On 11 October U-75 (Lt Eckleman) sank two A-Lighters as they were returning to Egypt from Tobruk. The only good news to come from this defeat was that Roosevelt offered to sent 250 new M4 Sherman tanks to the Eighth Army, where they played a major part in the later victory at El Alamein. The pattern almost repeated itself early in 1942. Both sides received reinforcements before the next Allied offensive, Operation Battleaxe of mid June. The Australians provided the mainstay of the Tobruk defence force until August, when they were withdrawn and replaced by the British 70th Division, with the attached Polish Carpathian Brigade. The success of the campaign came with a cost however. The strength of 70th Division's attack surprised their opponents, Rommel having underestimated the garrison's size and particularly its armoured strength. The siege was finally lifted as a result of Operation Crusader (November-December 1942), and in the aftermath Rommel was forced to retreat out of Cyrenaica, ending the year back at his starting point. Tobruk is a tiny but significant harbor on the coastline of Cyrenaica. After capturing the frontier, the brigades of the 7th Armoured Division were intended to reform and continue on north to relieve Tobruk.

The main problem on the British side was poor armoured tactics, which exposed their tanks to German anti-tank fire. It should be noted while most of the Australian garrison withdrew from Tobruk between August and October, Australians remained in Tobruk until the siege was lifted. Von Prittwitz himself was killed when his car was hit by an anti-tank shell. TOBRUK SUB-AREA ORDNANCE . [9] XIII Corps was wound down to become a static HQ and O'Connor became the commander of British troops in Egypt (in Cairo) while Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson became military governor of Cyrenaica before leaving to command the expeditionary force in Greece. The Australian 6th Division was one of the units that was withdrawn, and it was replaced by the Australian 9th Division, under General Morshead. On 22 June Wavell was informed that he was to be replaced by Auchinleck. Churchill described the fall of Tobruk as 'one of the heaviest blows I can recall during the war … defeat is one thing, disgrace is another'. Tobruk was subject to repeated ground assaults and almost constant shelling and bombing.

When he finally was provided the plans of the defenses, Rommel knew he would be unable to break in with the forces he had available.

[19] Within an hour, five of the German tanks were destroyed and the others pulled back. It was agreed that the troops would be withdrawn, however special considerations had to be made to ensure that air attacks on troop ships were avoided.

No aircraft was reported destroyed unless seen to crash. Soon after dark on 13 April, the 5th Light Division renewed its attack with an effort to secure a bridgehead over the tank ditch just west of El Adem. Circumstantial evidence began to accumulate of the presence of German units in Libya but, with no ground intelligence to confirm this and with all available long-range reconnaissance aircraft committed to Greece, Wavell—"very much in the dark as to the enemy's real strength or intentions"—believed that an enemy attack was unlikely until the middle of April or possibly May. Morshead's defence plan was aggressive. The total losses in the 9th Division and attached troops from 1st March to 15th December amounded to 832 killed, 2,177 wounded and 941 prisoners. Our collection contains a wealth of material to help you research and find your connection with the wartime experiences of the brave men and women who served in Australia’s military forces.

“Ship of the desert”. The combination of aggressive fire from the Australian soldiers plus devastating fire from the 51st Field Artillery Regiment swung the battle in the Australians' favour. [citation needed] However, it was Italian forces (19th and 20th Infantry Regiments of the Brescia Division, the 5th and 12th Bersaglieri Battalions of the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment, the 3rd Company of 32nd Combat Sappers Battalion and 132 Armoured Division Ariete) who, after much hard fighting, had possession of most of the positions which the Australians had lost. Back on the perimeter the undefeated Cameron Highlands and the Gurkhas fought on for the rest of the day, but finally surrendered on the evening of 21 June.

After about half an hour Olbrich withdrew, having lost one Panzer III and two Italian M13s and an L3 tankette. Supplying Tobruk By the morning of 1 May the Germans had established a breach in the line, and Rommel ordered his tanks to attack into the gap.

[57], Based on reports from Australian H.Q. The defences of Tobruk weren't as solid in 1942 as they had been in 1941. [12] The tank brigade—by that time fielding only 12 Cruiser tanks, 20 light tanks and 20 captured Italian tanks as a result of losses and more importantly mechanical breakdown—was ordered to withdraw to Mechili to be joined by 3rd Indian Motor Brigade. Each Platoon had to do two or three weeks in the Salient, which was a section of ‘no man's land' where the enemy had driven us back from fortifications that skirted Tobruk from sea to sea. [14], On 6 April, Lieutenant-General Philip Neame—by that time the military governor of Cyrenaica (Wilson had been sent to command W Force in Greece)—withdrew his headquarters to Tmimi, west of Tobruk. [58] Morshead was succeeded as commander of the Tobruk fortress by 70th Division's commander, Major-General Ronald Scobie.[58]. As a result, practically all available vehicles had to be committed to transporting supplies, so compromising the mobility of the fighting units. The 18th Australian Brigade was the first to go, in August. These tanks then proceeded to attack S.2 (Major Fell), which contained the Company HQ and 7th Platoon. [58][59] During the 9th Australian Division's stay in besieged Tobruk, some 3,000 Australians had become casualties and 941 taken prisoner. The Black Watch lost an estimated 200 men and their commanding officer. Australia, Premier’s Anzac Spirit School Prize Winners.

These forays outside friendly lines were broken into two categories: reconnaissance and fighting. Von Prittwitz and his leading troops arrived outside Tobruk on 10 April, and he immediately attempted an attack, using III Reconnaissance Battalion and the artillery from the Italian Brescia regiment. Until June the Desert Air Force wasn't able to challenge Axis control of the night skies, but the situation began to improve later in the siege. The staff car drove into the firing line of a captured Italian 47 mm (1.85 in) anti-tank gun, whose gunner fired, destroying the car and killing both von Prittwitz and his driver. Seven British Cruiser and five Matilda tanks also appeared in the Italian area of penetration, engaging in an inconclusive battle with Italian tanks. [29], Men of the Leicestershire Regiment man a Bren gun near Tobruk, November 1941, The Tobruk defenders had been fortunate that Rommel's initial attacks had fallen on the stronger parts of the Tobruk defences which were around Ras el M'dauar. As the Axis armour closed in, four British tanks arrived, firing over the head of the infantry.

[24] Tanks of the Italian Ariete Division[24] followed the Italian infantry, but as they reached the perimeter defences, they came under intense fire from the 51st Field Artillery Regiment and withdrew. Relief Efforts. [60], The Australians were gradually withdrawn. 151 Pirie St After they had been taken prisoner, General Rommel spoke to them "for you the war is over and I wish you good luck", recalled Corporal Jones.[39]. The main supply route into Tobruk was by sea. Tests in the UK had suggested that they were too dangerous to the population to be used at home and so they were tried out at Tobruk. The attack penetrated 2 mi (3.2 km), but co-ordination between Axis units was poor and the battle caused heavy losses to Rommel's forces. The capture of Tobruk was essential for an advance on Alexandria and Suez. The Eighth Army, formed in September 1941, was a diverse formation made up of units from all corners of the British Empire, with infantry divisions coming from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India. The Nazi propaganda called the tenacious defenders "rats", a term that the Australian soldiers embraced as an ironic compliment. It would also force Rommel to split his forces, and thus weaken his position on the Egyptian border.