The siege of tobruk was a 241-day siege and defence of a major point for the axis powers during world war II. The tobruk concept hatched from an earlier operation in 1941 that consisted of driving the Italians out of North Africa. The Italians holding the port surrendered quickly due to heavy casualties and a lockdown on tobruk began on February. The battle was fought in the port city of Tobruk in Libya primarily by the 9th,7th and 18th Australian division, the 18th Indian Cavalry Regiment, the British 3rd Armoured Brigade and 4 artillery regiments. The allied powers were met by the axis powers who consisted of German and Italian troops. The allied powers at the time were 14 000 strong predominately Australian troops, the Polish independent…show more content… The Australian garrison took the port of tobruk by storm on the 22nd of January and the next morning the town fell to the allied powers in a result 27 000 Italians were prisoners of war. The Australian corporation attacked major axis points during the night that heavily hindered the opposition. The garrison then went on to repel two major attempted sieges by the axis forces while fully encircled by the enemy. Australians involvement in the siege of tobruk was significant as the strategies utilized by the garrison was what secured the port for 8 months along with sea support. The deprived axis forces were continuously hindered by the “rats of tobruk” offensively and defensively as the night attacks delayed enemy plans and lowered enemy morale. The contribution of Australia at tobruk played a significant role in the lockdown of the port. The constant tension at tobruk cause the opposition many lives and resources, many Germans and Italians were either killed or captured by the allies due to Hitler’s orders of no surrender. The siege of Tobruk was one of the lesser known significant events of World War II. The fortification of tobruk enabled the allies to utilise the port as point for resources and troops thus allowing the allied powers to reorganize strategies and regain numbers in efforts for operation crusader. The success of Tobruk secured valuable enemy
