Operation Crusader was a British offensive in the Western Desert during the Second World War, aimed at relieving the besieged port of Tobruk in Libya and destroying Axis armoured forces in Cyrenaica. The British Eighth Army, led first by General Alan Cunningham and then by Neil Ritchie under overall command from Claude Auchinleck, faced the German Afrika Korps and Italian divisions under Erwin Rommel. The fighting was confused and costly, with tank battles around Sidi Rezegh and the Tobruk garrison breaking out to meet the relief force. Rommel's forces ran short of supplies and withdrew westward. Tobruk was relieved, but Axis forces counterattacked in January 1942.
Before and after
- 23 October 1941Release of Dumbo
- from 30 October 1941 to 4 July 1942Siege of Sevastopol
- from 10 November 1941 to 30 December 1941Tikhvin offensive
- from 10 November 1941 to 18 November 1941Operation Flipper
- from 18 November 1941 to 30 December 1941Operation Crusader
- from 7 December 1941 to 2 September 1945Pacific War
- 7 December 1941Attack on Pearl Harbor
- from 7 December 1941 to 8 May 1942Philippines Campaign
- from 8 December 1941 to 23 December 1941Battle of Wake Island
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- 1944Golden Globes
The era
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