The Battle of Bir Hakeim (May 26, 1942 - June 11, 1942) is a World War II battle following the Afrika Korps' 1942 campaign. It was fought between the German/Italian Panzer Army Africa and the 1st Free French Brigade. The German commander was Generaloberst Erwin Rommel and the French commander was General Marie Pierre Koenig. The Free French Brigade's 16 days resistance delayed the offensive ( but see below) and gave the then retreating British Eighth Army enough time to escape from Rommel and regroup at El Alamein. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... During World War II, the North African Campaign, also known as the Desert War, took place in the North African desert from September 13, 1940 to May 13, 1943. ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... The Battle of Bir Hakeim (May 26, 1942 - June 11, 1942) was fought, during World War II, between the Italian Afrika Korps and the 1st Free French Brigade, with support from the British 7th Armoured Division. ... A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with devastating cost to the victor. ... Free French Forces under review during the Battle of Normandy. ... The seal of Afrikakorps The German Afrika Korps (German: Deutsches Afrikakorps, DAK  ) was the corps-level headquarters controlling the German Panzer divisions in Libya and Egypt during the North African Campaign of World War II. Since there was little turnover in the units attached to the corps, the term is... Marie Pierre Koenig (October 10, 1898 – September 2, 1970) was a French general. ... Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel ( ) (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was one of the most distinguished German field marshals of World War II. He was the commander of the Deutsches Afrika Korps and also became known by the nickname “The Desert Fox” (Wüstenfuchs,  ) for the skillful military campaigns he... The Western Desert Campaign was the primary early theatre of the North African Campaign of World War II. It is sometimes referred to as the Egypt-Libya Campaign. ... Combatants Western Desert Force Italian Tenth Army Commanders Richard OConnor Rodolfo Graziani Pietro Maletti † Strength 50,000 soldiers 120 guns 275 tanks 100,000 soldiers 1,600 guns 600 light tanks Casualties 494 dead 1,225 wounded 3,000 dead 115,000 captured 400 tanks 1,292 guns Operation... During World War II. Operation Sonnenblume (German for sunflower) was the deployment of German troops (the “Afrika Korps”) to the North African Campaign in February, 1941. ... Combatants Australia United Kingdom South Africa Poland Czechoslovakia Germany Italy Commanders Leslie Morshead Erwin Rommel Strength 14,000 35,000? Casualties Britain: 9009 killed 941 captured estimated 12,000 total 8,000 The Siege of Tobruk was a lengthy confrontation between Axis and Allied forces, mostly Australian, in the North... Combatants Germany, Italy United Kingdom, India Commanders Erwin Rommel Archibald Wavell Noel Beresford-Peirse Strength Afrika Korps (5th Light Division, 15th Panzer Division) and three Italian divisions (Ariete, Brescia, Trento). ... Combatants Germany, Italy United Kingdom, India Commanders Erwin Rommel Archibald Wavell Noel Beresford-Peirse Strength Afrika Korps including 5th Light Division and 15th Panzer Division, about 13,000 XIII Corp consisting of 7th Armoured Division and 4th Indian Division 20,000+ troops with 200 tanks Casualties 12 tanks destroyed 700... Combatants United Kingdom Australia New Zealand Poland Germany Italy Commanders Claude Auchinleck Alan Gordon Cunningham Neil Ritchie Erwin Rommel Ludwig Crüwell Strength 8th Army comprising XIII Corps, XXX Corps and 70th Division. ... The Battle of Gazala was an important battle of the World War II Western Desert Campaign, fought around the port of Tobruk in Libya from May 26 to June 21, 1942. ... The First Battle of El Alamein 1–July 27, 1942 was a battle of the Western Desert Campaign of World War II, fought between the German–Italian Afrika Korps commanded by Erwin Rommel and the British Eighth Army, commanded by Claude Auchinleck. ... Battle of Alam Halfa Conflict World War II Date August 30–September 6, 1942 Place El Alamein, Egypt Result Allied strategic victory Axis tactical victory The Battle of Alam el Halfa took place between August 30 and September 6, 1942 during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II... During World War II, Operation Agreement consisted of ground and amphibious attacks by British, Rhodesian and New Zealand forces on German- and Italian-held Tobruk (Operation Daffodil), Benghazi (Operation Snowdrop), Jalo oasis (Operation Tulip) and Barce (Operation Hyacinth) launched on 13 September 1942. ... Combatants British 8th Army German Panzer Army Africa Commanders Bernard Montgomery Erwin Rommel Strength 250,000 men 1,030 tanks 900 guns 530 aircraft 90,000 men 500 tanks 500 guns 350 aircraft Casualties 13,500 dead and wounded 13,000 dead 46,000 wounded or captured The Second Battle... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... As the number of German armed forces committed to the North Africa Campaign of World War II grew from the initial commitment of a small corps the Germans developed a more elaborate command structure and placed the now larger Afrika Korps, with Italian units under this new German command structure... Free French Forces under review during the Battle of Normandy. ... Colonel General is a senior military rank which is used in some of the world’s militaries. ... Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel ( ) (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was one of the most distinguished German field marshals of World War II. He was the commander of the Deutsches Afrika Korps and also became known by the nickname “The Desert Fox” (Wüstenfuchs,  ) for the skillful military campaigns he... A General is an officer of high military rank. ... Marie Pierre Koenig (October 10, 1898 – September 2, 1970) was a French general. ... The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations in World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. ... El Alamein is a town in northern Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea coast. ...

Location

Bir Hakeim is located in eastern Libya around 90 kilometres south of Tobruk. The fort was blocking the advance of the Afrika Korps on its way to El Alamein. Tobruk or Tubruq (Arabic: طبرق; also transliterated as Tóbruch, Tobruch, Ţubruq, Tobruck ) is a town, seaport, municipality, and peninsula in eastern Libya in Northern Africa. ... El Alamein is a town in northern Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea coast. ...

The battle

Map of the Battle of Bir Hakeim

The Germans attacked Bir Hakeim on May 26 1942. Over the next two weeks, the Luftwaffe flew 1,400 sorties against the defenses, whilst 4 German/Italian divisions attacked. On June 2, June 3, and June 5, the German forces requested that Koenig surrender; he refused and launched counterattacks with his Bren gun carriers. Despite the explosion of the defence's ammunition dump, the French continued to fight using ammunition brought in by British armored cars during the night. Meanwhile, the Royal Air Force dropped water and other supplies. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... June 2 is the 153rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (154th in leap years), with 212 days remaining. ... June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... The Universal Carrier, usually known as a Bren Gun Carrier (even when it was not carrying a Bren), was a small, tracked British-designed military vehicle, used widely by Allied forces during World War II. Universal Carriers were usually used for transporting personnel and equipment, mostly support weapons, or as... Boxes of ammunition clog a warehouse in Baghdad Ammunition is a generic military term meaning (the assembly of) a projectile and its propellant. ... Polish armoured car Korfanty in 1920. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

On June 9, the Eighth Army authorized a retreat and during the night of June 10/June 11 the defenders of Bir Hakeim split into small groups and escaped east after leaving the badly wounded to hold the lines. June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... June 10 is the 161st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (162nd in leap years), with 204 days remaining. ... June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ...

Consequences and aftermath

Axis losses were heavy compared to the Free French. Despite 35,000 British surrendering in Tobruk to Navarinni's 30,000 troops on June 21, Rommel was delayed in his pursuit of the Eighth Army. He caught up at El Alamein, where the British had been reinforced with five fresh divisions (one of them armoured). The Battle of Gazala was an important battle of the World War II Western Desert Campaign, fought around the port of Tobruk in Libya from May 26 to June 21, 1942. ... El Alamein is a town in northern Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea coast. ...

Rommel needed to eliminate this pocket of resistance. If Bir Hakeim had not held out, the routed Allied forces might not have regrouped to prevent Germany from seizing Egypt, and the strategically vital Suez Canal. The resistance at Bir Hakeim let the Allies bolster their defenses for the First Battle of El Alamein, and provided a much-needed boost to the morale of the Free French movement.

French Order of Battle

Units involved in the defending 1st Free French Brigade were:

• 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 13th Half- ('Demi-') Brigade (13 DBLE) of the Légion Étrangère (French Foreign Legion)
• 1st battalion of Fusiliers marins (naval fusiliers)
• 1st battalion of Infanterie de marine (marine infantry)

 Note: the Fusiliers marins, and the Infanterie de marine, execute separate and defined roles - held under a common command within the U.S. Marines] 

• the Pacific battalion
• 2nd march battalion of Oubangui-Chari
• 1st Artillery Regiment
• 22nd North African company (6 sections)
• 1st company (engineers)
• signals company
• 101st transport company (mechanized unit of "Le Train": the distinct logistics Service of the French Land Army / 'Armee de terre')
• a light medical ambulance

The 13e Démi-Brigade de la Légion Étrangère (13e DBLE) is an infantry unit of the French Foreign Legion. ... Legionnaire (film) The French Foreign Legion (French: Légion étrangère) is a unique elite unit within the French Army established in 1831. ... Legionnaire (film) The French Foreign Legion (French: Légion étrangère) is a unique elite unit within the French Army established in 1831. ... March battalion (French Bataillon de Marche, Polish Batalion marszowy, German Marschbefehl) is a battalion-sized military unit formed of all the rear units of an infantry regiment. ... Oubangui-Chari, or Ubangi-Shari, was a French territory in central Africa which later became the independent country of the Central African Republic on August 13, 1960. ...

Notable Personalities of the Battle of Bir Hakeim

• André Lalande
• Marie Pierre Koenig
• Pierre Messmer
• Erwin Rommel
• Susan Travers
• Walter Cowan
• Dimitri Amilakhvari
• Gabriel Brunet de Sairigné
• Major Felix Liebman

André Lalande (May 26, 1913 – October 19, 1995) was an officer in the French Foreign Legion. ... Marie Pierre Koenig (October 10, 1898 – September 2, 1970) was a French general. ... On May 29, 1974 Jacques Chirac (left) replaced Pierre Messmer (right) as prime minister on the steps of the Hôtel Matignon. ... Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel ( ) (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was one of the most distinguished German field marshals of World War II. He was the commander of the Deutsches Afrika Korps and also became known by the nickname “The Desert Fox” (Wüstenfuchs,  ) for the skillful military campaigns he... Susan Travers (September 23, 1909 - December 18, 2003) was a British citizen and daughter of a Royal Navy admiral who, during World War II, was informally part of the French Légion Étrangère and became the chauffeur for Free French General Pierre Koenig. ... Walter Henry Cowan (June 11, 1871 to February 14, 1956) was a British Admiral who saw service in World War One and was in World War Two the oldest British serviceman on active duty. ... Dimitri Amilakvari (1906–1942) was a Georgian nobleman and French Resistance hero during World War II. Prince Dimitri Amilakvari was born in the aristocratic family in Gori, Georgia on October 31, 1906. ... Gabriel Brunet de Sairigné, Compagnon de la Libération, was a officer inside the French Foreign Legion. ...

See also

• Bir-Hakeim (Paris Metro)

Bir-Hakeim is a station of the Paris Métro served by Line 6. ...

External links

• Article about the battle (in French)
• Fall of the Gazala Line
• Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons Official Report July 2, 1942