Deployment of Anglo-American forces 1942

Deployment of Anglo-American forces by theaters in summer 1942.

Deployment of the armed forces of the Anglo-Americans (Britain with Commonwealth and United States) by theatres of war (Europe, Middle East, Atlantic) in summer 1942 according to nominal (paper) strengths (TOE).

Deployment of Anglo-American forces

British and Commonwealth Ground Forces

British and Commonwealth Forces – Divisions:

British and Commonwealth Forces – Infantry:

British and Commonwealth Forces – Vehicles and Artillery:

U.S. Ground Forces

US Forces – Divisions:

US Forces – Infantry:

US Forces – Vehicles and Artillery:

Deployment of the Air Forces

Strength of RAF:

The figures for the US Air Force based on the figures of the US Army Air Force in December 1941.

US Army Air Force:

Deployment of Navies

Strength of Royal Navy:

Strength of US Navy Atlantic:

Operation Hercules: The Planned Invasion of Malta (1942)

Operation Hercules (Italian: Operazione C3) was the Axis powers’ planned but never executed invasion of the strategically vital island of Malta during World War II.

Strategic Importance of Malta

Malta’s position in the central Mediterranean made it extraordinarily valuable as:
– A British naval and air base directly between Italy and North Africa.
– A staging point for attacks on Axis supply convoys to North Africa.
– A key observation post for Allied intelligence and reconnaissance.

Planning and Preparation

By early 1942, Hitler and Mussolini recognized Malta’s threat to their Mediterranean strategy, particularly regarding supply routes to Rommel’s Afrika Korps. Key aspects included:

– Planned as a joint German-Italian operation with approximately 70,000 troops.
– Extensive airborne component with German paratroopers (Fallschirmjäger).
– Seaborne invasion forces from Sicily.
– Preliminary air campaign to neutralize Malta’s defenses.
– Code-named “Operazione C3” by Italians and “Unternehmen Herkules” by Germans.

Forces Allocated

The operation would have included:
– German X Air Corps and Italian air forces
– German Ramcke Parachute Brigade
– Italian Folgore and La Spezia airborne divisions
– Italian San Marco Marine Division
– Numerous naval vessels for transport and support

Why It Never Happened

The operation was repeatedly postponed and ultimately abandoned for several reasons:

1. Competing priorities: particularly the Eastern Front and North Africa.
2. Resource limitations: particularly transport aircraft and naval escorts.
3. Concerns about casualties: after heavy German paratroop losses in Crete.
4. Leadership disagreements: between Hitler and high command
5. Improved Allied defenses on Malta making invasion increasingly difficult since 1940

Consequences of Abandonment

The decision not to invade Malta had significant strategic consequences:
– Malta remained a thorn in the Axis supply lines to North Africa.
– British forces based there continued to intercept convoys bound for Rommel.
– The supply problems contributed significantly to Axis defeat in North Africa.

Historical Assessment

Most military historians view the failure to neutralize Malta as a significant strategic error by the Axis powers. By abandoning Operation Hercules, they allowed the island to remain an effective Allied base that substantially impacted the North African campaign and, by extension, the entire Mediterranean theater.

References and literature

The Armed Forces of World War II (Andrew Mollo)
World War II – A Statistical Survey (John Ellis)
Der Grosse Atlas zum II. Weltkrieg (Peter Young)
The Desert War (Andrew Kershaw, Ian Close)
The Unknown Alamein – Crucial Battles of World War 2 (Charles Messenger)
Krieg der Panzer (Piekalkiewicz)
Luftkrieg (Piekalkiewicz)
Flotten des 2. Weltkrieges (Antony Preston)
A World at Arms – A Global History of World War II (Gerhard L. Weinberg)