The Success of the Deutches Afrika Korps was Based on Rommel`s
... western border. Rommel's offensive forced the British and its allies to retreat to the safety of static defenses around Tobruk. Rommel's first attempt to break the Tobruk's defenses made on April 11th lasted until April 13th but failed. It was followed by a second unsuccessful attempt on April 30 th ...
... western border. Rommel's offensive forced the British and its allies to retreat to the safety of static defenses around Tobruk. Rommel's first attempt to break the Tobruk's defenses made on April 11th lasted until April 13th but failed. It was followed by a second unsuccessful attempt on April 30 th ...
The North African Campaign, By Rohit Singh
... inexperienced for desert warfare. Moreover, due to faulty reports by the Royal Air Force (Rommel had dummy tanks which exaggerated the number of tanks the Panzers had), Wavell did not credit reports of an impending attack. On 2 April 1941, Rommel resumed his advance with 50 tanks and two new Italian ...
... inexperienced for desert warfare. Moreover, due to faulty reports by the Royal Air Force (Rommel had dummy tanks which exaggerated the number of tanks the Panzers had), Wavell did not credit reports of an impending attack. On 2 April 1941, Rommel resumed his advance with 50 tanks and two new Italian ...
Siege of Tobruk
The Siege of Tobruk lasted for 241 days in 1941 after Axis forces advanced through Cyrenaica from El Agheila in Operation Sonnenblume against the British Western Desert Force (WDF) in Libya, during the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) of the Second World War. In late 1940, the British had defeated the Italian 10th Army during Operation Compass (9 December 1940 – 9 February 1941) and trapped the remnants at Beda Fomm. German troops and Italian reinforcements reached Libya, while much of the WDF was sent to Greece and replaced by a skeleton force, short of equipment and supplies.Operation Sonnenblume (6 February – 25 May 1941), forced the British into a retreat to the Egyptian border. A garrison was left behind at Tobruk, to deny the port to the Axis, while the WDF reorganised and prepared a counter-offensive. The Axis siege of Tobruk began on 10 April, when the port was attacked by a force under Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel and continued during three relief attempts, Operation Brevity (15–16 May), Operation Battleaxe (15–17 June) and Operation Crusader 18 November – 30 December). The occupation of Tobruk deprived the Axis of a supply port closer to the Egypt-Libya border than Benghazi 900 miles (1,400 km) west of the Egyptian frontier, which was within the range of RAF bombers; Tripoli was 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) to the west in Tripolitania.The siege diverted Axis troops from the frontier and the Tobruk garrison repulsed several attacks. The port was frequently bombarded by artillery, dive-bombers and medium bombers, as the RAF flew defensive sorties from airfields far away in Egypt. British Mediterranean Fleet and Inshore Squadron ships ran the blockade, to carry reinforcements and supplies in and wounded and prisoners out. On 27 November, Tobruk was relieved by the 8th Army (the name of British, Commonwealth, imperial and Allied forces in the Western Desert since September 1941), during Operation Crusader.