Rommel in Africa
Creator(s)
- United States. National Archives and Records Administration. Motion Picture Reference
Scope and Content
Shows German tanks, trucks, and motorcyclists advance in Libya; narration mentions Bir Hakeim. General Rommel in a staff car; German 88mm guns and mobile anti-aircraft guns firing against British tanks; Stukas attacking British around Tobruk; a German ace landing and being congratulated on his victories; German antiaircraft guns firing at attacking British planes; flaming wreckage of British bomber; desert sandstorms; Germans banqueting with Arab chiefs; and German troops bathing at an Oasis.
Note(s)
The country of original release is Germany. This footage is part of seized enemy records.
Bir Hakeim 31°36'N, 23°29'E (sometimes written Bir Hacheim) is a remote oasis in the Libyan desert, and the former site of a Turkish fort. From May 26 to June 11, 1942, the First Free French Division of General Marie Pierre Koenig defended the site against the Italian and German Afrika Korps of General Erwin Rommel. Resisting for 16 days, the Free French gave the retreating British Eighth Army enough time to reorganize, allowing them to subsequently defeat the Afrika Korps at the First Battle of El Alamein. (Wikipedia) The Siege of Tobruk was a lengthy confrontation between Axis and Allied forces in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. The siege started on 10 April 1941, when Tobruk was attacked by an Italian-German force under Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel and continued for 240 days, when it was relieved by the Eighth Army during Operation Crusader. Tobruk marked the first time that the Blitzkrieg of the German Panzers had been successfully brought to a halt. It was also the longest siege in British Imperial military history. Rommel nonetheless captured Tobruk in a new offensive in 1942 after the Battle of Gazala.
Subjects
- ROMMEL, ERWIN
- TANKS
- AUTOMOBILES
- AIRPLANES
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY (GERMAN)
- MILITARY ADVANCES
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY
- GUNS
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY (BRITISH)
- AFRICA
- LUFTWAFFE (GERMAN AIR FORCE)
- TRUCKS
- FOOD
- BOMBINGS
- DESTRUCTION
Places
- , North Africa
Genre
- Film
- Newsreels.