My dad joined the 2nd AIF on the last day of Oct 1939. He became part of the 2nd First Field Regiment. They sailed out of Sydney Harbour around 10 January 1940. Thinking that they might be heading for Europe instead they ended up in Egypt. He would be there until mid 1942. From memory he served in Egypt/Libya/Syria and Palestine. Part of his unit also served in Greece and Crete - another Churchill stuff up. Many were killed in action others still suffer the horrors of 3 or more years as Prisoners of War. The enlisted men were required to work in the coal mines of East Prussa in water up to their knees.
My grandfather was a tank commander fighting romel they chased the Germans from the desert to Germany and lost a lot of good men but they won and he came home after 4 bloody years
Unfortunately the Australian politicians back in that day were Anglophile’s ,now they’re just c**ksuckers to America an Britain weak people stay weak,our politicians an business leaders have never changed.Nothing will help the decent people of Australia whilst these cowards run our country.
The siege of Tobruk (/təˈbrʊk, toʊ-/) took place between 10 April and 27 November 1941, during the Western Desert campaign (1940-1943) of the Second World War. An Allied force, consisting mostly of the 9th Australian Division, commanded by Lieutenant-General Leslie Morshead, was besieged in the North African port of Tobruk by German and Italian forces. The tenacious defenders quickly became known as the Rats of Tobruk. After 231 days, they were finally relieved by the British Eighth Army.
Rommel was not listening to the German High Command! He was in Africa to stop the Brits and not to chase them to Egypt. He over stretched his supply lines. He thought the 6th Army would win in Stalingrad (that is in Russia), but 330 000 Axis troops died or became POW's. The loss of men and material was an absolute disaster. So no additional troops for the German Africa corps. War is all about economical power, logistic and supply. Without that you can't win.
Gday I brought a book 6 years ago called Khaki and Green ? Published in 1946. In the book a came across a picture it’s of a shore line I’m assuming off a ship. Perhaps a mile off shore. It’s been done with coloured pencil or perhaps some kind of crayons but definitely by someone with artistic skills. It’s beautiful and had been in that book for a very long time. As some of the drawing is on the one of the pages it was found in. And some of the writings of the book slightly imprinted on the drawing. It says New Britain Golden Bay 1944. The writing on this paper looks very very similar to a famous artist who has drawn many pictures of WW2 an Australian soldier. I won’t say whom it could be from because I don’t want to create any issues particularly for the family. But I’m going to get some advice and if it is it could be worth many thousands of dollars. But my mission is to find out who officially has drawn this beautiful free style drawing to its rightful family. If not I’d like to donate to any war museum who would like a copy sent and if they deem it good enough to show. Bingo done.! If I can’t get any help. Im just leaving it where I found it reading this book. A brought the book for $2 but to me it’s very special.🇦🇺🙏❤️
Tobruk was a superb holding action however it was Tobruk's subsequent liberation 'Operation Crusader' which marked Germany's first land loss and the Allies fight successful offensive (my uncle was involved from beginning to end being killed on its final day)
Axis forces had conducted the Siege of Tobruk for eight months in 1941 before its defenders, who had become an emblem of resistance, were relieved in December. Claude Auchinleck, the commander-in-chief Middle East Command, had decided not to defend Tobruk for a second time, due to the cost of bringing supplies in by sea; its minefields and barbed wire had been stripped for use in the Gazala Line to the west. By mid-1942 the Desert Air Force had been forced to move to airfields in Egypt, taking most of them beyond the range of Tobruk. About a third of all garrison personnel were non-combatant or support troops and many of the fighting troops were inexperienced. Lieutenant-General William Gott, the commander of XIII Corps, was withdrawn from Tobruk and on 15 June 1942, five days before the Axis attack. The new commander of the 2nd South African Division, Major-General Hendrik Klopper, was given command of the garrison.[3] An immense stock of supplies had been accumulated around the port for Operation Acrobat but the Axis had forestalled this with Operation Venice (Unternehmen Venezia) and the Battle of Gazala began on 26 May 1942. The Eighth Army was defeated in the Battle of Gazala and was driven eastwards toward the Egyptian border, leaving Tobruk isolated. The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, placed great store on the symbolic value of Tobruk; an exchange of ambiguous signals between Churchill and Auchinleck led to the garrison being surrounded, rather than evacuated as intended. On 20 June the Panzerarmee Afrika attacked Tobruk with massed air support, penetrated a weak spot on the eastern defensive perimeter and captured the port. Much of the garrison on the western perimeter had not been attacked but they were cut off from their supplies and transport, without the means to escape from Tobruk, the majority had to surrender; 33,000 prisoners were taken.
1:36 "ocupaing Israel" - what?! There was not "Israel" during II WW !! Stop laying. 3:15 "3 september 39' France and England declare war on germany "- and not even drop 1 bomb od germans territory, till 1942? When England drop the first bomb on germans land, NAZI-Landia? 15:32 "Those, who fought there will not be forgotten" - so WHY you forgot to tell about 1 Brygada Strzelców Karpackich,- Polish Soldiers?! Polish Independent Brigade Group--> "W twierdzy Tobruk oddziały brygady zajęły 21-28 sierpnia 1941 zachodni odcinek obrony, gdzie walczyły do 9 grudnia 1941. W nocy z 9 na 10 grudnia 1941 oddziały brygady wykonały natarcie, zdobywając wzgórze Madauar, kluczową pozycję niemiecką, a jej oddział wydzielony - miejscowość Acroma, gdzie nastąpiło połączenie z oddziałami nacierającej brytyjskiej 8 Armii. W ten sposób twierdza Tobruk została odblokowana. "
Tobruk was taken from the Italians. The Australians were under siege by the DAK and by Italian forces. They were relieved by the 8th Army. The small port of Tobruk in Italian Cyrenaica had been fortified by the Italians from 1935. Behind two old outlying forts, they constructed a novel fortification, consisting of a double line of concrete-lined trenches 54 km (34 mi) long, connecting 128 weapons pits protected by concealed anti-tank ditches but the fortifications lacked overhead protection and there was no defence in depth.[5] Tobruk was captured by Australian forces in January 1941 during Operation Compass, the first large Allied military operation of the Western Desert Campaign. Following the arrival of the German Afrika Korps commanded by Erwin Rommel in Operation Sonnenblume in March, Axis forces retook much of the lost territory in Cyrenaica; Tobruk was cut off and besieged between April and December 1941.[6] The Axis capture of Tobruk, also known as the Fall of Tobruk and the Second Battle of Tobruk (17-21 June 1942) was part of the Western Desert campaign in Libya during the Second World War. The battle was fought by the Panzerarmee Afrika (Armata Corazzata Africa in Italian), a German-Italian military force in North Africa which included the Afrika Korps (Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel), against the British Eighth Army (General Neil Ritchie) which comprised contingents from Britain, India, South Africa and other Allied nations
Another truth: The people of Libya and Egypt hated the British because they had been oppressed and exploited by the British for years. People hoped for help from Germany.
Let’s not overlook the 6th Australian Division who were instrumental in destroying the Italian 10th Army and capturing Tobruk. In a campaign lasting from December 1940 to February 1941, the 6th Aus Div supported by the British 7th Armoured Division, captured 135,000 and killed and wounded 15,000 Italian soldiers. The Australians and British lost 500 killed and 1400 wounded.
I do believe they lost Narvik to a combined British-French-Norwegian force already in the spring of 1940, long before operations in North Africa even started.
They did, but Churchill pulled the troops out of Norway to prolong the war. That gave the Germans the opportunity to seize Narvik and move Swedish Iron Ore to Germany, this until mid 1944. If Churchill would have been serious in Norway, the war would have finished earlier. Sweden mad good money out of the war.
@@theluckyegg3613 I'm faairly sure that Churchill didn't do anything to purposefully 'prolong the war'. A full-scale German assault that was sweeping the floor with the opposing French and British down south in France may have had something to do with it, idk? The position of the British in Narvik would have been completely untenable after France was kicked out of the war and the Battle of Britain begun, it wasn't really a choice. Tobruk is also a bit of the same - first resisting, then lost to the Germans, then retaken by British troops. If that kind of see-saw counts as 'first land loss' then I will say that that happened much earlier in very much the same fashion, in Narvik in the spring of 1940, before North Africa even was a theatre of war and Italy a part of it.
@@Stripedbottom Why did Churchill not drop bombs onto the railway from Kiruna to Narvik. Church- ill was corrupt and rotten to the bone. He and his family made money. Germany would have collapsed earlier if no high grade ore would have been supplied to Hitler.
Well done on the doco...arguably the Aussies won WW1 under the Australian General Monash...Monash's strategy and tactics ultimately won the war...and in WW2 the Germans were finally halted by the Aussie troops at Tobruk...the Germans came very close to taking Egypt...the Brits were evacuating in 1941.. the Japanese were first halted in WW2 by the Aussies in New Guinea...down the infamous Kokoda Trail...God Bless Australia...
There were two battles at Tobruk. The Australians defended Tobruk very well, in the second battle it was taken by the German - Italian Forces. Axis forces had conducted the Siege of Tobruk for eight months in 1941 before its defenders, who had become an emblem of resistance, were relieved in December. Claude Auchinleck, the commander-in-chief Middle East Command, had decided not to defend Tobruk for a second time, due to the cost of bringing supplies in by sea; its minefields and barbed wire had been stripped for use in the Gazala Line to the west. By mid-1942 the Desert Air Force had been forced to move to airfields in Egypt, taking most of them beyond the range of Tobruk. About a third of all garrison personnel were non-combatant or support troops and many of the fighting troops were inexperienced. Lieutenant-General William Gott, the commander of XIII Corps, was withdrawn from Tobruk and on 15 June 1942, five days before the Axis attack. The new commander of the 2nd South African Division, Major-General Hendrik Klopper, was given command of the garrison.[3] An immense stock of supplies had been accumulated around the port for Operation Acrobat but the Axis had forestalled this with Operation Venice (Unternehmen Venezia) and the Battle of Gazala began on 26 May 1942. The Eighth Army was defeated in the Battle of Gazala and was driven eastwards toward the Egyptian border, leaving Tobruk isolated. The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, placed great store on the symbolic value of Tobruk; an exchange of ambiguous signals between Churchill and Auchinleck led to the garrison being surrounded, rather than evacuated as intended. On 20 June the Panzerarmee Afrika attacked Tobruk with massed air support, penetrated a weak spot on the eastern defensive perimeter and captured the port. Much of the garrison on the western perimeter had not been attacked but they were cut off from their supplies and transport, without the means to escape from Tobruk, the majority had to surrender; 33,000 prisoners were taken.
Politics is violence. The French and Brits were vicious in imposing the Versailles Treaty and forced the advent of WWII. The politicians caused and provoked WWII. All politicians were criminals and should have been punished, 'all and not just German. Yes, FDR and other American politicians were criminals.
I'm Australian. Honestly we're just human beings. But we do understand the real meaning of mateship. But it's not uneak to Australia. We're nothing special. Don't get this idea it's something magical to be Australia. You just need to know who's buttering the bread.
The Gurkhas in this battle were exceptional ...respect from Australia 🇦🇺, poor Germans didn't know what they were up against...the story of them going into enemy lines killing and taking there ears off , but to leave one alive to let the others know who you dealing with...so bad ass.
All very well and I admire the performance of Australian troops in both World Wars but they only fought in Tobruk part of the siege. When war broke out my father volunteered and was commissioned into the 4th Border Regiment, a TA battalion, was part of 70 Div and after fighting in Greece and Syria they took over in Tobruk at 'half time' and then went to Burma. I first met him when I was six and a half when he came home on debarkation leave on VE Day. I was lucky, he came back.
Axis forces had conducted the Siege of Tobruk for eight months in 1941 before its defenders, who had become an emblem of resistance, were relieved in December. Claude Auchinleck, the commander-in-chief Middle East Command, had decided not to defend Tobruk for a second time, due to the cost of bringing supplies in by sea; its minefields and barbed wire had been stripped for use in the Gazala Line to the west. By mid-1942 the Desert Air Force had been forced to move to airfields in Egypt, taking most of them beyond the range of Tobruk. About a third of all garrison personnel were non-combatant or support troops and many of the fighting troops were inexperienced. Lieutenant-General William Gott, the commander of XIII Corps, was withdrawn from Tobruk and on 15 June 1942, five days before the Axis attack. The new commander of the 2nd South African Division, Major-General Hendrik Klopper, was given command of the garrison.[3] An immense stock of supplies had been accumulated around the port for Operation Acrobat but the Axis had forestalled this with Operation Venice (Unternehmen Venezia) and the Battle of Gazala began on 26 May 1942. The Eighth Army was defeated in the Battle of Gazala and was driven eastwards toward the Egyptian border, leaving Tobruk isolated. The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, placed great store on the symbolic value of Tobruk; an exchange of ambiguous signals between Churchill and Auchinleck led to the garrison being surrounded, rather than evacuated as intended. On 20 June the Panzerarmee Afrika attacked Tobruk with massed air support, penetrated a weak spot on the eastern defensive perimeter and captured the port. Much of the garrison on the western perimeter had not been attacked but they were cut off from their supplies and transport, without the means to escape from Tobruk, the majority had to surrender; 33,000 prisoners were taken. Oi oi oi.....
Being a historian, if you points out one side's of the confict failure, then never to mention the others. As you point out German first big loss in this war, you avoided to mention that for Australians and British, it was ALSO such big land loss in WW2 - they have lost Tobruk, and Winston Churchill wrote about this loss : "Defeat is one thing, disgrace is the other". Its the historians duty, that when presenting the history to the audience, then to do it obiectlively, as it is not our thing to highlight one side defeat, and avoid poiting out stright, that the other side also lost.
My late uncle was a soldier of Polish Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade and fought in Tobruk, from August 18th 1941 till end of The Siege, alongside Australian comrades in arms. Respect from Poland!
I'm an Australian. My brother had a drinking mate at the local pub. He was an ex polish soldier. He was a real nice fella but I don't reckon I'd want to get on the wrong side of him. The poles were tough people who never got enough credit. Respect to your Uncle. Best wishes from Queensland Australia 😊😊
2:58 "Germany lost everything" - just be aware that Prussia / Germany, dominated by Prussia, unlished wars with: - Denmark in 1848-52 and 1864 - Austria 1866 - France 1870-71 - France and Russia and Allies 1914-18 So unlishing total war in 1939 with Poland was not an accidental crime but German multiple relapse into crime.
Australia did not declare war in 1939. We were regarded, by Menzies and others, as not legally entitled to do so. Hence his words "...Fellow Australians, It is my melancholy duty to inform you officially that in consequence of a persistence by Germany in her invasion of Poland, Great Britain has declared war upon her and that, as a result, Australia is also at war...." it was not until the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 was proclaimed that Australia could independently declare war on another country. The first official one was to declare war on Bulgaria in January 1942 No resistance for the push into Libya (Operation Compass) ! Tell that to the 500 killed,1,373 wounded and 55 missing personnel from the British Commonwealth and Empire. Why the picture of HMS Barham (sunk 25NOV1941). Spectacular but has no bearing on the events at Tobruk. Rommel was not unbeatable. His 7 Panzer Division almost panicked when attacked by British and French forces on 21MAY1940. It was a very close run thing.... 6pdr anti-tank guns in 1941! They had not yet entered production!! 2/13 Australian Infantry Battalion was there for the duration of the Siege. It was one of the units used to break out to relieving British Commonwealth units. (My uncle was captured on Crete having volunteered to stay with wounded who could not be evacuated. Father and remaining 3 uncles (and my mother) served as well)
Aussies, we are there to do a job, no mucking around, no complaining, get the job done, then relax and have a beer! Our Tobruk veterans were pulled out of Tobruk after successfully defending Tobruk from DAK and Rommel, then replaced with Brit soldiers, Rommel fighting the brits then succeeded in the battle for Tobruk. From a retired Aussie Armoured Corps soldier. BTW, there is a famous 1960s and 1970s Australian singer, Russell Morris. I knew him about 13 years ago, he told me his Dad was a Rat of Tobruk, served with the 2/27th Infantry Battalion. Russell had hit songs such as The Real Things, Wings of An Eagle, Rachel's Coming Home (which he told me was about a nurse in Vietnam and sick of what she was seeing), and Hello Mr America. All these songs are on RU-vid.
