Raid on Rommel (1971)

In November 1941, the No. 11 British (Scottish) commando, under command of Col. Robert Laycock, undertook a raid referred to as Operation Flipper. The operation included, among its objectives, an attack on the headquarters of Erwin Rommel, the commander of the Afrika Korps in North Africa.

Operation Flipper originally had four goals: 1. To kill Rommel at his headquarters in Sidi Rafa; 2. To destroy the nearby Italian headquarters and its communications network; 3. To sabotage the Italian Intelligence Office in Appolonia and the communications network between Faidia and Lamdula; and 4. To conduct general sabotage actions elsewhere in the Axis forces’ rear.

The mission was a failure. Only three German supply colonels and a soldier were killed at the villa. And only a fuel supply depot was destroyed. After 37 days avoiding Axis patrols, Col. Layton and Sgt. Jack Terry reached British lines. They were the only ones; everyone else was either captured or killed.