Operation Battleaxe

E50682

Operation Battleaxe was a British-led World War II offensive in June 1941 aimed at relieving the besieged city of Tobruk and pushing Axis forces back in North Africa.

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Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf World War II offensive
military operation
aimedAt lifting the siege of Tobruk
belligerent Australia
Axis powers
British Empire
India
Kingdom of Italy
Nazi Germany
United Kingdom
codename Battleaxe
commander Lord Wavell
surface form: Archibald Wavell

Noel Beresford-Peirse
conflict North African campaign
surface form: Western Desert Campaign
consequence replacement of Archibald Wavell by Claude Auchinleck as Commander-in-Chief Middle East
countryOfPlanning United Kingdom
endDate 1941-06-17
followedBy Operation Crusader
forceTypeUsed Royal Air Force support
armoured divisions
infantry divisions
front Western Desert
surface form: Western Desert Front
frontlineCity Tobruk
historicalPeriod 20th century
location Cyrenaica
Libya
militaryBranchInvolved British Army
Wehrmacht
surface form: German Army

Regio Esercito
Royal Air Force
notableEngagement Fort Capuzzo
Hafid Ridge
Halfaya Pass
objective destroy German-Italian armoured forces in Cyrenaica
push Axis forces back in North Africa
relieve the siege of Tobruk
opponent German Afrika Korps
surface form: Afrika Korps

Italian 10th Army remnants
opposingCommander Erwin Rommel
outcome British forces withdrew to the Egyptian frontier
British offensive failed to relieve Tobruk
partOf North African campaign
surface form: North African Campaign
precededBy Operation Brevity
reasonForLaunch to break the encirclement of Tobruk garrison
result Axis defensive victory
startDate 1941-06-15
strategicContext attempt to regain initiative after arrival of Afrika Korps
theatre North African campaign
surface form: North African theatre of World War II
timePeriod June 1941
war World War II

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

15th Panzer Division engagedInBattle Operation Battleaxe
Operation Crusader precededBy Operation Battleaxe