The '''Siege of Tobruk''' was the Axis encirclement of Allied forces dug in and around the port of Tobruk in Libya that lasted for 253 days in North Africa during the North African Campaign in the Second World War. The siege started on 10 April 1941, when Tobruk was attacked by an Italo–German force under Lieutenant-General [[Erwin Rommel]], and continued for 253 days to 10 December 1941, when it was finally lifted when Major-General [[Stanisław Kopański]]'s [[Carpathian Brigade]] attacked and captured White Knoll Hill during [[Operation Crusader]].<ref>''The Brigade fought along the western perimeter of Tobruk, and during the December break-out pushed past the Italian Brescia Division in the battle for the 'White Knoll' and captured Acroma." (The Polish Army 1939-45, Steven Zaloga, Richard Hook, p. 18, Osprey Publishing, 2013)</ref>
==First Desert OffensiveBenghazi handicap==
During March 1941, Rommel defied orders from Rome to hold his ground around Tripoli and build up his strength. He attacked in what became known as his first desert offensivethe "Benghazi handicap", taking advantage of the British Middle East Command decision to reinforce northen northern Greece, pushing the British Commonwealth forces back to the east, towards Tobruk. He won control of the air with the Regia Aeronautica fighters and 20 Messerschmitt Bf 110s from ''ZG26'' based at Sirte, and he had over 1,000 trucks. On 18 February, a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) formation attacked 12 Ju 87s from ''StG3'', with Flight Lieutenant Steege and Flying Officer Jaskson each shooting down three German dive-bombers. The next day, the Australians lost two Hurricanes in a doghfight with the Bf 110s.
On 31 March he launched fifty tanks backed up by the ''Brescia'' Infantry and ''Ariete'' Armoured Divisions and drove the Allies back in confusion. The British 7th Armoured and Australian 6th Infantry Divisions had been replaced by the inexperienced 2nd Armoured and 9th Infantry Divisions. The withdrawal cost the Australians heavily, with 1,000 men captured after the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment surrounded and captured Mechili.<ref>[http://www.testofbattle.com/files/RommelsFirstOffensive.pdf ROMMEL'S FIRST OFFENSIVE]</ref><ref>"The victory must have been especially sweet for the men of the Ariete Division, partly as recompense for past humiliations at British hands, and partly because it was an all-Italian triumph; Generalmajor Streich, Oberstleutnan Dr. Olbrich and Panzer Regiment 5 arrived too late to take part in the action and Gambier-Parry actually surrendered to Colonna Montemurro." Tobruk: The Great Siege, 1941–42, William F. Buckingham, , Random House, 2010</ref>
At the start of Rommel's first desert offensive, he had at his disposal 130 panzers, over one-hundred German 88-mm Flak guns and 9,300 well-trained officers and other ranks from the ''Afrika Korps.''
In the first three months of 1941, 184 Allied aircraft were lost in North Africa, with No. 208 Squadron sent to defend Greece in late February. On 18 February, a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) formation attacked 12 Ju 87s from ''StG3'', with Flight Lieutenant Steege and Flying Officer Jaskson each shooting down three German dive-bombers. The next day, the Australians lost two Hurricanes in a doghfight with the Bf 110s. When Axis aircraft began bombing Benghazi, the Royal Navy withdrew, thus weakening the Allied supply line and ability to counter the Axis offensive. The Axis vanguards pushed on very quickly round Tobruk and towards Bardia andSollum, with armoured cars and motorcycle troops. Benghazi fell on 3 April and by 11 April the British Commonwealth forces had retreated all the way to Egypt, leaving Tobruk isolated and under siege. Tobruk was bombed and strafed daily and its airfields were shelled by captured French heavy artillery guns in Italian service. On 5 April, British and Australian pilots shot down fourteen dive-bombers. General Morshead was named appointed commander of The Tobruk garrison. He counted on the Italian concrete strongpoints and set about improving them. He established a series of posts, called the Red Line, around the garrison's 50km outer perimeter, concentrating his infantry behind a barbed-wire inner defence line. On 11 April, the anti-aircraft gunners at Tobruk shot down three Stuka dive-bombers.
==Easter Battle==
On 13 April, German aircraft dropped leaftlets over Tobruk, urging the Australian garrison to surrender:
''"The general officer commanding the German forces in Libya hereby requests that the British troops occupying Tobruk surrender their arms. Single soldiers waving white handkerchiefs are not fired on. Strong German forces have already surrounded Tobrk, and it it useless to try and escape. Remember Mekili. Our dive-bombers and Stukas are awaiting your ships which are lying in Tobruk."''<ref>The Australian 9th Division Versus the Afrika Corps, Colonel Ward A. Miller, p. 24, Pickle Partners Publishing, 2014]</ref>
That night, a strong German night-fighting patrol attempted to captured strongpoint R33, but the attack failed when Lieutenant-Colonel Mackell personally led a counterattackalong with six of his men. The Australians claim 12 Germans were killed and one captured, and Corporal Jack Edmondson was posthumously awarded the [[Victoria Cross]] for his part in the action.
On 14 April, seventy Ju 87s escorted by German and Italian fighters attacked Tobruk. No.73 Squadron intercepted the formation and Flight Lieutenant James Duncan Smith, a Canadian fighter ace, shot down two G.50s before the Italian fighters from ''351º Squadriglia'' shot him down, killing him in the process. Sergeant R. W. Ellis, who had shot down four ''Luftwaffe'' aircraft during the [[Battle of Britain]] shot down three German dive-bombers in the aerial battle.
==Battle of the Salient==
Major-General Leslie Morshead is furious that another 3 strongpoints have been lost and orders the Australians to be far more vigilant in the future.<ref>" Today we lost posts S8, S9 and S10, the occupants having been taken prisoners in the circumstances set out in the attached document. This is the second time that portion of our garrison has vanished. As far as can be ascertained the number of casualties was negligible, the posts having been just mopped up – rather a new experience for the AIF." (Australia in the War of 1939-1945. 4 volumes, Chapter 7: Midsummer in the Fortress, p. 251, Australian War Memorial, 1952-1968)</ref>
Despite the setbacks, the Australians fought hard and the Commanding Officer of the 32nd Combat Sappers—Colonel Emilio Caizzo— is killed in a satchel attack on a machine-gun emplacement, an action which earns him a posthumous [[Gold Medal for Military Valour]]. An Italian [[narrative ]] has recorded:
''"On the night on 16 May 1941, two platoons of the 3rd Combat Engineer Company in union with assault groups of the "Brescia" Infantry Division, which had been sent as reinforcements on the 11th of that month, initiated the attack. With total disregard to danger and usual stealthiness, the combat sappers opened three paths in the wire fencing in front of each assault group. They used explosive charges in tubes. Fighting side by side with the assaulters, in fierce hand-to-hand combat, they inflicted heavy losses on the enemy, and obtained the objective."''<ref>[http://www.guastatori.it/i-guastatori-nel-2%C2%B0-conflitto-mondiale/xxxii-btg-g-gua/ GRUPPO NAZIONALE GUASTATORI DEL GENIO]</ref>