Siege of Tobruk

The Siege of Tobruk was a military engagement between Australian units and Axis forces, which took place near and around the city-port of Tobruk, Lybia, North Africa, during World War II. It began on April 11, 1941, when 14,000 Australian troops were besieged in that city by a German–Italian army commanded by General Erwin Rommel, ending on November 27, 1941. Thus, the encirclement of the Australian 9th Division by the German-Italian Army lasted 240 days.

To be able to hold off the Axis forces during the siege of Tobruk was vital for the Allies’ defense of Egypt and the Suez Canal, because keeping that town and its harbor forced the enemy to bring most of their supplies overland from the port of Tripoli, across 1,500 km of desert, as well as diverting troops from their advance. Tobruk was subject to repeated ground assaults and almost constant shelling and bombing. Despite this initial victory, Tobruk would fall in German hands the following year, on June 21, 1942.

Summary

During the Western Desert Campaign, Tobruk was defended by the Australian 9th Division, reinforced by the 18th Brigade of the 7th Division, along with four regiments of British artillery and some Indian troops. They were commanded by Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead. General Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief of British Middle East Command, instructed Morshead to hold the fortress for eight weeks, but the 9th Australian Division held it for over five months, before being gradually withdrawn during September and replaced by the British 70th Infantry Division, the Polish Carpathian Brigade and Czechoslovak 11th Infantry Battalion (East) under the overall command of Major-General Ronald Scobie. The fresh defenders continued to hold Tobruk until they were able to link up with the advancing Eighth Army at the end of November during Operation Crusader.

Tobruk, like Gallipoli, is a name that means a lot in the war annals of Australia. A parallel can also be drawn between Tobruk and Milne Bay. At Milne Bay the hitherto invincible Japanese suffered his first defeat – at Tobruk the all-conquering German forces received their first set-back – in each case at the hands of Australians.

Below, map of a portion of North Africa, showing the city-port of Tobruk and the position of the Australian 9th Division in April 1941.

General Erwin Rommel, commander of the German Afrika Korps, observing the advance of the Axis troops.