Operation Sonnenblume
Operation Sonnenblume (/Operation Sunflower) was the name given to the dispatch of German troops to North Africa in February 1941, during the Second World War. The Italian 10th Army () had been destroyed by the British, Commonwealth, Empire and Allied Western Desert Force attacks during Operation Compass The first units of the new (DAK, Erwin Rommel) departed Naples for Africa and arrived on 11 February 1941. (In the English-speaking world, the term became a generic term for German forces in North Africa.) On 14 February, advanced units of the 5th Light ''Afrika'' Division (later renamed the 21st Panzer Division), 3 (Reconnaissance Battalion 3) and 39 (Anti-tank Detachment 39) arrived in Tripoli, Libya and were sent immediately to the front line east of Sirte. Rommel arrived in Libya on 12 February, with orders to defend Tripoli and Tripolitania, albeit using aggressive tactics. General Italo Gariboldi replaced (Marshal of Italy) Rodolfo Graziani as the Governor-General ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sirte
Sirte (; ar, سِرْت, ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups, and loyalty to Muammar Gaddafi. Also due to developments in the First Libyan Civil War, it was briefly the capital of Libya as Tripoli's successor after the Fall of Tripoli from 1 September to 20 October 2011. The settlement was established in the early 20th century by the Italians, at the site of a 19th-century fortress built by the Ottomans. It grew into a city after World War II. As the birthplace of Muammar Gaddafi, Sirte was favoured by the Gaddafi government. The city was the final major stronghold of Gaddafi loyalists in the civil war and Gaddafi was killed there by rebel forces on 20 October 2011. During the battle, Sirte was left almost completely in ruins, with many buildings destroyed or damaged. Six months after the civil war, almost 60,000 inhabi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Apart from two years between 1922 and 1924, he was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five UK Parliament constituency, constituencies. Ideologically an Economic liberalism, economic liberal and British Empire, imperialist, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924. Of mixed English and American parentage, Churchill was born in Oxfordshire to Spencer family, a wealthy, aristocratic family. He joined the British Army in 1895 and saw action in British Raj, Br ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from this source, which is available under th Open Government Licence v3.0 © Crown copyright It was equivalent to the Admiralty, responsible for the Royal Navy (RN), and (much later) the Air Ministry, which oversaw the Royal Air Force (RAF). The name 'War Office' is also given to the former home of the department, located at the junction of Horse Guards Avenue and Whitehall in central London. The landmark building was sold on 1 March 2016 by HM Government for more than £350 million, on a 250 year lease for conversion into a luxury hotel and residential apartments. Prior to 1855, 'War Office' signified the office of the Secretary at War. In the 17th and 18th centuries, a number of independent offices and individuals were re ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mechili
Mechili ( ar, المخيلي) is a small village in Cyrenaica, Libya and the site of a former Turkish fort. It is nearly east of Benghazi and west of Timimi. Geography Because of its location in the desert, Mechili suffered in the past from isolation. However, its isolation ended after paving the Charruba–Timimi desert road between the years 1975–1985, and this road became the preferred route for travel between Tobruk to Benghazi. The village sits at an elevation of 196 meters (643 feet). World War II *In January 1941, the British force named “Western Desert Force” under command of General Richard O’Connor (after taking Tobruk on 22 January) executed a daring outflanking movement and took Mechili from Italian forces on 27 January. *On 7 April the same year, the Italian armoured division ''Ariete'' captured the British garrison at Mechili as a part of German Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel’s first offensive through Cyrenaica with the goal of encircling the British ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Via Balbia
Via or VIA may refer to the following: Science and technology * MOS Technology 6522, Versatile Interface Adapter * ''Via'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Noctuidae * Via (electronics), a through-connection * VIA Technologies, a Taiwanese manufacturer of electronics * Virtual Interface Adapter, a network protocol * Virtual Interface Architecture, a networking standard used in high-performance computing Education * VIA Vancouver Institute for the Americas, an organization dedicated to education for sustainable development, since 1998 operating in Canada * VIA University College, a university college (Danish: professionshøjskole), since 2008 established in Denmark * VIA, Association of Information Sciences (Dutch: VIA Vereniging Informatiewetenschappen Amsterdam), at the University of Amsterdam, in the Netherlands Transportation * The name for a Roman road, e.g., ''Via Appia'' * VIA was the ICAO airline designator for Venezuelan airline Viasa (1960-1977) * VIA Me ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Benghazi
Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi'') is a city in Libya. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean, Benghazi is a major seaport and the second-most populous city in the country, as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 807,250 in 2020. A Greek colony named Euesperides had existed in the area from around 525 BC. In the 3rd century BC, it was relocated and refounded as the Ptolemaic city of Berenice. Berenice prospered under the Romans, and after the 3rd century AD it superseded Cyrene and Barca as the centre of Cyrenaica. The city went into decline during the Byzantine period and had already been reduced to a small town before its conquest by the Arabs. In 1911, Italy captured Benghazi and the rest of Tripolitania from the Ott ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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3rd Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)
The 3rd Armoured Brigade, previously the 1st Heavy Armoured Brigade, was an armoured brigade of the British Army that saw service in the Second World War with the 1st Armoured Division and the 2nd Armoured Division in the North African Campaign. The brigade headquarters was disbanded on 11 January 1943. Order of battle The 3rd Armoured Brigade: * 2nd Royal Tank Regiment ''(until 11 August 1940)'' * 3rd Royal Tank Regiment ''(until 22 May, re-joined 19 June, left 30 June 1940, re-joined again 29 October 1940, left again 25 January 1941)'' * 5th Royal Tank Regiment ''(until 18 February 1941, re-joined 24 March, left 14 April 1941)'' * 1st King's Dragoon Guards ''(from 26 February until 22 March 1941)'' * 3rd The King's Own Hussars ''(from 26 February until 14 April 1941)'' * 6th Royal Tank Regiment ''(from 28 February until 14 April 1941)'' * 1st Royal Tank Regiment ''(from 9 to 18 May 1941)'' * D Squadron, 7th Royal Tank Regiment ''(from 16 May until 18 September 1941)'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mersa Brega
Brega , also known as ''Mersa Brega'' or ''Marsa al-Brega'' ( ar, مرسى البريقة , i.e. "Brega Seaport"), is a complex of several smaller towns, industry installations and education establishments situated in Libya on the Gulf of Sidra, the most southerly point of the Mediterranean Sea. It is located in the former Ajdabiya District, which in 2007 was merged into the Al Wahat District. The town is the center of Libya's second-largest hydro-carbon complex. During the Libyan Civil War, the town quickly fell under control of the Libyan opposition. Government forces attempted to capture the town on 2 March but were repelled; their attack on 13 March was successful, though rebels later recaptured it on 26 March. In April the rebels were again driven out of the Brega area, and a several months long stalemate formed. On 11 August 2011, the rebels claimed they had retaken the eastern part of Brega. Geography The assigned settlement near the refinery and oil terminal is known as ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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El Agheila
El Agheila ( ar, العقيلة, translit=al-ʿUqayla ) is a coastal city at the southern end of the Gulf of Sidra in far western Cyrenaica, Libya. In 1988 it was placed in Ajdabiya District; it was in that district until 1995. It was removed from Ajdabiya District in 1995 but in 2001 it was placed back into Ajdabiya District. In 2007, El Agheila was placed within the enlarged Al Wahat District. El Agheila is best known to history as the site of several Second World War battles during the North African Campaign. History El Agheila is the site of the Roman fortified town of Anabucis and its Greek precursor Automala. During the Italian occupation of Libya the town was the site of an Italian concentration camp for Bedouins. The camp was just south of town and housed over 10,000 inmates. Thousands of the Bedouins starved to death in the camp run by the Italian colonial troops. World War II In February 1941, El Agheila was taken by the British Western Desert Force following t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nofaliya
Nofaliya or Nawfaliya ( ar, النوفلية ''Nawfalīyah'') is a town in the desert in the Sirte District of Libya. It is west of Libya's major oil ports. It is located in the former Bin Jawad District, around 20 km west of Bin Jawad and 15 km south east of ‘Uwayja. History During World War II Nofaliya was the site of a brief skirmish in late 1942 when some of Erwin Rommel's retreating forces ran out of fuel., reprinted in 2005 by Kessinger Publishing, At the time it was home to a small fort with a few Italian buildings in addition to a mosque, some shops and a school. During the Second Libyan Civil War, Nofaliya was fought over by the New General National Congress forces (NGNC), the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL); the Libyan National Army (LNA) and various militias. In February 2015, the town was taken over by the ISIL. A convoy of forty heavily armed vehicles arrived from Sirte and ordered Nofaliya's residents to "repent" and pledge allegiance to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Italian Army
The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree creating the Army of the Two Sicilies. This newly created army's first task was to defend against the repressive power in southern Italy. The Army of the Two Sicilies combated against criminals and other armies during this time of unification. After the monarchy ended in 1946, the army changed its name to become the modern Italian Army (). Within the Italian Royal Army are the elite mountain military corporals called, the Alpini. The Alpini are the oldest active mountain infantry in the world. Their original mission was to protect and secure Italy's northern mountain border that aligns with France and Austria. This group emerged in World War I when a three-year campaign was fought against the Austro-Hungarian ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |