From Gazala to Tobruk

German Panzer General Erwin Rommel had already distinguished himself in battle during the First World War. His subsequent successes in the early phases of World War 2 brought about even more notice. Rommel maneuvered his Panzer forces to victory in the Battle for France and pushed the Allies off the coast at Dunkirk. By the time of actions in North Africa, Rommel was a highly respected officer with the right combination of experience and instincts that most generals never achieve.

1941 saw Rommel and the German Army completing actions in North Africa, capturing strategic coastal cities to further their interest in the Mediterranean and elsewhere. Though often times coming up against larger Allied forces, his Panzer troops seemed to dial up the victory each time, adding more and more credibility to Rommel's legacy - ultimately delivering onto him the title of "Desert Fox".

Rommel had proven a master of adjusting his tactics to put his troops in the best possible position in achieving the victory. He understood that fighting in the wide open spaces of a desert required tactics that were wholly different than those needed when fighting throughout the cities, towns and countrysides of Europe. With a force numbering just 561 tanks made up of Germans and Italians, Rommel faced a larger British force of some 900 tanks. One major advantage that Rommel maintained was the on-call services of the experienced German luftwaffe.

Rommel and his Panzer forces finally began their assault on the heavily defended British line at Gazala in May of 1942. He utilized his Italian armor contingent as a diversion to pull Allied resources to the north while launching his vastly superior German armor at points along the south of the line. The British responded to the trap with a series of uncoordinated offensives that were quickly put down. As the Germans progressed, their supply lines grew precariously thin, at some points forcing the front of the Panzer Army to rely solely on captured supplies from the retreated or defeated Allies.

Some two weeks of fighting, at the cost of lives (the entire British 150th Brigade was utterly destroyed) and 30% of Rommel's tank force, the Gazala Line finally broke and the Allies retreated in haste. The last jewel in Rommel's crown would be the taking of the post city of Tobruk - which eventually fell to the Germans on June 21st. The German supply lines throughout northern Africa were now settled and safe.