HISTORY. 1943: Germans’ coup on the port of Bastia, totally surprised, the Italian navy out of action

On the night of September 8 to 9, a real act of war without declaration destroyed Italian boats at the quayside, causing many victims. The next day, the Italians responded with reinforcements and chased away their attackers

On September 4, 1943, a certain “Luc”, in charge of organizing a parachuting in the region of Vico, was walking towards the mountain when a breathless man appeared who launched: “I love Paimpol and its cliff …” This is the warning message that has just been broadcast from Algiers to the Corsican resistance to signify the signing of the armistice between Marshal Badoglio and the Allies. Italy capitulated. But the information should not be made public until September 8, the same day that “Luc”, whose real name is Arthur Giovoni, leader of the National Front, lands in Algiers with the plans of the enemy in Corsica. “On September 6 at 1 am, ‘Luc’ is on board. The landing of the anti-tank rifles (5 tons) begins on an inflatable boat. At 4 o’clock it was all over. Maillot organizes the transport of weapons to Ajaccio. Giovoni sails towards Algiers where he arrives on September 8 at 8 am. “⁽¹⁾

In Corsica, it is the signal of the insurrection, like a green light destined to precipitate the intervention of the free French forces. General Giraud, who intended to subordinate the action of the patriots to a combined operation with the Allies, is reluctant. Then, given the pressure, he will launch Operation Vesuvius, while believing it is premature.

In the island, the sequence of events will also depend on the attitude of the occupying forces, namely the VII^e General Magli’s army corps and the 90^e Panzer stationed in Sardinia to which Marshal Kesselring gave the order to go to Corsica. However, the Germans feel betrayed by the capitulation of Italy. Their allies of the day before are now new enemies. The port of Bastia, key to maritime traffic, then becomes the abscess of fixation of an unprecedented struggle.

On September 8 at 7 pm, a message from Radio London announcing the armistice between Italy and the Allies reached the commander of the Marina Militare in Corsica, Admiral Gaetano Catalano Gonzaga di Cirella. At 8:30 p.m., Radio Roma confirmed the news by broadcasting a proclamation from Marshal Badoglio.

In a bunker set on the heights of Bastia on the outskirts of Fort Lacroix, Catalano led the sectors of Bastia, Ajaccio and Bonifacio with 2,000 men and 103 officers under his command. “The situation of the fleet in the port of Bastia on the evening of September 8, was as follows: 2 torpedo boats (Aliseo, Ardito), 1 MAS 543 (torpedo boat), 18 auxiliary ships and 2 carrier liners (Humanitas and Sassari). During the day of the 8th, two submarine hunters and seven motorized rafts arrived. Offshore, the speedboat Cormorano responsible for detecting submarines. “⁽²⁾

The strike force of the torpedo boat Aliseo

During the days preceding the armistice, the Italians believed in the imminence of an allied landing in Corsica, in the direct line of Operation Husky in Sicily in July. In a telegram to Admiral Catalano, General Magli speaks of honor, recalling “the duty to maintain a dignified reserve. “Then, referring to a proclamation by Badoglio, underlines that” any act of hostility against the Anglo-American troops must cease immediately, but that any attack must be responded to, no matter where it comes from. “

Explicitly, the order anticipates the attack by the Germans, which will soon be confirmed. “At midnight, the Humanitas should have left Bastia for Sardinia for which an Italian-German escort was planned, made up of the two torpedo boats Ardito and Aliseo and German submarine hunters. But after the entry into force of the armistice, Admiral Catalano exempts the German escort from mission. “⁽³⁾

By the way they are moored, the two torpedo boats Ardito and Aliseo find themselves in the line of fire of the Kriegsmarine machine guns. A little before midnight, the Aliseo leaves the port safely. At that moment, a gunshot is heard. This is the agreed signal. Immediately, the German units unleash a firestorm on the torpedo boat Ardito, still docked. The surprise is total. The Germans seize the command of the ship which suffers heavy human losses. Confusion reigns. On the burning Humanitas, six German machine gunners are killed … by their comrades who were targeting the Italians, because the crew is Italo-German. The attack did not last more than ten minutes. The Germans now control the port of Bastia which has become a blaze. Assessment of this tragic night: 80 Italians dead or missing, most of them on the Ardito escort.

But on the morning of September 9, Admiral Catalano ordered an offensive on the port with light tanks. The German garrison is disarmed with the help of the Corsican patriots. At the same time, two German gunboats – the Austral and the Insuma – which went out to escort five barges carrying military equipment, found themselves caught under fire from the batteries of Toga and Fort Lacroix, but also from the torpedo boat Aliseo, who , having escaped the attack the day before, is in ambush under the orders of Fece di Cossato, an officer respected for his bravery. Hit by an 88 shell which momentarily immobilized it, the Aliseo replied and sent several German vessels including the Insuma off Pietracorbara to the bottom.

Often overlooked, this Italian-German naval battle of Bastia is the first feat of arms directly caused by the armistice of September 8. A completely unexpected fight, since it is the two occupying powers and allies who fight spontaneously without declaring war.
All German units of the Landugsflotilla are annihilated. His mission accomplished, the Aliseo immediately set off for Portoferraio taking the wounded, but also prisoners.

On its own, the torpedo boat therefore avenged the Italian victims of the German coup whose sole purpose was to prevent the Italian fleet from strengthening the military potential of the Allies.

(1) Colonel Remy. The Resistance in Corsica. Famot Editions. (2), (3) Prof. Gabriele Mariano. The operations of the Italian units in Corsica in September October 1943. International congress of military history. 1987.

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