Carton de Wiart at Namsos — Mauriceforce
Alongside Sickleforce, London launches Mauriceforce: a landing at Namsos (north of Trondheim) to take the city in a pincer with Sickleforce from the south. Commander: , 60 — Victoria Cross 1916, one-armed after an amputation in 1915, one-eyed after 1916, multiple veteran of British conflicts since the Boer War. Force: 4,000 men of the and the under General .
Landing at Namsos on 14 April 1940. Difficulties identical to Sickleforce: no winter equipment, no air defence. Worse: the Luftwaffe flattens Namsos on 20 April (200 tons of bombs), destroying 70% of the buildings and all the port facilities. The damaged port gravely complicates logistical support. Carton de Wiart pushes on toward Trondheim nonetheless, engages the Germans at Vist on 21 April, then is brought to a halt.
By late April, without air cover and under constant bombardment, the commander must judge whether the operation retains the slightest military value. It remains to choose between holding, withdrawing, or attempting one last push on Trondheim.
How does Carton de Wiart assess the viability of the operation?
Carton de Wiart chooses evacuation. The force can no longer be properly resupplied. From 2 to 3 May 1940, Mauriceforce is evacuated under bombardment. Balance: 700 British and French killed or taken prisoner, heavy equipment abandoned. Carton de Wiart cables London: "There is no military objective at Namsos which justifies the maintenance of these forces." His letter of resignation is rejected by Churchill. He carries on, commands a corps in Yugoslavia in 1941 (captured in Italy, prisoner for 18 months, released in 1943), then becomes special envoy to China to from 1943 to 1946. He survives the war and dies in 1963 at 83. His autobiography Happy Odyssey (Cape, 1950) remains a classic. The double evacuation of Åndalsnes-Namsos brings down Chamberlain a week later. Above all, it demonstrates that without air superiority no amphibious operation is viable — a lesson taken on board by the British for Overlord 1944.
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