Halfaya Pass ( ar, ممر حلفيا, translit=Mamarr Ḥalfayā ) is in northwest
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, 11.5 kilometres east of the
border with Libya and 7.5 kilometres south of the other, more major pass in the ridge today. A high, narrow
escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations.
The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...
extends south then southeastwards for a total of from a short distance east of the border. It hems in east-facing small harbour town of
as-Salum ( various transliterations include ''el-Salloum, Saloum, Solum, Sollum''), continuing as an east-facing
sea
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...
cliff further north. Land to the east is lower than that to the west and the east side has steep slopes.
The pass is centred inland from the closest part of the shore. It makes for a subtle
wind gap
A wind gap (or air gap) is a gap through which a waterway once flowed that is now dry as a result of stream capture. A water gap is a similar feature, but one in which a waterway still flows. Water gaps and wind gaps often provide routes which ...
in the escarpment for the east-west land route. It made for the southern Mediterranean coastal road useful to
Mediterranean civilization
The Mediterranean race (also Mediterranid race) was a historical race concept that was a sub-race of the Caucasian race as categorised by anthropologists in the late 19th to mid-20th centuries. According to various definitions, it was said to be ...
s until the pass at as-Salum was enlarged after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
From 15 June 1941 and among veterans of Allied forces thereafter it was nicknamed Hellfire Pass.
The escarpment is known as ' (') "great ascent". To
El-Edrisi/Idrisi (died 1165) it was known as (', sometimes transliterated as ''Akabah el Solum'') "graded ascent", whence the modern name of the gulf/bay and the town of Salum. To
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
it was known as ''Catabathmus Magnus'', in the peak of whose empire it divorced
Aegyptus
In Greek mythology, Aegyptus or Ægyptus (; grc, Αἴγυπτος) was a legendary king of ancient Egypt. He was a descendant of the princess Io through his father Belus, and of the river-god Nilus as both the father of Achiroe, his mother ...
from
Marmarica
Marmarica (Greek Μαρμαρική) in ancient geography was a littoral area in Ancient Libya, located between ''Cyrenaica'' and ''Aegyptus''. It corresponds to what is now the Libya and Egypt frontier, including the towns of Bomba (ancient '' ...
. The range was seen as a demarcator of Africa and Asia in some
Hellenistic geography
;Pre-Hellenistic Classical Greece
*Homer
* Anaximander
* Hecataeus of Miletus
*Massaliote Periplus
*Scylax of Caryanda (6th century BC)
*Herodotus
;Hellenistic period
* Pytheas (died c. 310 BC)
*''Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax'' (3rd or 4th century ...
.
World War II
![Halfaya Pass WWII](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Halfaya_Pass_WWII.jpg)
In
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the engineered route up the escarpment had been destroyed and the pass had great strategic importance. The only ways westwards into Libya were to assault the pass or to out-flank it to the south.
After the defeat of the
Italian Tenth Army
The 10th Army ( it, 10ª Armata) was a field army of the Royal Italian Army, which fought in World War I and in Italian North Africa during World War II.
World War I Formation
After the Battle of Caporetto (November 1917) the Italian Army (Re ...
on 7 February 1941 during
Operation Compass
Operation Compass (also it, Battaglia della Marmarica) was the first large British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) during the Second World War. British, Empire and Commonwealth forces attacked Italian forces of ...
, the Italians were reinforced by German units (
Afrika Korps
The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...
under
Erwin Rommel
Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...
) and the British forces were forced out of Libya, leaving
besieged garrison at Tobruk. On 14 April 1941, Rommel's main force reached Sollum and occupied the Halfaya Pass. Allied attempts to recapture the pass and relieve Tobruk followed.
The first attempt, on 15 May, was
Operation Brevity
Operation Brevity was a limited offensive conducted in mid-May 1941, during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. Conceived by the commander-in-chief of the British Middle East Command, General Archibald Wavell, Brevity was int ...
. Rommel counter-attacked; the British withdrew and by 27 May the Germans had recaptured Halfaya Pass, a passage of time in which
Major Edward Thomas
Major Edward Thomas MC (15 April 1915 – 1999) was awarded a Military Cross in May 1941 for his actions at Halfaya Pass.
Early life
Edward Thomas went to school at Emanuel School in London, England, after which he became a surveyor. H ...
earned his Military Cross. Supply shortages obliged the Germans to curtail their advance, so they dug in and fortified their positions at Halfaya with
88 mm guns. This was the anchor for the
Axis
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
*Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...
positions, which opposed the
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
forces during the next allied attack.
This was
Operation Battleaxe
Operation Battleaxe (15–17 June 1941) was a British Army offensive during the Second World War to raise the Siege of Tobruk and re-capture eastern Cyrenaica from German and Italian forces. It was the first time during the war that a significan ...
on 15 June. German armour was deployed to draw the British tanks (
11th Hussars
The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Pri ...
) onto the concealed 88mm guns and the first wave was cut down in a few minutes (11 out of 12 tanks were destroyed), earning the pass the nickname "Hellfire Pass". The German commander, Major
Wilhelm Bach
Wilhelm may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm"
* Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname
Other uses
* Mount ...
, in his conduct of the Axis defence of Halfaya Pass earned himself the nickname
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
: (an allusion to his peacetime occupation as a
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
minister and the English nickname ''Hellfire Pass''). The commander of the larger Italian contingent, General
Fedele de Giorgis, General Officer Commanding
55th Infantry Division Savona, was awarded the highest German decoration, the
Knight's Cross
Knight's Cross (German language ''Ritterkreuz'') refers to a distinguishing grade or level of various orders that often denotes bravery and leadership on the battlefield.
Most frequently the term Knight's Cross is used to refer to the Knight's Cr ...
for the defense he conducted. A British tank commander was last heard on the radio reporting, "They are tearing my tanks apart."
The third attempt,
Operation Crusader
Operation Crusader (18 November – 30 December 1941) was a military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War by the British Eighth Army (United Kingdom), Eighth Army (with Commonwealth, Indian and Allied contingents) ...
opened on 18 November, with an attack on Sidi Omar to the west of the pass and an attempt to outflank Rommel to the south and relieve Tobruk. This was achieved on 29 November. Rommel, now under pressure, on 7 December withdrew to
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 ...
. Axis garrisons at
Sollum
Sallum ( ar, السلوم, translit=as-Sallūm various transliterations include ''El Salloum'', ''As Sallum'' or ''Sollum'') is a harbourside village or town in Egypt. It is along the Egypt/Libyan short north–south aligned coast of the Mediterra ...
,
Bardia
Bardia, also El Burdi or Barydiyah ( ar, البردية, lit=, translit=al-Bardiyya or ) is a Mediterranean seaport in the Butnan District of eastern Libya, located near the border with Egypt. It is also occasionally called ''Bórdi Slemán''.
...
as well as the Pass were left behind, a temporary thorn in the Allies side. Isolated after the fall of Bardia on 2 January 1942, besieged by Commonwealth forces, cut off from supplies, and bombarded from the air and the sea, Bach and de Giorgis finally surrendered the Halfaya garrison of 4,200 Italians of the 55th Savona and 2,100 Germans,
[Playfair, p. 95.] to the
South African 2nd Infantry Division
The South African 2nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the army of the Union of South Africa during World War II. The division was formed on 23 October 1940 and served in the Western Desert Campaign and was captured (save for one ...
on 17 January 1942.
The pass was scene of the accidental death of Major-General
'Jock' Campbell (VC), then commander of the British
7th Armoured Division. On 26 February 1942, a month after assuming command, his staff car overturned on the newly laid clay surface, killing him outright.
In Popular Culture
The pass and its according battles play a role in the
Sniper Elite III
''Sniper Elite III'' is a 2014 Third-person view, third-person tactical shooter Stealth game, stealth video game developed and published by Rebellion Developments. The game is a prequel to its 2012 predecessor ''Sniper Elite V2'', and is the thir ...
game plot.
The pass inspires a
Battlefield V
''Battlefield V'' is a first-person shooter game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is the eleventh main installment in the ''Battlefield'' series and the successor to 2016's ''Battlefield 1'', and was released for Microsoft ...
map, Hamada.
References
Bibliography
*
{{Egypt topics
World War II sites in Egypt
Mountain passes of Egypt
Egypt–Libya relations
Escarpments of Africa
Landforms of Egypt