German Air Force attack on the port of Bari in 1943. The tragic consequences of underestimating the enemy
At the end of 1943, the course of World War II began to change in favor of the Allies. Italy signed a surrender. But the areas in the north of the country were under German control, and the fascist Italian government continued to function there. And despite the fact that the German air force was more and more inferior to the allies day by day, it was in the port of Bari that one of the most successful operations of the Luftwaffe took place.
This port, located in the southern part of the Apennine Peninsula, was extremely important for the supply of troops moving towards Rome. Meeting no opposition, on September 11, 1943, the 1st British Airborne Division landed in Bari. The British Air Force was absolutely confident in the safety of the ports on the southern coast of Italy.
This disregard for security measures did not allow building a reliable defense: the troops in the city were not organized, being police or convoy formations. There was no clear organization of air defense: there was no camouflage or air cover. And the flights of German scouts over Bari also did not alert the command.
However, the German Air Force made successful raids on allied-captured ports along the Italian coast. And they even attacked Naples four times. Thus, the command of the British Air Force underestimated the capabilities of the enemy.
The situation was aggravated by the huge number of refugees who tried to get away from the war zone as far as possible. In Bari, according to pre-war data, a quarter of a million people lived, and on the day of the raid there were much more civilians. Crowding was also observed in the port itself: no one took care of the dispersal of ships.
In the harbor of Bari, there were about 30 ships flying the flags of Holland, Great Britain, Poland and the United States. Dozens of powerful searchlights illuminated the harbor, making it easier to unload supplies and also making the congestion of ships an ideal target.
The Allies urgently needed supplies, but the rush also led to a decrease in security measures. On December 1943, 105, a German reconnaissance aircraft flew over the port and, returning to base, reported the situation. The Luftwaffe command intended to attack several targets, in particular the airfield at Foggia, but after receiving intelligence, it was decided to strike at Bari. 88 Junkers Ju 4 A-XNUMX bombers took off. They were ordered to mislead the enemy: to fly east and then turn southwest. An attack from the north was expected, and such a maneuver could make the Allies think that the attack was from Yugoslavia.
The attack began at 19:25. The dropped lighting bombs turned out to be superfluous: the port, as mentioned above, was perfectly lit. The ammunition transports were destroyed first. There was an explosion of monstrous power, which knocked out the windows of houses at a distance of 11 kilometers. The exploded gas line caused a fire that spread throughout the harbor, setting fire to ships that were not damaged by the bombs.
28 ships were damaged and sunk. City buildings were also damaged due to explosions of fuel and ammunition. More than a thousand people died on the ships, and the losses among civilians and refugees were impossible to calculate. After the attack, the port was closed for three weeks, and was completely restored only in February 1944. In just 20 minutes, the Luftwaffe inflicted terrible damage on the allies.
However, the consequences of the raid did not end there. The fact is that in the port there was a John Harvey transport, on board which was a secret cargo: two thousand bombs, each of which carried 27–32 kilograms of mustard gas - a poisonous substance. Due to fires blazing everywhere, the chemical composition spilled from damaged bombs was released into the air. And the chaos that was happening in hospitals did not allow immediately determining that people were affected not only by carbon monoxide and smoke.
But within a day, 628 people were diagnosed with blindness and chemical burns - symptoms of mustard gas poisoning. And after that, civilians, who were struck by mustard gas vapors, began to massively seek help. Of these 628 people, more than eighty had died by the end of the month. And this is without taking into account the civilian casualties, the number of which was impossible to establish. Since the cargo was secret, only the John Harvey team knew about it, but almost all of them were killed or seriously injured, so they could not tell about the cargo and the possible consequences.
And yet, an investigation was carried out. Deputy Surgeon General Fred Bless and Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Alexander discovered the remains of bombs filled with toxic substances, and also compiled a report on the incident. At first, the American command denied this fact and tried to hide information about the mustard gas bombs. There was concern that Germany might use its own chemical weapon, having learned about the availability of such from the allies. But there were too many victims, and the command was forced to admit the presence of toxic substances in the port of Bari. With one caveat: mustard gas was needed in case the Germans used chemical bombs, as a retaliatory strike.
One of the doctors conducting the investigation - Stuart Alexander - even before the situation was clarified, persuaded to treat the victims precisely from mustard gas poisoning. His initiative has saved many lives.
The crews of the British destroyers Zetland and Bicester were also hit by mustard gas. The ships were damaged by the explosion and ordered to proceed to Taranto. Passing the flaming transports, they found themselves in a cloud of gas. Only with help from the shore did the ships manage to enter the port, because all the crew members had serious damage to the visual organs.
By the way, Stuart Alexander's report was fully published only in 1959, until that moment it remained completely classified. In British documents, by order of Winston Churchill, any mention of mustard gas poisoning was completely erased. Only those who died from burns were mentioned.
Following the investigation of the situation, the British Air Force command acquitted. Only excessive self-confidence was noted due to the absence of massive attacks by the Luftwaffe before. This episode is called Pearl Harbor in Europe for a reason. It was one of the most successful operations of the German Air Force during the entire Second World War. Significant losses of ammunition, transports and provisions led to the fact that the Allied campaign in Italy was suspended for a long time.
This was the idea behind the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Isoroku Yamamoto planned to launch a surprise strike that would incapacitate American forces in the Pacific region for several months. Find out more about the life and career of this famous admiral in this video from Wargaming.
This port, located in the southern part of the Apennine Peninsula, was extremely important for the supply of troops moving towards Rome. Meeting no opposition, on September 11, 1943, the 1st British Airborne Division landed in Bari. The British Air Force was absolutely confident in the safety of the ports on the southern coast of Italy.
Bombing of Bari
This disregard for security measures did not allow building a reliable defense: the troops in the city were not organized, being police or convoy formations. There was no clear organization of air defense: there was no camouflage or air cover. And the flights of German scouts over Bari also did not alert the command.
However, the German Air Force made successful raids on allied-captured ports along the Italian coast. And they even attacked Naples four times. Thus, the command of the British Air Force underestimated the capabilities of the enemy.
The situation was aggravated by the huge number of refugees who tried to get away from the war zone as far as possible. In Bari, according to pre-war data, a quarter of a million people lived, and on the day of the raid there were much more civilians. Crowding was also observed in the port itself: no one took care of the dispersal of ships.
In the harbor of Bari, there were about 30 ships flying the flags of Holland, Great Britain, Poland and the United States. Dozens of powerful searchlights illuminated the harbor, making it easier to unload supplies and also making the congestion of ships an ideal target.
Port of Bari
The Allies urgently needed supplies, but the rush also led to a decrease in security measures. On December 1943, 105, a German reconnaissance aircraft flew over the port and, returning to base, reported the situation. The Luftwaffe command intended to attack several targets, in particular the airfield at Foggia, but after receiving intelligence, it was decided to strike at Bari. 88 Junkers Ju 4 A-XNUMX bombers took off. They were ordered to mislead the enemy: to fly east and then turn southwest. An attack from the north was expected, and such a maneuver could make the Allies think that the attack was from Yugoslavia.
Junkers Ju 88 bombers used in the raid
The attack began at 19:25. The dropped lighting bombs turned out to be superfluous: the port, as mentioned above, was perfectly lit. The ammunition transports were destroyed first. There was an explosion of monstrous power, which knocked out the windows of houses at a distance of 11 kilometers. The exploded gas line caused a fire that spread throughout the harbor, setting fire to ships that were not damaged by the bombs.
28 ships were damaged and sunk. City buildings were also damaged due to explosions of fuel and ammunition. More than a thousand people died on the ships, and the losses among civilians and refugees were impossible to calculate. After the attack, the port was closed for three weeks, and was completely restored only in February 1944. In just 20 minutes, the Luftwaffe inflicted terrible damage on the allies.
Italian Pearl Harbor
However, the consequences of the raid did not end there. The fact is that in the port there was a John Harvey transport, on board which was a secret cargo: two thousand bombs, each of which carried 27–32 kilograms of mustard gas - a poisonous substance. Due to fires blazing everywhere, the chemical composition spilled from damaged bombs was released into the air. And the chaos that was happening in hospitals did not allow immediately determining that people were affected not only by carbon monoxide and smoke.
But within a day, 628 people were diagnosed with blindness and chemical burns - symptoms of mustard gas poisoning. And after that, civilians, who were struck by mustard gas vapors, began to massively seek help. Of these 628 people, more than eighty had died by the end of the month. And this is without taking into account the civilian casualties, the number of which was impossible to establish. Since the cargo was secret, only the John Harvey team knew about it, but almost all of them were killed or seriously injured, so they could not tell about the cargo and the possible consequences.
American Mustard Bomb
And yet, an investigation was carried out. Deputy Surgeon General Fred Bless and Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Alexander discovered the remains of bombs filled with toxic substances, and also compiled a report on the incident. At first, the American command denied this fact and tried to hide information about the mustard gas bombs. There was concern that Germany might use its own chemical weapon, having learned about the availability of such from the allies. But there were too many victims, and the command was forced to admit the presence of toxic substances in the port of Bari. With one caveat: mustard gas was needed in case the Germans used chemical bombs, as a retaliatory strike.
One of the doctors conducting the investigation - Stuart Alexander - even before the situation was clarified, persuaded to treat the victims precisely from mustard gas poisoning. His initiative has saved many lives.
The crews of the British destroyers Zetland and Bicester were also hit by mustard gas. The ships were damaged by the explosion and ordered to proceed to Taranto. Passing the flaming transports, they found themselves in a cloud of gas. Only with help from the shore did the ships manage to enter the port, because all the crew members had serious damage to the visual organs.
By the way, Stuart Alexander's report was fully published only in 1959, until that moment it remained completely classified. In British documents, by order of Winston Churchill, any mention of mustard gas poisoning was completely erased. Only those who died from burns were mentioned.
Following the investigation of the situation, the British Air Force command acquitted. Only excessive self-confidence was noted due to the absence of massive attacks by the Luftwaffe before. This episode is called Pearl Harbor in Europe for a reason. It was one of the most successful operations of the German Air Force during the entire Second World War. Significant losses of ammunition, transports and provisions led to the fact that the Allied campaign in Italy was suspended for a long time.
This was the idea behind the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Isoroku Yamamoto planned to launch a surprise strike that would incapacitate American forces in the Pacific region for several months. Find out more about the life and career of this famous admiral in this video from Wargaming.
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