- For the naval battle of 1811, see Battle of Tamatave.
| Battle of Madagascar | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of World War II | |||||||||
 British soldiers landing at Tamatave in May 1942. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Australia (naval only) |
 Vichy France Japan (naval only) | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Robert Sturges |
Armand Léon Annet | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 10,000-15,000 (land forces) | 8,000 (land forces) | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 107 killed in action; 280 wounded; | 150 killed in action; 500 wounded | ||||||||
The Battle of Madagascar (or Operation Ironclad) was the Allied campaign to capture Vichy French-controlled Madagascar during World War II. It began on 5 May, 1942. Fighting did not cease until 6 November.
Background
edit- Battle of France
- Fall of France, creation of Vichy and Free French forces, which colonies sided with which?
- Anglo-Free French relations. DeGaulle and Churchill, destruction of French Fleet at Mers-El-Kebir, Dakar, attempts to sideline Free French
- Fears of Japanese advances into Indian Ocean, Madagascar being used as a port to prey on Allied shipping
Prelude
editAllied preparation
editVichy French & Japanese preparation
editOrder of Battle
editBattle
editAftermath
editFree French General Paul Legentilhomme was appointed High Commissioner for Madagascar. French control of the island was not to last much longer though as, like many colonies, Madagascar sought its independence following the war. In 1947, the island experienced the Malagasy Uprising, a costly revolution that was crushed in 1948. It was not until 14 October 1958, about ten years later, that the Malagasy Republic successfully proclaimed its independence from France.
References
editBibliography
edit- http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-RN-II/UK-RN-II-7.html#page185
- Aris, George (1959). The Fifth British Division 1939-1945. The Fifth Division Benevolent Fund.
- Churchill, Winston S. (1986). The Second World War, Volume 4: The Hinge of Fate. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0395410584.
- Colville, John (1985). The Fringes of Power. The Lyons Press. ISBN 1585745081.
- Flint, Keith (2006). Airborne Armour: Tetrarch, Locust, Hamilcar and the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment 1938-1950. Helion & Company Ltd. ISBN 1-874622-37-X.
- Harrison, E.D.R. (April 1999). "British Subversion in French East Africa, 1941–42: SOE's Todd Mission". English Historical Review. 114 (456): 339–369. doi:10.1093/ehr/114.456.339.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - Messenger, Charles (1985). The Commandos 1940-1946. William Kimber. ISBN 0718305531.
- Jackson, Julian (2001). France: The Dark Years 1940-1944. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0199254575.
- Roskill, S.W. (1956). History of the Second World War: The War At Sea 1939-1945 Volume II: The Period Of Balance. Her Majesty's Stationary Office.
- Smith, Colin (2009). England's Last War Against France: Fighting Vichy 1940-42. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0297852186.
- Thomas, Martin (December 1996). "Imperial Backwater or Strategic Outpost? The British Takeover of Vichy Madagascar, 1942". The Historical Journal. 39 (4): 1049–1074. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00024754.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - Thomas, Martin (2007). The French Empire at War, 1940-45. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0719065194.
- Wilmott, H P (2010). The Last Century of Sea Power: Volume II: From Washington To Tokyo, 1922 - 1945. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253352149.