Battle of Bir Hakeim 1942
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 26 May 1942 – 11 June 1942 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1942 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Libya | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Battle of Gazala | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | 1st Free French Division, Afrika Korps, Panzer Army Africa, United Kingdom | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 31.5939, 23.4798 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Bir Hakeim (Arabic pronunciation: [biʔr ħaˈkiːm] ) took place at Bir Hakeim, an oasis in the Libyan desert southwest of Tobruk, during the Battle of Gazala (26 May – 21 June 1942). The 1st Free French Brigade (Général de brigade Marie-Pierre Kœnig) defended the position from 26 May to 11 June against Axis forces of the Panzerarmee Afrika (Generaloberst Erwin Rommel) that captured Tobruk ten days later.
The delay imposed on the Axis offensive by the defence of Bir Hakeim influenced the cancellation of Operation Herkules, the Axis invasion of Malta. Rommel invaded Egypt, slowed by British delaying actions until the First Battle of El Alamein in July, where the Axis advance was stopped. Both sides used the battle for propaganda, Winston Churchill declared the Free French to be the "Fighting French".
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Bir Hakeim (revision 1378038186), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Gazala 1942 · 40 km
- Action at Bir el Gubi (November 1941) 1941 · 53 km
- Action at Bir el Gubi (December 1941) 1941 · 53 km
- Battle of Point 175 1941 · 67 km
- Siege of Tobruk 1941 · 70 km
- British capture of Tobruk 1941 · 70 km
Browse more: battles in Libya · Africa · World War II era battles