| Action off Bastia | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of the Second World War | |||||||
 Corsica in the Ligurian Sea | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of Italy |
 Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Carlo Fecia di Cossato |
 | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
70 killed 1 torpedo boat (severely damaged) 1 torpedo boat (damaged) |
160 killed 25 (POW) 2 submarine chasers sunk 5 Marinefährprahme sunk 1 motor boat sunk | ||||||
  Bastia The French island of Corsica | |||||||
The action off Bastia (bataille navale de Pietracorbara) was a naval engagement fought on 9 September 1943 between German vessels and Italian ships and coastal artillery. Bastia is the main port of Corsica in the Ligurian Sea. Secret negotiations between the Italian government and the Allies led to the Armistice of Cassibile (3 September 1943) and the defection of Italy from the Axis.
The Germans were suspicious of Italian intentions and devised Operation Achse, a coup against the Italian government and the disarming of the Italian armed forces. At midnight on 8/9 September, German marines attacked Bastia harbour and captured the Italian ships moored there except for the torpedo boat Aliseo. At dawn, Italian troops counter-attacked, retook the port and the German vessels sailed to avoid capture.
Aliseo attacked the German vessels as they left port and turned north; Italian coastal guns also engaged the German vessels and when the corvette Cormorano arrived it joined the engagement. Two German vessels and three Marinefährprahme (MFP, ferry barges) were sunk and two MFP were forced aground. The action was one of the first examples of Italian resistance against Nazi Germany.