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
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