November – December 1941
Operation Crusader
Operation Crusader
This was a very complex plan developed by the British which included a contingency for assassinating German General Rommel if the opportunity arose and was designed to first disrupt Axis defenses at various location through the use of commando raids and tactics and then later to break through to Tobruk bringing much needed relieve to the troops that were under siege at Tobruk. This included disrupting their communications so that the Germans could not coordinate a counter attack once the main offensive was launched. This plan also included under its design smaller operations such as Operation Battleaxe.
The commando raid failed miserably with all but 2 of the original 32 men inserted into the enemy territory killed. Additionally they failed to achieve any of their objectives.
The failure of the commando raid made the main objective more difficult but was still necessary and that was to relieve troops under siege at Tobruk. In order to gain the element of surprise British attempted to deceive the Germans into thinking they could not attack until early December 1941 also this false intelligence was designed to make them believe that the attack would be coming from a different area.
What followed would be a series of engagements between Rommel with his Afrika Korps against the British utilizing troops, tanks and airplanes that would eventually push Rommel and the German/Italian troops under his command back to a new defensive line at El Agheila. The city of Tobruk was liberated on 10 December 1941 and the Allies were able to replenish the city with much needed supplies and troops.
Linked below is a power point presentation file that shows the engagement map, troop strengths at the start of the battle and losses for both the Allies and the Axis.
The commando raid failed miserably with all but 2 of the original 32 men inserted into the enemy territory killed. Additionally they failed to achieve any of their objectives.
The failure of the commando raid made the main objective more difficult but was still necessary and that was to relieve troops under siege at Tobruk. In order to gain the element of surprise British attempted to deceive the Germans into thinking they could not attack until early December 1941 also this false intelligence was designed to make them believe that the attack would be coming from a different area.
What followed would be a series of engagements between Rommel with his Afrika Korps against the British utilizing troops, tanks and airplanes that would eventually push Rommel and the German/Italian troops under his command back to a new defensive line at El Agheila. The city of Tobruk was liberated on 10 December 1941 and the Allies were able to replenish the city with much needed supplies and troops.
Linked below is a power point presentation file that shows the engagement map, troop strengths at the start of the battle and losses for both the Allies and the Axis.
This presentation helps explain how Operation Crusader unfolded. The presentation also gives a little background information of previous actions in World War II. In order to bypass information already presented press on the button at the bottom of the screen labeled Operation Crusader.
http://www.wwiianimated.com/CrusaderAnimation.html
http://www.wwiianimated.com/CrusaderAnimation.html