The Battle of Gazala was one of the last engagements between the Afrika Korps and the British 8th Army of World War II. The battle came to an abrupt end when the Race landed in June, just a few days later, forcing both sides to join forces. Sam Yeager heard of heavy fighting around the city on the radio, but never heard its outcome.
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| - The Battle of Gazala was one of the last engagements between the Afrika Korps and the British 8th Army of World War II. The battle came to an abrupt end when the Race landed in June, just a few days later, forcing both sides to join forces. Sam Yeager heard of heavy fighting around the city on the radio, but never heard its outcome.
- The Battle of Gazala was an important battle of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, fought around the port of Tobruk in Libya from 26 May–21 June 1942. The combatants on the Axis side were the Panzer Army Afrika, consisting of German and Italian units and commanded by the "Desert Fox" Colonel-General Erwin Rommel; the Allied forces were the Eighth Army, commanded by Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie under the close supervision of the Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Sir Claude Auchinleck. Rommel drove his armoured forces round the southern flank of the Gazala position to engage the British armour from the rear of the Allied defences. Despite successes in this engagement, Rommel found himself in a precarious position: interference to supply lines resulting from the con
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| Strength
| - 560(xsd:integer)
- 843(xsd:integer)
- 90000(xsd:integer)
- 110000(xsd:integer)
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| Partof
| - World War II
- the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War
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| Date
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| Commander
| - 15(xsd:integer)
- Claude Auchinleck
- Erwin Rommel
- Neil Ritchie
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| Caption
| - Panzer Mk III and command vehicle in the western desert at the time of the Gazala battles.
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| Casualties
| - 1188(xsd:integer)
- 50000(xsd:integer)
- German: 3,360 overall
- Italian: lower than the Germans
- ~400 tanks destroyed or damagedref|Exact number unknown. During the battle Axis tank strength fell even below 100 tanks operational. A significant number of tanks could be repaired during and after the battle.|group=N
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| Result
| - Axis victory
- Decisive Axis victoryref|Churchill declared, "This was one of the heaviest blows I can recall during the war. Not only were its military effects grievous, but it had affected the reputation of the British armies." The historian Ducan Anderson, in his work on the battle, stated: "The Battle of Gazala was a calamitous defeat for the Eighth Army that resulted in heavy losses, the fall of Tobruk and a pell-mell retreat to El Alamein. ...The battle had begun with the British stronger in terms of numbers and quality of equipment, especially in the Grant tank, than their opponents. ...The German High Command, however, had shown superior generalship throughout."|group=N
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| combatant
| - 15(xsd:integer)
- 20(xsd:integer)
- * British India
Union of South Africa
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| Place
| - Gazala, near Tobruk, Libya
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| Conflict
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| abstract
| - The Battle of Gazala was one of the last engagements between the Afrika Korps and the British 8th Army of World War II. The battle came to an abrupt end when the Race landed in June, just a few days later, forcing both sides to join forces. Sam Yeager heard of heavy fighting around the city on the radio, but never heard its outcome.
- The Battle of Gazala was an important battle of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, fought around the port of Tobruk in Libya from 26 May–21 June 1942. The combatants on the Axis side were the Panzer Army Afrika, consisting of German and Italian units and commanded by the "Desert Fox" Colonel-General Erwin Rommel; the Allied forces were the Eighth Army, commanded by Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie under the close supervision of the Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Sir Claude Auchinleck. Rommel drove his armoured forces round the southern flank of the Gazala position to engage the British armour from the rear of the Allied defences. Despite successes in this engagement, Rommel found himself in a precarious position: interference to supply lines resulting from the continuing resistance of Allied Forces, which anchored the southern end of the Allied Gazala defences. This left a long route of supply to his forces behind the British line. Rommel pulled back into a position abutting the British minefields, a defensive position termed "the Cauldron", creating a threatening presence in the midst of the British forces which was difficult to ignore. When Ritchie attacked his armoured forces were decimated, and Rommel maintained the initiative. As the British withdrew from the Gazala line, Rommel concentrated his forces and was able to punch through the defences of Tobruk in a single day, resulting in the capture of Tobruk and a resounding victory for the Axis. The battle is considered the greatest victory of Rommel's career. Rommel pursued the British into Egypt, trying to keep his opponent under pressure to deny him the opportunity to regroup. As both sides neared exhaustion, Auchinleck was able to check Rommel's advance at the First battle of El Alamein.
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