Siege of Tobruk

The Siege of Tobruk was a confrontation between Axis and Allied forces in Italian Libya (North Africa) during the Desert Wars of the Second World War. The siege began on April 10, 1941, when Tobruk was attacked by the Italo-German forces of Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel, and continued for 240 days, when it was halted by the British 8th Army in Operation Crusader. Tobruk was the only good deep-water port in North Africa, between Egypt and Tunisia, and it also boasted a water purification plant, necessary for Italo-German troops to continue the war in Libya. General Archibald Wavell, commander-in-chief of the British land forces in the Middle East, was confronted by General Erwin Rommel, himself under the command of Field Marshal Italo Gariboldi, supreme commander of the Axis forces in North Africa. The Allies had committed the 2nd Armored Division and the 9th Australian Infantry Division, a total of 23,000 men. The Axis forces had committed the German 5th light division, the Italian Ariete armored division, and two Italian infantry divisions, totaling 100,000 men. Wikipedia source

The Siege of Tobruk was a confrontation between Axis and Allied forces in Italian Libya (North Africa) during the Desert Wars of the Second World War. The siege began on April 10, 1941, when Tobruk was attacked by the Italo-German forces of Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel, and continued for 240 days, when it was halted by the British 8th Army in Operation Crusader. Tobruk was the only good deep-water port in North Africa, between Egypt and Tunisia, and it also boasted a water purification plant, necessary for Italo-German troops to continue the war in Libya. General Archibald Wavell, commander-in-chief of the British land forces in the Middle East, was confronted by General Erwin Rommel, himself under the command of Field Marshal Italo Gariboldi, supreme commander of the Axis forces in North Africa. The Allies had committed the 2nd Armored Division and the 9th Australian Infantry Division, a total of 23,000 men. The Axis forces had committed the German 5th light division, the Italian Ariete armored division, and two Italian infantry divisions, totaling 100,000 men. Wikipedia source