Erwin Rommel - Wikipedia

Their best general, lucky Hitler took him out of commission.

Thank you, my friend SGT (Join to see) for making us aware that on June 21, 1942 the Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel takes Tobruk in North Africa.

FALL OF TOBRUK TO GERMAN ARMY 1942 AFRIKA KORPS ERWIN ROMMEL BATTLE OF GAZALA 26364
"This silent film was made for the German home market in 1942 by Degeto. It shows the fall of Tobruk, also known as the Battle of Gazala, on June 21, 1942. At :34 an animated situation map shows the general plan of attack. At :51 Erwin Rommel is shown planning with staff and at 1:03 German artillery blasts British positions. At 1:15, June 20, 1942, Panzers make an early morning move against British positions. At 1:40 artillery piece is pulled into action by halftracks and troops advance while artillery pummels British lines. At 2:06 a burning Crusader tank is seen as well as a British mobile anti-aircraft gun. At 2:10 Allied troops surrender en masse. At 2:27 an "American tank" is shown totally destroyed (probably a "Lee" tank or "Churchill"). At 2:50 Rommel is shown surveying wrecked buildings. At 3:15 German flak batteries move in a convoy past more wrecked British armor. At 3;25 German forces direct artillery at elements of the British army that are trying to escape the onslaught. At 3:37 the coast is seen but "no ship reaches the sea"-- German forces are now in a position to lob artillery at any evacuation fleet that arrives. At 3:52 Generalfeldmarschall Kesselring is shown putting on a parachute. German Stukas overfly the port at 4:09. At 4:40 Tobruk has fallen into German hands. The city is partially in ruins. At 5:24 German staff contemplate their next move. The film ends with the "unstoppable" Afrika Korps moving towards Egypt.

The Battle of Gazala (near the modern town of Ayn al Ghazālah) was fought 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 the Panzerarmee Afrika (Generaloberst Erwin Rommel) consisted of German and Italian units. Allied forces (Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Sir Claude Auchinleck) were mainly British, Indian, South African and Free French.

Rommel secretly had the advantage of detailed intelligence against the Allies, from an unwitting breach of communications security by Bonner Fellers, a military attaché at the US embassy in Cairo. Secret data on British "strengths, positions, losses, reinforcements, supply, situation, plans, morale etc" was read by German signals intelligence in Africa within eight hours of their transmission to Washington. This calamitous situation endured from December 1941 until 29 June 1942 (after the fall of Tobruk), when the US Black Code was replaced.[3]

The Axis distracted the British with a decoy attack in the north and made the main attack round the southern flank of the Gazala position. The advance succeeded but the defence of Bir Hakeim by the French garrison at the southern end of the line, left the Axis with a long and vulnerable supply route around the Gazala line. Rommel retired to an area known as the cauldron, a defensive position backing onto British minefields, 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 the Axis side.

The Eighth Army counter-attack, Operation Aberdeen, was poorly co-ordinated and defeated in detail; many tanks were lost and the Axis were able to regain the initiative. The British withdrew from the Gazala Line and the Axis troops overran Tobruk in a day. Rommel exploited the success by pursuing the British into Egypt, denying them time to recover from the defeat. As both sides neared exhaustion, the Eighth Army managed to check the Axis advance at the First Battle of El Alamein. The battle is considered the greatest victory of Rommel's career but Operation Herkules, a plan to attack Malta, was postponed to concentrate on the pursuit. The British managed to supply Malta and revived it as a base for attacks on Axis convoys to Libya, greatly complicating Axis supply difficulties at El Alamein."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbnK2thJ7fI


Images:
1. A camouflaged PzKpfw III command tank, approximately 45km west of Gazala, Libya, circa 1941-1942
2. German Army 8.8 cm FlaK 18 gun deployed in an anti-tank role, Bir al Hakim, near Tobruk, North Africa, Jun 1942
3. British Matilda tanks maneuvered in the desert toward Tobruk, Libya, 1942
4. German generals Erwin Rommel and Fritz Bayerlein in Tobruk, Libya, circa late Jun 1942

1. Background from historyofwar.org/articles/siege_tobruk_1942.html
The siege of Tobruk (17-21 June 1942) was one of the more embarrassing British defeats in North Africa, and helped to reduce Churchill's confidence in General Auchinleck's abilities as a commander.
In 1941 Tobruk had held out for eight months (10 April-16/17 December 1941), after being besieged towards the end of Rommel's First Offensive. At the time the port was surrounded by a strong line of defences, had a strong garrison (30,000 men and air support), and Rommel had been at the end of his supply lines. Early Axis attacks were disorganised affairs that were easily fought off, and by the time Rommel was able to launch a stronger assault the defenders were ready to meet him. The defence of Tobruk became one of the iconic moments of the British war effort. It dominated strategy in the desert in 1941, and the relief of Tobruk was the target of the unsuccessful Operation Brevity and Operation Battleaxe. The siege was finally lifted as a result of Operation Crusader (November-December 1942), and in the aftermath Rommel was forced to retreat out of Cyrenaica, ending the year back at his starting point.

German attack on Tobruk, 20 or 21 July 1942
The pattern almost repeated itself early in 1942. Rommel's Second Offensive saw him reoccupy western Cyrenaica, but this time he ran out of steam west of Gazala. This was followed by a lull in the fighting. The British build up their Gazala Line, and both sides prepared for a new offensive. Rommel moved first (battle of Gazala, 28 May-15 June 1942). His initial outflanking move almost ended in disaster, but after some hard fighting the battle ended with the 8th Army in full retreat. The infantry of XIII Corps escaped largely intact, but the armour of XXX Corps was almost totally destroyed.
As the British began to retreat from Gazala, General Auchinleck (commander-in-chief in the Middle East) and General Ritchie (commander of the 8th Army) disagreed on what to do about Tobruk. Ritchie wanted to use XIII Corps to defend the fortress, while XXX Corps defended the frontier and operated a number of small raiding forces to harass the besiegers. Auchinleck didn't want to risk another siege, and instead wanted to hold a line that ran from Tobruk south to El adem and Bir el Gubi, but on 16 June he had to give Ritchie permission to let Tobruk become 'isolated'.
The issue was soon taken out of their hands. Rommel had also suffered heavy losses during the battle, but he pushed his men onto one more effort. On the night of 16/17 June General Norrie had to abandon El Adem, south of Tobruk. Late on 17 June the 4th Armoured Brigade was forced to retreat from Sidi Rezegh, to the south-east of Tobruk. This meant that the nearby railhead and supply base at Belhamed had to be abandoned, as did the base further east at Gambut. Tobruk was now isolated, while the survivors of the army defeated at Gazala retreated across the Egpytian frontier. XXX Corps had to be withdrawn to Marsa Matruh to refit, while XIII Corps was used to defend the frontier.

North African Campaign, 1940-1942
The defences of Tobruk weren't as solid in 1942 as they had been in 1941. The main reason for this was that large numbers of mines had been lifted and moved to the Gazala line, as had a great deal of the barbed wire. When the crisis developed the port was defended by Major-General H.B. Klopper, who had been appointed commander of the 2nd South African Division on 14 May. Klopper had his own division, 60 Infantry Tanks of the 32nd Army Tank Brigade, the 201st Guards Brigade, the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade, three regiments of field artillery and two of medium artillery, a total of 35,000 men. Tobruk had been a major supply base for the Gazala Line, and as a result was full of stores. However there was little chance of any air support, as the Desert Air Force had been forced to retreat to Sidi Barrani, and there were only fifteen 6-pounder anti-tank guns in the fortress.
Tobruk was fully besieged by 18 June. Rommel decided to attack on the south-eastern side of the perimeter. This was defended by the 2/7th Gurka Rifles nearest to the coast, then the 2/5th Mahrattas and finally the 2nd Cameron Highlands, defending the area up to the El Adem road. 15 Panzer and 21 Panzer were to attack the Mahrattas, while the Trieste and Ariete divisions were to attack the Cameron Highlands.

The attack began with a heavy dive bomber attack early on 20 June. The main attack began at 0800, and by mid morning the two German divisions had pushed the Mahrattas back a mile and a half. Ritchie attempted to held by ordering XIII Corps to attack towards Sid Rezegh, but this was easily repulsed by the German 90th Light Division.
Back at Tobruk the Germans soon broke through the perimeter defences. By 1600 hours they had captured the airfield, and by 1700 hours they had reached the port. Klopper withdrew into the western half of the perimeter, but there was nothing he could do. His men spent the night attempting to destroy the stockpiled supplies, but at 0800 on 21 June he asked for surrender terms. The South African troops in the western perimeter surrendered early on 21 June. Back on the perimeter the undefeated Cameron Highlands and the Gurkhas fought on for the rest of the day, but finally surrendered on the evening of 21 June.
Rommel took 33,000 prisoners at Tobruk, including 19,000 British troops. He also captured 2,000 tons of fuel, 5,000 tons of provisions, 2,000 vehicles and large stockpiles of ammunition. The entire battle of Gazala and siege of Tobruk cost the Germans around 3,360 casualties (at least according to their records), but this did include 300 officers. Rommel was awarded for his success with promotion to Field Marshal.
At the time of the surrender Churchill was visiting Washington, and suffered the embarrassment of having the news broken to him by President Roosevelt. Churchill described the fall of Tobruk as 'one of the heaviest blows I can recall during the war … defeat is one thing, disgrace is another'. The only good news to come from this defeat was that Roosevelt offered to sent 250 new M4 Sherman tanks to the Eighth Army, where they played a major part in the later victory at El Alamein.


2. Background from com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=262
"Battle of Gazala
26 May 1942 - 21 Jun 1942
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
After a heavy artillery bombardment on the Allied lines, the Italian X and XXI Corps (Sabratha, Trento, Brescia and Pavia Divisions) and the German 150th Infantry Brigade launched an attack toward Tobruk, Libya at the center of the Allied-held Gazala Line at 1400 hours on 26 May 1942, supported by some Axis tanks. This attack would prove to be a feint, however. After sundown, all of the Axis tanks moved to the southern end of the Gazala Line to join the main mobile force.
ww2dbaseIn the morning of 27 May, the main offensive was launched, which was conducted by troops of the German 15th Panzer Division, German 21st Panzer Division, Italian Ariete Armored Division, Italian Trieste Motorized Division, and German 90th Light Afrika Division. With this attack, German Colonel General Erwin Rommel planned to encircle the Allied defenses and subsequently capture Tobruk. To the east, the German 15th Panzer Division engaged the British 4th Armoured Brigade; the new British Grant tanks, supplied by the United States, surprised the Germans, but ultimately they would not be able to hold against the surprise attack and would fall back toward El Adem. On the far right of the offensive, the German 90th Light Afrika Division engaged the British 7th Motorised Brigade at Retma and pushed the British troops back toward Bir el Gubi, and later overran the headquarters of the British 7th Armoured Division, which rendered the division ineffective for two days; by mid-morning, German 90th Light Afrika Division reached El Adem and captured a number of key supply bases.

The first day of the offensive was successful in all areas but one, Bir Hakeim, a fort near the namesake oasis that was held by the 3,703-strong Free French 1st Brigade under General Marie Pierre Kœnig, which was consisted of two Foreign Legion battalions, two colonial battalions, one battalion of naval infantrymen, and one marine battalion, and other miscellaneous units. At 0900 hours on 27 May, Rommel order General De Stefanis of Italian Ariete Armored Division to began the attack on Bir Hakeim from the southeast, which was the rear of the fort. At 0930 hours, the first wave struck, followed immediately by a second wave of attack; the Italian tanks were able to get through the minefield and close in on the fort, but anti-tank fire destroyed all of the tanks that got through, forcing the Ariete Armored Division to retreat at about 1015 hours. 32 Italian tanks were lost in this failed attack, while only killing two French soldiers and only destroying one cannon and one truck. To the north, however, the Italians were able to force British 4th Brigade and British 7th Motorized Brigade to retreat with heavy attacks, thus succeeding in the encirclement of Bir Hakeim. The French troops would prove to be able to hold this fort for many days to come; the combat at Bir Hakeim would later be known by some as the Battle of Bir Hakeim.

Beginning on 28 May, and for the several days, the Allies counterattacked, pushing the Axis forces back. The British 4th Armoured Brigade removed German 90th Light Afrika Division out of El Adem, while British tanks repeatedly attacked positions held by the Italian Ariete Division. The British Royal Air Force also joined in the counterattack, strafing Axis columns from above. At Bir Hakeim, however, the aerial attacks turned into a chapter of friendly fire. On the previous day, the failed Italian offensive left several destroyed tanks immediately outside of the fort; not realizing that these were disabled tanks, RAF aircraft dropped many bombs on them, some of which landed on the fort. After this repeated again on 29 May, Kœnig ordered some of his men to destroy the wrecks so to avoid repeated episodes.
On 29 May, Rommel felt pressure briefly as he was trapped between Tobruk, British tanks, and an extensive minefield to the west; however, a supply convoy guarded by Italian troops was able to breach through Allied lines to replenish the Axis troops, thus allowing the offensive to continue. On 30 May, a new attack was formed, attacking westward toward the original Axis front lines to link the original front lines and the territories recently taken. During this successful attack, the British 150th Infantry Brigade was wiped out at Sidi Muftah.

Back in Bir Hakeim, on 31 May, 50 trucks were able to reach the fort with fresh water, relieving a water shortage issue that was in danger of becoming serious; on the way out, the trucks took on prisoners of war and the wounded. During the night of 1 Jun, Rommel dispatched German 90th Light Afrika Division and Italian Trieste Division to mount a renewed attack on Bir Hakeim, which commenced at 0800 hours on 2 Jun. Italian troops attacked from the south, while the Germans attacked from the north. At 1030 hours, two Italian officers offered surrender terms, which was rejected by the French; on 3 Jun, Rommel sent a hand-written note to Kœnig urging surrender to avoid needless bloodshed, which was ignored as well. On 3 and 4 Jun, twice German artillery, Italian artillery, and German Stuka dive bombers bombarded the fort, followed by ground assaults, but both attacks were repulsed.

On 5 Jun, 10 days after the Axis had launched the offensive, the British Eighth Army finally launched a large scale counter offensive. The British 7th Armoured Division and the Indian 5th Infantry Division attacked from the east at 0250 hours on 5 Jun; although they saw initial success, but by mid-morning the advances had largely been stopped by heavy fire, and about 50 British tanks were destroyed. In the early afternoon, Rommel ordered the Italian Ariete Division and the German 21st Panzer Division to attack to the east toward Bir el Hatmat; the attack cut communications between the field headquarters between the two British divisions, seriously disrupting the Allies' ability to coordinate movement, and many units were destroyed as they remained under fire without orders.

Between 6 and 8 Jun, the fighting at Bir Hakeim intensified. The French defensive perimeters shrank considerably, but the fort held. During the night of 8 Jun, in a thick fog, an Allied supply convoy successfully reached the fort. On 8 Jun, Rommel launched the final assault on the fort, personally leading the attack column from the north. While the previous night's fog allowed the Allies to resupply the fort, it also gave cover for the Axis forces to move their guns forward without detection, and during this attack they fired at close range directly at the fort. That night, Kœnig told his officers that he would only attempt to hold through 10 Jun; he would order a retreat on 11 Jun. Early on 10 Jun, the RAF dropped 170 liters of water into the fort. The fort was then subjected to an aerial bombardment by 100 German Stuka dive bombers, and then its defenders repulsed yet another Axis attack. At this point, the defenders had practically run out of ammunition, but without this knowledge, Rommel pulled back his forces and regrouped for another attack on the following day. At 2300 hours, Kœnig issued his order for withdraw, starting with sending out sappers to clear the minefield in the southwest so that the vehicles in the fort could be evacuated. While the sappers worked, the effort was detected by the Axis forces, and an illumination round was fired, lighting the entire area. With no choice, Kœnig ordered the retreat to begin early despite path through the minefield was still far too narrow. Many vehicles were blown up by mines during the retreat, while several units became disarrayed as they were attacked by Axis troops. By 0800 hours on 11 Jun, the evacuation was complete. When Axis forces captured the fort later in the day, they found and captured only 500 wounded; all able-bodied French troops had successfully made their attempt to escape. Although the French had suffered 1,084 casualties, 2,619 men (about 200 of whom were wounded) with some equipment were successfully evacuated to fight another day, while incurring 3,330 casualties on the Axis side.

With the threat of Bir Hakeim eliminated, Rommel pushed for El Adem on 11 Jun. The British 201st Guards Brigade was pushed back toward Tobruk on 12 Jun, while on the same day an Axis attack on El Adem was repulsed by the Indian 29th Infantry Brigade. To the east, however, the British 2nd and 4th Armoured Brigades were pushed back by four miles by German tanks in such haste that they had to abandon damage tanks in the field. On 13 Jun, another tank battle went in favor of the Axis forces, causing the British armored forces to fall back toward Tobruk while leaving the Gazala Line cut off. The 13 Jun fighting caused so much damage that some British troops called the day "Black Saturday". On 14 Jun, British commander-in-chief in the region General Claude Auchinleck authorized the abandonment of the Gazala Line; he ordered the troops to form a new defensive line running southeast from Acroma to Bir El Gubi, with El Adem in the center. Before this new line was formed, however, Axis forces had attacked with such ferocity that the British had no choice but to withdraw to the east toward Mersa Matruh, meaning that Tobruk would once again come under the threat of siege.

At this time, Tobruk was held by the South African 2nd Division, which consisted of two brigades; the division was also supported by the British 201st Guards (Motorised) Brigade, Indian 11th Infantry Brigade, the British 32nd Army Tank Brigade, and the British 4th Anti-Aircraft Brigade. Although Tobruk had previously successfully defended against a long siege, Auchinleck had decided that, should Tobruk become besieged again, it was not to be defended with the same intensity. Without the same support as the garrison had in the first siege, the Allied troops in Tobruk fought for only about one week before surrendering on 21 Jun. 35,000 men were captured with this surrender, and it exacted a heavy toll on Allied morale.
Epilogue
The month-long struggle for the Gazala Line and Tobruk in Libya cost the Axis forces over 30,000 casualties. The losses suffered by the Allies were greater, estimated at over 40,000 casualties and 35,000 captured. For taking Tobruk, Rommel was promoted to the rank of field marshal. His counterpart on the Allied side, Major General Neil Ritchie, was relieved of his command of the British Eighth Army; Auchinleck would soon take personal command of the Eighth Army. With Tobruk firmly under control, Rommel wished to use it as a base for his next offensive to the east toward Egypt. The Battle of Gazala, however, had worn out his units; many of the tanks he lost during this battle would be difficult to replace as the Axis did not have complete control of the Mediterranean Sea.

Battle of Gazala Timeline
26 May 1942 A feint was launched by German General Ludwig Crüwell at the center of the Gazala Line in Libya, drawing Allied troops away from the main offensive to be launched on the next day. All available Axis tanks were assigned to the main offensive, and Crüwell's men mounted unused aircraft engines on trucks to create dust clouds similar to those caused by tank movements.
27 May 1942 The main offensive against the Gazala Line in Libya, which was a mobile tank assault around the southern end of the line, was launched by Axis armor divisions. Several Allied supply bases were overrun, including those guarded by men of the Indian 3rd Motor Brigade, but the French-held fort at Bir Hakeim, Libya would prove to be troublesome for the Axis forces for many days. While the left side of the offensive paused at Bir Hakeim, the right side reached El Adem by mid-morning, capturing the headquarters element of the British 7th Armored Division, including the commanding officer General Frank Messervy.
28 May 1942 The Allies began counterattacks two days after the Axis offensive began in Libya, forming the "Cauldron" that attempted to envelope Axis forces on three sides. British General Neil Ritchie still believed that the feint that the Axis forces launched on 26 May 1942 near the coast to be the main attack, however, thus refusing to send additional tanks to the southern end of the Gazala Line.
29 May 1942 An Italian supply convoy got through the British minefield and reached the Axis forces in the "Cauldron" south of Tobruk, Libya, which British General Neil Ritchie still failed to realize was the main assault force. To the north near the coast, the Storch observation aircraft which General Ludwig Crüwell was aboard was shot down, leading to his capture.
30 May 1942 Axis forces attacked westward in Libya, the direction the offensive originated from, in order to consolidate territories recently taken.
31 May 1942 50 trucks reached Bir Hakeim in Libya, bringing badly-needed fresh water and evacuating Indian troops and Italian prisoners of war. After sundown, Axis tanks attacked westward from within the Cauldron on the southern end of the Gazala Line, assaulting positions held by British 150th Brigade.
1 Jun 1942 Axis tanks broke through positions held by British 150th Brigade at Sidi Muftah, killing Brigadier Clive Haydon, which caused 3,000 British troops to surrender. This cut off the last remaining supply line into Bir Hakeim.
2 Jun 1942 Troops of German 90th Light Division and Italian Trieste Division mounted a new attack on the French-held fort of Bir Hakeim, Libya; French General Kœnig refused to surrender.
3 Jun 1942 German General Rommel sent French General Kœnig a hand-written note, urging the surrender of Bir Hakeim in Libya to avoid needless bloodshed: "To the troops of Bir Hakeim. Further resistance will only lead to pointless loss of life. You will suffer the same fate as the two Brigades which were at Got el Ualeg and which were exterminated the day before yesterday - we will cease fighting as soon as you show the white flag and come towards us unarmed". Kœnig ignored the request.
4 Jun 1942 French troops at Bir Hakeim, Libya repulsed another Axis attack.
5 Jun 1942 British troops mounted a large counter offensive south of Tobruk, Libya in Operation Aberdeen; it was met with initial success, but it was halted after German tanks penetrated into the area between British divisional field headquarters and disrupted communications.
6 Jun 1942 Axis troops routed 3 Indian infantry battalions and 4 artillery regiments that failed to flee as the Operation Aberdeen offensive was called off on the previous day in Libya. With victory secured at this battle, Erwin Rommel moved the German 90th Light Division to reinforce the siege on Free French-held fort of Bir Hakeim.
7 Jun 1942 German engineers penetrated the minefield outside of Bir Hakeim, Libya, but the attack was repulsed by Free French fighters with British air support.
8 Jun 1942 Thick fog allowed an Allied supply convoy to supply French troops at Bir Hakeim, Libya; meanwhile, the same fog also allowed the Axis build-up to be completed without being detected, which led to the start of what would be the final assault on the fort; this final assault would be personally led by Erwin Rommel. In the evening, French General Pierre Kœnig decided the fort would be abandoned on 11 Jun 1942.
9 Jun 1942 German 15th Panzer Division launched an attack on the Free French troops at Bir Hakeim, Libya at 1300 hours, supported by artillery pieces and dive bombers. The French Legionaires (now reduced to half a cup of water per man per day) were cut off from the rest of the brigade, but by dusk the tenacious defenders were still hanging on desperately to their positions.
10 Jun 1942 German Stuka dive bombers preceded another assault on the French-held fort at Bir Hakeim, Libya, but the defense repulsed another infantry attack. By the end of the day, the French troops had practically run out of ammunition; at 2300 hours, Kœnig began the process to evacuate from the fort.
11 Jun 1942 French troops evacuated Bir Hakeim, Libya after 16 days of stubborn defense that incurred 3,330 casualties on the Axis side; the French suffered 1,084 casualties while defending this fort; 500 seriously wounded troops were left behind in the fort. During the evacuation, heavy German artillery bombardment caused a panic and caused several French vehicles to drive off of the cleared path into surrounding minefields, detonating several in the process. The retreating forces made contact with British forces at 0400 hours. With Bir Hakeim secured, the Germans pushed toward El Adem later in the day and Knightsbridge in the evening. After 1900 hours, a few long range shots were exchanged between British and German tanks, but Erwin Rommel chose not to engaged in full combat that night.
12 Jun 1942 Axis forces pushed British troops back toward Tobruk, Libya, destroying many tanks; meanwhile, an attack on nearby El Adem was repulsed by Indian troops. The Allied defense line at Gazala was now in danger of being cut off.
13 Jun 1942 German 21st Panzer Division, 15th Panzer Division, and 90th Light Division surrounded British troops in the Knightsbridge box near Tobruk, Libya, eventually forcing the British to fall back after sundown. The heavy fighting and the resulting heavy casualties caused the British troops to name this day "Black Saturday".
14 Jun 1942 British General Auchinleck authorized the abandonment of the Gazala Line in Libya.
15 Jun 1942 The British 8th Army withdrew from Libya and fell back to Egypt.
16 Jun 1942 Axis troops attacked El Adem and Sidi Rezegh near Tobruk, Libya.
17 Jun 1942 Axis troops surrounded Tobruk, Libya; to the east, Axis troops pursued the Allied forces falling back toward Egypt.
18 Jun 1942 Axis troops captured the supply road between Bardia and Tobruk in Libya; to the west, Axis troops captured RAF Gambut 40 miles west of Tobruk.
19 Jun 1942 German troops gave chase to retreating British forces in Libya throughout the day. After sundown, the Germans reversed direction and moved westward, intending on striking Tobruk, Libya by surprise on the next day.
20 Jun 1942 Axis troops launched what would be the final attack on Tobruk, Libya, preceded by a heavy artillery and air bombardment at 0530 hours. At 0700 hours, 100 German and Italian tanks rushed through a gap in Tobruk's southeastern lines. The port facilities were captured by 1900 hours, and British troops destroyed stocks of fuel and supplies to prevent capture.
21 Jun 1942 At dawn, Allied troops attempted a breakout from Tobruk, Libya, but was met with failure. At 0645 hours, South African minesweeping whalder HMSAS Parktown was disabled by four Italian MAS torpedo boats just outside the harbor, killing many; Parktown would be scuttled after all survivors were rescued. At 0800 hours, the 35,000-strong Allied garrison (19,000 British, 13,400 South African, and 2,500 Indian) surrendered.
21 Jun 1942 In Washington, United States, President Franklin Roosevelt handed a telegram to Winston Churchill without comment. It announced that the 33,000-man garrison in Tobruk, Libya had surrendered. The American President immediately offered to send, by the fastest American ships, 300 new Sherman tanks and a hundred self-propelled guns to Egypt."

FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL LTC Greg Henning SGT Gregory Lawritson SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT (Join to see) SGT (Join to see) CWO3 (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SFC (Join to see)LTC (Join to see)1sg-dan-capriSGT Robert R.CPT Tommy CurtisSFC Jack ChampionA1C Ian Williams

SGT (Join to see) A great General.