British capture of Tobruk 1941
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 21 January 1941 – 22 January 1941 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1941 | 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 | Operation Compass, World War II | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 32.0761, 23.9614 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The British capture of Tobruk was a battle fought between 21 and 22 January 1941, as part of Operation Compass, the first offensive of the Western Desert Force (WDF) in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. After defeating the Italians in the Battle of Bardia (3–5 January 1941), the 6th Australian Division and the 7th Armoured Division pressed on and made contact with the Italian garrison in Tobruk on 6 January.
The Italians had fortified Tobruk, their only naval base in Eastern Cyrenaica, before the war but after being routed at the Attack on Nibeiwa, the Battle of Sidi Barrani and the Battle of Bardia, the Italian 10th Army had lost eight of its nine divisions and had only the 61st Infantry Division "Sirte" and stragglers to defend the port.
The Tobruk garrison suffered 2,048 casualties and 20,000 men were taken prisoner for 400 Australian and British casualties. The WDF continued its westwards advance towards Derna and Mechili.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article British capture of Tobruk (revision 1370606341), 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 Tobruk (1911) 1911 · 0 km
- Siege of Tobruk 1941 · 0 km
- Battle of Point 175 1941 · 32 km
- Battle of Gazala 1942 · 50 km
- Action at Bir el Gubi (November 1941) 1941 · 60 km
- Action at Bir el Gubi (December 1941) 1941 · 60 km
Other battles of the World War II
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- Operation Wikinger 1940
- Siege of Calais (1940) 1940
- Siege of Malta (World War II) 1940
- Åndalsnes landings 1940
- Action of 4 April 1941 1941
- Battle of 42nd Street 1941
- Battle of Amba Alagi (1941) 1941
- Battle of Bardia 1941
- Battle of Brody (1941) 1941
All 178 battles of the World War II →
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