The Siege of Tobruk
The North African campaign of the Second World War took place in Northern Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts, also known as desert warfare. One of the lesser known battles of World War II was fought by a small yet valiant force of Australians in the North African port city of Tobruk. The Siege of Tobruk was a significant, important and decisive stronghold which proved to be pivotal in the outcome of World War II and Australia’s war history. Not only did Tobruk facilitate access to one of the greatest ports on the North African shoreline, it helped boost morale amongst the Allies and allowed diggers to exemplify illustrious characteristics relating to Australia’s …show more content…
The Germans likened the fighting style of Australians to that of rats, with the hopes that this propaganda would express supreme confidence, reassuring the Australians of their defeat. The Nazis discovered that, “Germans responded to words of optimism and success with great heart”; so they employed a similar tactic against the Australians, but in a destructive manner (Convictcreations – Thieves of The Night, 2016). However, the Germans failed to identify that although propaganda would demoralize their people, it would only motivate and enhance an Aussie digger. Also, after the loss of both Yugoslavia and mainland Greece, the Allies were dejected, demoralized and on the brink of defeat. (Owens, 2016). But instead of withdrawing from Tobruk, they “doubled the German military expenditure” (Playfair, 1974). Despite being outnumbered, the Germans still managed to force the British backwards, exposing the New Zealand infantry at Ed Duda. Although they lost this altercation, the Allies rallied together against both the fierce desert weather and the Germans in order to stop the onslaught and start the advance on their front. This broke Rommel’s sense of invincibility, creating a turning point in the war, allowing morale to be boosted significantly. Additionally, with the fall of Europe’s great strongholds, the Allies devoted a great deal of …show more content…
Riches, a graduate from Monash University, emphasizes Tobruk’s strategic importance by means of quoted primary sources along with detailed secondary paraphrasing. Overall, this scholarly article effectively allows academic readers to gain knowledge on the importance of Tobruk, hence its use in the essay.
Owens, M. (2016). Why Was Tobruk So Important? Australia. Quora, p.2. Notable author, Mark Owens, is a decorated member of the Quora community whose knowledge is targeted toward political and economic war history. Although he has no tertiary accreditation, Owens provides consistent, insightful and detailed information regarding the morale status of the Allies after the loss of their European strongholds, along with crucial information about the German penetration. Written with extremely formal, academic language, Owens aptly provides a British perspective, however has no sourced references, thus questioning the integrity of his
The North African campaign of the Second World War took place in Northern Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts, also known as desert warfare. One of the lesser known battles of World War II was fought by a small yet valiant force of Australians in the North African port city of Tobruk. The Siege of Tobruk was a significant, important and decisive stronghold which proved to be pivotal in the outcome of World War II and Australia’s war history. Not only did Tobruk facilitate access to one of the greatest ports on the North African shoreline, it helped boost morale amongst the Allies and allowed diggers to exemplify illustrious characteristics relating to Australia’s …show more content…
The Germans likened the fighting style of Australians to that of rats, with the hopes that this propaganda would express supreme confidence, reassuring the Australians of their defeat. The Nazis discovered that, “Germans responded to words of optimism and success with great heart”; so they employed a similar tactic against the Australians, but in a destructive manner (Convictcreations – Thieves of The Night, 2016). However, the Germans failed to identify that although propaganda would demoralize their people, it would only motivate and enhance an Aussie digger. Also, after the loss of both Yugoslavia and mainland Greece, the Allies were dejected, demoralized and on the brink of defeat. (Owens, 2016). But instead of withdrawing from Tobruk, they “doubled the German military expenditure” (Playfair, 1974). Despite being outnumbered, the Germans still managed to force the British backwards, exposing the New Zealand infantry at Ed Duda. Although they lost this altercation, the Allies rallied together against both the fierce desert weather and the Germans in order to stop the onslaught and start the advance on their front. This broke Rommel’s sense of invincibility, creating a turning point in the war, allowing morale to be boosted significantly. Additionally, with the fall of Europe’s great strongholds, the Allies devoted a great deal of …show more content…
Riches, a graduate from Monash University, emphasizes Tobruk’s strategic importance by means of quoted primary sources along with detailed secondary paraphrasing. Overall, this scholarly article effectively allows academic readers to gain knowledge on the importance of Tobruk, hence its use in the essay.
Owens, M. (2016). Why Was Tobruk So Important? Australia. Quora, p.2. Notable author, Mark Owens, is a decorated member of the Quora community whose knowledge is targeted toward political and economic war history. Although he has no tertiary accreditation, Owens provides consistent, insightful and detailed information regarding the morale status of the Allies after the loss of their European strongholds, along with crucial information about the German penetration. Written with extremely formal, academic language, Owens aptly provides a British perspective, however has no sourced references, thus questioning the integrity of his