🪖 World Warshard
Siege of Tobruk
1941 CE · Libya
Quick Facts
- Year
- 1941 CE
- Location
- Libya
- Era
- 🪖 World Wars
- Difficulty
- hard
For 241 days, a garrison of predominantly Australian troops held the Libyan port of Tobruk against Rommel's Afrika Korps, denying the Germans a key supply port and disrupting their advance into Egypt. German propaganda derisively called the defenders 'Rats of Tobruk,' a name the Australians adopted with fierce pride. The successful defense was one of the first times Axis forces had been stopped and held in the war, boosting Allied morale during a dark period.
💡 Did you know?
German propaganda called the Tobruk defenders 'Rats.' The Australian garrison adopted the insult as a badge of honor, designing a medal featuring a rat that veterans wore with pride for the rest of their lives.