Siege of Tobruk

From Free net encyclopedia

{{Infobox Military Conflict |conflict=Siege of Tobruk |partof=World War II, North African Campaign |image=Image:SBSK3.jpg |caption=Polish Independent Carpathian Brigade's offensive on Derna, November 12, 1941 |date=March 31, 1941 – November 27, 1941 |place=Tobruk, Libya |casus= |territory= |result=Allied victory |combatant1=United Kingdom
Australia
Poland
Czechoslovakia |combatant2=Germany
Italy |commander1=Leslie Morshead |commander2=Erwin Rommel |strength1=14,000 |strength2=- |casualties1=Britain:
9009 killed
941 captured
estimated 12,000 total |casualties2=8,000 }} Template:Campaignbox Western Desert The Siege of Tobruk was a lengthy confrontation between Axis and Allied forces, mostly Australian, in the North African Campaign of World War II. It started on 10 April 1941 as Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel invested the fort, besieging it for months, and launched attacks against the fort that were unsuccessful. Three attempts were made before the siege was successfully lifted by allied troops; these were known as:

Operation Brevity (May 15 - 27, 1941)
Operation Battleaxe (June 15 - 17, 1941)
Operation Crusader (November 18 - December 10, 1941)

For most of the siege, Tobruk was defended by the Australian 9th Division under General Sir Leslie Morshead. General Archibald Wavell instructed Morshead to hold the fortress for eight weeks, but instead they held it for over 8 months, before being gradually withdrawn and replaced by the British 70th Infantry Division and the Polish Carpathian Brigade just prior to the start of Operation Crusader. The Royal Navy also played an important role in Tobruk's defense. It provided gunfire support, ferried in supplies and fresh troops and ferried out the wounded. Tobruk was the longest siege in British Empire military history, and was the first notable land defeat for a German army in World War II. Rommel nonetheless captured Tobruk in a new offensive in 1942 in the Battle of Gazala.

[edit]