First Battle for Tobruk, (6–22 January 1941)

British soldiers patrolling in tanks at Tobruk, Libya.

North African battle between Italian and British forces. The Mediterranean port of Tobruk, located in northeast Libya some 70 miles from the Egyptian border, was an important focal point in the North Africa fighting between 1941 and 1942. On 9 December, 1940, Major General Richard O’Connor’s Western Desert Force launched Operation COMPASS to drive invading Italian forces from Egypt. On 11 December at Sidi Barrani in Egypt, O’Connor’s unit soundly defeated the Italians but was unable to capitalize on this victory immediately, as one of its two divisions, the Indian 4th Division, was withdrawn for service in the Sudan several weeks before the arrival of the replacement Australian 6th Division.

Following this necessary pause, O’Connor’s forces crossed into Libya, and on 5 January 1941, they took Bardia on the coast, just across the border and east of Tobruk. On 6 January, the British 7th Armoured Division (the Desert Rats) and the Australian 6th Division assaulted Tobruk, completely besieging the fortress there three days later.

Italian Lieutenant General Pitassi Mannela defended Tobruk with 32,000 men, 220 guns, and 70 tanks along a defensive perimeter of some 30 miles. Following preparations, the Australian 6th Division launched an attack on the morning of 21 January. It began with the largest artillery barrage in the western desert to that point, on a front about 2,500 yards wide along the southeast portion of the Italian perimeter, and it was supported both by British naval gun fire against the town itself and by Royal Air Force (RAF) bombers. Bangalore torpedoes blasted holes in the Italian wire, and the infantry moved forward, supported by Matilda tanks. That portion of the Italian defensive line was secured, and General Mannela was taken prisoner. The remainder of the Italian garrison surrendered the next day but not before destroying some of the port facilities.

At Tobruk, for a cost of some 500 casualties, the British took 25,000 prisoners. They also captured 208 guns, 23 medium tanks, and 200 trucks. In the campaign thus far, O’Connor’s forces had taken 100,000 Italian prisoners. The British were soon able to get the port of Tobruk back into working order. Most of the city, including two water-distillation plants, was undamaged. O’Connor then continued his drive west.

References Barnett, Correlli. The Desert Generals. New York: Viking, 1961. Carver, Michael. Tobruk. London: B. T. Batesford, 1964. Heckstall-Smith, Anthony. Tobruk: The Story of a Siege. London: Anthony Blond, 1959. Long, Gavin. To Benghazi. Canberra: Australian War Memorial, 1952. Pitt, Barrie. Crucible of War: Western Desert, 1941. New York: Paragon, 1989.