The Siege of Tobruk during World War II was a struggle for a deep-water port on the coast of northern Africa. Allied forces captured Tobruk from the Italians in January 1941. A garrison of mainly Australian troops defended the port from the Axis powers. The siege started in April 1941. The Allies had fallen back to Tobruk in a planned move. Then the German and Italian forces encircled the town. Aggressive patrolling and 'bush artillery' ensured Allied dominance over no-man's-land around Tobruk. The 'Rats of Tobruk' suffered from the hot desert conditions and a lack of supplies and reinforcements. Their survival depended on naval supplies arriving under constant air attacks. Australians in the Navy and Air Force supported the ground forces in Tobruk. Most Australians had left Tobruk by the end of October 1941. The siege ended on the night of 7 December 1941 when the Allies forced Axis forces to withdraw. The Siege of Tobruk lasted 242 days – nearly 8 months. Despite losses such as HMAS Waterhen, the Allies successfully denied Axis forces' access to the port of Tobruk.
Situation in northern Africa
At the start of the war, Libya was an Italian colony. The bordering country, Egypt, was officially independent and neutral but under British influence.
The Suez Canal in Egypt was also under British control. This became important when Italy joined the war in June 1940.
Control of the Suez Canal was important because it was the shortest shipping route between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. This meant ships could avoid the much longer route around Africa.
Importance of Tobruk
Tobruk was a small port town in the Italian colony of Libya. It was Libya's deepest, sheltered natural harbour on an important coastal supply route.
Tobruk was valuable to the Allies as a fortress to secure Egypt and the Suez Canal.
Tobruk was valuable to the Axis powers as a supply port for their military advance on the Suez Canal.
Italian invasion of Egypt
The Italian invasion of Egypt, Operazione E, in September 1940, aimed to gain control of Egypt and the Suez Canal. It marked the start of the Western Desert Campaign, which ran from 1940 to 1943.
The Italians changed Operazione E into an advance on Sidi Barrani in Egypt and the defeat of British troops in the area. An Allied force of British, Commonwealth and Free French troops defended Egypt from the Axis powers.
The Italian 10th Army advanced around 100 km into Egypt against the British 7th Support Group. They stopped at Sidi Barani. They were waiting for the completion of the coast road, Via della Vittoria (Victory Road). The extended road would allow more troops and supplies to move up and reinforce the troops. The plan was then to advance to Mersa Matrah and fight the British 7th Division and the Indian 4th Division.
Allied Operation Compass
Before the Italians could move from Sidi Barani, the Allied Western Desert Force launched Operation Compass against the Italian 10th Army on 8 December 1940.
As part of the operation, the Allies raided the Italian fortified camps at Sidi Barani and defeated the Italians. The remaining Italian forces were pushed back along the coast.
Australian forces from the 6th Australian Division at Bardia and Tobruk, with support from the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy and British artillery, fought and defeated Italian forces. The Allies took possession of towns and ports along the Libyan coast as far as Benghazi.
The Italian forces holding Tobruk surrendered on 22 January 1941.
Operation Compass effectively destroyed the Italian 10th Army.
The Allies captured more than 130,000 Italian and Libyan troops as prisoners of war (POWs). They also captured around 400 tanks, some aircraft and almost 850 guns.
The Allies' Western Desert Force lost around 1,900 troops during the operation. Australian casualties were around 50 dead and more than 300 wounded.
Back home, an account in the Tweed Daily newspaper described the fighting in detail and glowing terms.
Equipment captured by the Allies at Bardia and Tobruk included tanks, other vehicles and artillery guns. These were retrieved and used during the siege and in other fighting.
Allied defence of Tobruk
Before the siege started, the Allies in Tobruk had time to fortify the town and plan its defence.
It was vital to deny the Axis forces use of Tobruk harbour. But they planned to hold Tobruk for only 2 months – not nearly 8 months.
Initial strength
By 9 April, Tobruk was defended by 27 Allied infantry, artillery and armoured units with essential support from base and pioneer units.
Australia contributed 15 army units, from:
- 20th, 24th and 26th brigades of the 9th Division
- 18th Brigade of the 7th Division.
The UK contributed 11 army units, including:
- 3rd Armoured Brigade
- 32nd Army Tank Brigade
- 4th Anti-Aircraft Brigade
- 1st Battalion of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
- 1st Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment
- Royal Horse Artillery
- Nottinghamshire Sherwood Rangers.
India contributed the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade, including the 8th Cavalry Regiment, as well as some vital base and pioneer units.
- British 3rd Armoured and 32nd Army Tank brigades
- 4th Anti-Aircraft Brigade
- 8 field artillery, anti-tank and anti-aircraft artillery regiments, including 1st Battalion of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, 1st Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment, the Royal Horse Artillery and the Nottinghamshire Sherwood Rangers
The initial forces defending Tobruk numbered about 24,000 Allied troops, including about 16,000 Australians.
Base preparations
After capturing Tobruk, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Cook was given the task of establishing the Allied base at Tobruk.
Through February to early April, Cook:
- established power and water supplies
- built up food, fuel and other supplies
- moved prisoners of war out of Tobruk
- cleaned up rubbish and established hygiene practices
- attended to Tobruk's defences.
To minimise rumours among the troops, Cook authorised the Tobruk truth: 'the dinkum oil', a daily newsheet that endured until the siege ended.
Anti-aircraft training
To help defend Tobruk, Cook organised the repair and installation of around 40 Italian anti-tank guns. The Nottinghamshire Sherwood Rangers trained the Australian infantry to use the captured guns. This was the start of the bush artillery, which proved so enterprising and useful during the siege.
Many of the 'bush artillery' gunners were untrained infantry serving in non-combat roles, such as cooks and orderlies. They were trained in gunner duties in addition to their usual duties.
Reduced strength
In early April 1941, Allied commanders diverted substantial forces to Greece after the German invasion. This left the Libyan province of Cyrenaica and the port of Tobruk lightly defended.
Start of the siege
After Operation Compass, Germany sent forces to support Italy in northern Africa.
General Irwin Rommel was in command of Germany's new Deutsches Afrika Korps (DAK). Rommel and the DAK began arriving in Tripoli in February 1941.
German and Italian forces advanced along the coast from Tripoli. They quickly pushed the understrength Allied forces back toward Benghazi. The pushback was so rapid that the Australians jokingly called the race to stay ahead the 'Benghazi Handicap'.
By 8 April, the Axis forces were at Derna, not far from Tobruk.
By 10 April, Tobruk was effectively surrounded by Axis forces.
Australian troops from the 9th and 7th divisions, with British and Indian troops, had fallen back into and around Tobruk in a planned move. This was not done in panic. It was a strategy to prevent the deep-water port from falling into enemy hands.
On 11 April 1941, Axis forces cut access to many of the roads to Tobruk.
The siege had started.
Defence strategy
By the time the siege started, the Allies had:
- installed vital anti-tank guns and heavy anti-aircraft guns
- improved gun positions
- laid barbed-wire entanglements
- added tank traps and land mines to the outer defence lines.
On the night of 11 April, sappers laid 5,000 land mines – a remarkable achievement.
Some defences were basic and fairly improvised. Tobruk veteran, Walter 'Gordon' Wallace, described a mine field that held back one German attack:
they (Germans) were coming for our post, but we had a dummy minefield of old Itie aerial bombs with the noses … out of the ground, and they weren't game to come across … they wouldn't have gone off if you'd hit them with a bloody hammer, it was bluff
[Walter Wallace, quoted in Voices of war]
Tobruk's defences were reinforced, and armaments resupplied continually during the siege. But the defenders were undermanned, spread over a very large area and suffered ongoing casualties.
The Allies installed the seized Italian guns used by the bush artillery crew on the red line. The first use of a gun proved alarming. War correspondent, Chester Wilmot, recalled the gun was possibly 'more menacing to … personnel in the vicinity than to the German armoured cars'.
Australian Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead commanded the main Tobruk forces during most of the siege.
On the evening before their withdrawal into Tobruk in April 1941, Morshead famously told his assembled brigadiers, 'There'll be no Dunkirk here'. He expanded on this defiant stance by stating, 'If we should have to get out, we shall fight our way out', and explicitly directed that 'there is to be no surrender and no retreat'.
Morshead's no-Dunkirk idea became a key part of his aggressive defence strategy:
- do not yield any ground
- dominate no-man's-land through aggressive patrolling
- continuously strengthen defence works
- defend in depth with maximum reserves.
This ensured that Tobruk remained a defiant fortress rather than a besieged port town.
No-man's-land
The Allies kept Axis forces on the defensive through active patrolling of the perimeters and frequent raids.
Most patrols went at night, in the cover of darkness, and returned before the heat of the day. The Australian troops controlled no-man's-land at night and never lost this control.
Deep defence strategy
The harbour and the Mediterranean Sea formed Tobruk's northern border. The Italians had fortified Tobruk on the other 3 sides.
The deep defence strategy involved adopting a series of 3 lines mapped around Tobruk to prevent the fortress from being captured by a single breakthrough. This was built on the outer and inner perimeters previously mapped by the Italians.
Red line (outer perimeter)
An extensive perimeter had dug-in strong-points (firing positions) along a line of barbed-wire entanglements. It also had some incomplete anti-tank ditches.
Later called the 'red line', this curved perimeter was 28 miles (45 km) long. Its length made it difficult for the Allies to defend.
Blue line (second line of defence)
Allied troops dug and fortified another line about 3 km inside the perimeter, called the blue line.
The blue line was staffed by a battalion of each forward brigade and artillery. One brigade, tanks, armoured cars and carriers were held further back in reserve.
Green line (last line of defence)
There was a third line, the green line, closest to the town and harbour. The plan was that if the outer perimeter was breached, troops could fall back to the defensible blue and green lines.
Attacks on the red line
The Axis forces broke through the outer red line several times.
In May 1941, Alix forces made a permanent gain. They captured an area of Allied territory about 5.5 km wide and 4 km deep. This became known as the 'Salient'. A salient is an outward bulge in a battle line.
An Australian counterattack on 3 May failed to push back the Axis forces or close the salient. Allied troops never managed to eliminate the salient, but they did reduce its size.
The Australian troops impressed the Germans. Rommel thought they:
without question represented an elite formation.
[BH Liddell Hart (ed), Rommel papers, p 132.]
Naval support
With the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Tobruk was resupplied by ships of the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Known as the 'Tobruk ferry service', the navies brought much-needed reinforcements and supplies.
Ships travelled to and from the harbour at night. They shuttled between Tobruk and ports in Egypt. Arriving around midnight, the crew would unload supplies, load wounded and head back to Mesra Matruh.
Ships were open to sea and air attacks, so they travelled in pairs for protection. During the siege, 26 navy ships and some merchant ships were sunk by the Axis forces.
Australian ships involved in supplying Tobruk were:
- HMAS Napier
- HMAS Nizam
- HMAS Parramatta
- HMAS Stuart
- HMAS Waterhen
- HMAS Vendetta
- HMAS Voyager.
HMAS Vendetta made 39 trips between May and August 1941 – more than any other ship.
Veterans of Tobruk recognised the vital role that the navies played and were extremely grateful. Australian veteran Bob Semple of the 2/12th Field Artillery Regiment recalled:
We were shipped into the place, I personally went in and we shall ever be grateful to our navy, the destroyers and those ships that supported and kept us alive because without the navy we would not have seen out the distance … The Vampire, Vendetta, Waterhen and these vessels did countless runs and … they came in on the phases of the moon at night, into the harbour in that period to get in and dump whatever they had.
['Bob Semple's story', DVA Veterans Stories' oral history project]
Some Australian medical staff were brought in by fast boats at night. They evacuated badly wounded Australian soldiers.
The Axis air forces attacked the ships whenever they could.
On 30 June 1941, HMAS Waterhen – or 'Chook' as it was known by the crew – slowly sank after an attack by German dive bombers.
Watch from 7:23 to 8:15 in the silent film Call to Action to see an Allied merchant ship being bombed in Tobruk harbour.
Air support
Axis aircraft flew frequent air raids over Tobruk and the surrounding areas. Their bombers and fighters attacked troops, supply ships and other ships, as well as Allied aircraft in the area.
Tobruk harbour was defended with 88 heavy anti-aircraft guns.
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons based in North Africa defended and supported the Allied ground forces and navies at Tobruk.
No 3 Squadron RAAF provided air cooperation, spotting artillery and machine-gunning enemy batteries.
No 451 Squadron RAAF had some aircraft based at Tobruk. Its aircrew flew reconnaissance and artillery spotting missions, reporting on Axis positions and movements.
Several of No 451's aircraft were shot down by Axis forces. The rest of No 451 Squadron RAAF was attached to the British Army's XIII Corps and later took part in Operation Crusader.
Daily life under siege
Tobruk was built on a treeless desert plain, so it was very hot during the day.
To combat the heat, troops spent most of their time underground in shelters (dugouts) and trenches, often covered with tin sheets or other materials. Out on the perimeter, the men would spend all day in their shelter because they could not show themselves in daylight.
Tobruk even had an underground railway. The Senussi cave railway connected to a large fortified underground shelter known as the Senussi hospital.
The Fig Tree Regimental Aid Post was a cavern beneath a fig tree, not big enough to stand up. Command posts and shelters were wholly or partially underground. Some had been made and fortified by the Italians. Soldiers making their own shelters, which they often called 'dingus', gathered rocks and salvage as building materials. The defenders became adept at concealment and camouflage.
The Rats of Tobruk
It was this underground life that led the German propagandist, Lord Haw-Haw, to greet the troops on a broadcast:
Good morning you rats, you rats of Tobruk.
Australian troops took it as a compliment to their persistence and ingenuity. They began to call themselves the Rats of Tobruk. They even created an unofficial medal to show their pride.
Life in Tobruk was hard and monotonous in many ways, and psychologically stressful. The soldiers lived with daily aircraft raids, artillery fire and the constant threat of attack. When soldiers were not at gun posts, patrolling or on other duties, they would clean weapons, load magazines, read, play cards or try to sleep.
through the day, you'd sleep, flies and dust and heat … you never got an overdose of it because there were always explosions, you were being shelled or bombed or machine-gunned or some other damn thing. There was always somebody putting up a racket of some sort or other
[Walter Wallace, quoted in Voices of War]
The weather was extremely hot during the day and very cold at night. Troops were often exposed to the weather. There were dust storms and hot winds, such as the Khamsin, that could reach 140 km/hour. The winds filled everything with dust and sand and reduced visibility to nothing. Dust and sand caused desert sores and jammed guns and machinery.
Food and water
Shortage of water was a constant problem.
Troops were given one bottle of water a day for all uses. Water supply trucks only came at night because their noise attracted enemy shelling. Veteran Owen Cutis recalled:
So the trucks would come whizzing down with this water and they’d have a forty-four gallon drum of salt water and a forty-four gallon drum of fresh water. One was for the cooking and eating and drinking, and one was for your washing. And they’d wheel these of and away they’d go witdhout stopping because to save the Jerries dropping down their shells. And when you’ve rushed up and you’d think, ‘Oh, thank God for that’, and you’d open up and you’d find you had two salt water drums and so you couldn’t get any more until the next night till they came around.
[Anthony Staunton, North Africa and Syria]
A 44-gallon drum held about 200 litres of water, which had to serve many men. Water was heavily chlorinated to make it safe, but it was unpleasant to drink.
The troops didn't have enough water for washing or cleaning. Sometimes they used sand to clean their cooking and eating utensils, which could cause food poisoning.
Food was delivered at night too – dinner and food for the next day. One veteran remembered that it was mainly stews and similar things, with bully beef and very few vegetables or fruits. Troops received vitamin C tablets and Marmite (for vitamin B), but the monotonous diet and restricted rations often led to health problems. Salvaged or looted food, such as Italian rations, offered a welcome change.
It was amazing how much scrounging had been going on. We had cases of the most excellent Italian milk, sterilizato, cases of beautiful cherry jam and cases of not so good bully beef.
[John Devine, quoted in Lyman, Longest Siege]
Poor health
Diseases such as dysentery were common, as were skin conditions and battle wounds. Doctors and medical officers had to treat patients with what was available to them. The naval supply line often brought in doctors and evacuated seriously unwell patients.
Salvaged materials were valuable, as medical officer John Devine recalled:
We were using Italian sterilizers for our medical equipment, Italian dressings and many Italian instruments.
The troops' physical and mental health began to suffer as the siege dragged on. After the war, Dr AH McGregor, a regimental medical officer with the 18th Brigade, said that dysentery caused 3 times more casualties than bullets, and ‘some soldiers broke under the strain, many of them good men’.
The whole area of Tobruk was infested with mice, rats and fleas. Flies were everywhere.
[There was an] all-pervading characteristic smell of the long dead, and of dried excreta. Big rats with light coloured soft hair were everywhere visible during daylight hours.
[Peter Rees, Desert Boys, p 494.]
Occasionally, troops could go to the sea to wash or swim, but aircraft attacks were frequent. There was little water for washing, and hygiene could be a problem.
Desert conditions
Troops adapted clothing to desert conditions:
- neck scarves kept sand out
- beanies and balaclavas gave warmth at night
- jumpers were worn with shorts
- cellophane goggles were prized by tank crews and drivers
- sandshoes were sometimes worn during raids.
As with weapons, troops used scrounged supplies. Australian medical officer John Devine observed:
Everyone seemed to have his own Italian car … Our men were wearing Italian khaki military shirts, and in many cases Italian trousers and boots, and we were all sheltered by Italian groundsheets.
[Lyman, Longest siege]
The Tobruk Truth newsheet continued daily during the siege, even after a 1,500 lb (750 kg) bomb landed on the building in which it was published. It helped maintain the troops' morale and countered rumours. According to one veteran, it even ran a Melbourne Cup sweep. The Tobruk Truth was produced by Lance Sergeant William Henry Williams, a Melbourne journalist who served with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) Military History Section.
One soldier's letter home
Private Archie Gordon Patrick 'Pat' Campbell from Dalby, Queensland, wrote an insightful letter on 26 May 1941 to his father. He described capturing some prisoners in a nighttime patrol with a soldier from nearby Kingaroy, and mentioned the dangers of daily life and the soldiers' poor physical condition. Pat survived the Siege of Tobruk, but died on Tapai Island (now Indonesia) in November 1944 while serving with the "Z" Special Unit in Operation Rimau.
Quite a number of interesting things have happened since I last wrote, the most outstanding being that a few of us have been in what I might term "proper action." … We got away with one prisoner and three of us wounded, one of whom died next day. We both came from the same post and it took six of us to carry him back. A lot of things that happened are best forgotten, if possible, and I am not sure if I should have told you as much as I have, but it cannot be helped now … The Brigadier was very pleased and sent his congratulations to every member of the patrol. … It was even mentioned in the Tobruk news sheet. We came out of the line two days ago for a badly-needed rest. Some of us were taken down to the beach for a swim yesterday, and after-wards, hearing Bob Wade (Cecil Plains) was in the vicinity, I cleared out and finally tracked him down. He drives the Q.M. truck. … The only things that worry us when we are back here are the artillery and the planes. We are about four miles out of Tobruk, and it is about six miles to where Bob Wade is camped. Bob got five bullet holes through his truck the other day, and now he reckons he does not take any chances. … Have been out digging trenches in the second line defence to-day and it was pretty hot and we had very little water, so we do not feel extra fresh to-night. Jerry has just started shelling here and quite a spot of shrapnel is landing outside our dug-out. We are all in very poor physical shape from eating just bully beef, etc., and have lost considerable condition through lack of proper food and water and sleep during night work, etc. But we can take it, as the Tommies say. They have a wonderful spirit, these Tommies.
['WITH THE A.I.F ABROAD', The Dalby Herald, 18 July 1941, p 4.]
Leaving Tobruk
By July 1941, it was looking unlikely that the siege would be ended by a land battle. In that month, General Thomas Blamey proposed that Australian troops be relieved and withdrawn by sea. His recommendation was supported by Australian prime ministers (there were 3 prime ministers during the time it took for Australian troops to be withdrawn).
Australia's request was a source of disagreement between Australian and British military and political leaders. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was particularly opposed to moving the Australians out of Tobruk.
There were several reasons for Blamey's request. He had been told that the troops' health and their capacity to resist another major Axis attack were declining. And Australian troops had been defending Tobruk for much longer than originally planned.
Also, Australian prime ministers and Blamey wanted all Australian divisions to be consolidated. For Australians to serve together rather than in army units with other Commonwealth nations. This was part of the agreement between the British and Australian military forces.
On the night of 21 to 22 August 1941, Polish and Czechoslovakian troops arrived in Tobruk by ship and began replacing the Australian, British and Indian troops.
Half the Australian garrison was relieved in August 1941, and the rest in September and October. The 2/13th Infantry Battalion was not evacuated and was still in Tobruk when the siege ended on 7 December 1941. They were the only unit present for the whole siege and fought in Operation Crusader.
I've said it often – the best part of Tobruk was leaving it.
[Laurence McEvoy, 2/48th Battalion
The Australian official war history records casualties from the 9th Division from 8 April to 25 October 1941 as 749 killed, 1,996 wounded and 604 prisoners. The total losses in the 9th Division and attached troops from 1 March to 15 December amounted to 832 killed, 2,177 wounded and 941 prisoners.
Ending the siege
The Allies launched 3 operations to end the Siege of Tobruk.
The first was Operation Brevity on 15 May, nearly a month after the siege began. A small Australian unit was part of the force. It was not successful.
The next was Operation Battleaxe. This began on 15 June but ended after 2 days. The troops in Tobruk remained besieged.
The final attempt was successful – Operation Crusader. It began on 18 November. The only remaining Australian battalion, the 2/13th Infantry Battalion, left the Tobruk defences and fought in the operation at Ed Duda.
By 7 December 1941, the Siege of Tobruk was over.
The town was severely damaged, and there were shipwrecks in the harbour. An Australian soldier recalled:
In the early days of our offensive [Operation Compass], the first arrivals found traces there of all amenities – cinemas, bars, cafes. It was quite a town! … Very little remains save the stark and gaunt ruin that was the church.
[Salt, Vol 1 No 5, 27 Oct 1941, p 2.]
Despite losses such as HMAS Waterhen, the Allies successfully denied Axis forces' access to the strategic port of Tobruk. The Axis forces lost about 12,000 men in their attempts to capture the outpost.
Tobruk stayed in Allied hands until June 1942, when it was again captured during an Axis advance. These continued shifts in momentum were typical of the fighting in North Africa.
Commemoration
The term 'Rats of Tobruk' became part of Australian culture. Although popular memory focuses on the role of Australian troops, Allied soldiers from other nations also served alongside them at Tobruk.
In early 1943, towns and cities across Australia held 'welcome home' events for soldiers returning from the Middle East. Veterans of the Western Desert and Syria–Lebanon campaigns marched through the streets and attended civic functions.
The City of Sydney held a ticker-tape parade on 2 April 1943 to commemorate the 9th Division. A crowd of about 50,000 people braved wet weather to cheer the veterans of the Western Desert Campaign. City workers threw torn papers and streamers from their offices.
Many of Australia's veterans of the Western Desert Campaign went on to serve in other campaigns, particularly in the Pacific War. Months of desert warfare had not prepared them for the challenges of jungle warfare on the islands of South-East Asia and the Pacific. But their defence skills and friendships sustained them.
In Australian history books, novels and films, the Rats of Tobruk are often remembered as underdogs – defiant and resourceful defenders of a small Libyan port.
The Rats of Tobruk hold special significance for Australians, with more than 50 memorials dedicated to them across the country. In 1983, the Australian Government dedicated the national Rats of Tobruk Memorial in Canberra.
A RAAF airman stands in front of the memorial in Tobruk, built by Australian engineers and dedicated in October 1941. Chester Wilmot spoke at the dedication, and concluded by reflecting that for the men who lost their lives in Tobruk: Their real monument is their name and their most honoured resting place is in the grateful hearts of their fellow men. (AWM MEC1192; photographer Laurence Craddock le Guay)
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Glossary
- Allies
- garrison
- reinforcements
- salient
- siege
- strong-point