Gibraltar served as Britain’s foothold into the continent of Europe. The British fortress was vital factor in British wars for as long as it had been in Britain’s possession. During World War II, Gibraltar served a crucial role in both the Mediterranean and Atlantic theaters. Due to its location, it controlled naval traffic from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Gibraltar also proved to be a safe harbor from which missions could be launched into both theaters. Gibraltar was the seat of British military power in the region, and was a staging ground for convoys into the area. These strong convoys were crucial to getting supplies to and from besieged locations, such as the the island of Malta. During the war, Gibraltar came under attack from both Italy and Vichy France. Despite these attacks, the Rock made it through the war relatively unscathed. However, then Germany set its eyes upon Gibraltar. The Germans created Operation “Felix” an invasion of Gibraltar via Spain with the goal of driving the British out of the Western Mediterranean. However, this plan never came into being. This plan was shot down by Francisco Franco, the Spanish ruler, and the plan ultimately died. By 1941, pressure of an imminent invasion was felt in Gibraltar. This prompted the creation of Operation Tracer. Tracer was a stay-behind spying mission to be implemented only if the Axis captured Gibraltar. Six men would be locked in a secret bunker with supplies to last a year. These volunteers would be tasked with relaying all Axis shipping information back to the British Admiralty. Once Tracer had been implemented, there would be no way out of the bunker unless Germany had been defeated. The deceased would have to be …show more content…
Once World War II broke out, the allies set about creating a vast network of tunnels spanning the island. These tunnels were built into the protections of the Rock of Gibraltar. The tunnel and chamber system was so massive it supported its own underground city. The system was so massive that it could successfully hold 30,000 troops at one time within the Rock. Due to its natural rock formation and strategic location, Gibraltar was vital to the British war efforts which led to the defeat of the Axis powers. Without such a defensible foothold, Britain would have had a much more difficult time in implementing operations. Not only that, but given its natural defense, Hitler decided to turn his attentions to the Eastern Front. This allowed Gibraltar to continue on,