Koufra, Libya, 1st March 1941

                          The Koufra Raid

                                 1st March 1941

In early 1941, the motley collection of French colonial forces in Chad declared for de Gaulle and the Free French. Lt Col d’Ornano (commander of French Forces in Chad) and Col. LeClerc received orders off de Gaulle in London, were tasked with attacking Italian positions in Libya with the forces at their disposal. 

Koufra was the obvious first target. Taken by Graziani in 1931, Koufra (also spelt Cufra, Kufra & Khofra) is an oasis in Southeast Libya. The Buma airfield at Koufra has now fallen into disrepair and is little-used since World War II, but in 1941 was an important link to Italian East Africa and a base for reconnaissance aircraft supporting local Italian units (Sahariana and Meharista). The town surrounding the Oasis is dominated by the old fort of El Tag, built by the Italians in the mid-1930s – a square structure 150 meters each side with 4 meter high walls; built on a rocky outcrop at Djebel el Bub. Standing alone, it was surrounded by an extensive external defence system (trenches and barbed wire). The fort was also used as a radio post to guide in Italian aircraft as well as to maintain communication with Italian East Africa.

Koufra was important because:
- it is an oasis
- it controls a road to the Fezzan area
- there is a radio-gonio post to guide the Italian aircrafts to the Buma airfield

The task of striking at the heavily defended oasis at Koufra was made all the more difficult by inadequate transport to cross sand dunes and the rocky ground, considered to be impassable to vehicles.

Fortunately for the French, assistance was received from Major Pat Clayton of the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG), who was keen to join with the Free French to test the Italians. Clayton had under his command G (Guards) and T (New Zealand) patrols, a total of seventy-six men in twenty-six vehicles.

In order to assist in the attack against Kufra, a raid was mounted against the airfield at the oasis of Mourzouck, capital of the Fezzan region of Libya. Ten Free French (three officers, two sergeants and five native soldiers) under D’Ornano met with Clayton’s LRDG patrols on 6 January 1941 at Kayouge. The combined force reached Mourzouck on 11 January. In a daring daylight raid, they surprised the sentries and swept through the oasis, devastating the base. The majority of the force attacked the main fort, while a troop from T patrol under Lieutenant Ballantyne engaged the airfield defences, destroying 3 Caproni aircraft and capturing a number of prisoners.

The success of the raid was tempered by the loss of a T patrol member and the intrepid d’Ornano. Another wounded French officer cauterized his leg wound with his own cigarette, much to the admiration of the LRDG. A diversionary raid by mounted Meharistes Colonial Cavalry failed after it was betrayed by local guides, prompting LeClerc to relegate these troops to recon duties only.

After the success of the Mourzouck raid Leclerc, who had assumed overall command, marshalled his forces to take on Koufra itself. Intelligence indicated that the Oasis was defended by two defensive lines based around the El Tag fort which included barbed wire, trenches. In the El Tag fort defending the oasis the Italian Colonel Leo had 580 Askaris and various Italian detachments (engineers, signals etc.) but he had also the Compania Saharina di Cufra under the command of Captains Mattioli and Moreschini: a specialist mobile force and the forerunner of the famous “Sahariana” companies of the mid war period. The company was comprised of desert veterans crewing various Fiat and Lancia trucks equipped with HMGs and 20 mm AA weapons, together with some armoured cars. The company also had the support of its own air arm to assist in long range reconnaissance and ground attack. The fort itself is defended by Schwarzlose and Fiat 1914/35 MGs as well as 20 mm Breda guns.

LeClerc could not pinpoint the Saharianas, so he tasked the LRDG with the job of hunting them down and robbing the defenders of their mobile reserve. Unfortunately for the LRDG, a radio intercept unit at Koufra picked up their radio traffic and they were spotted from the air. The defenders had been on their guard since Mourzouck. Conscious of the weakness of his forces, LeClerc also scheduled three air raids on Koufra (I assume these would be by Blenheim bombers from Chad), whose mission was to destroy the aerodrome; however only one aircraft on the ground was hit.

G patrol had been kept in reserve and Major Clayton was leading T patrol, 30 men in 11 trucks, including a French detachment from GN (Groupe Nomad) Tibesti under Lt. Dubut.

The patrol was at Bishara on the morning of 31 January when an Italian aircraft appeared overhead. The trucks scattered and made for some hills, and the plane flew away without attacking them. The patrol took cover among some rocks in a small wadi at Gebel Sherif and camouflaged the trucks, before preparing to have lunch. The plane returned and circled over the wadi, where it directed a patrol of the Auto-Saharan Company to intercept the LRDG.

During fierce fighting, the LRDG patrol came off second best to superior Italian firepower and constant air attack. After severe losses, the surviving seven trucks of the patrol were forced to withdraw, leaving behind their commanding officer, who was captured along with several others. Other survivors embarked on epic journeys to seek safety. After this reverse, the LRDG force was forced to withdraw and refit, leaving Leclerc the services of only one LRDG vehicle from T patrol crucially equipped for desert navigation.

LeClerc pressed on with his attack, in spite of losing a copy of his plan to the enemy with the capture of Major Clayton. After conducting further reconnaissance, Leclerc reorganized his forces on 16 February. He abandoned his two armoured cars (two AMC Laffly S15 TOE) and took with him the remaining serviceable artillery piece, a crucial decision.

Initially the LeClerc column is made up of 101 “white” French troops and 295 Senegalese and Chadian colonial soldiers: 396 men (armed with Lebel 1886/93 rifles, a Brandt 81mm mortar, four x 8 mm Hotchkiss Mle1914 MMGs and 26 x FM 24/29 LMGs), but several vehicles and their men were not available for the attack because of mechanical breakdowns.

They had to travel 1650 km before reaching the objective.

HQ: 1 Matford, 2 Chevrolet 1t, 2 Bedford 1.5t and one ER26bis radio (Captain Geoffroy)

1 reduced infantry company (Captain Rennepont) with 23 Bedford 1.5t

2 platoons of the GN (Groupe Nomad) Ennedi - 120 men (Captain Barboten) with 1 dodge and 16 Matford V8 3t

1 platoon of the 7th Company of the RTST (60 men) (Captains Florentin & Fabre) with 1 dodge and 2 Matford V8 3t

1 artillery platoon (Lieutenant Ceccaldi) with a 75 mm Mle1928 Schneider mountain gun, 1 dodge, 1 Laffly S15 tow, 1 Laffly S15 for the ammunition and 2 Matford V8 3t

On the 17th, LeClerc’s forces brushed with the Saharianas whom had no problems wiping out French trucks with their machine guns and 20mm cannon but despite a disparity in firepower the French were able to drive them off and this prevented the Saharinas from entering in El Tag. The Saharina escaped towards Tazerbo. The Italians never sent reinforcements to the fort, only a few planes attacked the French troops who now encircled the fort!

The lone 75 mm gun was placed 3000 m from the fort, beyond range of the defenses and opens fire (40 shells the first day and then about 20 shells per day after that). This single gun is constantly moved to give the impression that there are several guns. The 81mm mortar was positioned 1,500m to the Northwest. Using mobile patrols and general harassing tactics LeClerc managed to give the impression he had a much larger force. The Italian airforce initially tried to intervene, but eventually just gave up!

After ten days of fighting, despite having superior numbers, Italian resolve faltered. Negotiations to surrender began on 28 February and finally on 1 March 1941 the Free French captured El Tag and with it, the oasis at Koufra. The French took more than three hundred prisoners: eleven Italian officers and eighteen Italian soldiers and two hundred and seventy three Libyan soldiers. Italian losses amounted to three dead and four wounded. For the Free French Forces, the operation accounted for four dead and twenty one wounded. Seized from the enemy were four 20 mm canons, fifty three machine guns, fourteen vehicles, not to mention a large stock of munitions and supplies.

Captured arms

Col. Leclerc (on the right) with the captured banner of the Saharina de Cufra

The French flag flys proudly over El Tag

Leclerc addresses his troops following the Italian surrender, with a declaration which went down in history as the oath of Koufra:

 "We are on the march. We will not stop until the French flag flies over the Cathedral of Strasbourg."