History of the Second World War

With Tobruk under siege, Rommel presses for a quick victory while exhausted Axis troops push toward the Egyptian frontier. Australian resistance, supply shortages, and friction within the Axis command frustrate repeated assaults. At sea and in the air, British forces work to disrupt the flow of reinforcements and supplies to North Africa, while changes in RAF leadership and cooperation with ground forces begin to shape the campaign.

Credit Logo image: By Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-783-0150-28 / Valtingojer / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5477801
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rommel's first offensive in North Africa sends British forces retreating across Cyrenaica, but the rapid Axis advance brings mounting supply problems. This episode follows the race toward Tobruk, the role of Italian logistics and Luftwaffe support, and Wavell's decision to hold the port with an Australian-led garrison supplied by sea. As German attacks meet determined resistance, the prospect of another quick victory gives way to a prolonged siege.

Credit Logo image: By Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-783-0150-28 / Valtingojer / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5477801
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More listener questions!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As German forces arrive in North Africa, the situation inherited from Operation Compass and the terrain of Cyrenaica shape the opening of Erwin Rommel's campaign. This episode examines the overstretched British position, the vital role and limitations of Italian forces, and Rommel's first advance from El Agheila toward Mersa el Brega.

Credit Logo image: By Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-783-0150-28 / Valtingojer / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5477801
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

German forces arrived in North Africa in February 1941 to shore up Italy’s collapsing position, but the limited mission conceived in Berlin soon collided with Erwin Rommel’s far more ambitious plans. This episode examines the creation of the Afrika Korps, the uneasy German-Italian command arrangement, the arrival of German ground and air units in Libya, and the supply problems that would shape every Axis advance across the desert—setting the stage for both Rommel’s legend and the long campaign ahead.

Credit Logo image: By Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-783-0150-28 / Valtingojer / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5477801
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices