mutinies

mutinies, that is, open revolt by servicemen against their military or political leaders, are as old as war itself. During the Second World War, mutineers, like deserters, were heavily punished if caught, often by death. When some 800 Tirailleurs mutinied in Algeria in January 1941, killing French servicemen and civilians, nine of the ringleaders were ceremonially shot before their assembled colleagues, and another 23 were later executed. However, in the Wehrmacht, where there were very many more cases of desertion (13,000–15,000) than of mutiny (442), the former offence was punished more severely, as deserters were often regarded as undermining the will of the people to fight (Wehrkraftzersetzung). Under Nazi rule this was a more serious crime than the purely military offence of mutiny, and most mutineers escaped the death sentence.

There was no loss of life when in 1942 Yugoslav forces mutineed against their government-in-exile. But when Greek army and navy units mutinied in Egypt in April 1944 there were a number of deaths. The British, averse to communist influence in Greece, supported the official Greek government-in-exile and it was this that caused the Greek Armoured Brigade, stationed south of Cairo, and the crews of a number of Greek warships at Alexandria and Port Said, to mutiny. The Greek ships, which were under Royal Navy discipline, were isolated as was the armoured brigade in its camp. The official policy was to avoid force and to starve the mutineers into surrender, but when this failed the Greek government used loyal sailors to recapture some of the ships while others surrendered. There were 20 casualties. On shore the British moved against the armoured brigade which soon surrendered with the loss of one life.

There were several incidents in the USA involving black soldiers and white military police which also led to loss of life (see also African Americans at war), and another occurred in the UK in June 1943, at Bamber Bridge camp in Lancashire, which resulted in several black soldiers being court-martialled for mutiny.

The British Army court-martialled 789 servicemen for mutiny. Most of the offences were comparatively trivial in nature, but on two occasions loss of life occurred. In May 1942 fifteen soldiers of the Ceylon Defence Force, prompted by pro-Japanese and anti-European beliefs, mutinied by trying to take over their gun battery on the Cocos-Keeling Islands. They failed, but one loyal soldier was killed and a British officer was wounded, and seven of the mutineers were sentenced to death. Four of the sentences were commuted but three of the guilty were hanged. The second occasion occurred in March 1942 when Indian soldiers garrisoning Christmas Island killed their British officers and NCOs (non-commissioned officers) prior to a Japanese landing there. After the war they were traced and prosecuted, and in 1947 five were sentenced to death. However, when the governments of India and Pakistan made representations against the sentences, the men were given penal servitude for life.

A less serious but well publicized incident was when 1,500 men from the British 50th and 51st Divisions, who had been convalescing from their wounds in Tripoli, were mistakenly put ashore at Salerno on 16 September 1943 as reinforcements for those who had first landed there on 9 September. The men thought they were rejoining their old units, and when they found they were to join 46th Division 300 refused to leave the beaches. The commander of 10th Corps, Lt-General McCreery, then appeared, admitted there had been a mistake and said it would be rectified, but the men must follow orders; and 109 did so. The remainder were arrested and three NCOs were subsequently sentenced to death while the others received various prison sentences. However, all the sentences were immediately suspended and the men were returned to their front-line units.