Italian Diversion at Gazala

In late 1941, the Eighth Army drove the Axis out of Cyrenaica but British lines got so stretched that, by January '42, Rommel was back on the offensive and pressing towards Tobruk. Concentrating their forces near Gazala, the British : …

1942-05-26

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In late 1941, the Eighth Army drove the Axis out of Cyrenaica but British lines got so stretched that, by January '42, Rommel was back on the offensive and pressing towards Tobruk. Concentrating their forces near Gazala, the British : established a series of strong points, minefields, and wire between the Mediterranean coast and Bir Hakeim, intending to block the Desert Fox. Rommel decided to flank the British and to deceive his enemy, he launched an attack against the center of the Gazala line. Italian infantry charged during daylight hours, while Rommel ostensibly held his Panzers in reserve to the rear. Fully expecting him to attempt a breakthrough, the British committed their own armor to this section of the front. However, as soon as night fell, Rommel personally led his armor far south, setting the stage for a devastating flanking attack.

Gazala, Libya

The Battle of Gazala 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 consisting of German and Italian units fought the British Eighth Army 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 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 defenses. Italian engineers lifted mines from the west side of the minefields to create a supply route through to the Axis side. Operation Aberdeen, an attack by the Eighth Army to finish off the Panzerarmee, was poorly coordinated 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 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.

Wikipedia: Battle of Gazala

Italian

British

Game Type: Standard

Board Type: Desert

Website Access: Unavailable