Battle of Madagascar 1942
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 5 May 1942 – 6 November 1942 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1942 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Madagascar | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | World War II | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | -12.2667, 49.2833 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Madagascar (5 May – 6 November 1942) was an Allied campaign to capture the Vichy French−controlled island Madagascar during World War II. The seizure of the island by the British was to deny Madagascar's ports to the Imperial Japanese Navy and to prevent the loss or impairment of the Allied shipping routes to India, Australia and Southeast Asia. It began with Operation Ironclad, the seizure of the port of Diego-Suarez (now Antsiranana) near the northern tip of the island, on 5 May 1942.
A campaign to secure the rest of the island, Operations Stream, Line and Jane, was opened on 10 September. The Allies broke into the interior, linking up with forces on the coast and secured the island by the end of October. Fighting ceased and an armistice was granted on 6 November. This was the first big operation by the Allies combining sea, land and air forces. The island was placed under Free French control.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Madagascar (revision 1380088163), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Other battles of the World War II
- Clydebank Blitz 1941
- German bombing of Belgrade 1941
- Siege of Odessa 1941
- Sinking of HMAS Sydney 1941
- Tikhvin Offensive 1941
- Action of 27 March 1942 1942
- Battle of Ambon 1942
- Battle of Bowmanville 1942
- Battle of Cape Esperance 1942
- Battle of Christmas Island 1942
All 178 battles of the World War II →
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