The Battle of Gazala was an important battle of the the Second World War Western Desert Campaign, fought around the port of Tobruk in Libya from May 26 to June 21, 1942. The combatants on the Axis side were the Panzer Army Afrika, consisting of German and Italian units and commanded by the "Desert Fox" Colonel-General Erwin Rommel; the Allied forces were the Eighth Army, commanded by Major General Neil Ritchie under the close supervision of the C...
more
The Battle of Gazala was an important battle of the the Second World War Western Desert Campaign, fought around the port of Tobruk in Libya from May 26 to June 21, 1942. The combatants on the Axis side were the Panzer Army Afrika, consisting of German and Italian units and commanded by the "Desert Fox" Colonel-General Erwin Rommel; the Allied forces were the Eighth Army, commanded by Major General Neil Ritchie under the close supervision of the Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Sir Claude Auchinleck. The battle ended in a resounding victory for the Axis. However, devoid of effective armoured forces in subsequent battles, Rommel was unable to pursue and decisively defeat the Eighth Army in Egypt.
Following the successful Operation Crusader, in late 1941, the Eighth Army had driven the Axis forces out of Cyrenaica and forced Rommel to withdraw to strong defensive positions he had prepared at El Agheila. However, their 500+ mile advance had over-stretched their lines of supply and...
less
