1.
The Rats of Tobruk (1944 film)
–
The Fighting Rats of Tobruk is a 1944 Australian film directed by Charles Chauvel. The film follows three friends who enlist in the Australian Army together during World War II. Their story is based on the siege of the Libyan city of Tobruk in North Africa by Rommels Afrika Korps, the largely Australian defenders held the city for 250 days before being relieved by British forces. Three friends are droving cattle in Australia in 1939, the restless Bluey Donkin, easy-going Milo Trent and English Peter Linton, squatters daughter Kate Carmody is in love with Bluey but he refuses to be tied down to any one woman. War breaks out and the three men enlist in the Australian army and are assigned to the 9th Division, after early successes against the Italian army, the army is besieged in Tobruk. In between attacks, the men have comic encounters with a barber and Peter falls for a nurse, Sister Mary, there are several subsequent attacks in which all three soldiers are wounded. Peter Linton is killed but the others manage to repel the Germans, Bluey and Milo are then transferred to New Guinea, where Bluey is injured and Milo killed by a sniper. Bluey manages to kill the sniper and returns to Australia, where he is reunited with Kate, like that movie, it follows three friends overseas to war, and starred Grant Taylor and Chips Rafferty. Chauvel announced plans to make the film in late 1942 and he spent a year researching and writing, and securing government cooperation. Financing was obtained from Hoyts, RKO-Radio, and Commonwealth Film Laboratories, production of the movie was even announced in The New York Times. Mary Gay was working as a clerk in a department store when discovered in a talent quest and cast in the role of the nurse who romances Peter Finch, shooting took place in late 1943. Taylor, Rafferty and Finch were all serving in the Australian army, a set representing the town of Tobruk was constructed in a field near Camden. Underground firing posts and dugouts were reconstructed in the studio of Commonwealth Film Laboratories, the Cronulla sandhills stood in for the African desert, and battle scenes were shot there at nighttime. Watsons Bay was used to shoot scenes of Australian soldiers embarking by boat, the New Guinea sequences were shot at Lamington Plateau, near the crash site of the 1937 Stinson plane. Army photographers also shot footage in Papua for use in the movie. Filipino boxer Tony Villa plays the Japanese soldier who fights Grant Taylor at the end, captured German and Italian weaponry was used throughout filming. In 1943, the 3rd Army Tank Battalion was equipped with a squadron of Australian built Sentinel AC1 tanks which had modified to resemble German tanks. The army provided advisers who had served in Tobruk, early box office response was encouraging but the movie was not as popular as Forty Thousand Horsemen
2.
Garrison
–
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base. The garrison is usually in a city, town, fort, castle, garrison town is a common expression for any town that has a military base nearby. Garrison towns were used during the Arab Islamic conquests of Middle Eastern lands by Arab-Muslim armies to increase their dominance over indigenous populations. In Ireland, Association football has historically been termed the game or the garrison sport for its connections with British military serving in Irish cities. In Israel, a unit is a regular unit defending a specified Israeli zone in need of protection from attack from combatants. Israeli garrison units placed in the territories of West Bank are recognized under UN Resolution 242 as occupied pending peaceful recognition by all regional combatants. It was an old custom in ancient Italy to send out colonies for the purpose of securing new conquests, the Romans, having no standing army, used to plant bodies of their own citizens in conquered towns as a kind of garrison
3.
Tobruk
–
Tobruk or Tubruq is a port city on Libyas eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border of Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000, Tobruk was the site of an ancient Greek colony and, later, of a Roman fortress guarding the frontier of Cyrenaica. Over the centuries, Tobruk also served as a waystation along the caravan route. By 1911, Tobruk had become an Italian military post, but during World War II, Allied forces, mainly the Australian 6th Division, took Tobruk on 22 January 1941. Rebuilt after World War II, Tobruk was later expanded during the 1960s to include a terminal linked by an oil pipeline to the Sarir oil field. King Idris of Libya had his palace at Bab Zaytun, Tobruk was traditionally a stronghold of the Senussi royal dynasty and one of the first to rebel against Colonel Gaddafi in the Arab Spring. Tobruk has a strong, naturally protected deep harbour and it is probably the best natural port in northern Africa, although due to the lack of important nearby land sites it is certainly not the most popular. The city is surrounded by a desert lightly populated with nomadic herdsmen who travel from oasis to oasis. There are many escarpments to the south of Tobruk and these escarpments generally have their high sides to the south and their low sides to the north. This constitutes a physical barrier between the north and south of Libya in the Tobruk area. Construction of the Tobruk-Ajdabiya road reduced the distance between two cities from 620 km to about 410 km. However, Tobruk suffers a serious saltwater intrusion problem, a factory for the desalination of sea water has been built there. Tobruk features a hot desert climate An ancient Greek agricultural colony, Αντίπυργος was once on the site of modern Tobruk, the name roughly meant across from Pyrgos, referring to a location in Crete across the Mediterranean Sea from Antipyrgos. In the Roman era, the became a Roman fortress guarding the Cyrenaican frontier. With the spread of Christianity, Antipyrgus became an episcopal see, only one of its ancient bishops is known by name, Aemilianus, who took part in the Second Council of Constantinople in 553. No longer a residential bishopric, Antipyrgus is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see, later the site became a way station on the caravan route that ran along the coast. The Hotel Tobruk was built in 1937, at the beginning of World War II, Libya was an Italian colony and Tobruk became the site of important battles between the Allies and Axis powers. Tobruk was strategically important to the conquest of Eastern Libya, then the province of Cyrenaica and this was of critical importance, as it made Tobruk an excellent place to supply a desert warfare campaign
4.
Afrika Korps
–
The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. The units best known commander was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the Afrika Korps formed on 11 January 1941 and one of Hitlers favorite generals, Erwin Rommel, was designated as commander on 11 February. Originally Hans von Funck was to have commanded it, but Hitler loathed von Funck, the German Armed Forces High Command had decided to send a blocking force to Libya to support the Italian army. The Italian army group had been routed by the British Commonwealth Western Desert Force in Operation Compass. The German blocking force, commanded by Rommel, at first consisted of a force based only on Panzer Regiment 5 and these elements were organized into the 5th Light Division when they arrived in Africa from 10 February –12 March 1941. In late April and into May, the 5th Light Division was joined by elements of 15th Panzer Division, at this time, the Afrika Korps consisted of the two divisions, and was subordinated to the Italian chain of command in Africa. On 15 August 1941, the German 5th Light Division was redesignated 21st Panzer Division, during the summer of 1941, the OKW increased the presence in Africa and created a new headquarters called Panzer Group Africa. On 15 August, the Panzer Group was activated with Rommel in command, the Panzer Group comprised the Afrika Korps, with some additional German units now in North Africa, plus two corps of Italian units. The Panzer Group was, in turn, redesignated as Panzer Army Africa on 30 January 1942, Rommel, meanwhile, was placed in command of a new Army Group Africa, created to control both the Italian 1st Army and the 5th Panzer Army. The remnants of the Afrika Korps and surviving units of the 1st Italian Army retreated into Tunisia, Command of the Army Group was turned over to Arnim in March. On 13 May, the Afrika Korps surrendered, along all other remaining Axis forces in North Africa. Most Afrika Korps POWs were transported to the United States and held in Camp Shelby in Mississippi, when Rommel was promoted to the newly formed Panzerarmee Afrika, his command included a number of Italian units, including four infantry divisions. Two Italian armoured divisions, Ariete and Trieste initially remained under Italian control as the Italian XX Motorized Corps under the command of General Gastone Gambara, the Afrika Korps was restructured and renamed in August 1941. Afrikakorps was the name of the force for less than six months but the officers
5.
Siege of Tobruk
–
In late 1940, the British had defeated the Italian 10th Army during Operation Compass and trapped the remnants at Beda Fomm. German troops and Italian reinforcements reached Libya, while much of the WDF was sent to Greece and replaced by a force, short of equipment. Operation Sonnenblume, forced the British into a retreat to the Egyptian border, a garrison was left behind at Tobruk, to deny the port to the Axis, while the WDF reorganised and prepared a counter-offensive. The siege diverted Axis troops from the frontier and the Tobruk garrison repulsed several Axis attacks, the port was frequently bombarded by artillery, dive-bombers and medium bombers, as the RAF flew defensive sorties from airfields far away in Egypt. British Mediterranean Fleet and Inshore Squadron ships ran the blockade, carrying reinforcements and supplies in and wounded, on 27 November, Tobruk was relieved by the Eighth Army, during Operation Crusader. The Western Desert Campaign was fought from Mersa Matruh in Egypt to Gazala in Cyrenaica on the Libyan coast, an area about 240 miles wide along Via Balbia along the coast, the only paved road. A sand sea 150 miles inland marked the limit of the desert. Extending inland from the coast lies a raised, flat plain of stony desert, about 150 metres above sea level, scorpions, vipers and flies populated the region, which was inhabited by a small number of nomads. Bedouin tracks linked wells and the more easily traversed ground, navigation was by sun, star, compass and desert sense, good perception of the environment gained by experience. German engines tended to overheat and tank engine life fell from 1, 400–1,600 miles to 300–900 miles, at Tobruk, the ground was a hard surface which dropped to sea level in steps, with the coast cut by ravines. The Italian defences were a double semi-circle of concrete posts, placed for good observation, closer to the port, at the Bardia–El Adem road junction and towards Fort Pilastrino, more defended localities had been built. On the morning of 5 January 1941, as soon as the 63rd Infantry Division Cirene garrisoning Bardia, surrendered, the 19th Australian Brigade Group reached the eastern defences of Tobruk on 7 January and the 16th Australian Brigade Group took over on the west side. The 17th Australian Brigade and the Support Group were to stage diversions either side of the attack, sandstorms blew up and grounded the RAF for much of the time but raids were carried out on Tobruk and the Italian bomber bases at Benina and Berka. After an hour, the 16th Australian Brigade and 18 infantry tanks broke through 1-mile deep on a 1-mile front, against patchy resistance. As the 16th Australian Brigade fanned out at 8,40 a. m. the 19th Australian Brigade advanced north, behind an artillery barrage and counter-battery fire on the Italian artillery. On the left the Australians were counter-attacked by seven tanks and infantry behind an artillery barrage, which was driven off by the Australians, two anti-tank guns and two infantry tanks. More resistance was met near Pilastrino, which held out until 9,30 p. m. the 2/8th Australian Battalion had marched 20 miles since the morning, fighting for 5 miles and lost 100 casualties. During the day Blenheims of 55 and 113 squadrons flew 56 sorties against Tobruk, half of the Tobruk area had been captured by nightfall and the Italians began demolitions at the harbour
6.
World War II
–
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
7.
Erwin Rommel
–
Erwin Rommel, popularly known as the Desert Fox, was a field marshal in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Rommel was a decorated officer in World War I and was awarded the Pour le Mérite for his actions on the Italian Front. In World War II, he distinguished himself as the commander of the 7th Panzer Division during the 1940 invasion of France and he later commanded the German forces opposing the Allied cross-channel invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Rommel supported the Nazi seizure of power and Adolf Hitler, although his attitude towards Nazi ideology, in 1944, Rommel was implicated in the 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler. Due to Rommels status as a hero, Hitler desired to eliminate him quietly. Rommel was given a funeral, and it was announced that he had succumbed to his injuries from the strafing of his staff car in Normandy. Rommel was born on 15 November 1891 in Southern Germany at Heidenheim,45 kilometres from Ulm, in the Kingdom of Württemberg, then part of the German Empire. He was the third of five children of Erwin Rommel Senior, a teacher and school administrator, as a young man Rommels father had been a lieutenant in the artillery. At age 18 Rommel joined the local 124th Württemberg Infantry Regiment as a Fähnrich, in 1910 and he graduated in November 1911 and was commissioned as a lieutenant in January 1912 and was assigned to the 124th Infantry in Weingarten. He was posted to Ulm in March 1914 to the 46th Field Artillery Regiment, XIII Corps and he returned to the 124th when war was declared. While at Cadet School, Rommel met his wife, 17-year-old Lucia Maria Mollin. They married in November 1916 in Danzig, during World War I, Rommel fought in France as well as in the Romanian and Italian Campaigns. The armies continued to skirmish in open engagements throughout September, as the trench warfare typical of the First World War was still in the future. For his actions in September 1914 and January 1915, Rommel was awarded the Iron Cross, Rommel was promoted to Oberleutnant and transferred to the newly created Royal Wurttemberg Mountain Battalion of the Alpenkorps in September 1915, as a company commander. The Mountain Battalion was next assigned to the Isonzo front, in an area in Italy. The offensive, known as the Battle of Caporetto, began on 24 October 1917, Rommels battalion, consisting of three rifle companies and a machine gun unit, was part of an attempt to take enemy positions on three mountains, Kolovrat, Matajur, and Stol. In two and a days, from 25 to 27 October, Rommel and his 150 men captured 81 guns and 9,000 men. In one instance, the Italian forces, taken by surprise, acting as advance guard in the capture of Longarone on 9 November, Rommel again decided to attack with a much smaller force
8.
Leslie Morshead
–
Lieutenant General Sir Leslie James Morshead, KCB, KBE, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian soldier, teacher, businessman, and farmer, whose military career spanned both world wars. During the Second World War, he led the Australian and British troops at the Siege of Tobruk and at the Second Battle of El Alamein, achieving decisive victories over Erwin Rommels Afrika Korps. A strict and demanding officer, his soldiers nicknamed him Ming the Merciless, later simply Ming and he was commissioned as a lieutenant in September. He landed at Anzac on 25 April 1915, and his battalion made the farthest advance of any Australian unit that day. Invalided to Australia, he became commander of the 33rd Infantry Battalion, which he led on the Western Front at Messines, Passchendaele, Villers-Bretonneux, and Amiens. Between the wars Morshead made a business career with the Orient Steam Navigation Company. In 1939, he was appointed to command the 18th Infantry Brigade of the 6th Division in the Second Australian Imperial Force, in 1941, he became commander of the 9th Division, which he led in the Siege of Tobruk and the Second Battle of El Alamein. He returned to Australia in 1943, where he was appointed to command II Corps, in 1945, he commanded I Corps in the Borneo campaign. William died when Morshead was six years old and he was educated at Mount Pleasant High School, where he was appointed a junior teacher in 1906. In 1909, he became a student at the Melbourne Teachers Training College to obtain formal teaching qualifications and he became a schoolteacher, teaching first at Tragowell in the Swan Hill district, and then at Fine View State School in the Horsham district. In 1911 he entered Trinity College at the University of Melbourne, after failing an exam in deductive logic, he decided to quit the state school system, and in 1912 took up a position at The Armidale School in the New England district of New South Wales. In 1914 he moved to the prestigious Melbourne Grammar School, Morshead had been commissioned as a lieutenant in the Australian Army Cadets in 1908. At Armidale, he was appointed commander of the cadet unit. He was promoted to captain in September, at Melbourne Grammar he commanded a company in that schools much larger cadet unit. While at Melbourne Grammar, he met Myrtle Catherine Woodside, the daughter of a Happy Valley, Victoria, grazier, Morsheads teaching career was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. Morsheads time in the ranks was brief, as he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the AIF on 19 September and he embarked for Egypt on the transport Suffolk on 18 October 1914. While his battalion was in training there, he was promoted to captain on 8 January 1915, the 2nd Infantry Battalion landed at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915. Morsheads platoon transferred from the transport Derfflinger to the destroyer HMS Usk and they then transferred to wooden boats which were towed to the shore, arriving at around 09,30
9.
9th Australian Division
–
The 9th Division was a division of the Australian Army that served during World War II. It was the division raised for the Second Australian Imperial Force. During 1940, the component units of the 9th Division were sent to the UK to defend it against a possible German invasion. After serving during 1941–42 in the North African campaign, at the Siege of Tobruk, in 1943–44, it served in the New Guinea campaign and, during 1945 in the Borneo campaign. It was disbanded, following the end of the war, in early 1946, the 9th Division was the fourth AIF division raised, being formed in the United Kingdom in late 1940. Later, the 24th Brigade was also assigned to the division, in January 1941 Wynter became ill and was replaced as divisional commander by Leslie Morshead. By February 1941, 9th Division headquarters had relocated to the Middle East. They were replaced by the 20th and 26th Brigades, both of which were considered to be experienced and therefore less ready for action. Short of equipment such as guns, mortars, anti-tank guns and carriers. By 9 March the 20th Brigade relieved the 17th Brigade from the 6th Division, the offensive began on 24 March, quickly forcing the British units along the frontier back as it drove towards Benghazi. Two days later the 26th Brigade took up positions in the west near the coast to support the 20th Brigade which was holding the pass at Er Regima. At this stage, the divisions troops were issued with captured Italian guns in order to make up the shortfall in British weapons. Lacking their own transport, they had to rely on that provided by other units, in this action the 2/13th Battalion suffered five killed and 93 wounded or captured. Two days after the action at Er Regima Pass, the 9th Division was ordered to back along the coast road towards Tobruk in what was later called the Benghazi Handicap. Covered by rear guard actions at Er Regima and Mechili, the 9th Division reached Tobruk on 9 April 1941, the first engagement came on 10 April when an Axis force approached the port from the west but was repelled. The following day, Tobruk was effectively placed under siege when German forces cut the road to its east. On 13 April the first major attack came when the German commander, Erwin Rommel, for his part in the attack Edmondson was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the first of seven which were bestowed upon members of the 9th Division during the war. Over the course of the six months the 9th Division
10.
7th Australian Division
–
The 7th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was formed in February 1940 to serve in World War II, the division is sometimes known by the nickname The Silent Seventh, due to a perception that its achievements were unrecognised, in comparison to the other Australian divisions. The origin of this appears to be censorship of the part played by the 7th Division in the fierce fighting in the 1941 Syria-Lebanon campaign. The 7th Division along with the 6th and 9th Australian Divisions were the divisions to serve in both the Middle East and the South West Pacific Area. It was disbanded in 1946, following the end of the war, the 7th Division was the second division raised as part of the 2nd AIF following the outbreak of World War II. Approval for the formation of the new division was granted on 28 February 1940 and on 4 April its first commanding officer, upon formation the division consisted of three infantry brigades, the 19th, 20th and 21st. Of these, the 19th was formed in Palestine and the two were formed in Australia. This was short lived, however, for the month the division lost the 18th Brigade. This enabled the division to undertake training together prior to embarking for the Middle East in October 1940, in February 1941 further changes in the divisions composition occurred. The 20th and 26th Brigades were transferred to the 9th Division, on arrival in the Middle East the division undertook training in Palestine and Egypt before the 18th Brigade was sent to capture an Italian position at Giarabub. The main assault was undertaken by the 2/9th Battalion on 21 March, although a company from the 2/10th, for the loss of 15 killed and 71 wounded, the Australians captured the fortress along with 36 artillery pieces. In April, the 18th Brigade moved from Alexandria to Tobruk, in the actions around Tobruk, the division suffered 135 killed,507 wounded and 29 captured. Both brigades advanced in two columns, the initial phase of the attack came to an end on 15 June when the Vichy French launched a counterattack, striking at Merdjayoun and recapturing it and Fort Khiam. On 21 June, the 2/25th Battalion entered Damascus and Fort Khiam, by 30 June the Australians had recaptured the initiative and the 7th Division handed over the central sector to the British. Following this, the division concentrated around Jezzine before advancing towards Damour, once this was captured, the division continued on towards Beirut, which fell on 12 July. In mid-July an armistice came into effect and the division was employed on garrison duties along the coastal zone, the 18th Brigade rejoined the division in September, taking up defensive positions around Aleppo, to defend against a possible invasion by German forces through Turkey. During the campaign, two 7th Division personnel earned the Victoria Cross, lieutenant Arthur Roden Cutler, of the 2/5th Field Regiment, received the decoration for his exploits in June at Merdjayoun and in early July in the Damour area where he was seriously wounded. Corporal Jim Gordon, of the 2/31st Battalion, was the recipient of the campaign
.jpg)
