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144-564: The battle occurred during the Battle of Gazala (26 May – 21 June 1942) when the 1st Free French Brigade of Général de brigade , future Maréchal de France Marie-Pierre Kœnig defended the site from 26 May – 11 June against much larger German and Italian forces, commanded by Generaloberst Erwin Rommel . Capitaine Pierre Messmer was one of the French officers of the 13th half-brigade of

288-624: A Serbian nationalist and the resulting Austro-Hungarian plan for military action against Serbia was a major precipitating event of the First World War (1914–1918) The Italo-Turkish War illustrated to the French and British governments that Italy was more valuable to them inside the Triple Alliance than being formally allied with the Entente . In January 1912, the French diplomat Paul Cambon wrote to Raymond Poincaré that Italy

432-582: A clear advantage. The Italian Navy had seven times the tonnage of the Ottoman Navy and was better trained. In January 1912, the Italian cruiser Piemonte , with the Soldato class destroyers Artigliere and Garibaldino , sank seven Ottoman gunboats ( Ayintab , Bafra , Gökcedag , Kastamonu , Muha , Ordu and Refahiye ) and a yacht ( Sipka ) in the Battle of Kunfuda Bay . The Italians blockaded

576-632: A cult of patriotic sacrifice in which the colonial war was celebrated in an aggressive and imperialistic way. The ideology of "crusade" and "martyrdom" characterised the funerals. The result was to consolidate Catholic war culture among devout Italians, which was soon expanded to include Italian involvement in the Great War (1915–1918). That aggressive spirit was revived by the Fascists in the 1920s to strengthen their popular support. The resistance in Libya

720-536: A diplomatic exchange of notes. The agreement stipulated that Italy would support British control in Egypt, and that Britain would likewise support Italian influence in Libya. In 1902, Italy and France had signed a secret treaty which accorded freedom of intervention in Tripolitania and Morocco . The agreement, negotiated by Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Prinetti and French Ambassador Camille Barrère , ended

864-531: A disaster of the first magnitude to the British Empire and probably fatal in the long run to the defence of the Nile delta. The Eighth Army received new equipment, including 167 American Lend-Lease M3 Grant tanks equipped with 75 mm guns, and large numbers of 6-pounder anti-tank guns. Rommel thought that Allied minefields ended well north of Bir Hakeim and did not know of the "mine marsh" surrounding

1008-483: A guerrilla war with local mujahideen . Many local Libyans joined forces with the Ottomans because of their common faith against the "Christian invaders" and started bloody guerrilla warfare . Italian authorities adopted many repressive measures against the rebels, such as public hangings as retaliation for ambushes. On 23 October 1911, over 500 Italian soldiers were slaughtered by Turkish troops at Sciara Sciatt , on

1152-612: A large quantity of supplies. Auchinleck had ordered the bulk of the Eighth Army to retire another 99 mi (160 km) to El Alamein, 62 mi (100 km) from Alexandria. The retirements brought the Eighth Army closer to its base and the Qattara Depression to the south of El Alamein closed the southern flank. The Allied and Axis forces fought the First Battle of El Alamein, the Battle of Alam el Halfa and

1296-454: A number of supply dumps. The following day, the 4th Armoured Brigade was sent to El Adem and the 90th Light Division was driven back to the south-west. The tank battle continued for three days; lacking possession of Bir Hakeim, Rommel drew the DAK into a defensive position, using the extensive Allied mine belts to block an Allied approach from the west. The British tanks attacked several times from

1440-473: A patrol of the 6th RTR, sent ahead to check the situation on the battlefield, was repulsed by artillery fire and at 11:30, another attack was made and was repulsed by concentrated fire from the Italian defences. At 14:00 the Queen's Bays were ordered to intervene to support the struggling 4th Armoured Brigade and having reached the position where the retreating regiments had stopped, exchanged positions with those of

1584-717: A port nearer the Aegean–Crete route and a large amount of Allied supplies. If the Allies could not stop the Germans in Egypt, they would take the Suez Canal and potentially drive for the oilfields in the Middle East. Hitler rewarded Rommel with a promotion to the rank of field-marshal, the youngest German officer ever to achieve this rank. Rommel remarked he would have preferred another panzer division. Churchill wrote, This

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1728-467: A strong influence over public opinion, but it was in opposition and also divided on the issue. It acted ineffectively against military intervention. The future Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini , who was then still a left-wing Socialist, took a prominent antiwar position. A similar opposition was expressed in Parliament by Gaetano Salvemini and Leone Caetani . An ultimatum was presented to

1872-666: A unit of its Zaptié Meharista at Bir Hakeim. Battle of Gazala 1941 1942 Associated articles The Battle of Gazala , also the Gazala Offensive ( Italian : Battaglia di Ain el-Gazala ) was fought near the village of Gazala during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War , west of the port of Tobruk in Libya , from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of

2016-607: A war that was lasting much longer than expected. Italy occupied twelve islands in the sea, comprising the Ottoman province of Rhodes , which then became known as the Dodecanese, but that raised the discontent of Austria-Hungary , which feared that it could fuel the irredentism of nations such as Serbia and Greece and cause imbalance in the already-fragile situation in the Balkan area. The only other relevant military operation of

2160-405: A weak spot on the eastern defensive perimeter and took the port within twenty-four hours. The garrison of 33,000 men was captured, many of those on the western perimeter not having been engaged. Over 1,000 vehicles in working order, 5,000 long tons (5,100 t) of food and 1,400 long tons (1,400 t) of petrol were captured. The surrender was the largest capitulation of British Empire forces in

2304-579: Is considered the greatest victory of Rommel's career. As both sides neared exhaustion, the Eighth Army checked the Axis advance at the First Battle of El Alamein . To support the Axis advance into Egypt, the planned attack on Malta ( Operation Herkules ) was postponed. The British were able to revive Malta as a base for attacks on Axis convoys to Libya, greatly complicating Axis supply difficulties at El Alamein. Following Operation Crusader , in late 1941,

2448-631: The Panzerarmee Afrika ( Generaloberst Erwin Rommel ) consisting of German and Italian units fought the British Eighth Army ( General Sir Claude Auchinleck , also Commander-in-Chief Middle East ) composed mainly of British Commonwealth, Indian and Free French troops. The Axis troops made a decoy attack in the north as the main attack moved round the southern flank of the Gazala position. Unexpected resistance at

2592-573: The Afrika Korps and XX Mobile Corps were attached to these assault groups. During the day, the bulk of the Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK) moved, to give the impression that this was the main Axis assault. When night fell, the armoured formations turned south in a sweeping move around the southern end of the Gazala line. In the early hours of 27 May, Rommel led the elements of Panzerarmee Afrika , DAK, XX Motorised Corps and

2736-560: The Afrika Korps had established armour superiority and a dominating line of positions, making XIII Corps on the Gazala line vulnerable to being cut off. By the end of 13 June, the Knightsbridge box was virtually surrounded and was abandoned by the Guards Brigade later that night, their commanding officer Thomas Bevan having been killed the previous day. Due to these failures, 13 June became known as "Black Saturday" to

2880-470: The 27th Infantry Division "Brescia" and 17th Infantry Division "Pavia" of X Corps; then headed south into the desert, before turning east. London would not contemplate a withdrawal to the better defensive positions on the Egypt–Libya frontier and on 14 June, Auchinleck ordered to Ritchie to hold a line running south-east from Acroma (west of Tobruk) through El Adem to Bir El Gubi. By the evening of 15 June,

3024-477: The 4th Anti-Aircraft Brigade . Operation Venice ( Unternehmen Venezia ) began on 26 May 1942 and drove the Eighth Army east of Tobruk, leaving it vulnerable to attack from the east. The British prime minister Winston Churchill had placed great store on the symbolic value of Tobruk and there was an exchange of ambiguous signals, leading to the port becoming surrounded and besieged, rather than evacuated as originally planned. Panzerarmee Afrika penetrated

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3168-667: The Académie Française . He would later become Prime Minister of the French Republic under President Georges Pompidou . During these 14 days, 3700 French soldiers immobilized 40 000 Axis soldiers. Out of these 3700, 800 died or went missing. This half-brigade had already fought the German Army at Narvik on 27 May 1940. Although the Afrika Corps captured Tobruk ten days later, the delay imposed on

3312-754: The Anglo-Russian Convention and the establishment of the Triple Entente , Tsar Nicholas II and King Victor Emmanuel III made the 1909 Racconigi Bargain in which Russia acknowledged Italy's interest in Tripoli and Cyrenaica in return for Italian support for Russian control of the Bosphorus . However, the Italian government did little to realise that opportunity and so knowledge of the Libyan territory and resources remained scarce in

3456-734: The Balkan League was completed in 1912, with the First Balkan War (1912–1913) beginning by a Montenegrin attack on 8 October 1912, ten days before the Treaty of Ouchy. The swift and nearly-complete victory of the Balkan League astonished contemporary observers. However, none of the victors were happy with the division of captured territory, which resulted in the Second Balkan War (1913) in which Serbia, Greece,

3600-535: The First Treaty of Lausanne , which is often also called Treaty of Ouchy to distinguish it from the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne , (the Second Treaty of Lausanne). The main provisions of the treaty were as follows: Subsequent events prevented the return of the Dodecanese to Turkey, however. The First Balkan War broke out shortly before the treaty had been signed. Turkey was in no position to reoccupy

3744-717: The French Foreign Legion . Messmer had graduated from St Cyr Military School. He was commanding the 3rd battalion of the Legion. Plenty of his soldiers were from Spanish and German origin, and many of them Jews. The Kaddish was said most evenings at Bir-Hakeim. The other half-brigade of the 1st Free French Division included units that did not belong to the French Foreign Legion, like the Bataillon de Marche n°2 de l'Afrique équatoriale française (BM2),

3888-610: The Second Battle of El Alamein . Operation Agreement , a British landing at Tobruk during the night of 13/14 September, to rescue Allied prisoners, was a failure. Allied and Axis forces, Gazala, 26 May – 21 June 1942 Army Reserve Italo-Turkish War Mobilisation 1911: 89,000 troops 14,600 quadrupeds 2,550 wagons 132 field guns 66 mountain guns 28 siege guns The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( Turkish : Trablusgarp Savaşı , "Tripolitanian War", Italian : Guerra di Libia , "War of Libya")

4032-721: The United Kingdom had agreed to the French occupation of Tunisia and British control over Cyprus respectively, which were both parts of the declining Ottoman state. When Italian diplomats hinted about possible opposition to the Anglo-French maneuvers by their government, the French replied that Tripoli would have been a counterpart for Italy, which made a secret agreement with the British government in February 1887 via

4176-510: The "Ariete" Division sent its experienced VIII and IX Medium Tank battalions forward, while the fresh X Medium Tank Battalion was in support. The Indian position was overrun with the loss of 23 tanks, some of which were repairable on the field, 30 men killed and 50 wounded , while the Indians lost 440 men killed and wounded and about 1,000 prisoners, including Admiral Sir Walter Cowan and most of its equipment. The 21st Panzer Division

4320-400: The 15th Panzer Division and left their damaged tanks on the battlefield. On 13 June, the 21st Panzer Division advanced against the 22nd Armoured Brigade. The Afrika Korps had combined tanks with anti-tank guns; Rommel had acted rapidly on intelligence obtained from Allied radio intercepts. By the end of the day, the British tank strength had been reduced from 300 tanks to about seventy;

4464-555: The 1920 Treaty of Sèvres , which was never ratified, Italy was supposed to cede all of the islands except Rhodes to Greece in exchange for a vast Italian zone of influence in southwest Anatolia . However, the Greek defeat in the Greco–Turkish War and the foundation of modern Turkey created a new situation that made the enforcement of the terms of that treaty impossible. In Article 15 of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne , which superseded

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4608-434: The 1920 Treaty of Sèvres, Turkey formally recognised the Italian annexation of the Dodecanese. The population was largely Greek, and by treaty in 1947, the islands eventually became part of Greece. As the Dodecanese were part of Italy, the local population was not affected by the subsequent population exchange between Greece and Turkey , and a small community of Dodecanese Turks has remained to this day. In his book Primo,

4752-609: The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne . The war is considered a precursor of the First World War . Members of the Balkan League , seeing how easily Italy defeated the Ottomans and motivated by incipient Balkan nationalism , attacked the Ottoman Empire in October 1912, starting the First Balkan War a few days before the end of the Italo-Turkish War. The Italo-Turkish War saw some technological changes , most notably

4896-621: The 1st Free French Division gave birth to the French Expeditionary Corps under the command of Général Alphonse Juin , future Maréchal de France , and Général Joseph de Goislard de Monsabert . They were also instrumental in the Battle of Monte Cassino . There, the 3rd Division d'Infanterie Algérienne (3rd DIA), and the Groupement des Tabors Marocains of Général Augustin Guillaume were recognized in breaking through

5040-622: The 1st RTR, without there being any further clashes with the Italians. On 11 June, Rommel pushed the 15th Panzer Division and 90th Light Afrika Division toward El Adem and by 12 June had begun forcing the 201st Guards Brigade out of the Knightsbridge Box. The 29th Indian Infantry Brigade repulsed an attack on the El Adem box on 12 June but the 2nd and 4th Armoured brigades on their left were pushed back 3.7 mi (6 km) by

5184-411: The 90th Light came upon the advanced HQ of 7th Armoured Division near Bir Beuid, dispersing it and capturing a number of officers, including the commander, Frank Messervy , who pretended to be a batman and escaped. The "inexcusable" lapse in security left the division without effective command for the next two days. As planned, the 90th Light Division reached the El Adem area by mid-morning and captured

5328-637: The Afrika Korps reported that Axis tank losses were c.  400 and that only 44–55 German tanks were operational, the Italian XX Corps was down to fifteen tanks and the 90th Light Afrika Division had only 1,679 men left. The Eighth Army lost thousands of tons of supplies, nearly 800,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, nearly 13 million rounds of small-arms ammunition and a huge number of tanks. Hundreds of damaged tanks had been left behind when armoured regiments retreated and it

5472-489: The Auk's approach. Frankly, he and his senior commanders should have known better by now. The Eighth Army lost 50,000 men killed, wounded or captured, including c.  35,000 prisoners taken at Tobruk. The Germans suffered 3,360 casualties , about 15 per cent of their force. Italian casualties were 3,000 men, 125 tanks, 44 armoured cars, 450 motor vehicles, 39 guns and seventy-four 47 mm anti-tank guns. On 30 June,

5616-409: The Axis forces comprised 90,000 men, 560 tanks and 542 aircraft. On 26 May, Comando Supremo ordered Bastico and Rommel to launch the offensive, defeat the British armoured forces and capture Tobruk. At 14:00 on 26 May, X Corps and XXI Corps attacked on the central Gazala positions, after a artillery concentration, beginning Unternehmen Venezia (Operation Venice). A few elements of

5760-480: The Axis lines of communications. Orders for the 4th Armoured Brigade were to occupy Hill 176, west of Trigh Bir Hakeim, then attack the Ariete and force it to withdraw. The 2nd Armoured Brigade was to carry out a demonstration in support of the 4th Armoured Brigade. At 05:45 on 10 June , C Squadron, equipped with M3 Grant tanks, of the Queen's Bays left the bivouac between Rigel Ridge to the north and Trigh Capuzzo to

5904-597: The Axis offensive by the defence of Bir Hakeim influenced the cancellation of Operation Herkules , the planned German invasion of the Suez Canal and Malta . The stand by the Free French gave the defeated and retreating British Eighth Army enough time to recover from its heavy losses, and to reorganize. The British then stopped the German advance at the First Battle of El Alamein . The Algerian and Moroccan units of

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6048-526: The Axis plan of attack, was for armoured forces to make a flanking manoeuvre south of the fortified "box" at Bir Hakeim. On the left flank, the 132nd Armoured Division "Ariete" would neutralise the Bir Hakeim box and on the right flank, the 21st Panzer Division and 15th Panzer Division would advance north behind the Eighth Army defences, to destroy the Allied armour and cut off the infantry divisions on

6192-551: The Axis side. Operation Aberdeen, an attack by the Eighth Army to finish off the Panzerarmee , was poorly co-ordinated and defeated in detail ; many British tanks were lost and the Panzerarmee regained the initiative. The Eighth Army withdrew from the Gazala Line and the Axis troops overran Tobruk in a day. Rommel pursued the Eighth Army into Egypt and forced it out of several defensive positions. The Battle of Gazala

6336-454: The Axis. Rommel asked for another 8,000 lorries but this unrealistic demand was rejected and Rommel was warned that an advance would cause another supply crisis. On 29 January, the Panzerarmee recaptured Benghazi and next day ammunition supply to the front line failed. By 13 February, Rommel agreed to stop at Gazala, 900 mi (1,400 km) from Tripoli. Until May, monthly deliveries averaged 60,000 long tons (61,000 t), less than

6480-589: The Balkan Wars, followed shortly by World War I (which found Turkey and Italy again on opposing sides), meant that the islands were never returned to the Ottoman Empire. Turkey gave up its claims on the islands in the Treaty of Lausanne , and the Dodecanese continued to be administered by Italy until 1947, when after the Italian defeat in World War II, the islands were ceded to Greece. The invasion of Libya

6624-584: The Balkans to the Italian declaration of war was immediate. The first draft by Serbia of a military treaty with Bulgaria against Turkey was written by November 1911, with a defensive treaty signed in March 1912 and an offensive treaty signed in May 1912 focused on military action against Ottoman-ruled Southeastern Europe. The series of bilateral treaties between Greece , Bulgaria , Serbia and Montenegro that created

6768-430: The Bataillon du Pacifique ( French Polynesia , New Caledonia and New Hebrides ), the 1st Bataillon of Infanterie de Marine , the 1st Regiment of Artillerie , the 1st Bataillon of Fusiliers Marins in association with the troop D of the 43rd Battery of the 11th City of London Yeomanry Regiment, and the 22nd North-African French Armored Company. Pierre Messmer was the first French Foreign Legion soldier to be elected to

6912-480: The British Eighth Army had relieved Tobruk and driven the Axis forces from Cyrenaica to El Agheila . The Eighth Army advance of 500 mi (800 km) over-stretched its supply lines and in January 1942, the Allies reduced the front line garrison for work on lines of communication and supply dumps, preparatory to another westwards advance against Tripolitania . The elimination of Force K from Malta, which ran into an Italian minefield off Tripoli in mid-December and

7056-422: The British. Giolitti refused. Italy declared war on 29 September 1911. The Italian army was ill-prepared for the war and was not informed of the government's plans for Libya until late September. The army had a shortage of soldiers as the class of 1889 was demobilized before the war started. Military operations started with the bombardment of Tripoli on 3 October. The city was conquered by 1,500 sailors, much to

7200-438: The DAF, moved his headquarters to the Eighth Army HQ to improve communication. Axis commanders knew that the entry of the United States into the war would give the Eighth Army access to an increase in materiel but sought to forestall an Allied offensive before these supplies could influence events. By late May, the 1st South African Division was on the Gazala line nearest the coast, the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division to

7344-505: The Eighth Army fell back to El Alamein. Auchinleck decided not to hold Mersa Matruh, choosing to fight a delaying action with X and XIII Corps. The Afrika Korps was delayed at the Battle of Mersa Matruh but signal failures led to disorganisation and the X Corps line of retreat along the coast road being cut off. The corps broke out at night to the south and worked its way around the German positions, collided with Axis forces several times and lost more than 6,000 prisoners, forty tanks and

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7488-409: The Eighth Army was able to concentrate its forces sufficiently to turn and fight. By 4 February, the Axis advance had been halted and the front line stabilised from Gazala on the coast 30 mi (48 km) west of Tobruk, to an old Ottoman fortress at Bir Hakeim 50 mi (80 km) inland to the south. The Gazala line was a series of defensive boxes accommodating a brigade each, laid out across

7632-454: The Eighth Army. On 13 June, the 21st Panzer Division attacked Rigel Ridge in the middle of a sandstorm. The Germans overran part of the 2nd Scots Guards at the Knightsbridge Box at the west end of Rigel Ridge, overlooked by the 6th South African Anti-tank battery of the 2nd Field Regiment, Natal Field Artillery and a battery of the 11th (HAC) Regiment RHA nearby. The South African gunners kept firing until their guns were destroyed, allowing

7776-400: The Gazala Line. The defenders in the El Adem and two neighbouring boxes held on and the 1st South African Division was able to withdraw along the coast road, practically intact. The road could not accommodate two divisions and the remaining two brigades of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division could not retreat eastwards because of the Axis tanks and attacked south-west, breaking through the lines of

7920-417: The Gazala line. On the far right of the attack, a kampfgruppe (battle group) from the 90th Light Afrika Division was to advance to El Adem, south of Tobruk and cut the line of supply from the port to the Gazala line while holding Allied troops at Tobruk. The rest of the XX Motorized Corps and the 101st Motorised Division "Trieste" , would open a gap in the minefield north of the Bir Hakeim box near

8064-413: The German 90th Light Afrika Division, in a bold flanking move around the southern end of the Allied line, using the Allied minefields to protect the Axis flank and rear. The "Ariete" Division was held up for about an hour by the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade of the 7th Armoured Division, dug in about 3.7 mi (6 km) south east of Bir Hakeim at Rugbet el Atasc . The 132nd Tank Infantry Regiment of

8208-419: The German defences of the Gustav Line . This battle would serve as the namesake for Bir-Hakeim (Paris Métro) , a station on the Paris Métro , and Pont de Bir-Hakeim , a bridge. Bir Hakeim was also the site of a daring rescue during World War I . On 14 March 1916, Major Hugh Grosvenor led an armoured car squadron, part of the Western Frontier Force , to Bir Hakeim after having traveled 120 miles across

8352-456: The Italian ambassador on 28 July that he would support Italy, not the Ottomans. On 19 September, Grey instructed Permanent Under-Secretary of State Sir Arthur Nicolson, 1st Baron Carnock that Britain and France should not interfere with Italy's designs on Libya. Meanwhile, the Russian government urged Italy to act in a "prompt and resolute manner". In contrast to its engagement with the Entente powers, Italy largely ignored its military allies in

8496-480: The Italian armies poured onto the coasts of Libya, facing numerous problems during their landings and deployments. One of these problems was that the Ottoman vice admiral in 1911, Bucknam Pasha , was at first successfully blockading the Italians from landing on the Tripolitanian coast. The Italians believed that a force of 20,000 would be able to take over Libya. The force was able to capture Tripoli, Tobruk, Derna, Bengasi, and Homs between 3 and 21 October. However,

8640-408: The Italian ships took no casualties and also no direct hits from any of the Ottoman warships. Italy had feared that the Ottoman naval forces at Beirut could be used to threaten the approach to the Suez Canal . The Ottoman naval presence at Beirut was completely annihilated and casualties on the Ottoman side were heavy. The Italian Navy gained complete naval dominance of the southern Mediterranean for

8784-451: The Italians could easily extend their occupation of the country, seizing East Tripolitania, Ghadames , the Djebel and Fezzan with Murzuk during 1913. The outbreak of the First World War with the necessity to bring back the troops to Italy, the proclamation of the Jihad by the Ottomans and the uprising of the Libyans in Tripolitania forced the Italians to abandon all occupied territory and to entrench themselves in Tripoli, Derna, and on

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8928-413: The Italians suffered a defeat at Shar al-Shatt , with at least 21 officers and 482 soldiers dead. The Italians executed 400 women and 4,000 men through firing squads and hanging in retaliation. The corps was consequently enlarged to 100,000 men who had to face 20,000 Libyans and 8,000 Ottomans. The war turned into one of position. Even the Italian utilisation of armoured cars and air power, both among

9072-412: The Libyans were estimated at 3,500, but they were being constantly reinforced, and a general assault on the Italian position was expected. The Italian and Turkish forces in Tripoli and Cyrenaica were constantly reinforced since the Ottoman withdrawal to the interior enabled them to reinforce their troops considerably. Lacking a considerable navy, the Ottomans were not able to send regular forces to Libya,

9216-433: The Ottoman Empire, mostly inhabiting Istanbul, Izmir, and Thessaloniki, dealing with trade and industry. The sudden declaration of war shocked both the Italian community living in the Empire as well as the Ottoman government. Depending on the mutual friendly relations, the Ottoman Government had sent their Libyan battalions to Yemen in order to suppress local rebellions, leaving only the military police in Libya. Therefore,

9360-445: The Ottoman commander, Enver Bey , attacked the Italian positions on the plateau. The larger Italian fire drove back the Ottoman soldiers, who were surrounded by a battalion of Alpini and suffered heavy losses. A later Ottoman attack had the same outcome. Then, operations in Cyrenaica ceased until the end of the war. Although some elements of the local population collaborated with the Italians, counterattacks by Ottoman soldiers with

9504-471: The Ottoman government supported a great number of young officers to travel to the area in order to rally the locals and coordinate the resistance. Enver Bey , Mustafa Kemal Bey , Ali Fethi Bey , Cami Bey , Nuri Bey and many other Turkish officers managed to reach Libya, traveling under secret identities such as covering as a medical doctor , journalist among others. The Ottoman Şehzade Osman Fuad had also joined these officers, granting royal support to

9648-423: The Ottoman government, led by the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), on the night of 26–27 September 1911. Through Austro-Hungarian intermediation, the Ottomans replied with the proposal of transferring control of Libya without war and maintaining a formal Ottoman suzerainty . That suggestion was comparable to the situation in Egypt , which was under formal Ottoman suzerainty but was under de facto control by

9792-463: The Ottomans did not have a full army in Tripolitania . Many of the Ottoman officers had to travel there by their own means, often secretly, through Egypt since the British government would not allow Ottoman troops to be transported en masse through Egypt. The Ottoman Navy was too weak to transport troops by sea. The Ottomans organised local Libyans for the defence against the Italian invasion. Between 1911 and 1912, over 1,000 Somalis from Mogadishu ,

9936-417: The Ottomans, and Romania took almost all of the territory that Bulgaria had captured in the first war. In the wake of the enormous change in the regional balance of power, Russia switched its primary allegiance in the region from Bulgaria to Serbia and guaranteed Serbian autonomy from any outside military intervention. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand , the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by

10080-427: The Red Sea ports of the Ottomans and actively supplied and supported the Emirate of Asir , which was also then at war with the Ottoman Empire. Then, on 24 February, in the Battle of Beirut , two Italian armoured cruisers attacked and sank an Ottoman casemate corvette and six lighters , retreated and returned and then sank an Ottoman torpedo boat . Avnillah alone suffered 58 killed and 108 wounded. By contrast,

10224-420: The Sidi Muftah box, to create a supply route to the armour. Rommel anticipated that, having dealt with the Allied armour, he would capture El Adem, Ed Duda, Sidi Rezegh and "Knightsbridge". The Axis tanks would then be in a position to attack on the following day westwards against the Eighth Army defensive boxes between Gazala and Alem Hamza, meeting the eastwards attack by X Corps and XXI Corps . By late May,

10368-533: The Triple Alliance. Giolitti and Foreign Minister Antonino Paternò Castello agreed on 14 September to launch a military campaign "before the Austrian and German governments [were aware] of it". Germany was then actively attempting to mediate between Rome and Constantinople, and Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal repeatedly warned Italy that military action in Libya would threaten

10512-598: The afternoon [30th May] I personally reconnoitred the possibilities for an attack on Got el Ualeb [the Sidi Muftah box] and detailed units of the Afrika Korps , 90th Light Division and the Italian Trieste Division for an assault on the British positions next morning. The attack was launched on the morning of the 31st May. German-Italian units fought their way forward yard by yard against the toughest British resistance imaginable.[...] Nevertheless, by

10656-453: The anti-tank defence line, which then found it difficult to lay its anti-tank guns as they were masked by the Italian tanks. The 88/55 gun, after having adjusted its fire, at 09:40 destroyed two British tanks and stopped a third, then C Squadron began its retreat, followed after ten minutes by the rest of the 6th RTR while the anti-tank gun was countered by counter-battery fire from the RHA. At 11:00

10800-746: The arrival of Fliegerkorps II in Sicily, neutralised Allied air and naval forces in Malta, allowing more Axis supplies to reach Libya. After a two-month delay, German and Italian forces in Libya began to receive supplies and reinforcements in men and tanks, which continued until the end of May, when Fliegerkorps II was transferred to the Russian front. While aware from signals intelligence of these reinforcements, GHQ in Cairo underestimated their significance and Axis fighting strength, having greatly exaggerated

10944-455: The attacking force were left behind, unsupported by armour and overrun. Rommel retained the initiative, maintaining his strength in the cauldron while the number of operational British tanks diminished. A number of probes were sent to test the various opposing strong points and from 6 to 8 June, further attacks were launched on Bir Hakeim and repulsed by the French garrison. The 7th Motor Brigade and 29th Indian Infantry Brigade continued to harass

11088-781: The autumn but agreed to an attack on Tobruk for late May. An advance would stop at the Egyptian frontier, another 150 mi (240 km) east and the Luftwaffe would redeploy for Operation Herkules . The capture of Malta would not alter the constraints of port capacity and distance; protecting convoys and a large port close to the front, would still be necessary for victory. Air attacks directed by Kesselring against Malta greatly reduced its offensive capacity, allowing supply convoys from Italy to reach Axis forces in Africa with increased regularity. Unternehmen Venezia (Operation Venice),

11232-568: The box. The Eighth Army was in the process of reorganising, changing the relationship between infantry and artillery, while the RAF commander Arthur Tedder concentrated the efforts of the Desert Air Force (DAF) on supporting the troops on the ground. Army commanders lost the power to direct air operations, which was reserved for the air commanders. A new fighter-bomber concept was developed and Air Vice-Marshal Arthur Coningham , commander of

11376-517: The capital of Italian Somaliland , served as combat units along with Eritrean and Italian soldiers in the Italo-Turkish War. Most of the Somalian troops stationed would return home only in 1935, when they were transferred back to Italian Somaliland in preparation for the invasion of Ethiopia . The first disembarkation of Italian troops occurred on 10 October. Having no prior military experiences and lacking adequate planning for amphibious invasions,

11520-457: The casualties inflicted on the Axis during Operation Crusader. In an appreciation made in January 1942, Auchinleck alluded to an Axis fighting strength of 35,000 men, when the true figure was about 80,000 (50,000 German and 30,000 Italian troops). The Eighth Army expected to be ready by February and GHQ Cairo believed that the Axis would be too weak and disorganised to mount a counter-offensive in

11664-427: The cauldron. In the north, XIII Corps made no progress but the attack by 7th Armoured and 5th Indian divisions on the eastern flank of the cauldron at 02:50 initially went well. An important element of the plan was the destruction of the Axis anti-tank screen with an artillery bombardment but because of an error in plotting its position, the bombardment fell too far to the east. When the 22nd Armoured Brigade advanced, it

11808-742: The coast between Tobruk and Solum to prevent contraband and troops from entering across the Egyptian frontier, and the naval blockaders guarded the coast as well as capturing several sailing ships laden with contraband. Italian troops landed at Tobruk after a brief bombardment on 4 December 1911, occupied the seashore, and marched towards the hinterlands facing weak resistance . Small numbers of Ottoman soldiers and Libyan volunteers were later organized by Captain Mustafa Kemal Atatürk . The small 22 December Battle of Tobruk resulted in Mustafa Kemal's victory. With that achievement, he

11952-477: The coast of Cyrenaica. The Italian control over much of the interior of Libya remained ineffective until the late 1920s when forces under the Generals Pietro Badoglio and Rodolfo Graziani waged bloody pacification campaigns. Resistance petered out only after the execution of the rebel leader Omar Mukhtar on 15 September 1931. The result of the Italian colonisation for the Libyan population

12096-417: The coast, to exploit the absence of German tanks and break through to Timimi and then Mechili . Ritchie was more concerned by Tobruk, brought reinforcements up to the El Adem box and created new defensive boxes opposite the gaps in the minefield. Ritchie ordered the Eighth Army to counter-attack against the Afrika Korps on 5 June but they were met by accurate fire from tank and anti-tank guns positioned in

12240-717: The conflict, Italian forces also occupied the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea . Italy agreed to return the Dodecanese to the Ottoman Empire in the Treaty of Ouchy in 1912. However, the vagueness of the text, combined with subsequent adverse events unfavourable to the Ottoman Empire (the outbreak of the Balkan Wars and World War I ), allowed a provisional Italian administration of the islands, and Turkey eventually renounced all claims on these islands in Article 15 of

12384-428: The defences by the following day. Ritchie ordered the remaining troops to evacuate as best they could, under the cover of darkness. Under fire through the night, many of the French were able to find gaps in the line through which to withdraw. The survivors then made their way some 5.0 mi (8 km) to the west, to rendezvous with transport from the 7th Motor Brigade. About 2,700 troops (including 200 wounded) of

12528-431: The defensive box at Point 650 had been overrun and on 16 June, the defenders at Point 187 had been forced by lack of supplies to evacuate. The defensive boxes at El Adem and Sidi Rezegh were also attacked by the Afrika Korps . On 17 June, both boxes were evacuated, ending any chance of preventing the encirclement of Tobruk. Ritchie ordered the Eighth Army to withdraw to Mersa Matruh, about 100 mi (160 km) east of

12672-406: The desert behind minefields and wire, watched by regular patrols between the boxes. The Free French were to the south at the Bir Hakeim box, 13 mi (21 km) south of the 150th Infantry Brigade box, which was 6 mi (9.7 km) south of the 69th Infantry Brigade box. The line was not evenly manned, with a greater number of troops covering the coast road, leaving the south less protected but

12816-602: The desert from Sollum. There they rescued 91 British POWs from HMS Tara and HMT Moorina . German U-boats had captured the British sailors after torpedoing their vessels and had turned their prisoners over to the local Senussi , who were allied with the Germans. As a result of the Italo-Turkish War (1911-1912), Italy captured the Ottoman Tripolitania Vilayet (province), which became known as Italian Libya . The Italian army stationed

12960-436: The destruction of the 3rd Indian Brigade box and had continued to advance alone at full speed, stumbled in the French positions and launched a hasty attack, which was a costly failure against the French 75 mm guns and mines. On the night of 1/2 June, the 90th Light and Trieste divisions were sent south to renew the attack on Bir Hakeim, where the battle continued for another ten days. Our attacks repeatedly bogged down in

13104-518: The earliest in modern warfare, had little effect on the initial outcome. In the first military use of heavier-than-air craft , Capitano Carlo Piazza flew the first reconnaissance flight on 23 October 1911. A week later, Sottotenente Giulio Gavotti dropped four grenades on Tajura (Arabic: تاجوراء Tājūrā’, or Tajoura) and Ain Zara in the first aerial bombing in history. Technologically and numerically superior Italian forces easily managed to take

13248-399: The edge of the minefields, creating a defensive position. A link was formed with elements of the Italian X Corps, which were clearing two routes through the minefields from the west. In the process, the Sidi Muftah box was overrun and the defending 150th Infantry Brigade was destroyed after brutal fighting. At one point, Rommel personally led a platoon of panzer grenadiers in the attack; In

13392-480: The enthusiasm of the interventionist minority in Italy. Another proposal for a diplomatic settlement was rejected by the Italians, and so the Ottomans decided to defend the province. On 29 September 1911, Italy published the declaration of their direct interest towards Libya. Without a proper response, the Italian forces landed on the shores of Libya on 4 October 1911. A considerable number of Italians were living within

13536-854: The evolution of that first aggression." Unlike the British-controlled Egypt, the Ottoman Tripolitania vilayet , which made up modern-day Libya, was core territory of the Empire, like that of the Balkans. The coalition that had defended the Ottomans during the Crimean War (1853–1856), minimised Ottoman territorial losses at the Congress of Berlin (1878) and supported the Ottomans during the Bulgarian Crisis (1885–88) had largely disappeared. The reaction in

13680-449: The excellent French fortifications. During the first ten days of out [ sic ] attack against the French the British had remained amazingly calm. The Ariete Division alone was attacked by them on 2 June but it defended itself stubbornly. After a counter-attack by the 21st Panzer Division the situation there again became quiet. Reinforced with a further kampfgruppe , the Axis attacked Bir Hakeim again on 9 June and overran

13824-548: The following years. The removal of diplomatic obstacles coincided with increasing colonial fervor. In 1908, the Italian Colonial Office was upgraded to a Central Directorate of Colonial Affairs. The nationalist Enrico Corradini led the public call for action in Libya and, joined by the nationalist newspaper L'Idea Nazionale in 1911, demanded an invasion. The Italian press began a large-scale lobbying campaign for an invasion of Libya in late March 1911. It

13968-540: The frontier, leaving Tobruk to threaten the Axis lines of communication as in 1941. The retreat became known to some as the Gazala Gallop. In February 1942, the army, navy and air force commanders-in-chief in Cairo had agreed that Tobruk should not stand another siege. Auchinleck viewed the defence of Tobruk as a lesser matter and told Ritchie that he did not intend to hold it at all costs. An immense store of supplies of every description had been accumulated around

14112-400: The help of local troops confined the Italian army to the coastal region. In fact, by the end of 1912 the Italians had made little progress in conquering Libya . The Italian soldiers were in effect besieged in seven enclaves on the coasts of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica . The largest was at Tripoli and extended barely 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from the town. At sea, the Italians enjoyed

14256-459: The historic rivalry between both nations for control of North Africa . The same year, the British government promised Italy that "any alteration in the status of Libya would be in conformity with Italian interests". Those measures were intended to loosen Italian commitment to the Triple Alliance and thereby weaken Germany , which France and Britain viewed as their main rival in Europe. Following

14400-742: The integrity of the Ottoman Empire and create a crisis in the Eastern Question , which would destabilise the Balkan Peninsula and the European balance of power . Italy also foresaw that result since Paternò Castello, in a July report to the king and Giolitti, laid out the reasons for and against military action in Libya, and he raised the concern that the Balkan revolt, which would likely follow an Italian attack on Libya, might force Austria-Hungary to take military action in Balkan areas claimed by Italy. The Italian Socialist Party had

14544-570: The intervention of Ottoman artillery threatened the Italian line, and the Libyans attempted to surround the Italian troops. Further Italian reinforcements, however, stabilised the situation, and the battle ended in the afternoon with an Italian victory. On 14 September, the Italian command sent three columns of infantry to disband the Arab camp near Derna. The Italian troops occupied a plateau and interrupted Ottoman supply lines . Three days later,

14688-477: The islands while its main armies were engaged in a bitter struggle to preserve its remaining territories in the Balkans. To avoid a Greek invasion of the islands, it was implicitly agreed on that the Dodecanese would remain under neutral Italian administration until the conclusion of hostilities between the Greeks and the Ottomans, after which the islands would revert to Ottoman rule. Turkey's continued involvement in

14832-512: The left with A Squadron in the lead (intended to cover the left flank of the regiment), followed by C Squadron, the command, B Squadron and a battery of the 1st RHA. At 08:40 the 6th RTR, preceded by a two-hour artillery preparation and covered by smoke bombs, invested the 2nd Company/VIII Battalion of the 132nd Infantry Tank Regiment. The formation saw the Grants in the centre and the Stuarts on

14976-485: The line was behind deep minefields and a longer line would make an attack around the southern flank harder to supply. Behind the Gazala line, were several defensive boxes. Commonwealth Keep (also known as Hill 209) was at Ras El Madauur on the main defence line of Tobruk, about 9.0 mi (14.5 km) west-south-west of the port. The Acroma , Knightsbridge (12 mi (19 km) south of Acroma) and El Adem boxes were sited to block tracks and junctions. A box at Retma

15120-698: The meantime. On 21 January, Rommel sent out three strong armoured columns to make a tactical reconnaissance. Finding only the thinnest of screens, Rommel changed his reconnaissance into an offensive, recaptured Benghazi on 28 January and Timimi on 3 February. By 6 February, the Allies had fallen back to a line from Gazala to Bir Hakeim , a few miles west of Tobruk , from which the Italo-Germans had retired seven weeks before. The Allies had 1,309 casualties from 21 January, lost 42 tanks knocked out, another 30 through damage and breakdowns and forty field guns. Between Gazala and Timimi, just west of Tobruk,

15264-508: The news of the massacre from getting out, the incident soon became internationally known. The Italians started to show photographs of the massacred Italian soldiers at Sciara Sciat to justify their revenge. Italian diplomats decided to take advantage of the situation to obtain a favourable peace deal. On 18 October 1912, Italy and the Ottoman Empire signed a treaty in Ouchy in Lausanne called

15408-542: The night near the Belhamed supply base, east of El Adem. By late morning, the Axis armoured units had advanced more than 25 mi (40 km) north but by noon had been stopped by the 1st Armoured Division in more mutually-costly fighting. On the far right of the Axis advance, the 90th Light Afrika Division engaged the 7th Motorised Brigade at Retma and forced it to withdraw eastwards on Bir el Gubi. Resuming their advance toward El Adem before noon, armoured cars of

15552-538: The north and east against accurate defensive fire. The Axis supply situation became desperate; defending the German rear, the "Ariete" Division repulsed attacks by the British armoured brigades on 29 May and during the first week of June. The Bir Hakeim box was defended by the 1st Free French Brigade under Marie-Pierre Kœnig . On 27 May, the Italian IX Tank Battalion of the 132nd Tank Infantry Regiment (Ariete Division), which had not been engaged in

15696-467: The original garrison of 3,600 escaped and about 500 French troops, many of whom were wounded, were captured when the 90th Light Division occupied the position on 11 June. Early on 29 May, supply vehicles supported by the Trieste and Ariete divisions, worked through the minefield north of Bir Hakeim and reached the Afrika Korps . On 30 May, Rommel pulled the Afrika Korps back westward against

15840-474: The outskirts of Tripoli . This massacre occurred, at least in part, reportedly due to the rape and sexual assault of Libyan and Turkish women by the Italian troops. Nevertheless, as a consequence, on the next day the 1911 Tripoli massacre had Italian troops systematically murder thousands of civilians by moving through local homes and gardens one by one, including by setting fire to a mosque with 100 refugees inside. Although Italian authorities attempted to keep

15984-447: The port for an Allied offensive and Auchinleck expected it to be able to hold out for two months with the supplies in the fortress. The defences at Tobruk had not been maintained and it was garrisoned by inexperienced troops. Gott garrisoned Tobruk with the two brigades of 2nd South African Division (Major-General Hendrik Klopper ) along with the 201st Guards (Motorised) Brigade , 11th Indian Infantry Brigade , 32nd Army Tank Brigade and

16128-550: The rear, surrounding them and cutting off all escape and the gunners kept firing until the eight guns had been destroyed. About half the gun detachments were killed and wounded, including the battery commander and many officers. The last gun in action was manned by Lieutenant Ashley and a signaller; when the battery had been silenced, the Axis tanks approached cautiously and the South African gunners were taken prisoner. On 14 June, Auchinleck authorised Ritchie to withdraw from

16272-468: The resistance. During the war, Mustafa Kemal Bey, the future founder of the Republic of Turkey , was wounded by shrapnel to his eye. The cost of the war was defrayed chiefly by voluntary offerings from Muslims; men, weapons, ammunition and all kinds of other supplies were constantly sent across to the Egyptian and Tunisian frontiers, not withstanding their neutrality. The Italians occupied Sidi Barrani on

16416-437: The rest of the war. Although Italy could extend its control to almost all of the 2,000 km of the Libyan coast between April and early August 1912, its ground forces could not venture beyond the protection of the navy's guns and so were limited to a thin coastal strip. In the summer of 1912, Italy began operations against the Ottoman possessions in the Aegean Sea with the approval of the other powers, which were eager to end

16560-439: The shores. However, the Italians still could not penetrate deep inland. The Libyans and Turks, estimated at 15,000, made frequent attacks day and night on the strongly-entrenched Italian garrison in the southern suburbs of Benghazi . The four Italian infantry regiments on the defensive were supported by the cruisers San Marco and Agordat . The Italians rarely attempted a sortie. An attack of 20,000 Ottoman and local troops

16704-426: The smaller Axis force received from June–October 1941 but sufficient for an offensive. The 900 mi (1,400 km) advance to Gazala succeeded because Benghazi was open, reducing the transport distance for about 33 percent of the supplies of the Panzerarmee to 280 mi (450 km). The Italians tried to restrain Rommel by advocating the capture of Malta, which would postpone another offensive in Africa until

16848-548: The south and the 1st Free French Brigade furthest south at Bir Hakeim. The 1st and 7th Armoured Divisions waited behind the main line as a mobile counter-attack force, the 2nd South African Division formed a garrison at Tobruk and the 5th Indian Infantry Division (which had arrived in April to relieve the 4th Indian Infantry Division ) was held in reserve. The Allies had 110,000 men, 843 tanks and 604 aircraft. The Axis retreat to El Agheila after Operation Crusader reduced

16992-592: The south end of the line around the Bir Hakeim box by the Free French garrison left Panzerarmee Afrika with a long and vulnerable supply route around the Gazala Line. Rommel retired to a defensive position backing onto Allied minefields (the Cauldron), forming a base in the midst of the British defences. Italian engineers lifted mines from the west side of the minefields to create a supply route through to

17136-403: The south, heading towards the Ariete positions. At 07:00 C Squadron of the Queen's Bays came into contact with the tank units of the Ariete , which sustained the shock and at about 08:00 forced the British to withdraw. On the start line the 6th RTR was on the right, with C Squadron on the left, B Squadron on the right and A Squadron ready to intervene on both flanks. The 1st RTR was deployed on

17280-529: The summer was an attack of five Italian torpedo boats in the Dardanelles on 18 July. With a decree of 5 November 1911, Italy declared its sovereignty over Libya. Although the Italians controlled the coast, many of their troops had been killed in battle and nearly 6,000 Ottoman soldiers remained to face an army of nearly 140,000 Italians. As a result, the Ottomans began using guerrilla tactics. Indeed, some "Young Turk" officers reached Libya and helped organize

17424-424: The supply distance from Tripoli to 460 mi (740 km). The discovery of 13,000 long tons (13,000 t) of fuel at Tripoli eased the supply crisis, despite the delivery of only 50,000 long tons (51,000 t) of supplies in January. The Panzerarmee had a much shorter supply line and the British were burdened by an over-extended supply line. Luftflotte II in Sicily had also regained air superiority for

17568-483: The tactical HQs of the two British divisions, as well as the HQs of the 9th Indian Infantry Brigade , the 10th Indian Infantry Brigade and other smaller units, which caused command to break down. The 22nd Armoured Brigade, having lost 60 of its 156 tanks, was forced from the battlefield by more attacks from the 15th Panzer Division. Three Indian infantry battalions, a reconnaissance regiment and four artillery regiments of

17712-648: The time evening came we had penetrated a substantial distance into the British positions. On the following day the defenders were to receive their quietus. After heavy Stuka attacks, the infantry again surged forward against the British field positions.[...] Piece by piece the elaborate British defences were won until by early afternoon the whole position was ours. The last British resistance was quenched. We took in all 3,000 prisoners and destroyed or captured 101 tanks and armoured cars, as well as 124 guns of all kinds. Acting on mistaken reports about German tank losses, Auchinleck strongly urged Ritchie to counter-attack along

17856-449: The use of airplanes in combat . On 23 October 1911, an Italian pilot, Capitano Carlo Piazza, flew over Turkish lines on the world's first aerial reconnaissance mission, and on 1 November, the first aerial bomb was dropped by Sottotenente Giulio Gavotti , on Turkish troops in Libya , from an early model of Etrich Taube aircraft. The Turks , using rifles, were the first to shoot down an airplane. Another use of new technology

18000-405: The war after the Battle of Singapore in February 1942. Later in the year, a Court of Inquiry ( in absentia ) found Klopper to be largely blameless for the surrender and ascribed the defeat to failures among the British high command. The findings were kept secret until after the war, doing little to restore the reputation of Klopper and his troops. With the capture of Tobruk, the Axis gained

18144-449: The wings but their M13s and the self-propelled guns managed to prevent the envelopment and forced the British to march along the front, exposing the flanks of their tanks to Italian fire. At 09:00, finding itself under fire from anti-tank guns as well as tanks, C Squadron, 6th RTR closed in on the Italian tanks, managing to hit an Italian vehicle. The pressure on the Italian tanks managed to push them to within about 220 yd (200 m) of

18288-462: The withdrawal of other Allied formations. The South African battery commander had decided to stay and maintain fire against the German tanks, to delay the Germans for as long as possible. The remaining guns were commanded individually and fired at the Panzers over open sights. The German tanks took up positions behind the ridge, with anti-tank guns placed between them. A column of Panzers attacked from

18432-569: Was "more burdensome than useful as an ally. Against Austria, she harbours a latent hostility that nothing can disarm". The tensions within the Triple Alliance would eventually lead Italy to sign the 1915 Treaty of London , which had it abandon the Triple Alliance and join the Entente. In Italy itself, massive funerals for fallen heroes brought the Catholic Church closer to the government from which it had long been alienated. There emerged

18576-407: Was a costly enterprise for Italy. Instead of the 30 million lire a month judged sufficient at its beginning, it reached a cost of 80 million a month for a much longer period than was originally estimated. The war cost Italy 1.3 billion lire , nearly a billion more than Giovanni Giolitti estimated before the war. This ruined ten years of fiscal prudence. After the withdrawal of the Ottoman army

18720-595: Was a network of wireless telegraphy stations established soon after the initial landings. Guglielmo Marconi , the inventor of wireless telegraphy, came to Libya to conduct experiments with the Italian Corps of Engineers. Italian claims to Libya date back to the Ottoman defeat by the Russian Empire during the War of 1877–1878 and subsequent disputes thereafter. At the Congress of Berlin in 1878, France and

18864-471: Was advancing south of the position and did not take part in the action. Further to the east, the 15th Panzer Division had engaged the 4th Armoured Brigade of the 7th Armoured Division, which had been ordered south to support the 3rd Indian and 7th Motorised brigades. In a mutually costly engagement, the Germans were surprised by the range and power of the 75 mm guns on the new M3 (Grant) tanks. The 4th Armoured Brigade then withdrew toward El Adem and spent

19008-690: Was an important experience for the young officers of the Ottoman Army, such as Mustafa Kemal Bey , Enver Bey , Ali Fethi Bey , Cami Bey , Nuri Bey and many others. These young officers were to perform important military duties and accomplishments in the First World War, led the Turkish independency war and found the Republic of Turkey. Because of the First World War, the Dodecanese remained under Italian military occupation. According to

19152-411: Was assigned to Derna War quarters to coordinate the field on 6 March 1912. The Libyan campaign ground to a stalemate by December 1911. On 3 March 1912, 1,500 Libyan volunteers attacked Italian troops who were building trenches near Derna. The Italians, who were outnumbered but had superior weaponry, held the line. A lack of coordination between the Italian units sent from Derna as reinforcements and

19296-571: Was estimated that there were 1,188 tank casualties in 17 days. On 22 June, the Desert Air Force had 463 operational aircraft, 420 of them in the Middle East, the Germans 183 and the Italians 238, with another 174 in reserve and 500 in the Mediterranean excluding Italy. The Royal Army Ordnance Corps recovered 581 tanks up to 19 June, repaired 278 and sent 222 back to Egypt (326 being US-made tanks). The Eighth Army

19440-528: Was fancifully depicted as rich in minerals and well-watered, defended by only 4,000 Ottoman troops. Also, its population was described as hostile to the Ottomans and friendly to the Italians, and they predicted that the future invasion would be little more than a "military walk". The Italian government remained committed into 1911 to the maintenance of the Ottoman Empire, which was a close friend of its German ally. Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti rejected nationalist calls for conflict over Ottoman Albania , which

19584-403: Was finished just before the Axis offensive but work on boxes at Point 171 4.0 mi (6.4 km) south-east of Bir Hakeim and Bir el Gubi did not begin until 25 May. Churchill pressed Auchinleck to attack to push the Axis out of Cyrenaica and relieve the pressure on Malta, which Churchill felt was essential to the war effort, ...having particular regard to Malta, the loss of which would be

19728-527: Was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captured the Ottoman Tripolitania Vilayet , of which the main sub-provinces were Fezzan , Cyrenaica , and Tripoli itself. These territories became the colonies of Italian Tripolitania and Cyrenaica , which would later merge into Italian Libya . During

19872-407: Was killed when his aircraft was shot down and Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery was appointed as his replacement. In 2017, James Holland wrote, As Rommel said to a captured British officer, 'What difference does it make if you have two tanks to my one, when you spread them out and let me smash them in detail?' That one sentence really did encapsulate the nub of the matter and the failure of

20016-507: Was met by massed anti-tank fire and checked. The 32nd Army Tank Brigade, advancing from the north, joined the attack at dawn but also ran into massed fire, losing fifty of seventy tanks. By early afternoon on 5 June, Rommel split his forces, deciding to attack east with the Ariete and 21st Panzer divisions while he sent elements of 15th Panzer Division northwards against the Knightsbridge Box. The eastward thrust towards Bir el Hatmat dispersed

20160-571: Was one of the heaviest blows I can recall during the war. Not only were its military effects grievous, but it had affected the reputation of the British armies. Auchinleck dismissed Ritchie on 25 June and assumed command of the Eighth Army for the First Battle of El Alamein , where he stopped Rommel's advance. In August, Auchinleck was replaced as Eighth Army commander by the XIII Corps commander, Lieutenant-General William Gott and as C-in-C Middle East Command by General Sir Harold Alexander. Gott

20304-514: Was reduced to about 185 operational tanks by the end of the battle and shuffling operational tanks and crews between units disrupted unit organisation. Seven field artillery regiments, 6,000 lorries and two tank repair workshops (which had been moved into Tobruk) were lost. By 1 July, the Eighth Army was back at El Alamein, with 137 serviceable tanks, 42 en route from workshops and 902 tanks waiting to be repaired. Panzerarmee Afrika began Unternehmen Aïda an advance upon Egypt, while

20448-402: Was repulsed on 30 November with considerable losses. Shortly afterward, the garrison was reinforced by the 57th infantry regiment from Italy. The battleship Regina Elena also arrived from Tobruk. During the night of 14 and 15 December, the Ottomans attacked in great force but were repulsed with aid of the fire from the ships. The Italians lost several field guns. At Derna , the Ottomans and

20592-630: Was seen as a possible colonial project, as late as the summer of 1911. However, the Agadir Crisis in which French military action in Morocco in July 1911 would lead to the establishment of a French protectorate , changed the political calculations. The Italian leadership then decided that it could safely accede to public demands for a colonial project. The Triple Entente powers were highly supportive. British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey stated to

20736-456: Was that by the mid-1930s it had been cut in half due to emigration, famine, and war casualties. The Libyan population in 1950 was at the same level as in 1911, approximately 1.5 million. In 1924, the Serbian diplomat Miroslav Spalajković could look back on the events that led to the First World War and its aftermath and state of the Italian attack, "all subsequent events are nothing more than

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