Battle of Crater

For the 1864 Civil War battle during the Siege of Petersburg, see Battle of the Crater.

The Battle of Crater or Operation Stirling Castle was an encounter in 1967 during the Aden Emergency. After the mutiny of the Arab Armed Police and ambush of British troops by them, the Crater district in Aden was abandoned by British troops. The British then decided to enter Crater and retrieve the bodies of dead British soldiers.^[1]

Battle of the Crater
Part of Aden Emergency
Date July 1967 Location Aden, Aden Protectorate Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	NLF FLOSY
Commanders and leaders
Lt. Col. Colin Mitchell Maj. Ian Mackay Maj. Tony Shewan	Unknown
Units involved
45 Commando Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Queen's Dragoon Guards Royal Northumberland Fusiliers 60th Squadron, Royal Engineers 47th Light Artillery Regiment 15th Signal Regiment 60th Transport Squadron	Unknown
Strength
unknown 1 helicopter	400
Casualties and losses
None	11 killed

The battle

The operation began on 3 July 1967 with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders commanded by Lt-Col Colin Mitchell ("Mad Mitch") performing a night invasion of Crater, which he termed Operation Stirling Castle, after the Argylls’ regimental headquarters. The enemy was taken totally by surprise, and effective resistance ceased.^[2][3][4] A particular sign of Mitchell’s confidence was his decision to order the pipe band to march down the main street of Crater, playing regimental tunes, for which the Pipe major was mentioned in despatches.^[5] British troops remained in Crater until the end of the Emergency.

References

1. Wilson, Derek. "British troops grow bitter as anarchy spreads in Aden." Sunday Times [London, England] 2 July 1967: 6. The Sunday Times Digital Archive. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
2. National Army Museum – Aden Exhibit Archived 2013-07-28 at the Wayback Machine accessed 3 November 2013
3. Jim Keys, "Operation Stirling Castle", History Herald 21 November 2012 accessed 3 November 2013
4. Humphry, Derek. "How Mitch's tactics fanned Aden row." Sunday Times [London] 21 July 1968: 3. The Sunday Times Digital Archive. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
5. Having Been a Soldier by Lt. Col. Colin Mitchell, (Hamish Hamilton, 1969), Chapter 11, pp. 179, 183.

External links

• Operation Stirling Castle at Britains Small Wars
• The Aden Emergency at Remembering Scotland at War