Editing Operation Battleaxe (section)

{{Short description|British Army offensive during the Second World War}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Operation Battleaxe
| partof            = the [[Western Desert Campaign]] of the [[Second World War]]
| image             = File:IWM-E-003660-4700-32.jpg
| image_upright        = 1.0
| caption           = Soldiers of the 4th Indian Division decorate the side of their lorry "''[[Khyber Pass]] to Hell-Fire Pass''".
| date              = 15–17 June 1941
| place             = [[Cyrenaica]], [[Libya]]
| coordinates       = {{Coord|31|30|13|N|25|06|54|E|display=inline}}
| casus             =
| territory         =
| result            = Axis victory
| combatant1        = {{UK}}
* {{flag|British India}}
{{flagicon|Poland|1928}} [[Polish Armed Forces in the West|Poland]]<br />{{flagicon|Czechoslovakia}} [[Czechoslovak government-in-exile|Czechoslovakia]]
| combatant2        = {{flag|Nazi Germany|name=Germany}}<br />{{flag|Kingdom of Italy|name=Italy}}
| commander1        = {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|Archibald Wavell]]<br />{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Noel Beresford-Peirse]]
| commander2        = {{flagicon|Kingdom of Italy}} [[Italo Gariboldi]]<br />{{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Erwin Rommel]]
| strength1         = 25,000 men<ref name="Churchill305">Churchill (1986), p. 305</ref><br />90 [[Cruiser tank]]s and {{circa| 100}} [[Infantry tank]]s<ref name="Playfair171"/><br />98 fighters<ref name="Playfair166">Playfair, p. 166</ref><br />105 bombers<ref name="Playfair166"/>
| strength2         = 8th Panzer Regiment began with {{circa| 100}} tanks, about 50 being gun tanks; 5th Panzer Regiment had 96 tanks (57 gun tanks).<ref name= "Playfair171"/><br />130 fighters<ref name="Playfair166"/><br />84 bombers{{efn|59 serviceable German bombers and dive bombers and 25 serviceable Italian bombers.<ref name="Playfair166"/>}} <br />102nd Motorized Division ''Trento''<ref>Composed of three infantry battalions and a artillery regiment in Sollum-Mussaid-Cappuzo Area
</ref>
| casualties1       = 969 men{{efn|122 killed, 588 wounded and 259 missing<ref name="Playfair171"/>}}<br />91{{efn|27 Cruiser and 64 infantry tanks were lost due to breakdown or enemy action and were abandoned.<ref name="Playfair171"/>}} 98 tanks{{efn|Left behind on the battlefield: 4th RTR: 30 Infantry tanks Mk II, 1 Light tank Mk VIc; 7th RTR: 35 Infantry tanks Mk II, 1 Cruiser Mk I, 2 light tanks Mk VIc; 2nd RTR: 12 cruisers; 6th RTR: 16 Cruiser Mk VI; 7th Armoured Brigade HQ: 1 Cruiser Mk II.<ref>Jentz, 186</ref>}}<br />36 aircraft{{efn|33 fighters, 3 bombers<ref name="Playfair171"/>}}
| casualties2       = 1,270 men{{efn|93 Germans killed, 350 wounded and 235 missing. Italian casualties: 592; the British claimed 350 Italian prisoners but had to release them during their withdrawal.<ref name="Playfair171"/>}}<br />12 tanks{{efn|5th Panzer Regiment lost 4 tanks destroyed (2 Panzer II and 2 Panzer III) and 8th Panzer Regiment lost 8 tanks destroyed (3 Panzer II, 4 Panzer III and 1 Panzer IV).<ref name="Playfair171"/><ref>Jentz, p. 186</ref>}}<br />10 aircraft<ref name="Playfair171"/>
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Western Desert}}
}}
'''Operation Battleaxe''' (15–17 June 1941) was a [[British Army]] offensive during the [[Second World War]] to raise the [[Siege of Tobruk]] and re-capture eastern [[Cyrenaica]] from [[Nazi Germany|German]] and [[Kingdom of Italy|Italian]] forces.{{efn|An earlier code-name was Operation Bruiser and it was still referred to as such in telegrams to and from London.<ref>Churchill (2001), p. 1097</ref><ref>Connell, p. 483</ref> Churchill and Rommel also called this action "The Battle of Sollum".<ref>Churchill (2001), p. 872</ref><ref>Rommel, p. 146</ref>}} It was the first time during the war that a significant German force fought on the defensive. The British lost over half of their tanks on the first day and only one of three attacks succeeded.

The British achieved mixed results on the second day, being pushed back on their western flank and repulsing a big German counter-attack in the centre. On the third day, the British narrowly avoided disaster by withdrawing just ahead of a German encircling movement. The failure of Battleaxe led to the replacement of [[General (United Kingdom)|British General]] Sir [[Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|Archibald Wavell]], [[Commander-in-Chief]] [[Middle East Command|Middle East]], by [[Claude Auchinleck]]; Wavell took Auchinleck's position as Commander-in-Chief, India.