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The siege of Tobruk was the first occasion in the war that German Panzer units had been stopped. [69] The siege of Tobruk was lifted in December 1941 in the course of Operation Crusader. Axis forces re-captured the port on 21 June 1942, after defeating the Eighth Army in the Battle of Gazala . [ 70 ]
8th Panzer Regiment (Oberstleutnant Hans Cramer) 1st Battalion (Hauptmann Johannes Kümmel) 2nd Battalion 1st Battalion of the 104th Motor Infantry Regiment (Wilhelm Bach) [c] Reconnaissance Battalion 33 1st Abteilung of the 33rd Artillery Regiment 33rd Panzerjäger Battalion (12 50 mm (1.97 in) PaK 38 and 21 37 mm (1.46 in) PaK 36 anti-tank guns)
Panzer Group Africa commanded by General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel. German Afrika Korps (commanded by Generalleutnant Ludwig Crüwell) 15th Panzer Division (Generalmajor Walter Neumann-Silkow until 6 December (killed in action), then Generalmajor Gustav von Vaerst) 8th Panzer Regiment (2 bns) 1st Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment
Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel, commander of the Panzer Army Africa, made the decision to pursue the Eighth Army, which turned the retreat into a rout and made any attempt to fight a delaying battle on the frontier impossible. As the army retreated further, Ritchie was determined to fight the final battle of the campaign at Mersa Matruh.
The 21st Panzer Division ran into the 22nd battalion, 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade at Bir el Menastir while it was heading west to Tobruk from Bardia. After an exchange lasting most of the day, it was forced to detour south via Sidi Azeiz, which delayed its return to Tobruk by a day. [55]
In the centre, the 7th Royal Tank Regiment reached Fort Capuzzo by noon and scattered the defenders, who retreated north to join the 15th Panzer Division, between them and Bardia. [40] Soon afterwards, they faced several counter-attacks by a battalion from the 8th Panzer Regiment of the 15th Panzer Division.
Following the Second Battle of El Alamein in late October 1942, the Panzer Army Africa withdrew towards El Agheila, allowing the 7th Armoured Division to enter Tobruk unopposed on 13 November. Tobruk was the first big port west of Alexandria to be recaptured; some jetties were found to be intact and an Allied convoy arrived on 19 November.
The two battalions comprising the 10th Panzer Regiment from East Prussian were added, as was the 8th Rifle Brigade, which now controlled the 8th Rifle Regiment of three battalions and the 8th Motorcycle Battalion. The panzer battalions were equipped primarily with Czech tanks and Mk II light tanks, leaving the 8th Panzer Division with a total ...