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The Rats of Tobruk hold an identifiable place within the ranks of returned servicemen, particularly in Australia, where there is the Rats of Tobruk Memorial in Canberra. On 22 March 1944, the original members of the Rats of Tobruk formed the North Bondi Sub-Branch of the Returned and Services League of Australia and it is still known in modern ...
Due to their impact on the battle, the Polish soldiers were awarded the prestigious title of the Rats of Tobruk by their Australian comrades in arms. On 13 December the Carpathian Uhlan Regiment was detached while the remainder of the brigade was attached to XIII Corps of the Eighth Army and took part in the attack on the Axis Gazala defensive ...
The siege of Tobruk (/ t ə ˈ b r ʊ k, t oʊ-/) took place between 10 April and 27 November 1941, during the Western Desert campaign (1940–1943) of the Second World War.An Allied force, consisting mostly of the 9th Australian Division, commanded by Lieutenant-General Leslie Morshead, was besieged in the North African port of Tobruk by German and Italian forces.
The 9th Division was the fourth AIF division raised, being formed in the United Kingdom in late 1940. Initially it consisted of only two infantry brigades which had been formed in Australia and dispatched to Britain in order to defend against a possible invasion following the Fall of France—the 18th and 25th Brigades—under the command of Major General Henry Wynter.
Robin Neillands, in his work on the Eighth Army, wrote "It is worth pointing out here that the term 'Desert Rat', though often used to describe any soldier of the Desert Army or the men who fought in Tobruk – the Australians have a 'Rats of Tobruk' Association – should strictly be applied only to the men of the British 7th Armoured Division".
Tobruk and El Alamein (PDF). Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Series 1 – Army. Vol. III (1st (online scan) ed.). Canberra: Australian War Memorial. OCLC 186193977. McKinney, J. B. (1952). Medical Units of 2 NZEF in Middle East and Italy. The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945.
The Rats of Tobruk Memorial [1] is on Anzac Parade, the principal ceremonial and memorial avenue of Canberra, Australia. The German siege of the Libyan Mediterranean Sea port town of Tobruk began on 10 April 1941. After desperate fighting, most of the Australian forces were relieved by October 1941.
In the second phase, XIII Corps was to secure the area around Tobruk and El Adem, then the areas of Derna and Mechili were to be captured. [14] The plan was based on intelligence information, which incorrectly indicated that 2 ⁄ 3 of the German tank strength was at Tobruk, which would put the British at a decisive material advantage on the ...