Frontier Wire (Libya)
| Frontier wire | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Western Desert Campaign | |
| Libya–Egypt and Libya–Sudan borders | |
Map showing the Frontier wire near Fort Capuzzo
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| Coordinates | 31°33′00″N 25°05′00″E / 31.55000°N 25.08333°ECoordinates: 31°33′00″N 25°05′00″E / 31.55000°N 25.08333°E |
| Site history | |
| Battles/wars |
Italian invasion of Egypt Operation Compass Operation Brevity Operation Skorpion Operation Battleaxe Operation Crusader |
The Frontier Wire was a 271 km (168 mi) obstacle in Italian Libya, along the length of the border of British-held Egypt, running from El Ramleh, in the Gulf of Sollum (between Bardia and Sollum) south to Jaghbub parallel to the 25th meridian east, the Libya–Egypt and Libya–Sudan borders. The frontier wire and line of covering forts, were built by the Italians during the Second Italo-Senussi War (1923–1931), as a defensive system to contain the Senussi population, who crossed from Egypt during their resistance against the Italian colonisers. From the Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940 to late 1942, it was the scene of military engagements between Italian, British and German forces as the fighting ebbed and flowed across the frontier.
In 1922, Benito Mussolini continued the Riconquista of Libya, in the Second Italo-Sanussi War (1921–1931). The frontier wire was built by the Italian army, under the command of General Rodolfo Graziani, in the early 1930s, as a means to repress Senussi resistance against the Italian colonisation, by hindering the movement of Senussi fighters and materials from Egypt. The wire comprised four lines of 1.7 m (5.6 ft) high stakes in concrete bases, laced with barbed wire 320 km (200 mi) long, just inside the border from El Ramleh on the Gulf of Sollum, past Fort Capuzzo to Sidi Omar, then south, slightly to the west of the 25th meridian east, the border with Egypt and Sudan. Three large forts at Amseat (Fort Capuzzo), Scegga (Fort Maddalena) and Giarabub and six smaller ones at El Ramleh on the Gulf of Sollum, Sidi Omar, Sceferzen, Vescechet, Garn ul Grein, and El Aamara were built along the wire. The wire was patrolled using aircraft and armoured cars from the forts, by the Italian army and border guards, who attacked anyone seen in the frontier zone.
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