76-700: 1941 1942 Associated articles Operation Crusader (18 November – 30 December 1941) was a military operation of the Western Desert campaign during World War II by the British Eighth Army (with Commonwealth, Indian and Allied contingents) against the Axis forces (German and Italian) in North Africa commanded by Generalleutnant (Lieutenant-General) Erwin Rommel . The operation
152-528: A British attack the previous night. While Gruppe Böttcher contained the British tank attacks in the Bologna sector, a battalion of Bersaglieri from the "Trieste" Division counter-attacked the British breakout from Tobruk. Afterwards Oberstleutnant Fritz Bayerlein wrote: On 25 November heavy fighting flared up again at Tobruk, where our holding force was caught between pincers, one coming from
228-491: A German armoured attack on Belhamed almost destroyed the 20th Battalion. The New Zealanders suffered 879 dead, 1,699 wounded and 2,042 captured. The leading elements of the 15th Panzer Division had reached Ed Duda but before night fell were held up by the defenders. A counter-attack by the 4th Royal Tank Regiment and Australian infantry recaptured the positions, forcing the Germans back 1,000 yd (910 m). On 29 November,
304-405: A battery of the 51st Field Regiment RA. The Tobruk breakout force attacked with the 2nd King's Own on the right flank, the 2nd Black Watch in the centre and the 2nd King's Own on the left flank, to capture strongpoints leading to Ed Duda. The Italians were stunned by the massive fire and a company of the "Pavia" Division was overrun in the dark but the "Bologna" Division recovered. By mid-afternoon,
380-599: A deception plan to persuade the Axis that the main Allied attack would not be ready until early December and be a sweeping outflanking move through Jarabub, an oasis on the edge of the Great Sand Sea, more than 150 mi (240 km) to the south of the real point of attack. That proved so successful that Rommel, refusing to believe that an attack was imminent, was not in Africa when it came. Before dawn on 18 November,
456-532: The Afrika Korps HQ and captured most of its staff (Crüwell was absent) and no supplies reached either panzer division that day. Later that day, the 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Group was sent north of the 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade to apply pressure on Tobruk and the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade covered Bardia and the Sollum–Halfaya positions. On 23 November, Totensonntag (Sunday of
532-761: The Gazala position and on 15 December began a withdrawal to El Agheila . The 2nd South African Division captured Bardia on 2 January 1942, Sollum on 12 January and the fortified Halfaya position on 17 January, taking about 13,800 prisoners. On 21 January 1942, Rommel surprised the Eighth Army and drove it back to Gazala where both sides regrouped. The Battle of Gazala began at the end of May 1942. Nachrichten Fernaufklärungs Kompanie (FAK 621 [Signals Unit 621]) provided Rommel with tactical intelligence of high quality from August 1941 to January 1942. The German organisation benefited greatly from British incompetence in
608-550: The Savona Division but was repulsed. To the south, two battalions of, the 42nd RTR and part of the 44th RTR captured Sidi Omar and most of the Libyan Omar strongpoints, the westernmost fortifications of the Axis border defences, for the loss of 37 tanks, most of them Matildas, to mines and anti-tank guns. The tank losses caused a delay in attacks on the other strong points until replacements had arrived. On 23 November,
684-482: The 15th Panzer Division set off west, south of Sidi Rezegh. The remnants of the 21st Panzer Division were supposed to be moving up on their right to form a pincer but were in disarray when Ravenstein was captured reconnoitring that morning. In the afternoon, to the east of Sidi Rezegh, at the Action at Point 175 , elements of Ariete overran the 21st New Zealand Battalion. The New Zealanders thought that reinforcements from
760-446: The 16th Infantry Brigade ( 2nd King's Own ) the 32nd Army Tank Brigade (1/4th RTR, 7th RTR), the 1st, 104th and 107th regiments RHA and 144th Field Regiment RA, with detachments of the 2nd and 54th Field Companies RE and several armoured cars (to lift mines each carrying a sapper) moved up. The Polish Carpathian Brigade was to mount a diversion just before dawn against the "Pavia" Division. The "Bologna", "Brescia" and "Pavia" divisions on
836-446: The 1st South African Brigade had arrived from the south-west and held their fire. Lieutenant-Colonel Howard Kippenberger wrote, About 5.30 p.m. damned Italian Motorized Division (Ariete) turned up. They passed with five tanks leading, twenty following, and a huge column of transport and guns and rolled straight over our infantry on Pt. 175. The 24th and 26th Battalions met a similar fate at Sidi Rezegh on 30 November. On 1 December,
SECTION 10
#1732783283071912-608: The 20th Australian Infantry Brigade improved the Australian position at the Ras el Medauar salient and the 24th Australian Infantry Brigade made an abortive attack on the shoulders of the salient, the garrison then returning to active defence. The Afrika Korps was to be defeated by the 7th Armoured Division as the South African Division covered its left flank. XIII Corps and the 4th Armoured Brigade (detached from
988-423: The 21st Panzer Division and Ariete were in difficulty; Ritchie ordered the 7th Armoured Division to "stick to them like hell". Eight Matilda tanks provided the preliminary bombardment for a counter-attack by two companies of the 2/13th Australian Infantry Battalion on the night of 29/30 November. In a bayonet charge against German positions, the 2/13th suffered two killed, five wounded and took 167 prisoners. After
1064-484: The 21st Panzer Division attacked north-west of Halfaya towards Capuzzo and Bardia. Ariete , approaching Bir Ghirba (15 mi (24 km) north-east of Sidi Omar, from the west, was ordered towards Fort Capuzzo to clear any opposition and link with the 21st Panzer Division. They were to be supported by the depleted Infantry Regiment 115 of the 15th Panzer Division, which was to advance with some artillery, south-east from Bardia toward Fort Capuzzo. The two battalions of
1140-493: The 21st Panzer Division went on the defensive with the "Afrika" Division between Sidi Rezegh and Tobruk, while the 15th Panzer Division moved 15 mi (24 km) east to Gambut, ready for a battle of manoeuvre, which General Ludwig Crüwell believed would favour the Afrika Korps ; the 21st Panzer Division was ordered to Belhamed. On 22 November, with the 7th Armoured Division down to 209 tanks, Norrie decided to wait. In
1216-542: The 2nd New Zealand Division, advanced with the 4th Armoured Brigade on its left and the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade, 4th Indian Division on its right at Sidi Omar. On 19 November, the 22nd Armoured Brigade attacked the Ariete Division at Bir el Gubi but withdrew after 25 of its new Crusader tanks were knocked out for an Italian loss of 34 tanks. The 7th Armoured Brigade and the Support Group advanced to
1292-567: The 32nd Tank Brigade at Ed Duda creating a small bridgehead. By 28 November, Bologna had regrouped largely in the Bu Amud and Belhamed areas and deployed along 8 mi (13 km) of the Via Balbia to the Tobruk bypass. On the night of 27/28 November, Rommel wanted to cut the Tobruk corridor and to destroy the defenders. Crüwell first wanted to eliminate the 7th Armoured Division tanks to
1368-414: The 4th Armoured Brigade to XIII Corps, allowing the 22nd Armoured Brigade to be bogged down against the "Ariete" Division and letting the 7th Armoured Brigade advance towards Tobruk, Cunningham had dispersed the British tanks before they met the main Axis armoured force. On 20 November, the 15th Panzer Division was ordered to Sidi Aziz and thence towards Capuzzo, the 21st Panzer Division was to move north of
1444-423: The 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade captured Upper Sollum and the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade captured Italian positions near Sidi Omar. Cunningham was alarmed at the extent of British tank losses, XXX Corps reporting that it was down to 44 tanks against 120 serviceable Axis tanks. On the morning of 23 November, before the destruction of the 5th South African Infantry Brigade, Cunningham asked Auchinleck to meet him at
1520-400: The 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade continued its advance south-east, down the main road from Fort Capuzzo towards Sollum and cut off of the Axis positions from Sidi Omar to Sollum and Halfaya from Bardia and its supply route. Cunningham decided that the main action at Tobruk needed more infantry and ordered XIII Corps to send the 2nd New Zealand Division west, leaving a skeleton force to contain
1596-431: The 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade, between Fort Capuzzo and Sollum Barracks, were engaged by the converging elements of the 15th Panzer Division and the 21st Panzer Division at dusk on 26 November. During the night, Infantry Regiment 115 got to within 800 yd (730 m) of Capuzzo. In the early hours of 27 November, Rommel met with the commanders of the panzer divisions at Bardia. The Afrika Korps had to return to
SECTION 20
#17327832830711672-607: The 5th South African Brigade and the 22nd Armoured Brigade lost about eleven of its 43 remaining tanks; the Afrika Korps suffered the loss of 72 of its 162 tanks. Many officers and NCOs became casualties. The tactical victory was too costly for the Germans; not exploiting surprise to unite with the Italians was costly, the tank losses were irreplaceable and had a serious effect on operations. Comando Supremo in Rome agreed to put
1748-449: The 70th Infantry Division in Tobruk attacked the 25th "Bologna" Infantry Division to reach Sidi Rezegh. Parts of the "Pavia" Division arrived and contained the attack. (On 26 November, the British attacked Ed Duda ridge and early on 27 November linked up with a small force of New Zealanders.) The 7th Armoured Division had planned its attack northwards to Tobruk to start at 8:30 a.m. on 21 November but at 7:45 a.m., patrols reported tanks to
1824-488: The 7th Armoured Brigade had been joined by the Support Group and the remnants of the 6th RTR to hold on, the tanks down to 28 runners. The South African brigade was dug in south-east of Bir el Haiad but the panzers were between them and Sidi Rezegh. By dusk on 21 November, the 4th Armoured Brigade was 8 mi (13 km) south-east of Sidi Rezegh and the 22nd Armoured Brigade was in contact with German tanks at Bir el Haiad, 12 mi (19 km) south-west of Sidi Rezegh. From
1900-403: The 7th Armoured Division), would make a clockwise flanking advance west of Sidi Omar . To threaten the rear of the Axis defences east from Sidi Omar to the coast at Halfaya. After the destruction of the Axis armour by the 7th Armoured Division, XIII Corps was to advance north to Bardia. XXX Corps was to continue north-west to Tobruk to meet a breakout by the 70th Infantry Division. There was also
1976-458: The Australian 2/13th Battalion moved to reinforce Ed Duda, where several platoons suffered severe casualties from artillery-fire. On the night of 28 November, Rommel rejected Crüwell's plan for a direct advance towards Tobruk since frontal attacks during the siege had failed. He decided on a circling movement to attack Ed Duda from the south-west, move on to cut off British forces outside the Tobruk perimeter and to destroy them. Early on 29 November,
2052-542: The Axis positions at Bardia and Capuzzo; XXX Corps was to continue to attack the Axis tank forces and support the New Zealand Division if it encountered tanks. Neither the Eighth Army HQ or the 7th Armoured Division HQ knew the real condition of its tank units until 23 November; the severely depleted 7th Armoured Brigade was ordered to maintain its hold on Sidi Rezegh. The 7th Indian Infantry Brigade
2128-606: The British War Cabinet demanding that General Archibald Wavell prevent its loss. The garrison, mainly the 9th Australian Division , had defeated an Axis attack in May 1941 and the siege had settled into an active defence by the Australians, who patrolled most nights, reconnoitring, attacking and ambushing, gaining mastery over no man's land. Larger sorties needed reinforcements from Egypt which were not available but
2204-606: The British increased the proportion of ships sunk from 19 per cent in July to 25 per cent in September, when Benghazi was bombed and ships diverted to Tripoli, air supply in October making little difference. Deliveries averaged 72,000 long tons (73,000 t) per month from July to October, but the consumption of 30 to 50 per cent of fuel deliveries by road transport and 35 per cent of supply lorries unserviceable reduced deliveries to
2280-523: The Dead to the Germans) the 15th Panzer Division moved southwards and ran into the positions of the 7th Support Group which faced north-west and was equally surprised. The Panzers turned west and encountered the 5th South African Brigade near Sidi Rezegh. Neumann-Silkow wanted to exploit the situation but Crüwell pressed on southwards towards the "Ariete" Division and ran into the 1st South African Brigade, which
2356-480: The Desert Air Force. South of the border, Panzer Regiment 5, 21st Panzer Division, attacked the 7th Indian Brigade at Sidi Omar but was repulsed by the 1st Field Regiment RA firing over open sights. A second attack left Panzer Regiment 5 with few operational tanks. The rest of 21st Panzer Division had headed north-east, south of the border, to Halfaya. By the evening of 25 November, the 15th Panzer Division
Operation Crusader - Misplaced Pages Continue
2432-469: The Eighth Army HQ had known by radio intercepts that both divisions of the Afrika Korps were heading west to Tobruk, with the "Ariete" Division on their left. The audacious manoeuvre by Afrika Korps had failed but come within 4 mi (6.4 km) of 50 Field Maintenance Centre, the supply base of XIII Corps. The dash of the Afrika Korps to the south removed a severe threat to the left flank of
2508-423: The Eighth Army HQ to decide whether to continue Crusader. Arriving that evening Auchinleck bluntly insisted that Cunningham continue the operation regardless of loss. Later on 23 November Rommel decided to finish off the 7th Armoured Division and advance towards Sidi Omar to relieve the frontier garrisons. In the morning of 24 November, Rommel took command of the Afrika Korps and the "Ariete" Division to destroy
2584-465: The Eighth Army advanced westwards from Mersa Matruh , crossed the Libyan border near Fort Maddalena, about 50 mi (80 km) south of Sidi Omar, then turned the north-west. Storms on the night before the offensive grounded the aircraft of both sides. The 7th Armoured Brigade of the 7th Armoured Division advanced north-west towards Tobruk with the 22nd Armoured Brigade to the west. XIII Corps, with
2660-649: The General Staff, Major-General Neil Ritchie , promoting him to acting lieutenant-general. From 26 to 27 November, the 70th Infantry Division killed or captured the Italian defenders of several concrete pillboxes and reached Ed Duda. On 27 November, the 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade attacked a battalion of the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment , dug in around the Prophet's Tomb and used their machine-guns to great effect. The 6th New Zealand Brigade managed to link up with
2736-635: The Government Code and Cypher School (GC & CS) Ultra decrypts revealed of the Axis equivalents. In October 1941, British Army Enigma decrypts had contained German data about increased British tank strengths. The German information was so accurate that the War Office became seriously worried about signals security but only July 1942, when the British captured FAK 621, did they learn the extent of German eavesdropping. A German motorised division needed 350 long tons (360 t) per day, and moving
2812-604: The New Zealand Division, which had remained ignorant of the danger because news of the losses of the 7th Armoured Division had not reached XIII Corps and German tank losses had been wildly overestimated. The New Zealand Division engaged elements of the Afrika , "Trieste", "Bologna" and "Pavia" Divisions, advanced westwards and retook the Sidi Rezegh airfield and the overlooking positions to the north that led to Tobruk. The 70th Infantry Division resumed its attack on 26 November, and
2888-530: The Panzer Regiment 8 in the centre. The "Ariete" Division was to attack on the left with troop carrying vehicles following the tanks. The infantry of the 21st Panzer Division joined the attack after an hour, advancing from the north. The "Ariete" Division attack was prevented when it was attacked from a flank by the 22nd Armoured Brigade and Panzer Regiment 5 diverted to the north-east to face New Zealand units which had just arrived. The Axis attack overran
2964-539: The Tobruk front, where the 70th Infantry Division and the 2nd New Zealand Division had gained the initiative. On 25 November, in the Trento Division sector, the 2nd Battalion Queens Royal Regiment attacked the Bondi strongpoint but was repulsed. The garrison of Tugun , down to half their strength and exhausted and low on ammunition, food and water, surrendered on the evening of 25 November after it had defeated
3040-525: The Tobruk perimeter were to receive 40,000 rounds from 100 guns. The 7th Armoured Brigade and the 7th Support Group was to advance from Sidi Rezegh and capture part of the ridge above the Trigh Capuzzo, then the 6th RTR was to advance and join the breakthrough force at El Duda. The 7th Support Group consisted of 1st Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (1st KRRC), 2nd Battalion, The Rifle Brigade, 3rd Field Regiment RA (anti-tank), 60th Field Regiment RA and
3116-505: The Trigh el Abd on Sidi Omar. Nothing but British reconnaissance units were found and then the 21st Panzer Division was stranded, short of fuel and ammunition. Crüwell found that British tanks were moving west along the Trigh el Abd. During the afternoon, the 15th Panzer Division attacked the 4th Armoured Brigade near Gabr Saleh and inflicted another ten tank casualties, reducing it to less than two-thirds its establishment of 164 tanks and forcing
Operation Crusader - Misplaced Pages Continue
3192-678: The XX Mobile Corps, including the Ariete Armoured Division and the Trieste Motorised Division, under Rommel's command. Further afield, during the morning the 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade captured much of the Afrika Korps staff and most of its wireless units on the Trigh Capuzzo. The New Zealanders continued their advance and took the ridge at Point 175, after defeating Afrika Regiment 361. The 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade took Gambut,
3268-413: The afternoon, the 22nd Armoured Brigade was holding on and the 4th Armoured Brigade, with 70 tanks, had arrived on the left flank of the 15th Panzer Division, having dashed over 20 mi (32 km) north-east and begun harassing its rear echelons. The 15th Panzer Division was also suffering losses from bombing. As night fell, the British tanks disengaged to replenish, inexplicably moving south, which left
3344-403: The airfield at Sidi Rezegh, captured 19 aircraft and menaced the rear of Division z.b.V. Afrika . After the failure of a counter-attack by Division z.b.V. Afrika and the "Bologna" Division the division dug in facing south. A battlegoup of the he 21st Panzer Division moved to Gabr Saleh and knocked out 23 Stuart tanks of the 4th Armoured Brigade for a loss of three by nightfall. By attaching
3420-421: The armoured cars escaped. Rommel congratulated Brigadier James Hargest on the determined New Zealand defence. The 21st Panzer Division ran into the 22nd battalion, 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade at Bir el Menastir while it was heading west to Tobruk from Bardia. After an exchange lasting most of the day, it was forced to detour south via Sidi Azeiz, which delayed its return to Tobruk by a day. By early afternoon,
3496-516: The attack petered out since the infantry could not capture the "Bologna" Division defences around the Tugun strongpoint. On 21 November, there was a costly action by parts of the German 155th Rifle Regiment, Artillery Group Bottcher, Panzer Regiment 5 and the 4th, 7th and 22nd Armoured Brigades for possession of Sidi Rezegh and the high ground held by the "Bologna" Division. On 22 November, Scobie ordered
3572-491: The break-out force had advanced some 3.5 mi (5.6 km) toward Ed Duda on the main supply road when they paused, as it became clear that the 7th Armoured Division would not link up. The central attack by the Black Watch involved a charge under massed machine-gun fire against strongpoints until it reached strongpoint Tiger. The Black Watch lost an estimated 200 men and its commanding officer. The British pressed on but
3648-504: The breakthrough with Cunningham, who had wanted to halt the offensive and withdraw. Auchinleck handed Cunningham a directive on 25 November before returning to Cairo, You will therefore continue to attack the enemy relentlessly using all your resources, even to the last tank. Your ultimate object remains the conquest of Cyrenaica and then to advance on Tripoli.... Once in Cairo, Auchinleck relieved Cunningham and substituted his Deputy Chief of
3724-426: The brigade to another retirement. The 22nd Armoured Brigade had been ordered to disengage from the "Ariete" Division and to move east in support of the 4th Armoured Brigade. The 1st South African Division was to take over against the "Ariete" Division and the 4th Armoured Brigade was released from its role as flank guard for XIII Corps. The 22nd Armoured Brigade arrived too late to support the 4th Armoured Brigade. During
3800-410: The early afternoon, the 21st Panzer Division attacked Sidi Rezegh and captured the airfield. Despite having fewer tanks, German all-arms tactics knocked out fifty tanks (mainly from the 22nd Armoured Brigade) and pushed the 7th Armoured Division back. The fighting at Sidi Rezegh continued until 22 November, with the 5th South African Brigade fighting to the south of the airfield attacking northwards, which
3876-573: The eastern flank, the 25th Australian Battalion repulsed Ariete as it moved from Point 175. Western Desert campaign Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.132 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 946095054 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:41:23 GMT Via Balbia Too Many Requests If you report this error to
SECTION 50
#17327832830713952-453: The fighting at Ed Duda, Rommel ordered the 15th Panzer Division to Bir Bu Creimisa, 5 mi (8.0 km) to the south and attack again north-eastwards on 30 November between Sidi Rezegh and Belhamed, leaving Ed Duda outside the encirclement. By mid-afternoon, the 6th New Zealand Brigade had come under severe pressure on the west end of the Sidi Rezegh position. The 24th Australian Battalion and two companies of 26th Battalion were overrun but on
4028-420: The front. In November, during Operation Crusader, a five-ship convoy was sunk and air attacks on road convoys prevented daylight journeys. Lack of deliveries and the Eighth Army offensive forced a retreat to El Agheila from 4 December, crowding the Via Balbia , where British ambushes destroyed about half of the remaining Axis transport. Convoys to Tripoli resumed and ship losses increased but by 16 December,
4104-436: The junction of the 70th Infantry Division and the 2nd New Zealand Division, which hampered co-ordination. When two Italian motorised battalions of Bersaglieri , with tanks, anti-tank guns and artillery, moved toward Sidi Rezegh, they overran a New Zealand field hospital and captured 1,000 patients and 700 medical staff. About 200 Germans, held captive in the enclosure on the grounds of the hospital were liberated. At 6:00 p.m.,
4180-479: The navy's fuel reserve and allowed only one more battleship convoy. Bizerta , Tunisia , was canvassed as an entrepôt , but it was in range of RAF aircraft from Malta and was another 500 mi (800 km) west of Tripoli. The great importance of Tobruk as an entrepôt for supplies and the denial of it to an opponent led to Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) and Comando Supremo making frequent demands for its capture and Winston Churchill and
4256-411: The next day, elements linked with the advancing New Zealanders of the 4th New Zealand Brigade at Ed Duda on the Tobruk by-pass. The 6th New Zealand Brigade cleared the Sidi Rezegh escarpment in a mutually-costly engagement. At noon on 27 November, the 15th Panzer Division reached Bir el Chleta and met the 22nd Armoured Brigade, which had been reorganised as a composite regiment with less than 50 tanks. By
4332-451: The night of 20/21 November, Rommel ordered the German tanks north-west for an attack on Sidi Rezegh. The 70th Infantry Division was to break out from Tobruk on 21 November and cut off the Germans to the south-east. The night before, the garrison gapped the wire, planted and marked minefields and put four bridges over the anti-tank ditch. Infantry On the evening of 20 November the 14th Infantry Brigade (2nd Battalion Black Watch , 2nd Queen's),
4408-460: The north, the 70th Infantry Division was opposed by German and Italian troops facing north and west. Another Axis force faced south. Part of the 7th Support Group was north of the airfield at Sidi Rezegh and the rest with the 7th Armoured Brigade faced south against most of the DAK advancing north, which was being pursued by the 4th and 22nd Armoured brigades from the south. Rommel divided his forces again,
4484-625: The plan to have little chance of success and resolved to advance to Sidi Azeiz, where he believed there was a British supply dump, before he headed to Tobruk. Defending the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Headquarters at Sidi Azeiz were a company of the 22nd New Zealand Infantry Battalion and the armoured cars of the New Zealand Divisional Cavalry Regiment , with some field artillery, anti-tank, anti-aircraft and machine-gun units. The New Zealanders were overrun early on 27 November and 700 prisoners were taken but
4560-448: The position to be consolidated and the corridor widened in the hope that the Eighth Army would link up. The 2nd York and Lancaster Regiment with tank support took strongpoint Tiger and left a 7,000 yd (6,400 m) gap between the corridor and Ed Duda, but attacks on the Tugun and Dalby Square strongpoints failed. The defenders of strongpoint Tugun reduced the strength in one attacking British company to 33 all ranks. On 23 November,
4636-400: The remnants of the British force and block the routes of retreat to Egypt and return by the evening or the next morning at the latest. The German and Italian tanks scattered the many rear echelon support units in their path, split XXX Corps and almost cut off XIII Corps. On 25 November, the 15th Panzer Division set off north-east for Sidi Azeiz, found the area empty and was constantly attacked by
SECTION 60
#17327832830714712-446: The route west open for the 15th Panzer Division. The New Zealand Division, engaged in heavy fighting on the south-eastern end of the tenuous corridor into Tobruk, would be vulnerable to the Afrika Korps . By 27 November, the situation of the Eighth Army had improved since XXX Corps had reorganised after the chaos of the breakthrough and the New Zealand Division had linked up with the Tobruk garrison. Auchinleck had spent three days during
4788-593: The south-east and the other from the fortress itself. By mustering all their strength, the Boettcher Group succeeded in beating off most of these attacks, and the only enemy penetration was brought to a standstill by an Italian counterattack. Rommel ordered the 21st Panzer Division back to Tobruk, and the 15th Panzer Division was to attack forces that were thought to besiege the border positions between Fort Capuzzo and Sidi Omar. The 15th Panzer Division first had to capture Sidi Azeiz to make room. Neumann-Silkow felt
4864-409: The south-east. The 7th Hussars and 2nd RTR faced the tanks and four infantry companies with the guns of the Support Group attacked to the north, expecting reinforcements from the 5th South African Infantry Brigade. The South Africans had been detached from the 1st South African Division at Bir el Gubi, which faced the "Ariete" Division and was en route. The Support Group attack failed and by nightfall
4940-421: The south. The 15th Panzer Division spent most of 28 November engaged with the 4th and 22nd Armoured brigades and looking for supplies. Despite being outnumbered 2–1 in tanks and at times being immobile because of lack of fuel, the 15th Panzer Division pushed the British tanks southwards and then moved to the west. On 28 November, fighting continued around the Tobruk corridor. It had not been possible to consolidate
5016-410: The supplies 300 mi (480 km) took 1,170 2 long tons (2.0 t) lorries. With seven Axis divisions, as well as air and naval units, 70,000 long tons (71,000 t) of supplies per month were needed. The Vichy French agreed to let the Germans use the port city of Bizerta , but no supplies reached the port until late 1942. From February to May 1941, a surplus of 45,000 long tons (46,000 t)
5092-833: The supply situation had eased except for the fuel shortage. In December, the Luftwaffe was restricted to one sortie per day. The Vichy French sold 3,600 long tons (3,700 t) of fuel, U-boats were ordered into the Mediterranean and air reinforcements sent from the Soviet Union in December. The Regia Marina used warships to carry fuel to Derna and Benghazi and made a maximum effort from 16 to 17 December. Four battleships, three light cruisers and 20 destroyers escorted four ships to Libya. The use of an armada for 20,000 long tons (20,000 t) of cargo ships depleted
5168-403: The two British Armoured Brigades did little. The 1st South African Brigade was unable to move in the open without the armoured brigades because of the danger of German tanks. On the evening of 29 November, the 1st South African Brigade came under the command of the 2nd New Zealand Division and ordered to advance north to recapture Point 175. Wireless intercepts led the Eighth Army HQ to believe that
5244-466: The use of tactical codes, R/T signalling in clear and an ineffective call-sign procedure from brigade to battalion at the front. FAK 621 read much of the War Office high-grade hand cypher, which the wireless traffic from the Eighth Army HQ down to divisional HQs used. Until January, when the British improved their recyphering, the Germans obtained as much information on the British order of battle as
5320-472: Was a failure. The 7th Armoured Brigade withdrew, with only four of its 150 tanks remaining operational. In four days, the Eighth Army had lost 530 tanks against about 100 Axis losses. On 22 November on the frontier, XIII Corps sent the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade north-east to capture Fort Capuzzo on the main Sollum–Bardia road. The brigade attacked Bir Ghirba, south of Fort Capuzzo, the headquarters of
5396-564: Was delivered. Attacks from Malta had some effect but in May, the worst month for ship losses, 91 per cent of supplies arrived. Lack of transport in Libya left German supplies in Tripoli and the Italians had only 7,000 lorries to transport supplies to 225,000 men. A record amount of supplies arrived in June but at the front, shortages worsened. There were fewer Axis attacks on Malta from June and
5472-477: Was destroyed at Sidi Rezegh but caused many German tank losses. On 24 November Rommel ordered the "dash to the wire" and caused chaos in the British rear but allowed the British armoured forces to recover. On 27 November, the New Zealanders reached the Tobruk garrison and ended the siege. Lack of supplies forced Rommel to shorten his lines of communication and on 7 December 1941, the Axis forces withdrew to
5548-537: Was intended to bypass Axis defences on the Egyptian–Libyan frontier, defeat the Axis armoured forces near Tobruk, raise the Siege of Tobruk and re-occupy Cyrenaica . On 18 November 1941, the Eighth Army began a surprise attack. From 18 to 22 November, the dispersal of British armoured units led to them suffering 530 tank losses and inflicting Axis losses of about 100 tanks. On 23 November, the 5th South African Brigade
5624-475: Was moving to reinforce the 5th South African Brigade, which veered away to escape the German tanks. At 3:00 p.m. the 15th Panzer Division attacked the 5th South African Brigade but the South Africans had dug in to an area 4.3 mi × 6.2 mi (7 km × 10 km) with 100 guns and many anti-tank guns. Panzer Regiment 5 had caught up with its division and attacked on the right flank with
5700-523: Was to continue its attack on Libyan Omar and the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade was to take Sollum barracks; the rest of the 2nd New Zealand Division was to head west for Tobruk. The 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade took Gambut and the 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Group on the left flank at Bir el Hariga, moved north-west along the Trigh Capuzzo (Capuzzo–El Adem). The brigade arrived at Bir el Chleta, about 15 mi (24 km) east of Sidi Rezegh at first light on 23 November. The new Zealanders stumbled on
5776-516: Was west of Sidi Azeiz (the 5th New Zealand Brigade headquarters) and down to 53 tanks, almost the remaining tank strength of the Afrika Korps . The Axis column had only a tenuous link to its supply dumps on the coast between Bardia and Tobruk and supply convoys had to find a way past the 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Group and the 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Group. On 26 November, the 15th Panzer Division bypassed Sidi Azeiz, headed for Bardia for supplies and arrived around mid-day. The remains of
#70929