Afrike and Jack in Italy
Love at Arm's Length.
Tobruk's defiance of Rommel's army for seven months
became a symbol of hope for Churchill and the
British public. Tobruk's victory proved that right and
decency could prevail over the Nazi war machine.
There was light at the end of the tunnel.
Churchill's generals saw the siege of Tobruk differently.
It was all a wasted effort no matter the outcome.
Ships, planes, troops and tanks should be put
to better purpose than supporting an unneeded
outpost behind enemy lines.
General Klopper had his strongest forces facing west
to defend against Rommel's forces coming from Gazala.
An intense artillery barrage was reported by the Mahratta
Brigade facing southeast. Klopper, commander of Tobruk,
took this as a feint and ignored the warning.
A couple brigades of infantry, a few thousand men,
were stretched thin across Tobruk's southern section
of the perimeter. Here was the soft underbelly
Rommel chose to exploit in what would become a
dagger's thrust through King's Cross and all the
way to the harbor's edge in Tobruk itself.
Suddenly these riflemen faced the charge of a couple
hundred panzers coming their way with the dawn.
Rifles were no match for tanks and the British
defense was quickly swept aside.
Stukas flew from nearby El Adem to divebomb the
minefields protecting the British fortifications at
King's Cross. Once passage was cleared for
attacking tanks this vital junction fell, and with it
the Via Balbia was cut - the 8th Army's highway of
retreat, leaving the 2nd South African Division
trapped within the collapsing Tobruk resistance.
Tanks are in the perimeter! Alarm spread quickly.
The enemy was sighted by Klopper's staff at their
command HQ near Tobruk's harbor. The General
made a final call for help to Ritchie then ordered
communications equipment destroyed along with
all sensitive documents. A white flag was raised.
Rommel received thirty thousand Commonwealth troops
as pow's and over a month's worth of every kind of supply.
Rommel's Afrika Korps drove British trucks burning
British petrol, ate British food and wore British khakis.
With his troops freshly nourished Rommel now vowed
to immediately press on and destroy the 8th Army.
A knock at the door interrupted Churchill's White House
meeting with the President. Roosevelt read the
telegram handed him then passed it to the Prime Minister
without comment. It was a gut punch. Tobruk had fallen.
The question for Churchill was no longer
how are we going to stop Rommel?
The question now became
can we save the British Army?
* * * * *
OVER EASY
The British 8th Army crossed over the border
into Egypt a beaten force; their tank formations
destroyed and doubt replaced confidence in their
view of leadership.
General Auchinleck stuck his neck way out when
he picked Lieutenant-General Ritchie to lead the
8th Army in a winner-take-all confrontation with
Rommel's Afrika Korps. A good number of
battlefield experienced generals were ignored
in favor of this untested staff officer.
Tobruk was captured and the 8th was
nearly destroyed. Firing Ritchie wasn't
enough. Churchill would also fire Auchinleck
a couple months further down the road.
Rommel remained steadfast in adversity because
he believed he could always out-general the British.
Tobruk brought him the top rank of Field Marshall
and plenty of professional jealousy. War of epic
scale raged with the Russians in the east while
Rommel soaked up the glory with a two division
sideshow in North Africa.
The plan was to invade Malta once Rommel
cleared Libya of the British. Holding North African
ports such as Tripoli and Tobruk wasn't enough
so long as Britain continued to sink Rommel's
supplies coming from Italy. Taking Egypt and the
Suez depended on Germany clearing the
Mediterranean of the RAF and the subs
that patrolled from this strategic base.
Rommel wants to pursue the British into Egypt now.
The opportunity to destroy the 8th Army is at hand.
Hitler agrees. He's not keen on invading Malta.
It would be a big commitment of resources just when
everything possible is being done to supply the war
in Russia. Besides Hitler doesn't trust Mussolini.
The Italians are incompetent and he is sure he would
be left to take Malta alone.
Bernard Montgomery.
The guy talks truth to power.
Most everyone finds him to be a royal pain.
Churchill picked him to straighten out the
Eighth Army, but first they must survive
Rommel's push to destroy the British
at Mersa Matruh.
* * * * *
OVER EASY
Rommel needed Tobruk and the British didn't.
Briton's Middle East commanders had no desire
to support another outpost in a siege well behind
enemy lines. Even if successful, the venture
wasn't worth it to the military way of thinking.
Tobruk appears safe for the moment.
Rommel is stalled for lack of fuel.
"We have him now," General Ritchie proclaims.
Rommel's forces meanwhile take Sidi Muftah,
enabling them to directly resupply their formations.
British minefields inadvertently add to German defense.
Rommel takes this time to plan his next move.
Four days later Rommel sprung from his lair,
known as 'The Cauldron,' to attack a series of
British outposts strung between Knightsbridge
and El Adem. The military situation everywhere
soon turned against the 8th Army.
Britain's generals were never trained to deal with
mobile armor. Instead, the foot soldier still ruled
the battlefield. The Matilda, Britain's best tank,
went no faster than troops moving double-time.
There was no need for a tank to go faster
than a guy with his rifle.
If your a corps commander you better quickly
learn to think three times faster than you planned.
Forget your carefully prepared flank defense.
According to Rommel, delivering the first iron
punch is all the defense you need to know.
The 8th Army learned bitter lessons from the man
who first figured things out.
Orders from General Ritchie were ignored by
commanders on the scene. They were desperately
trying to get their forces to the Egyptian border
before they became trapped and annihilated
by the approaching panzer forces.
Tobruk fell quickly to Rommel.
For Churchill the fall of Tobruk could not have come
at a worse time. He was currently in Washington
conferring with his most important ally, Roosevelt.
The Prime Minister said, "Not only were the military
effects grievous, but it had affected the reputation
of the British Armies. Defeat is one thing, disgrace
is another."
This string of failures had to end.
* * * * *
OVER EASY