80th anniversary of the end of the Siege of Tobruk
This year we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Siege of Tobruk, where Australian soldiers and other Allied troops defended the strategically important harbour town from the German and Italian armies.
Some 14,000 Australian troops were besieged in Tobruk and helped defend the town and its harbour from April through to December 1941. They became known as the ‘Rats of Tobruk’, a term intended by Nazi propagandist Lord Haw Haw as an insult but one adopted by the Australian and other troops as their own and a badge of honour worn with pride.
Allied forces knew that holding Tobruk’s harbour was critical in holding off the enemy from advancing through Egypt, forcing them to ferry supplies overland rather than by sea. Despite many ground assaults and almost constant shelling and bombing, the Rats of Tobruk dug in and endured months of attacks.
The Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy were the main link to the outside world. They became known as the ‘Tobruk Ferry’ service. Many ships were lost and more were damaged when making the run into Tobruk harbour.
The first of the evacuations of troops began in August 1941 and continued through September and October. During this time the 2/13 Battalion and two companies of the 2/15th Battalion remained in place until the end of the siege in December.
From its arrival in Cyrenaica in March 1941 and through the eight month siege the 9th Division and attached troops lost over 830 killed, and more than 2,170 wounded. Some 940 men were taken prisoner. A Rats of Tobruk Memorial stands on Anzac Parade in Canberra in honour of all those who served during this important period in the Second World War.
For more information on the Siege of Tobruk, visit the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Anzac Portal.