Friday, June 13, 2008

derna road Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire

On 24 March Rommel launched his first offensive with the newly arrived Afrika Korps. By early April he had destroyed most of Major-General Michael Gambier-Parry's 2nd Armoured Division's tanks (British 3rd Armoured Brigade) and severely damaged its 2nd Support Group at Mersa Brega[4] leaving the road south of the Jebel Akhdar (Green Mountains) to Mechili open.[5] He brought forward along the coast road, elements of the 17th "Pavia" and 27th "Brescia" Divisions while pushing his mechanised units across country towards Mechili. On 6 April the leading Bersaglieri columns of the Italian Ariete Division reached Mechili. http://louis1j1sheehan.us

On 6 April Lieutenant-General Philip Neame, by that time the military governor of Cyrenaica (Wilson had been sent to command W Force in Greece), withdrew his headquarters to Tmimi. During the withdrawal his staff car was stopped by a German patrol near Martuba and both he and O'Connor (who had been sent forward from Cairo by Archibald Wavell, C-in-C Middle East Command to advise) were taken prisoner.http://louis1j1sheehan.us

The positions at Mechili were defended by non-tank elements of 2nd Armoured Division (3rd Indian Motor Brigade and elements of the 2nd Support Group). Surrounded, they fought bravely in defence of Mechili but on 8 April Gambier-Parry surrendered to General Zaglio of the "Pavia" Division.[8] 2,700[9] British, Indian and Australians were captured at Mechili after an attempted breakout was broken up by the Ariete's "Fabris" and "Montemurro" Bersaglieri Battalion groups.[6]

An Italian soldier in Libya.Many Italian field guns were captured and used against the Axis forces in the Siege of Tobruk
An Italian soldier in Libya.
Many Italian field guns were captured and used against the Axis forces in the Siege of Tobruk

Rommel's initial attack plan called for his tanks to sweep around Tobruk to the Eastern side and attack from the Bardia road, so cutting the town off from Cairo. Approaching Tobruk, however, wishing to maintain his momentum, he ordered General Heinrich von Prittwitz und Gaffron, commander of the newly-formed 15th Panzer Division (most of which had yet to arrive in North Africa), to take the three battalions from his division then available to him (his reconnaissance, machine gun and anti-tank battalions) and to attack Tobruk directly from the West along the Derna Road.[10] Rommel expected that the Allied forces would crumble under this attack.[citation needed]

Soldiers from the Australian 2/28th Infantry Battalion spotted three armoured cars and fired the first shots of the siege using two captured Italian field guns for which they had only had one week's training. The cars quickly retreated. As the tanks approached a bridge crossing a wadi on the perimeter of Tobruk the Australians blew it up. When von Prittwitz urged his staff car driver to drive him through the wadi and towards the Australians his men called for him to stop, but he replied that the enemy was getting away. The staff car drove into the firing line of a captured Italian 45mm anti tank gun, whose gunner fired destroying the car and killing both von Prittwiz and his driver. A three hour skirmish then ensued after which the Germans retreated.

In the meantime the Australians continued to work on the defences, laying barbed wire, mines and other obstacles.

On 11 April, with his forces regrouped, Rommel reverted to his original plan, sending his tanks around Tobruk to the Bardia Road.

The city was now besieged on three sides (the harbour was in Allied hands) by the Afrika Korps composed of the 5th Light Division and elements of 15th Panzer Division, and by three Italian infantry divisions and the Italian Ariete Armour Division. The Allied forces consisted of the Australian 9th Infantry Division and 18th Infantry Brigade of the Australian Imperial Force, as well as 12,000 British soldiers and 1,500 Indian soldiers

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