Battle of Gazala
Gazala, west of Tobruk, Libya
What happened
Axis forces under General Erwin Rommel fought the British Eighth Army under Neil Ritchie, with Free French troops under Marie-Pierre Kœnig. In the North African desert, the British held a long defensive line at Gazala, protected by minefields. Rommel sent his tanks around its southern end, where the Free French at Bir Hakeim held out for two weeks and disrupted his supplies. After British counter-attacks failed, the Eighth Army withdrew from the line.
Why it matters
Why it matters: On 21 June 1942 the Axis captured the port of Tobruk and about 33,000 Allied soldiers, one of the largest British surrenders of the war. Rommel was promoted to field marshal.
What came next
Rommel pursued the Eighth Army into Egypt, where it stopped him at the First Battle of El Alamein. Tobruk was retaken by the Allies on 11 November 1942.
Timeline
- 26 May 1942Rommel attacks the Gazala Line.
- 10 June 1942The Free French break out of Bir Hakeim.
- 21 June 1942Tobruk falls to the Axis.
- 11 November 1942The Allies retake Tobruk.