Dash for the Wire

After the battle of Sidi Rezegh near Tobruk, British forces were greatly reduced and they retreated to regroup. Rommel used this by making an flanking attack to hit the British in their rear. "The wire", an old Italian barrier …

1941-11-24

20955

After the battle of Sidi Rezegh near Tobruk, British forces were greatly reduced and they retreated to regroup. Rommel used this by making an flanking attack to hit the British in their rear. "The wire", an old Italian barrier on the border with Egypt, became the target. The besieged German troops in Bardia and Sollum could be relieved at the same time. The 21st and 15th panzer division, together with the Italian Ariete division, broke quickly through the British line, missing a major British petrol depot that the Germans could have brought to Bagdag. The British tanks, however, had recovered during Rommel's attack and resumed the attack to relieve Tobruk. Rommel was faced with the choice: to continue the gamble or return to help the troops at Tobruk.

Salloum, Libya

Operation Crusader was a military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War by the British Eighth Army, against the Axis forces in North Africa commanded by Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel. The operation was intended to by-pass Axis defences on the Egyptian–Libyan frontier, defeat the Axis armoured forces and relieve the 1941 Siege of Tobruk. On 18 November 1941, the Eighth Army launched a surprise attack. From 18 to 22 November, the dispersal of British armoured units led to them suffering 530 tank losses and inflicted Axis losses of about 100 tanks. On 23 November, the 5th South African Brigade was destroyed at Sidi Rezegh but inflicted many German tank casualties. On 24 November Rommel ordered the "dash to the wire" and caused chaos in the British rear echelons but allowed the British armoured forces to recover. On 27 November, the New Zealanders reached the Tobruk garrison and relieved the siege. The battle continued into December, when supply shortages forced Rommel to narrow his front and to shorten his lines of communication. On 7 December 1941, Rommel withdrew the Axis forces to the Gazala position, and on 15 December, he ordered 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 and took about 13,800 prisoners.

Wikipedia: Operation Crusader

German

British

Game Type: Standard

Board Type: Desert

Website Access: Available