Operation Brevity: Difference between revisions
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'''Operation Brevity''' was the first, unsuccessful, attempt to relieve the [[Siege of Tobruk]]. |
'''Operation Brevity''' was the first, unsuccessful, attempt to relieve the [[Siege of Tobruk]]. |
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Under pressure from [[Winston Churchill|Churchill]] to relieve Tobruk, [[Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|General Archibald Wavell]] hastily refitted and reorganized the XIII Corps (formally the [[Western Desert Force]]) under [[Lieutenant General]] [[Noel Beresford-Peirse]]. Peirse's Corps had the [[7th Armoured Division]] and [[Indian 4th Infantry Division|4th Indian Division]] with 220 tanks. Their goal was first, to seize the Sollum and [[Halfaya Pass|Halfaya passes]] along with [[Fort Capuzzo]], then drive on to relieve Tobruk. Against them, Rommel had more divisions, but fewer tanks and while his vaunted [[Afrika Korps]] were hardened veterans, the remainder were |
Under pressure from [[Winston Churchill|Churchill]] to relieve Tobruk, [[Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|General Archibald Wavell]] hastily refitted and reorganized the XIII Corps (formally the [[Western Desert Force]]) under [[Lieutenant General]] [[Noel Beresford-Peirse]]. Peirse's Corps had the [[7th Armoured Division]] and [[Indian 4th Infantry Division|4th Indian Division]] with 220 tanks. Their goal was first, to seize the Sollum and [[Halfaya Pass|Halfaya passes]] along with [[Fort Capuzzo]], then drive on to relieve Tobruk. Against them, Rommel had more divisions, but fewer tanks and while his vaunted [[Afrika Korps]] were hardened veterans, the remainder were Italians. Despite their shortcomings, some of the latter proved worthy opponents. The Halfaya Pass garrison included a German motorcycle company and an Italian Bersaglieri (light infantry) company with a few 47/32 mm antitank guns. While the Germans retreated, the Italians held their own knocking out seven of ten Matilda heavy tanks of C Squadron, 4th Royal Tank Regiment, until they were finally overrun. |
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Operation Brevity enjoyed some initial success. However, failure to quickly follow-up on these gains, along with piecemeal use of British armour, meant the offensive was doomed to be stalled and stopped by Rommel. Failure to coordinate ground and air forces or to coordinate with [[Leslie Morshead|Major General Morshead's]] [[Australian 9th Division]] defending Tobruk, also helped doom the operation. 13th Corps withdrew to Egypt. Rommel would soon launch a counter-attack, retaking all the ground gained by Brevity. Then he would fortify the passes with minefields and hidden emplacements of deadly [[88 mm gun]]s. The following month, when the same two allied divisions, under the same commander would again attack at the same places, they would receive a bloody surprise and a costly lesson. |
Operation Brevity enjoyed some initial success. However, failure to quickly follow-up on these gains, along with piecemeal use of British armour, meant the offensive was doomed to be stalled and stopped by Rommel. Failure to coordinate ground and air forces or to coordinate with [[Leslie Morshead|Major General Morshead's]] [[Australian 9th Division]] defending Tobruk, also helped doom the operation. 13th Corps withdrew to Egypt. Rommel would soon launch a counter-attack, retaking all the ground gained by Brevity. Then he would fortify the passes with minefields and hidden emplacements of deadly [[88 mm gun]]s. The following month, when the same two allied divisions, under the same commander would again attack at the same places, they would receive a bloody surprise and a costly lesson. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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* {{Ref Tank Combat in North Africa}} |
* {{Ref Tank Combat in North Africa}} |
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* B. H. Liddell Hart (1959). ''The Tanks'', II. Cassell. P. 78. |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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Revision as of 13:50, 15 February 2006
| Operation Brevity | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of World War II, North African Campaign | |||||||
 Rommel's first offensive and Operation Brevity — March 24, 1941 - June 15, 1941 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Germany, Italy | United Kingdom, India | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Erwin Rommel |
Archibald Wavell Noel Beresford-Peirse | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Afrika Korps (5th Light Division, 15th Panzer Division) and three Italian divisions (Ariete, Brescia, Trento). | XIII Corps consisting of 7th Armoured Division and 4th Indian Division, 20,000+ troops with 220 tanks | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
5 tanks destroyed Less than 500 casualties |
96 tanks destroyed about 1,000 casualties Significant amount of equipment and supplies captured. | ||||||
Operation Brevity was the first, unsuccessful, attempt to relieve the Siege of Tobruk.
Under pressure from Churchill to relieve Tobruk, General Archibald Wavell hastily refitted and reorganized the XIII Corps (formally the Western Desert Force) under Lieutenant General Noel Beresford-Peirse. Peirse's Corps had the 7th Armoured Division and 4th Indian Division with 220 tanks. Their goal was first, to seize the Sollum and Halfaya passes along with Fort Capuzzo, then drive on to relieve Tobruk. Against them, Rommel had more divisions, but fewer tanks and while his vaunted Afrika Korps were hardened veterans, the remainder were Italians. Despite their shortcomings, some of the latter proved worthy opponents. The Halfaya Pass garrison included a German motorcycle company and an Italian Bersaglieri (light infantry) company with a few 47/32 mm antitank guns. While the Germans retreated, the Italians held their own knocking out seven of ten Matilda heavy tanks of C Squadron, 4th Royal Tank Regiment, until they were finally overrun. Operation Brevity enjoyed some initial success. However, failure to quickly follow-up on these gains, along with piecemeal use of British armour, meant the offensive was doomed to be stalled and stopped by Rommel. Failure to coordinate ground and air forces or to coordinate with Major General Morshead's Australian 9th Division defending Tobruk, also helped doom the operation. 13th Corps withdrew to Egypt. Rommel would soon launch a counter-attack, retaking all the ground gained by Brevity. Then he would fortify the passes with minefields and hidden emplacements of deadly 88 mm guns. The following month, when the same two allied divisions, under the same commander would again attack at the same places, they would receive a bloody surprise and a costly lesson.
References
- B. H. Liddell Hart (1959). The Tanks, II. Cassell. P. 78.