Battle of the Crater (Aden)

Battle of the Crater
Part of Aden Emergency
Date July 1967 Location Aden Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders	NLF FLOSY
Commanders and leaders
Lt-Col Colin Campbell Mitchell
Strength
	400 (est.)

The Battle of the Crater was an encounter during the Aden Emergency. Following the murder of British troops by the Arab Armed Police the Crater district in Aden was abandoned by British troops. The British decided to enter the Crater and retrieve the bodies of British soldiers.^[1]

The operation began on 3 July 1967 under the name Operation Stirling Castle and resulted in the Crater being successfully reoccupied. Lt-Col Colin Campbell Mitchell, "Mad Mitch" is reported to have ordered the regimental pipe band to march down the main street, whilst playing. The sound of the pipes and drums caused the insurgents to surrender. British troops remained there until the end of the Emergency.^[2][3][4]

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 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, England] 21 July 1968: 3. The Sunday Times Digital Archive. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.

External links

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