|
The XII Squadriglia MAS (''Mezzi d'Assalto'') (Italian for "12th Assault Vehicle Squadron") was a formation of the Italian Royal Navy (''Regia Marina'') which served on Lake Ladoga as part of the Axis siege of Leningrad during World War II. == Background== On 22 June 1941 the Axis, led by Nazi Germany, launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. During the summer of 1941 the Germans advanced into the USSR on three broad fronts, towards Leningrad in the north, Moscow in the centre, and Kiev in the south. By August 1941 the German Army Group North was on the outskirts of Leningrad, having occupied the Baltic states and northwest Russia, while the Finns had advanced south into the Viipuri peninsula, leaving the city surrounded and cut off from all communication by land. The city's only communication route was by water, over Lake Ladoga. To service and preserve this route, the Soviets collected a force of fleet of over 50 merchant vessels, protected by more than 40 escort vessels, with which they ran supply convoys to the city. Against this, the Axis had little response; their only offensive force was a single Finnish ship, the torpedo boat ''Sisu'', which was unable to interrupt the Soviet supply route. In order to act against this supply route, the Axis determined to build up a naval presence on the lake, and, recognizing the ''Regia Marina's'' expertise in small boat operations, requested the dispatch of a force of MAS boats to the lake. In response the RM formed the XII MAS in April 1942. ==Formation== Following the request to the RM for assistance in the lake operations the RM formed the XII MAS as a section of the Decima MAS. This took place in April 1942 at La Spezia, on the Tyrrhenian Sea. XII MAS comprised four MAS boats and their crews and support staff, a total of 99 men, under the command of ''Capitano di Corvetta'' Bianchini. In May 1942 the force began the journey to the lake, loading the boats onto transports for the journey overland via the Brenner Pass and Innsbruck to Stettin, and by ship to Helsinki. The final leg was by road to Sortanlahti on Lake Ladoga, which served as the XII MAS's base of operations. The squadron arrived on 22 June 1942, 12 months to the day after the opening of Barbarossa. Already on the lake was the Finnish torpedo boat ''Sisu'', and a German force, Naval Detachment K, composed of a number of minesweepers (KM) and armed barges (''Siebel'' craft). The whole force was under the overall command of Colonel E I Jarvinen, of the Finnish Army. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「XII Squadriglia MAS」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|