Rory Shannon

The Rats Of Tobruk

The "Rats of Tobruk" were the Australian soldiers who fought in the Seige of Tobruk. Here is a summary -

The Axis forces looking to invade Egypt attacked a vital stronghold in Tobruk. Tobruk would be valuable to the Axis as it has a harbour which could ferry supplies to the Germans. Without Tobruk the Axis forces would have to carry supplies over 1,500 kilometres of desert, diverting forces attention, and ultimately slowing the Africa Campaign. This was the motivation for the Germans to Invade Tobruk.

On April 11th the German-Italian forces attacked Tobruk with surprising speed and power. General Rommel was expecting a very clean and easy takeover but instead was met by the Australian 9th division backed up by British guns, Tanks and Artillery. After some fighting the British retreated and left the rest of the Ally’s army to defend Tobruk “at all costs”. The defence was a near impossible job as the Tobruk itself as it had poor defences like Barbed wire.

For 241 days the Australian and the Ally’s survived constant bombardments, horrible heat, dull food, Exhaustion and dust storms but “The rats of Tobruk” kept fighting. Finally toward the end of the siege the Allies went on the offensive and destroyed the Axis strongpoints. This offensive run by the Australians led to the sudden halt of the German panzers. Stopping the German force had never been done before and the Ally’s celebrated a victory on December 10th

When did the battle take place?

The many battles, Offensive strikes and Counterstrike’s during the siege of Tobruk occurred over a 242 day period. The battle took place in North Africa at Tobruk and the surrounding desert. The siege of Tobruk started April 11th 1941 when Tobruk was invaded by the Italian-German army led by General Rommel. It was vital that the Allies held Tobruk, because otherwise the Axis would have an easier job invading Egypt.

Why was Tobruk an important destination?

With the German and Italian expansion into African and Egyptian states, the allies realized Tobruk would be a great stronghold and base to defend Egypt. Tobruk had a crucial port which ships would come two and fro from with supplies and munitions for the Allies from Alexandria. It was a great advantage as it meant the Axis would have to travel 1,500 kilometres to supply their army, and troops would be diverted from the siege to guard supplies, etc. Tobruk is known as the most important port in Africa. And in WWII it proved its worth by being a critical Ally stronghold.

Which countries were involved?

Many countries created coalitions in WWII, the war in Africa and Egypt was fought by the Axis and the Allies. The allies consisted of: Australia, USA, India, New Zealand, Great Britain, and Poland. And the on the Axis side was the Italians and the Germans led by Rommel. The Allies were defending Tobruk, and the Axis were invading Tobruk.

Which weapons were involved?

Here is a list of the weapons used by the Australian Army during WWII (Sourced from Wikipedia)

Handguns

Webley Mk.VI (.455) & Mk.IV (.38/200)

Enfield revolver

Rifles

Lee-Enfield No. 1 Mk III

Submachine Guns

Owen

Austen submachine gun

Thompson M1928A1

Machine Guns

Lewis Gun

Bren light machine gun

Vickers machine gun

Anti-Tank Weapons

PIAT

Boys anti-tank rifle

Grenades

Mills bomb

The Australians used their own weapons but the British Army supplied British tanks, British guns, British Anti-Tank Guns to support the Australian Force

What were the conditions/environment like?

The weather conditions were horrible during the siege of Tobruk, the climate was extremely hot and there was no moisture in the air so dehydration was a big threat. With burning temperatures of up to 30 Degrees C combined with the dusty desert environment, soldiers on both were withstanding a lot. The soldiers were also bombarded by constant dust storms and heat waves.

What was the food like?

Food mainly consisted of bread and the only drink was water which was scarce and rationed harshly. Ships would enter the harbour of Tobruk with food and drink, which brought relieve to the weathered soldiers. With a lack of Vitamins, the soldiers had to take daily salt & Vitamin C tablets to stay healthy.

Why were they called the "Rats of Tobruk"?

The iconic name “Rats of Tobruk” came from a German Propaganda. The British traitor Lord Haw-Haw described the Australian 9th division as “Poor desert rats” while making a broadcast from Berlin, quite rebelliously the Australians adopted this name as a nickname. Lord Haw-Haw said they were like rats because they were caught in a trap by the Germans, and the Australians literally dug holes to defend themselves. Ironically “The Rats of Tobruk” became the name of the Fighting Tobruk defenders.