Tobruk was Vital
The holding of Tobruk by the Australian and other Allied forces was crucial to the eventual victory of the Allies in the Middle East campaign of World War Two.
To explain this, and what happened when the Seige of Tobruk ended, we are indebted to the following Information from Wikipedia.
The Siege of Tobruk was a confrontation that lasted 240
days between Axis and Allied forces
in North Africa during
the Western Desert Campaign of the Second
World War. The siege started on 11 April
1941, when Tobruk was attacked by an
Italian–German force under Lieutenant General Erwin
Rommel, and continued until 27 November
1941, when it was
relieved by the Allied 8th
Army during Operation
Crusader.
It was vital
for the Allies' defence of Egypt and
the Suez Canal to
hold the town with its harbour, as this forced the enemy to bring most of their
supplies overland from the port of Tripoli, across 1500 km of desert, as well
as diverting troops from their advance. Tobruk was subject to repeated ground
assaults and almost constant shelling and bombing. The Nazi propaganda called
the tenacious defenders 'rats', a term that the Australian soldiers embraced as
an ironic compliment
For much of
the siege, Tobruk was defended by the reinforced Australian
9th Division under Lieutenant
General Leslie Morshead.
General Archibald
Wavell—Commander-in-Chief of British Middle East Command—instructed
Morshead to hold the fortress for eight weeks, but the 9th Australian Division
held it for over five months before being gradually withdrawn during September
and replaced by the British 70th
Infantry Division, the Polish
Carpathian Brigade andCzechoslovak 11th Infantry
Battalion (East) under the
overall command of Major-General Ronald Scobie. The fresh defenders
continued to hold Tobruk until they were able to link with the advancing 8th Army at
the end of November during Operation
Crusader.
The Tobruk Ferry Service, made up of Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy warships,
played an important role in Tobruk's defence, providing gunfire support,
supplies, fresh troops and ferrying out the
wounded.
Maintaining
control of Tobruk was crucial to the Allied war effort. Other than Benghazi, Tobruk was home to the only other major
port on the North African coast between Tripoli and Alexandria. Had the Allies lost it, the German and
Italian supply lines would have been drastically shortened. Rommel,
furthermore, was in no position to attack across the Egyptian border towards Cairo and
Alexandria while the Tobruk garrison threatened the
lines of supply to his front-line units.
Tobruk marked the first time that the advance of the
German Panzers had been brought to a
halt.
Following Operation Crusader, the
siege of Tobruk was lifted in December, 1941. Axis forces captured the fortress
in 1942 after defeating allied forces in the Battle of
Gazala.
The Battle of
Gazala was fought from 26 May until 21
June 1942.
The combatants on the Axis side were
the Panzer
ArmyAfrika, consisting of German and Italian units and
commanded by the "Desert Fox" Colonel-General Erwin Rommel;
the Allied forces
were the Eighth Army, commanded by Lieutenant-General Neil
Ritchie under the
close supervision of the Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Sir Claude
Auchinleck. Rommel pushed his armoured forces round
the southern flank of the Gazala position to engage the British armour in the
rear of the Allied defences. Despite successes in this engagement, Rommel's
armour found itself in a precarious position: interference to supply lines
resulting from the continuing resistance of Free French at Bir Hakeim,
which anchored the southern end of the Allied Gazala defences, left his tanks
short of fuel and ammunition. Ritchie was slow to take advantage of this and
Rommel concentrated his force to punch westwards to open a supply corridor
through the Gazala line north of Bir Hakeim. The battle ended in a resounding
victory for the Axis although at a high cost in tanks. Devoid of effective
armoured forces in subsequent battles, Rommel was unable to decisively defeat
the Eighth Army as it retreated into
Egypt , and his pursuit was
brought to a halt at the First
battle of El
Alamein.
Information Courtesy of
Wikipedia.
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To explain this, and what happened when the Seige of Tobruk ended, we are indebted to the following Information from Wikipedia.
The Siege of Tobruk was a confrontation that lasted 240
days between Axis and Allied forces
in North Africa during
the Western Desert Campaign of the Second
World War. The siege started on 11 April
1941, when Tobruk was attacked by an
Italian–German force under Lieutenant General Erwin
Rommel, and continued until 27 November
1941, when it was
relieved by the Allied 8th
Army during Operation
Crusader.
It was vital
for the Allies' defence of Egypt and
the Suez Canal to
hold the town with its harbour, as this forced the enemy to bring most of their
supplies overland from the port of Tripoli, across 1500 km of desert, as well
as diverting troops from their advance. Tobruk was subject to repeated ground
assaults and almost constant shelling and bombing. The Nazi propaganda called
the tenacious defenders 'rats', a term that the Australian soldiers embraced as
an ironic compliment
For much of
the siege, Tobruk was defended by the reinforced Australian
9th Division under Lieutenant
General Leslie Morshead.
General Archibald
Wavell—Commander-in-Chief of British Middle East Command—instructed
Morshead to hold the fortress for eight weeks, but the 9th Australian Division
held it for over five months before being gradually withdrawn during September
and replaced by the British 70th
Infantry Division, the Polish
Carpathian Brigade andCzechoslovak 11th Infantry
Battalion (East) under the
overall command of Major-General Ronald Scobie. The fresh defenders
continued to hold Tobruk until they were able to link with the advancing 8th Army at
the end of November during Operation
Crusader.
The Tobruk Ferry Service, made up of Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy warships,
played an important role in Tobruk's defence, providing gunfire support,
supplies, fresh troops and ferrying out the
wounded.
Maintaining
control of Tobruk was crucial to the Allied war effort. Other than Benghazi, Tobruk was home to the only other major
port on the North African coast between Tripoli and Alexandria. Had the Allies lost it, the German and
Italian supply lines would have been drastically shortened. Rommel,
furthermore, was in no position to attack across the Egyptian border towards Cairo and
Alexandria while the Tobruk garrison threatened the
lines of supply to his front-line units.
Tobruk marked the first time that the advance of the
German Panzers had been brought to a
halt.
Following Operation Crusader, the
siege of Tobruk was lifted in December, 1941. Axis forces captured the fortress
in 1942 after defeating allied forces in the Battle of
Gazala.
The Battle of
Gazala was fought from 26 May until 21
June 1942.
The combatants on the Axis side were
the Panzer
ArmyAfrika, consisting of German and Italian units and
commanded by the "Desert Fox" Colonel-General Erwin Rommel;
the Allied forces
were the Eighth Army, commanded by Lieutenant-General Neil
Ritchie under the
close supervision of the Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Sir Claude
Auchinleck. Rommel pushed his armoured forces round
the southern flank of the Gazala position to engage the British armour in the
rear of the Allied defences. Despite successes in this engagement, Rommel's
armour found itself in a precarious position: interference to supply lines
resulting from the continuing resistance of Free French at Bir Hakeim,
which anchored the southern end of the Allied Gazala defences, left his tanks
short of fuel and ammunition. Ritchie was slow to take advantage of this and
Rommel concentrated his force to punch westwards to open a supply corridor
through the Gazala line north of Bir Hakeim. The battle ended in a resounding
victory for the Axis although at a high cost in tanks. Devoid of effective
armoured forces in subsequent battles, Rommel was unable to decisively defeat
the Eighth Army as it retreated into
Egypt , and his pursuit was
brought to a halt at the First
battle of El
Alamein.
Information Courtesy of
Wikipedia.
Back to top