Operation Flipper

Operation Flipper or the 'Rommel Raid'
Part of Operation Crusader during the Second World War
Geoffrey Keyes VC
Date 10–18 November 1941 Location Libya 32°55′59″N 21°44′30″E / 32.93306°N 21.74167°E / 32.93306; 21.74167 Result Axis victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Germany  Italy
Commanders and leaders
Robert Laycock Geoffrey Keyes  (DOW)	Erwin Rommel Alfredo Mercuro
Casualties and losses
2 killed 28 captured (incl. 3 wounded) 3 escaped	4 killed 3 wounded

Operation Flipper (also called the Rommel Raid) was a British commando raid during the Second World War, mainly by men from No. 11 (Scottish) Commando. The operation included an attack on the headquarters of Erwin Rommel, the commander of Panzergruppe Afrika in North Africa. It was timed for the night of 17/18 November 1941, just before the start of Operation Crusader. The operation failed as Rommel had left the target house weeks earlier and all but two of the commandos who landed were killed or captured. One member of the Special Boat Section team, who had secured the beach for the commando party, also escaped.