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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 significant German force fought on the defensive. The British lost over half of their tanks on the first day and only one of three attacks succeeded. The British achieved mixed results on the second day, being pushed back on their western flank and repulsing a big German counter-attack in the centre. On the third day, the British narrowly avoided disaster by withdrawing just ahead of a German encircling movement. The failure of Battleaxe led to the replacement of British General Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief Middle East, by Claude Auchinleck; Wavell took Auchinleck's position as Commander-in-Chief, India. Background /Operation Sunflower In late March 1941, soon after the arrival of the in Tripoli, Libya to reinforce the Italians ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Western Desert Campaign
The Western Desert campaign (Desert War) took place in the Sahara Desert, deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main Theater (warfare), theatre in the North African campaign of the Second World War. Military operations began in June 1940 with the Italian declaration of war and the Italian invasion of Egypt from Libya in September. Operation Compass, a five-day raid by the British in December 1940, was so successful that it led to the destruction of the Italian Tenth Army (Italy), 10th Army (10ª ) over the following two months. Benito Mussolini sought help from Adolf Hitler, who sent a small Nazi Germany, German force to Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli under List of Adolf Hitler's directives, Directive 22 (11 January). The ( Erwin Rommel) was formally under Italian command, as Italy was the main Axis powers, Axis power in the Mediterranean and North Africa. In the spring of 1941, Rommel led Operation Sonnenblume, which pushed the Allies back to Egypt except for the siege of Tobruk at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
General (United Kingdom)
General (or full general to distinguish it from the lower general officer ranks) is the highest rank achievable by serving officers of the British Army and the Royal Marines. The rank can also be held by Royal Marines officers in tri-service posts, for example, Generals Sir Gordon Messenger and Gwyn Jenkins, Sir Gwyn Jenkins, former Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom), Vice-Chiefs of the Defence Staff. It ranks above Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), lieutenant-general and, in the Army, is subordinate to the rank of Field marshal (United Kingdom), field marshal, which is now only awarded as an honorary rank. The rank of general has a NATO-code of Ranks and insignia of NATO, OF-9, and is a four-star rank. It is equivalent to a Admiral (Royal Navy), full admiral in the Royal Navy or an air chief marshal in the Royal Air Force. Officers holding the ranks of Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), lieutenant-general and Major-general (United Kingdom), major-general m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Hawker Hurricanes
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by the Supermarine Spitfire during the Battle of Britain in 1940, but the Hurricane inflicted 60% of the losses sustained by the ''Luftwaffe'' in the campaign, and fought in all the major theatres of the Second World War. The Hurricane originated from discussions between RAF officials and aircraft designer Sir Sydney Camm about a proposed monoplane derivative of the Hawker Fury biplane in the early 1930s. Despite an institutional preference for biplanes and lack of interest by the Air Ministry, Hawker refined its monoplane proposal, incorporating several innovations which became critical to wartime fighter aircraft, including retractable landing gear and the more powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. The Air Ministry ordered Hawker's ''Interce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Western Desert Force
The Western Desert Force (WDF) was a British Army formation active in Egypt during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. On 17 June 1940, the headquarters of the British 6th Infantry Division was designated as the Western Desert Force. The formation consisted of the British 7th Armoured Division and the 4th Indian Infantry Division. The force was commanded by Major-General Richard Nugent O'Connor. In September 1940, at the time of the Italian invasion of Egypt, the Western Desert Force consisted of roughly 36,000 soldiers and about 65 tanks. From early December 1940 to February 1941, during Operation Compass, the exploits of the Western Desert Force earned a parody of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's famous quote, "Never has so much been owed by so many, to so few." So many Italians were captured by the Western Desert Force that Anthony Eden said, "Never has so much been surrendered by so many, to so few." From 14 December, the 6th Australian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Tobruk
Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2006, Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, ''Concise.Britannica.com'BC-Tobruk. Tobruk was the site of an ancient Greek colony and, later, of a Roman fortress guarding the frontier of Cyrenaica. Over the centuries, Tobruk also served as a waystation along the coastal caravan route. By 1911, Tobruk had become an Italian military post. During World War II, Allied forces, mainly the Australian 6th Division, took Tobruk on 22 January 1941. The Australian 9th Division (" The Rats of Tobruk") pulled back to Tobruk to avoid encirclement after actions at Er Regima and Mechili and reached Tobruk on 9 April 1941. There prolonged fighting followed, against a siege by German and Italian forces. Although the siege was lifted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northern coast of Egypt, the north, the Gaza Strip of Palestine and Israel to Egypt–Israel barrier, the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to Egypt–Sudan border, the south, and Libya to Egypt–Libya border, the west; the Gulf of Aqaba in the northeast separates Egypt from Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Cairo is the capital, list of cities and towns in Egypt, largest city, and leading cultural center, while Alexandria is the second-largest city and an important hub of industry and tourism. With over 109 million inhabitants, Egypt is the List of African countries by population, third-most populous country in Africa and List of countries and dependencies by population, 15th-most populated in the world. Egypt has one of the longest histories o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Sallum
Sallum ( 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 Mediterranean Sea in the far northwest corner of Egypt. It is, geodesically, east of the border with Libya, and from the notable port of Tobruk, Libya. Sallum is mainly a Bedouin community of the families of merchants, fishermen and herdsmen. It has little tourist activity and few organized historical curiosities. It is a key trading center for the local Bedouin community. It has a World War II Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery and is north of Halfaya Pass. Sallum is on its own pass which, improved since World War II, has become the main pass ascending the related ridge, which obstructs east–west trade. The ridge extends away from its northern part, east-facing sea cliffs, south by , there turning increasingly east. This escarpment is the ''ʿAqaba al-Kabīr'', once ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
El Agheila
El Agheila ( ) is a coastal city at the southern end of the Gulf of Sidra and Mediterranean Sea in far western Cyrenaica, Libya. In 1988 it was placed in Ajdabiya District; remaining there 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 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 their destruction of the Italian Te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Front Line
A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an Military, armed force's Military personnel, personnel and Military technology, equipment, usually referring to land forces. When a Front (military), front (an intentional or unintentional boundary) between opposing sides forms, the front line is the area where each side's forces are engaged in conflict. Leaders have often fought at the front lines either purposefully or due to a collapse in battle formation. While a calculated risk, fighting on the front has in instances reduced communication and heightened morale. The front is in direct contrast to the Rear (military), rear, which is the position furthest from conflict. All branches of the United States Armed Forces use the related technical terms, Forward Line of Own Troops (FLOT) and Forward Edge of Battle Area (FEBA). These terms are used as battlespace control, battlespace control measures tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Tripoli, Libya
Tripoli, historically known as Tripoli-of-the-West, is the capital city, capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about 1.317 million people in 2021. It is located in the northwest of Libya on the edge of the desert, on a point of rocky land projecting into the Mediterranean Sea and forming a bay. It includes the port of Tripoli and the country's largest commercial and manufacturing center. It is also the site of the University of Tripoli. Tripoli was founded in the 7th century BC by the Phoenicians, who gave it the Libyco-Berber name (), before passing into the hands of the Greek rulers of Cyrenaica as Oea (). Due to the city's long history, there are many sites of archeological significance in Tripoli. ''Tripoli'' may also refer to the (top-level administrative division in the Libyan system), the Tripoli District, Libya, Tripoli District. Name In the Arab world, Tripoli is also known as "Tripoli-of-the-West" (), to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon, known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Afrika Korps
The German Africa Corps (, ; DAK), commonly known as Afrika Korps, 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 formation fought on in Africa, under various appellations, from March 1941 until its surrender in May 1943. The unit's best known commander was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, whose reputation as one of the ablest tank commanders of the war earned him the nickname ''der Wüstenfuchs'', "the Desert Fox". History Organization The Afrika Korps formed on 11 January 1941 and one of Adolf Hitler's favourite generals, Erwin Rommel, was designated as commander on 11 February. Originally Hans von Funck was to have commanded it, but Hitler loathed von Funck, as he had been a personal staff officer of Werner von Fritsch until von Fritsch was dismissed in 1938. The German Armed Forces High Command (', OKW) had decided to send a "blocki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Claude Auchinleck
Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck ( ) (21 June 1884 – 23 March 1981), was a British Indian Army commander who saw active service during the world wars. A career soldier who spent much of his military career in British Raj, India, he rose to become commander-in-chief of the British Indian Army, Indian Army by early 1941 during the Second World War. In July 1941 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Middle East Theatre, but after initial successes the war in North Africa turned against the British-led forces under his command and he was relieved of the post in August 1942 during the North African campaign. In June 1943, he was once again appointed Commander-in-Chief, India, where his support through the organisation of supply, maintenance and training for General William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim, William Slim's Fourteenth Army (United Kingdom), Fourteenth Army played an important role in its success. He served as commander-in-chief ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
