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The siege of Tobruk (/ t ə ˈ b r ʊ k, t oʊ-/) took place between 10 April and 27 November 1941, during the Western Desert campaign (1940–1943) of the Second World War.An Allied force, consisting mostly of the 9th Australian Division, commanded by Lieutenant-General Leslie Morshead, was besieged in the North African port of Tobruk by German and Italian forces.
Aerial photograph of the port of Tobruk during the 1941 siege. The small port of Tobruk in Italian Cyrenaica had been fortified by the Italians from 1935. Behind two old outlying forts, they constructed a novel fortification, consisting of a double line of concrete-lined trenches 54 km (34 mi) long, connecting 128 weapons pits protected by concealed anti-tank ditches but the fortifications ...
The British capture of Tobruk was a battle fought between ... The Tobruk garrison suffered 2,048 casualties and 20,000 men were taken prisoner for 400 Australian and ...
Tobruk had been besieged for nine months in 1941 but this time the Royal Navy could not guarantee the supply of the garrison and Auchinleck viewed Tobruk as expendable but expected that it could hold out for two months. [75] On 21 June, 35,000 Eighth Army troops surrendered to Lieutenant-General Enea Navarini, the commander of XXI Corps. [76]
The dismounted portion of the battalion with 3rd Armoured Bde Group formed part of the garrison for the first month of the Siege of Tobruk, and were then evacuated by sea to the Nile Delta to refit. Campbell's mobile column (one of the so-called 'Jock Columns') withdrew slowly through Gambut and Buq Buq, then from 22 April patrolled the ...
The remaining elements of the 70th Division were transported into Tobruk and the remaining Australian garrison (save the 2/13th Battalion and elements of the 2/15th Battalion) were shipped out. [53] In total, the relief effort evacuated 47,280 men (including prisoners) and brought in 34,113 men; it also brought the garrison's armour strength to ...
On 23 November, the 5th South African Brigade was destroyed at Sidi Rezegh but caused many German tank losses. On 24 November Rommel ordered the "dash to the wire" and caused chaos in the British rear but allowed the British armoured forces to recover. On 27 November, the New Zealanders reached the Tobruk garrison and ended the siege.
Closer to the front and after months of political debate, it was decided that the Australian garrison in Tobruk had to be relieved. This took place between September and October, as the Australians were gradually replaced by the British 70th Infantry Division which was shipped into the port. [10] [11]