Elba The Island of Elba is from the Italian mainland, opposite the coastal town of
Piombino in
Tuscany. The island is the third largest Italian island after
Sicily and
Sardinia and the largest of the
Tuscan Archipelago. The island is long and varies from wide at the east and west ends to in the middle, The island is dry and mountainous, Monte Capanne, the highest point at , is in the west and the coast has steep cliffs with deep semicircular bays. The population, about 30,000 in 1939, consisted of 12,000 people living in
Portoferraio, the main harbour and 3,000 at
Marciana, both on the north shore, the rest living in the sparsely populated interior.
Italian armistice When the armistice was announced on 8 September, the defence of the Tuscan coast near Elba was the responsibility of the (II Corps, Lieutenant-General
Vittorio Sogno to 4 September 1943 then Lieutenant-General
Gervasio Bitossi to 9 September) with its headquarters at
Florence. The
215ª Divisione Costiera, had been formed on 1 August, with three regiments to defend the coast from
Cecina and
Orbetello and the Tuscan Archipelago. The ( Nicola De Stefanis) garrisoned the island with four fusilier battalions and two machine-gun battalions. There were four groups of artillery and one anti-aircraft battery on the island and nine navy coastal batteries. The military commander of the island,
Achilles Gilardi, had a garrison of 8,300 men comprising 6,300 army and 2,000 navy personnel with about fifty Germans, mostly radar operators. After the Allied invasions of Sicily, and the mainland, the Germans decided to evacuate the
90th Panzergrenadier Division from Sardinia and the from Corsica, along with four fortress battalions and naval and air units on the islands, lest they be trapped by the Allies. Some Italian military units defected to the Allies and others, like a battalion of the
184th Infantry Division "Nembo" stayed loyal to the Axis; control of Elba was necessary for the evacuations. On 9 September, Gilardi was ordered "to act with force against acts of force committed by the Germans". The Italian Navy directed all ships in Tyrrhenian ports to sail to prevent them from falling into German hands, many of the ships heading for Portoferraio, including seven corvettes, 11 torpedo boats, four submarines and many smaller ships. Late on 9 September, Germans began to commandeer ships in Piombino, disarming the crews and Italian soldiers nearby; an Italian coastal battery opened fire, forcing the Germans to release the men and return the ships. On the morning of 10 September, amidst the confusion, Italian army gunners mistook four Italian submarine chasers entering the for Germans ships and opened fire on them. The ships withdrew and made for Piombino in bad weather. At noon, ships were seen approaching Portoferraio from the north-east. The corvettes
Folaga,
Ape and
Cormorano sailed and engaged five German armed lighters, forcing them to turn back. In the afternoon reports were received from Piombino that many German ships had assembled in the harbour, including two torpedo boats, a minesweeper and twelve lighters and that the Germans were landing troops to cut the roads near the port. In the evening, the Italian authorities at Piombino requested help from the ships in Portoferraio but
Amedeo Nomis di Pollone, reported that nothing could be done until dawn.
German invasion On 11 September, Gilardi was ordered to negotiate with German commanders but refused, claiming that the order was contrary to the proclamation by the King. German aircraft flew over the island dropping leaflets which denounced the Badoglio government and gave an ultimatum Gilardi to surrender before 4:00 p. m. or the garrison would be annihilated by bombing; troops that fought on would be treated as terrorists and shot. The navy had ordered all its ships to sail for
Palermo in Sicily and those seaworthy in Portoferraio complied. During the night, the German occupied Piombino on the mainland; on the night of 12/13 September, the coastal guns on Elba batteries fired on small boats approaching south of Porto Longone (now
Porto Azzurro) on the east coast, that turned back. More approaches were attempted on the nights of 13/14, 14/15 September. Early on 15 September, a staff officer from , with two German officers landed at Scoglietto, near Portoferraio, with a letter ordering Gilardi to surrender, which he rejected. The Germans tried to land on the islet of
Palmaiola, at the north-eastern extremity of Elba but were forced back by the coastal artillery at Cannelle on
Giglio Island. On 16 September, ten
Luftwaffe bombers attacked Portoferraio, causing about 100 military and civilian deaths, with 150 injuries, far beyond the medical facilities on the island to cope. There was much damage and the anti-aircraft battery at Le Grotte, across the bay from Portoferraio, was damaged. Gilardi tried to open negotiations but a German invasion force was on the way from
Livorno. ========
Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 52 (Ju 52) aircraft of were ready for (Operation Golden Pheasant) at
Ciampino airfield near Rome. Early on 17 September, the Ju52s flew about 600 paratroopers from (3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment 7, Major Friedrich Hübner) and at 8:30 a.m., the paratroopers dropped in the open, across the bay from Portoferraio. (3rd Battalion, Mechanised Infantry Regiment 200, Heinrich von Behr) arrived from Livorno in ferries and landed at Portoferraio. The Italians offered no resistance and the Germans soon captured the garrison and took over the artillery batteries and barracks. Behr demanded the surrender of arms, artillery and vehicles along with the coastal guns (some of which were spiked by their crews). The paratroopers quickly departed the island, the infantry remaining while reinforcements arrived. The Germans pressured the Italian prisoners to sign a declaration agreeing to remain in military service, volunteer for labour service or be deported to internment camps in Germany. Gilardi prevaricated until 3 October then returned the declarations, in which only two of his officers agreed to remain in the army. The Germans began making arrests and on 7 October accused Gilardi of sabotage, arresting him and 250 army and 50 naval officers. From Piombino, they were deported to prison camps in occupied Poland.
German defences On 5 December,
Franz Gall was made commander of (Elba Defence Sector) under
LXXV Corps (). By May 1944, Gall had (FB 902, Fortress Battalion 902, Hauptmann Willi Kroeber), (FB 908) and the ( Bugarelli, 6th CDB, /6th Coast Defence Battalion). FB 902 and FB 908 had been formed from comb-outs in mid-1943, many of the men being frostbite casualties from Eastern Front. The battalions had about 520 men each in four companies, most armed with Italian weapons; about 10 per cent of the men were (ethnic Germans mainly from Poland and Czechoslovakia). The battalions had been rushed to Sardinia in September 1943, thence to Corsica and the Italian mainland. When FB 902 was moved by the Luftwaffe to Italy on 23 September 23, two aircraft had been shot down, one of the dead being Kroeber. In May 1944, his replacement, Major Dietze, wrote that most of his men were experienced but some were unable to march for long due to their frostbite injuries and that training was necessary on the Italian equipment. The 6th CDB with about 650 men in four companies, had been formed in November 1943 at Modena sector from 18- to 21-year olds. Bugarelli, his officers and NCOs had volunteered to continue to fight alongside Germany but many of the recruits had been intimidated into "volunteering" by threats that their parents would be gaoled if they refused. The battalion was moved to Elba in February 1944 and its four companies were split between German infantry units. ( Max Schreiber) of the , was transferred from the Straits of Messina to operate six of the Italian coastal batteries. The detachment had 350 naval gunners and joined 200 Italian coastal gunners. Schreiber was also the naval commander on Elba with his HQ in Portoferraio. Three of the coastal batteries defended the north shore in the Portoferraio sector, took over with four 152 mm howitzers; the took over with four 76 mm and two 75 mm anti-aircraft guns and the took with three 102 mm anti-aircraft/coastal guns. Two batteries defended the east shore near Porto Longone, the manned with four 102 mm guns and the was at with four 152 mm howitzers and two 76 mm anti-aircraft guns. The took over with a 102 mm gun and four 90 m anti-aircraft guns covering the Golfo di Campo at the middle of the south coast. The Italian and on the north coast, were not taken over, the first because it had been severely damaged in the bombing of 16 September. An improvised artillery unit, ( [special duties], Sterz) with 110 men, was moved to Elba in September. The comprised three batteries with eleven Italian 149 mm howitzers and five Italian 75 mm guns. Sterz reported that the unit was operational only because Italians from the 4th Battery of , which had remained loyal to the Germans side knew how to operate the Italian equipment. and of ( Mahl), with 120 men, was transferred to Elba in November 1943, each with four German 88 mm guns and three 20 mm guns and was the only unit in the garrison armed with modern weapons. The batteries were emplaced across the bay from Portoferraio, several hundred yards apart, on the hills at Acquabona.The defence was organised into 13 coastal sectors, Stralsund and Athen covered the Golfo di Procchio west of Portoferraio. Pisa, Venedig, Palermo, Florenz and Neapel were along the bay to the south-east of Portoferraio, to fire
Maria a planned artillery barrage to cover the mouth of the bay. München covered the bay near Porto Longone ready to fire barrage
Hedwig. Berlin, Köhl and Ulm covered the Golfo Stella, Hamburg the Golfo della Lacona rady to fire barrage barrage
Toni, Danzig covered the Golfo di Campo ready to fire barrage
Almut. Local fishermen told the Allies that minefields closed the entrance to Portoferraio, the Golfo di Procchio, Golfo della Lacona and Golfo Stella. Civilians retained freedom of movement but fishing boats had to be moored in certain harbours and fishing was only allowed during the day, no more than offshore. By June 1944 the defence force on Elba comprised 2,600 men, 800 of whom were Italian. The units were improvised and the Italian contingent had been distributed among German units, most of the weapons were Italian. Many of the German officers ageing were reservists, including Gall.
Sardinia and Corsica On 22 September, the Italian steamship
Andrea Sgarallino, carrying civilian traffic from Piombino to Portoferraio, was torpedoed and sunk by the British submarine , killing 200 civilians and leaving few survivors. The crew was Italian and the only Germans on board were checking the identity papers of the passengers. With Elba secure, the evacuation of Axis troops from Sardinia and Corsica had been made easier and in two weeks 6,294 soldiers, 3,026 vehicles, 361 guns, 105 tanks and of equipment had been withdrawn to the mainland by sea. The Luftwaffe evacuated 23,192 German soldiers and 2,100 Italian troops with of equipment. The air evacuation cost 25 Ju 52s, many being destroyed on the ground, when Allied bombers attacked the airfields at Pisa and Pontedera. Eighty ships of various types were lost, many to the bombing of ports in the Tuscan Archipelago and the mainland. ==Prelude==