March 1944
| 3 | March | President Roosevelt issued a statement that the Royal Italian Navy ships would be handed over to the Russians. |
| 30 | March | A large-scale air raid on Nuremberg met with heavy opposition (ninety-six bombers were lost). |
Italian submarine patrols in the Mediterranean during March 1944
| Nichelio (…2 March) | Platino (19-25 March) | Nichelio (25 March) |
On 3 March, President Roosevelt made a statement that a third of the Italian warships were to be handed over to the Soviets and the other two-thirds to the United States and Great Britain. This provoked consternation in the Italian government and the Regia Marina. Field Marshall Badoglio threatened to resign. Three days later, Churchill wrote to Roosevelt that although they agreed at the Teheran Conference that some Italian warships should go to the Soviets, this was not the time to discuss it, as they were now cooperating with the Allies. The British Prime Minister had never agreed that the Soviets would get a third.[1] The French and Greek governments in exile did not waste time in laying claims to Italian warships. Churchill stated that the British Empire had incurred severe losses[2] in the Mediterranean and certainly had a claim significantly more important than the Soviet Union. It was wiser to wait until the end of the conflict before proceeding to any division of the Regia Marina. To placate the Soviets, Churchill proposed to send them some British and American warships. This statement did much to defuse a potentially explosive situation in the Italian Navy. The battleship HMS Royal Sovereign, the light cruiser USS Milwaukee, eight destroyers, and four submarines were loaned as per the original Soviet request at Teheran. After the war, it was agreed that the Italian Navy would retain a significant portion of its force, except for submarines which would be scrapped.
Allied Armed Forces in Sardinia were put on alert when Intelligence revealed that a German-manned Italian submarine would attempt to extricate soldiers of the Nembo Division who were faithful to the Duce. This was expected to occur on 14 March on the island of Il Catalano (west coast of Sardinia), but it failed to materialise.
On 21/22 March and the following night, Platino (T.V. Vittorio Patrelli Campagnano) landed groups of agents near Rimini, Cortellazzo, and Chioggia (Special Operations ATHOS, PORTHOS, and D’ARTAGNAN).
During the night of 28/29 March Nichelio (T.V. Ugo Esmenard) landed four ISLD[3] agents near Umago in Northern Istria (Special Operations HARVEST and TURF) and three more ISLD agents on 30/31 March near Rovigno (Special Operation TRIBUTE).
On 10 March, at Bermuda, Rear Admiral Freeland A. Daubin, USN (Commander Submarine Atlantic Fleet), his aide, Commander Brockman, Rear Admiral Ingram C. Sowell (Commandant U.S. Naval Operating Base Bermuda), Captain D. L. Madeira (DD-DE Shakedown Task Group Fleet Operational Training Command), Captain Vanzant and Commander Christensen, had a conference and lunch with the two highest ranking Italian submarine officers present (C.F. Berengan and another officer not named) to discuss general procedures and problems. Captain Madeira had already voiced his apprehension at the arrival of foreign submarines in his district, which, in his view, complicated his work tremendously due to the communication problems they entailed. His fears would prove unfounded, and reports of ASW forces often show appreciation for the work of Italian submarines.
On 11 March, the German submarine UIT 22 (ex-Bagnolini) was sunk by the South African Air Force (three Catalinas of 262 Squadron) off the Cape of Good Hope. She had already been damaged by an air attack on 12 February. There were no survivors from a crew of forty-three.
[1] In fact, Roosevelt was misinformed. It had been agreed at Teheran to cede to the Soviets: one battleship, one cruiser, eight destroyers, four submarines, and 40,000 tons of shipping.
[2] Churchill cited the following losses: 28,200 killed, 84,200 wounded, 120,400 missing. One battleship, two aircraft carriers, one monitor, fourteen cruisers, forty-eight destroyers, thirteen escorts, three fast minelayers, two depot ships, forty submarines, and 129 merchant ships, totalling 780,000 GRT (ADM199/954, TNA).
[3] ISLD, or Inter-Services Liaison Detachments, was the name of the British Secret Service (MI6) in the Mediterranean and the Middle East.