Tobruk - The Desert Rats

Discussion in 'North Africa & the Med' started by spidge, Aug 18, 2006.

  1. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Tobruk: The longest siege in British Military History. There was only one day in the eight months of the siege that they were not bombed by German aircraft.

    The Rats of Tobruk was the name given to the soldiers who held Tobruk, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region> against the Afrika Corps, during a period known as the Siege of Tobruk in World War II. The conflict started on 10 April 1941. ANZAC soldiers, the Australian 9th Division and the 18th Brigade of the 7th Division under Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead, consisted of 14,000 men -- more than half of the Allied presence in Tobruk. Though other forces present included British, Indian, Polish, and others, Tobruk was an Australian garrison.<o>

    </o> In what was arguably the worst propaganda misstep of the war, Lord Haw-Haw derisively referred to the ANZACs as rats infesting Tobruk during radio broadcasts. This was probably due mostly to two factors, the tendency of the ANZACs to counterattack as soon as the enemy was routed to gather equipment, and the fact that the defenders dug extensive tunnel networks and shelters to supplement their trenches -- and weren't afraid to use them when bombarded.<o>

    </o> Regardless of the logic, ANZACs took the name as a badge of pride, even going so far as to strike their own unofficial medal bearing the likeness of a rat. The metal required to construct the medals came from a German bomber the rats shot down with borrowed German guns. Throughout the conflict the Axis attackers had at least twice the manpower, were a modern mechanized force (read: tanks) and most importantly, posessed the abilities of reinforcement and resupply.<o>

    </o> At this time, Rommel's Afrika Corps and their Blitzkrieg tactics had never been defeated. During the first phase of the offensive the rats were mostly concerned with constructing and reinforcing their defenses and observing the enemy. After a few months, however, purely defensive operations gave way to patrols. These forays outside friendly lines were broken into two categories: reconnaissance and fighting.<o>

    </o> The job of a reconnaissance patrol is largely obvious: to provide information on the enemy. Sometimes this entailed the capture and/or field interrogation of an enemy. Later, almost exclusively at night, a fighting patrol would act on viable targets found, operating under the simplest of guidelines: do as much damage as you can, don't get caught.
    <o></o>
    Commonly an attack would involve crawling several miles, surrounding the enemy position, followed by a concerted rush with bayonets. In most cases the action was over in a minute or two, more often than not without a shot fired.

    Probably the most well-known single offensive action by the rats was a fighting patrol led by Lieutenant William Horace Noyes, which stalked and destroyed three German light tanks, and killed or wounded the crews of seven machine-gun and eleven anti-tank gun positions and their protective infantry. In addition, they damaged a German heavy tank and killed or wounded 130 in the taking of a German garrison, most in the initial bayonet charge. No rats were lost that night.
    <o></o>
    In April, the soldiers were told to expect reinforcement and resupply within eight weeks. Against all odds, the rats held Tobruk tight until December of 1941, when they were evacuated by the British Navy after holding Tobruk for two hundred and fifty days, a little over eight months.

    From site: Reference.com/Encyclopedia/Rats of Tobruk
    <o></o>
     
  2. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    All that bombing.
    It just wasn't cricket was it?


    The Rats of Tobruk
    Recreation time
    July 30, 1941 - Rules of cricket between Australia's 20th Brigade and Britain's 107 Royal Horse Artillery
    Rule 2. Play to be continuous until 1800 hours, except by interference by air raids. Play will NOT, rpt NOT cease during shell fire.

    Rule 4. Shirts, shorts, long socks, sand shoes if available. ITI Helmets will not be worn or any other fancy head gear. Umpires will wear white coat (if available) and will carry loaded rifle with fixed bayonet.

    Rule 6. All players to be searched for concealed weapons before start of play, and all weapons found, other than S T grenades, Mills bombs, & revolvers will be confiscated. (This does not apply to umpires.)

    Rule 8. Manager will make medical arrangements & have ambulance in attendance
     
  3. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    It had to have been like that, otherwise they would have gone stir crazy. I knew quite a few of them (Dad's mates) and they were the funniest and nicest men you would ever like to meet.

    They went from there to cover the flank at El Alemein, then to the jungles of New Guinea to join the 6th & 7th divisions and some of the worse fighting of the war in the most inhospitable country in the world.

    After all these years I marvel at the intestinal fortitude of all these veterans of war in all theatres.

    As the saying goes: "You can only fight where you are put".
     
  4. Andy in West Oz

    Andy in West Oz Senior Member

    They went from there to cover the flank at El Alemein, then to the jungles of New Guinea to join the 6th & 7th divisions and some of the worse fighting of the war in the most inhospitable country in the world.

    They really were the greatest generatin weren't they?!

    I attended the reunion here in Perth at the King's Park memorial back in April. One of the local boys' schools has a cadet unit that is the custodians of the memorial and some archives.

    Did an interview with a veteran and one of the cadets for a story that didn't get run. Is there any way to post this short interview on here or should I just post a link (if anyone's interested of course!)?

    Also heard an amazing "as it happened" report from a journo who was in Tobruk during a night bombing raid recently. Phenomenal stuff.

    Hope to get to Tobruk one day and El Alamein and Kokoda and...

    Back to working on the lottery numbers! :p

    Cheers

    Andy
     
  5. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Did an interview with a veteran and one of the cadets for a story that didn't get run. Is there any way to post this short interview on here or should I just post a link (if anyone's interested of course!)?
    Andy

    Hi Andy,

    Posting the link would be easier.
     
  6. Andy in West Oz

    Andy in West Oz Senior Member

    Any recommendations for a site that might host the sound file? Rapidly reaching the limits of my computer skills! :eek:

    Cheers

    Andy
     
  7. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Hi Andy,

    Sorry, I thought is was already on a site to post.
     
  8. Karen Bloor

    Karen Bloor Junior Member

    Spidge

    Fascinating story about the ANZACS, why was Tobruk so important in the North Africa War. Or is that too big a question to ask.

    Karen :confused:
     
  9. morse1001

    morse1001 Very Senior Member

    Just finished reading Tobruk - the Great Siege Reassessed by Frank Harrison who himself, was a Tobruck Rat.
     
  10. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Spidge

    Fascinating story about the ANZACS, why was Tobruk so important in the North Africa War. Or is that too big a question to ask.

    Karen :confused:
    Nicked this from wikipedia but it explains it better than I could.
    Tobruk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Tobruk had a deep, natural, and protected harbor, which meant that even if the port was bombed, ships would still be able to anchor there and be safe from squalls, so the port could never be rendered wholly useless regardless of military bombardment. This was of critical importance, as it made Tobruk an excellent place to supply a desert warfare campaign. It was also heavily fortified by the Italians prior to their invasion of Egypt in November of 1940. In addition to these prepared fortifications there were a number of escarpments and cliffs to the south of Tobruk providing substantial physical barriers to any advance on the port. Tobruk was also on a peninsula, allowing it to be defended by a minimal number of troops, which the British used to their advantage when the port was under siege. An attacker could not simply bypass the defenders for if they did the besieged would sally forth and cut off the nearby supply lines of the attacker, spoiling their advance.

    But Tobruk was also strategically significant due to its location with regards to the remainder of Cyrenecia. Attackers from the east that had secured Tobruk could then advance through the desert to Benghazi, cutting off all enemy troops along the coast, such as those at Derna. This advance would be protected from counterattack due to enscarpments that were quite difficult for a military force to pass through, running generally from Tobruk to Soluch. Due to the importance of maintaining supply in the desert, getting cut off in this area was disastrous, therefore whoever held both Soluch and Tobruk controlled the majority of Cyrenecia.
     
  11. Salvage Sailor

    Salvage Sailor Junior Member

    Aloha Everyone,

    Here's a question that had eluded me when researching the AIF in the Western Desert (and Greece, Crete, etc)

    How many of these Veterans ended up 'in the bag' when they were shifted to Singapore, Java, etc in 1942? I've seen and read many individual references to AIF POW's who were Veterans of the Middle East, but of the over 22,000 captured by the Japanese, what proportion was made up of these battle hardened men?

    Anchor's Aweigh
    Craig
     
  12. Salvage Sailor

    Salvage Sailor Junior Member

    On a side note, and I'll have to look up where I got this from, we were conducting a reading group on North Africa and the Western Desert Campaigns and I came across this photo of some Aussies 'in the bag', I believe taken at Tobruk.

    They certainly do not appear to be defeated.
     
  13. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Aloha Everyone,

    Here's a question that had eluded me when researching the AIF in the Western Desert (and Greece, Crete, etc)

    How many of these Veterans ended up 'in the bag' when they were shifted to Singapore, Java, etc in 1942? I've seen and read many individual references to AIF POW's who were Veterans of the Middle East, but of the over 22,000 captured by the Japanese, what proportion was made up of these battle hardened men?

    Anchor's Aweigh
    Craig

    Not a great deal in percentage terms. 6th & 7th division POW's were mainly taken on Greece & Crete and those captured in North Africa etc, so went to either Italian or German camps where the survival rate was in the high 90's %.

    Most prisoners in Singapore were virtually the entire 8th Division who had been sent to Singapore late 1941 and were among the 120,000 POW's when Singapore was surrendered to the Japanese.

    9th division arrived in the Pacific after El Elamein.

    Due to the vicious fighting in these areas and the treatment of early allied POW's by the Japanese, not a great deal of prisoners were taken on either side.

    A breakup and resultant deaths are here:

    [Australian War Memorial]
     
  14. Salvage Sailor

    Salvage Sailor Junior Member

  15. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Great footage.
     
  16. Gnomey

    Gnomey World Travelling Doctor

    Tobruk: The longest siege in British Military History.

    Not so, the siege of Malta was longer lasting from the 10th June 1940 until the invasion of Sicily in 1943.

    Good footage Savage Sailor.
     
  17. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Not so, the siege of Malta was longer lasting from the 10th June 1940 until the invasion of Sicily in 1943.

    The term "Military History" in the siege of Tobruk is the terminology of "Army" forces repelling/denying the advance of other "Army" forces in defence of a strategic position.

    Malta was not a participant for this criterion.

    Malta was the most bombed island in the world in WW2 however except for the E-boat attack by the Italians on Grand Harbour there was not one by "Army" forces.

    There is no denying the courage of the Maltese people and British forces and their plight from Air attack and Naval blockade in those dark days.

    They too, were all heroes!
     
  18. lancesergeant

    lancesergeant Senior Member

    All that bombing.
    It just wasn't cricket was it?


    The Rats of Tobruk
    Thoughts of Drake and the Spanish Armada and the Carry on film " Carry on up the Khyber" when the place is being shelled and Sid James and mess officers are continuining dinner and music being played as if nothing is happening.

    A break from the war, escapism if you like, different generation altogether, the likes of which I don't think we'll see in a hurry. More's the pity.
     
  19. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    A break from the war, escapism if you like,
    Today's equivalent is to make an Amarillo video!
     
  20. Gnomey

    Gnomey World Travelling Doctor

    The term "Military History" in the siege of Tobruk is the terminology of "Army" forces repelling/denying the advance of other "Army" forces in defence of a strategic position.

    Malta was not a participant for this criterion.

    Malta was the most bombed island in the world in WW2 however except for the E-boat attack by the Italians on Grand Harbour there was not one by "Army" forces.

    There is no denying the courage of the Maltese people and British forces and their plight from Air attack and Naval blockade in those dark days.

    They too, were all heroes!

    Yes, I you said Military History I took it literally which would mean Malta however if it is only land forces then it is Tobruk
     

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