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The start of WWII
Hitler invaded poland, then when Germany refused the ultimatum send by great Britain thus beginning WWII -
Churchill, The New PM
Winston Churchillwas elected to be prime minister after britain had already declared war on Germany. -
Germany continued the Blitz on major British cities
The blitz on major cities of Britain occured throughout 1941 -
Period: to
The siege of Tobruk
The Australians played a crutial part in defending Tobruk from the Germans and Italians. The Australians gained the name 'rats' because the Germans refered to them as 'rats'. The Australians took this term as a compliment, like they were the underdogs and ready for the challenge. This battle is also known as the 'Rats of aTobruk'. -
The seige of Tobruk began
The siege of Tobruk was one of the first battles which Australia and New Zealand contributed their armies and support. This battle started on the 11th of April, 1941 and ended on the 10th of December, 1941. -
Germany launched their first attack on Tobruk
Germany launched their ill-faited attack which started the siege of Tobruk, they were expecting a walk over, however they were defeated by coalition force (poshish, british and Australian). They attacked Tobruk by a method which sent tanks in to break the defence line and then soldiers would move in after, this method had never failed in previous attempts until Tobruk. Australia contrubuted greatly in defending the fortress of Tobruk. They did this along side the British and Polish forces. -
Enemy lines captured 'the Gap'
It was in May, 1941 when Rommel finaly began to besiege tobruk as they had captured part of the defence line, which was later called ‘the gap’. This took them one step closer to completing their campaign, the siege of Tobruk. Tobruk was an essential part of Hitlers plans as it provided a harbour for materials and supplies to be gained, instead of having to cart the heavy cargo across 1500 km of desert. -
The withdrawal of Australian Troops
It was around the end of July to the beginning of August when Australia's troops were evacuated and replaced with more troops from Britain and Poland.
It was in the summer of 1941 when John Curtin, the Prime Minister of Australia ordered for the troops to be withdrawn and replaced. This occured due to reports of the soldier health diminishing. Although they had stayed mental strong throughout their time at Tobruk, their were phyciological boundries that their minds could not break. -
Troops arrive to replace Australian Soldiers
On the 18-25th of august the Carpathian brigade transported seven convoys from Alexandria to tobruk without any losts. The brigade now consisted of 288 officers and 4777 soldiers.
These new soldiers were replace the Australian soldiers and gain some extra assistance. -
The siege of Tobruk ends with Enemy forces retreating
The German and Italian forces retreat after a long seven and a bit months.
The defence of tobruk was essential as Germany was starting to grow their size and power; this is evident earlier in 1941 as campaigns such as the invasion of Russia known as operation Barbarossa where occuring. During this time the Blitz continued against britians major cities. If Germany had have got control of Tobruk and its harbour the outcomes of this war could have been very different. -
End of WWII
WWII had finally ended resulting in victory for the allied forces.
