United Kingdom Italy Associated articles The Battle of Keren (Italian: Battaglia di Cheren) took place from 3 February to 27 March 1941.

The road and railway through Keren were the main routes to the colonial capital of Italian Eritrea at Asmara and the Red Sea port of Massawa, which surrendered to the British after the battle.

Eritrea has three climate zones: a coastal region of sandy plain and low scrub, a cool and fertile highland plateau in the north and the hot and arid Afar Depression in the south.

The coastal region runs inland for 16–32 km (10–20 mi) in the east with elevations of up to 500 m (1,650 ft) and is hot and humid for most of the year, with June, September and October the hottest months.

[6][7] The Italians also drove a platoon of No 3 Company, Eastern Arab Corps (EAC) of the SDF, from the small fort at Gallabat, just over the border from Metemma, about 320 km (200 mi) south of Kassala and took the villages of Qaysān, Kurmuk and Dumbode on the Blue Nile.

[8][9] Keren was not fortified but it is surrounded on most sides by a jumble of steep granite mountains and sharp ridges which gave the defending forces on the high ground a distinct advantage.

The 2nd Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders fought their way to the top of the ridge called feature 1616, in front of Sanchil and on the night of 6/7 February, the 3/14th Punjab Regiment passed through and advanced onto Brig's Peak.

The Indians were counter-attacked by elements of the 65th Infantry Division "Granatieri di Savoia" (Grenadiers of Savoy) who forced them back towards Cameron Ridge, which was being consolidated by (Wellesley's) the 1st Battalion/6th Rajputana Rifles.

The Cameron Highlanders and Rajputana Rifles clung on, despite frequent attacks and having to carry food, water and ammunition up hill for 500 m (1,600 ft), across exposed terrain.

On the night of 7 February, a company of (Outram's) the 4th Battalion/6th Rajputana Rifles took the col until 4:30 am, when they ran out of ammunition and were driven back to a lower feature.

The 4/11th Sikh Regiment were pushing up around the side of Acqua Col but the attack could not be carried through, lacking the extra impact that might have come from the 2/5th Mahratta Light Infantry which had been diverted to reinforce the hard-pressed defences on Cameron Ridge.

Skinners Horse and most of the Motor Machine Gun companies assembled in front of Arressa and Adi Ugri to pose a threat to the Italian line of reinforcement to Keren.

[18] After crossing the border into Eritrea on the Red Sea coast, Briggsforce had captured Karora and then moved south to take Kubkub.

[19] Briggsforce provided a third potential direction of attack to occupy the Keren defenders and created a threat to Massawa on the coast, pinning valuable reserves there.

[18][20] Without the artillery, it was no longer considered practical to continue the flanking attack through Acqua Col to threaten the Dologorodoc lines of supply.

The 2nd Highland Light Infantry led the attack on the lower features ("Pimple" and "Pinnacle") but made no progress in the daylight because of fire from the overlooking Sanchil peak, where the Italian defenders had defeated the 11th Brigade assault.

The capture of Pinnacle that night by the 3/5th Mahratta Light Infantry led by Lieutenant-Colonel Denys Reid (with the 3/12th Frontier Force Regiment less two companies under command to take Pimple), was called ... one of the outstanding small actions of World War II, decisive in its results and formidable in its achievement... Next morning Messervy scrambled up Pinnacle to congratulate Reid and his Mahrattas and wondered how they had been able to scramble up with their equipment against fierce opposition, when he was finding it a pretty tough job without [either]... At the top, when he saw the victors, he was overcome by the splendour of their feat and his combative amber eyes filled with tears.

On the night of 17/18 March, having suffered many casualties, they withdrew from the slopes of Sanchil and Brig's Peak and the 10th Brigade returned to the 5th Indian Division to reform.

[27] An attack on the defenders at the head of the gorge was planned to give the sappers and miners the 48 hours they needed, free of interference from mortar and machine gun fire, to clear the road.

Thomas "Pete" Rees was appointed to command the 10th Indian Brigade and his predecessor, Lieutenant-Colonel Bernard Fletcher was released to form Fletcher Force, a mobile force comprising the Central India Horse and six Matilda II tanks, which would be used to exploit the break-through in the gorge and move rapidly into the defenders' rear position to attack their reserves.

[27] On 24 March, diversionary attacks were made on Sanchil and just before midnight, the West Yorkshires and the 3/5th Mahrattas in Fort Dologorodoc moved down to take the lower hills overlooking the gorge.

[27] At 03:00 on 25 March, the 2nd Highland Light Infantry and the 4/10th Baluch Regiment on their right, advanced from the shelter of the railway tunnel, previously cleared by the sappers and miners, up the gorge.

[27] The Italian position was untenable and by first light the Royal Air Force (RAF) was reporting their withdrawal along the road from Keren to Asmara.

[27] From 27 March 1941, the route to Asmara and Massawa was open and Wavell was able to order the 4th Indian Division move to Port Sudan for transport back to Egypt.

On 11 April, the US President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, rescinded the status of the Red Sea as a combat zone under the Neutrality Acts, freeing US merchant ships to use the route to carry supplies to the Middle East.

[33] Rear-Admiral Mario Bonetti, commander of Italian Red Sea Flotilla and the garrison at Massawa, had 10,000 troops and about 100 tanks to defend the port.

[34] During the evening of 31 March, three of the last six destroyers at Massawa put to sea, to raid the Gulf of Suez and then scuttle themselves but Leone ran aground and sank the next morning and the sortie was cancelled.

A simultaneous attack by the 10th Indian Infantry Brigade and the tanks of B Squadron 4th RTR broke through the defences on the west side.

The Free French overran the defences in the south-west, taking Montecullo and Fort Umberto April 7 as the RAF bombed Italian artillery positions.

Colonel Monclar of the 13th French Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade captured the Italian Admiralty building and accepted Bonetti's surrender, taking 9,590 prisoners and 127 guns.