos were armed with [[Thompson submachine gun]]s and the other half with [[Lee–Enfield]] rifles with [[bayonet]]s fixed. All carried [[hand grenade]]s and every third man wore a groundsheet slung [[bandoleer]] fashion to use as a stretcher.<ref name=mo40/><br />
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The Commandos left their own lines at 23:00 hours on 17 July and crossed the Italian forward positions and main lines undetected. Upon reaching the supply road they had to take cover and wait, as the attack was planned for 01:00 hours on 18 July. They moved closer to their objective just prior to the start of the diversionary attack by the 18th Cavalry. The diversion was a success, and Italian machine-gun fire and [[very light]]s were directed towards the Indian cavalrymen. The Commandos managed to get within {{convert|30|yd}} on the Twin Pimples before being challenged. The challenge was answered by a frontal attack by the Commandos. So as not to confuse their own forces with the Italians in the darkness, the password ''Jock'' was used when a position had been taken. The fire fight lasted about four minutes and the Australian Engineers planted explosives on several [[Mortar (weapon)|mortars]] and an ammunition dump. The planners had estimated that the Commandos could spend no longer than 15 minutes on the Italian position before it was engaged by the Italian [[artillery]]. The raiders had only got about {{convert|100|yd}} from the Twin Pimples when the Italian artillery started to come down onto their own position.<ref name=mo40/><br />
<br />
==Aftermath==<br />
The cost of the raid to the Commandos was five wounded, one of whom later died of his wounds.<ref name=mo40/> The No. 8 Commando, together with the rest of Layforce, was disbanded soon after. The operational difficulties that had been exposed, combined with the inability of the high command to fully embrace the commando concept, had largely served to make them ineffective.<ref name=sa61>Saunders, p.61.</ref><ref>Chappell, p.17.</ref> Two members of No. 8 Commando, [[David Stirling]] and [[Jock Lewes]], would form the [[Special Air Service]] by the end of July 1941.<ref>Molinari, p.22.</ref> Tobruk would remain under siege until relieved by [[Operation Crusader]] in November 1941.<ref>Maughan, p.442.</ref><br />
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The only soldier to be killed on this raid was Corporal John “Jackie” Edward Trestrail Maynard of the Duke of Cornwall's light Infantry and No 8 (Guards) Commando.<ref name="Schofield"/><br />
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== See also ==<br />
<br />
* [[List of British military equipment of World War II]]<br />
*[[List of Australian military equipment of World War II]]<br />
* [[List of Italian military equipment in World War II]]<br />
<br />
==Notes==<br />
<br />
'''Notes'''<br />
{{reflist|group=nb}}<br />
<br />
'''Footnotes'''<br />
{{reflist|20em}}<br />
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==References==<br />
{{refbegin}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Chappell |first=Mike |author-link=Michael Chappell |title=Army Commandos 1940–1945 |year=1996 |series=Elite |number=64 |publisher=Osprey |location=London |isbn=1-85532-579-9}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Durnford-Slater |first=John |author-link=John Durnford-Slater |title=Commando: Memoirs of a Fighting Commando in World War Two |orig-year=1953 |year=2002 |publisher=Greenhill Books |location=London |isbn=1-85367-479-6}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Maughan |first=Barton |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1070202/ |access-date=6 September 2015 |series=Australia in the War of 1939–1945 Series 1 (Army) |title=Tobruk and El Alamein |volume=III |year=1966 |publisher=Australian War Memorial |location=Canberra |edition=1st online |oclc=954993}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Molinari |first=Andrea |title=Desert Raiders: Axis and Allied Special Forces 1940–43 |publisher=Osprey |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-84603-006-2}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Moreman |first=Tim |title=British Commandos 1940–46 |year=2006 |publisher=Osprey |location=Oxford |isbn=978-1-84176-986-8}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Mountbatten |first=Louis |author-link=Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma |year=2007 |title=Combined Operations: The Official Story of the Commandos |publisher=Read Books |isbn=978-1-4067-5957-0}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Saunders |first=Hilary St. George |series=Four Square Books |number=153 |title=The Story of the Commandos, 1940–1945 |orig-year=1949 |year=1959 |publisher=Landsborough |location=London |oclc=752835976}}<br />
* {{cite report |last=Schofield |first=Joe |title=Section Sergeant, 6 Troop, 8 (Guards) Commando |others=First-hand Account }}<br />
<br />
{{British Commando raids of the Second World War}}<br />
{{World War II}}<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Twin pimples, Raid of 1941}}<br />
[[Category:World War II British Commando raids]]<br />
[[Category:1941 in Libya]]<br />
[[Category:Libya in World War II]]<br />
[[Category:Battles of World War II involving Australia]]<br />
[[Category:Western Desert campaign]]<br />
[[Category:Conflicts in 1941]]<br />
[[Category:July 1941 events]]</div>Bot