Twin Pimples raid

Twin Pimples Raid
Part of the Siege of Tobruk, during the Second World War
Date 17/18 July 1941 Location Tobruk 32°04′34″N 23°57′41″E / 32.07611°N 23.96139°E / 32.07611; 23.96139Coordinates: 32°04′34″N 23°57′41″E / 32.07611°N 23.96139°E / 32.07611; 23.96139 Result Allied victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom  British India  Australia	Italy
Commanders and leaders
Captain M Keely	Unknown
Units involved
No. 8 (Guards) Commando Royal Australian Engineers 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry	132 Armoured Division Ariete 101 Motorised Division Trieste 17 Motorised Division Pavia 25 Motorised Division Bologna 27 Motorised Division Brescia
Strength
43 Commandos Small detachment engineers	Unknown
Casualties and losses
1 dead 4 wounded	1 ammunition dump and several mortars destroyed. 200 dead (Italian claim).

 United Kingdom

The Twin Pimples Raid was a British Commando raid on a feature in the Italian lines during the siege of Tobruk in the Second World War. The raid, carried out by men of the No. 8 (Guards) Commando and the Royal Australian Engineers, was a complete success. However it did not end the siege; that continued until November 1941, when the Allied advance during Operation Crusader reached the town.

During 1941, the British Commando formation Layforce were tasked to carry out a campaign of harassment and dislocation against enemy forces in the Mediterranean. At the time that Layforce was raised, the British were in the ascendency in the theatre, as they had largely defeated the Italians. It was felt that the Commandos could be employed in the capture of the island of Rhodes. However, the arrival of the Afrika Korps in Cyrenaica and the invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece greatly changed the strategic outlook. By the time Layforce arrived in Egypt in March the situation had become dire. The deployment of forces to Greece meant that the Commandos became the only troops in general reserve. As the strategic situation worsened, it became increasingly difficult to employ them in the manner intended, as they were called upon as reinforcements to the rest of the army.

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