military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (06/15/91)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Sunday, 15 June, 1941 British forces in Egypt launch Operation Battleaxe, an attempt to raise the siege of Tobruk. The offensive begins poorly when two Indian battalions fail to capture the fortified German positions in Halfaya Pass. The subsequent attack of the 2nd Cameron Highlanders and one squadron of Matildas of the 4th Royal Tank Regiment is repulsed when dug-in 88mm flak guns destroy all but one of the British tanks. The dual-purpose guns also figure in the defeat of a cruiser tank attack on the Hafid Ridge. Some progress is made, though; Fort Capuzzo is captured and Sollum is encircled. The new Crusader cruiser tank is also a disappointment, suffering from a very high breakdown rate. The combination of mechanical failures and antitank guns has severely weakened the British armored strength. The Vichy government enacts new policies limiting the freedom of French Jews. German warships are instructed to destroy without trace any Russian submarines encountered in the Baltic south of the Aland islands. Any incidents which should arise are to be camoflaged as attacks on suspected British boats. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@att.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "For us it is death if we do not seek peace by aggressive force to annihilate Hitler where he is, at the earliest possible moment." - David Pierce, in a letter to the New York Times