Battle of Gazala

Battle of Gazala
Part of the Western Desert Campaign of World War II
Panzer III and Rommel's command vehicle in the western desert at the time of the Gazala battles.
Date 26 May – 21 June 1942 (25 days) Location Gazala, near Tobruk, Libya 32°08′43″N 23°21′27″E / 32.14528°N 23.35750°E / 32.14528; 23.35750Coordinates: 32°08′43″N 23°21′27″E / 32.14528°N 23.35750°E / 32.14528; 23.35750 Result Axis victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom British India South Africa  Free French	Nazi Germany  Italy
Commanders and leaders
Claude Auchinleck Neil Ritchie	Ettore Bastico Erwin Rommel
Strength
110,000 men 843 tanks 604 aircraft	90,000 men (50,000 German, 40,000 Italian) 560 tanks (228 Italian) 542 aircraft
Casualties and losses
50,000 killed, wounded or captured, incl. c. 32,000 prisoners at Tobruk British tanks damaged or destroyed: 630	German: 3,360 tanks damaged or destroyed: c. 716

 United Kingdom

The Battle of Gazala (near the modern town of Ayn al Ghazālah) was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of the Panzerarmee Afrika (Generaloberst Erwin Rommel), consisted of German and Italian units. Allied forces (Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Sir Claude Auchinleck), were mainly British, Indian, South African and Free French.

The Axis distracted the British with a decoy attack in the north and made the main attack round the southern flank of the Gazala position. The advance succeeded but the defence of the French garrison of Bir Hakeim at the southern end of the line, left the Axis with a long and vulnerable supply route around the Gazala line. Rommel retired to The Cauldron, a defensive position backing onto British minefields, forming a base in the midst of the British defences and Italian engineers lifted mines from the west side of the minefields to create a supply route through to the Axis side.

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