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Operation Battleaxe
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==Background== ==={{lang|de|Unternehmen Sonnenblume}}/Operation Sunflower=== {{Main|Operation Sonnenblume}} In late March 1941, soon after the arrival of the {{lang|de|[[Afrika Korps]]}} in [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]], [[Libya]] to reinforce the Italians, the Axis forces quickly captured the British [[front line]] position at [[El Agheila]] and by mid-April, had reached as far as [[Sallum]], [[Egypt]]. The British held the fortified port of [[Tobruk]], which was besieged by the Axis. Having been informed by General Wavell that the [[Western Desert Force]] was vastly inferior to the Axis forces now in Africa, Churchill ordered that a convoy of tanks and [[Hawker Hurricanes]], [[Malta Convoys#May β Operation Tiger|Operation Tiger]] (Convoy WS 58), be sailed through the Mediterranean instead of around the [[Cape of Good Hope]] to cut forty days off the journey.<ref>Playfair, p. 114</ref>{{efn|The convoy comprised five {{convert|15|kn|mph+km/h|abbr=on}} merchant ships, {{SS|Clan Chattan||2}}, {{SS|Clan Lamont||2}}, {{SS|Clan Campbell|1937|2}}, ''[[Empire Song]]'' and ''New Zealand Star''. The ships carried 295 tanks and 53 Hurricane fighters.<ref name="Playfair, p. 116"/>}} ===Tobruk=== {{Main|Siege of Tobruk}} The German Armed Forces High Command (''[[Oberkommando der Wehrmacht]]'') sent General [[Friedrich Paulus]] to Africa to investigate the situation. On 12 May, Paulus, after witnessing one of Rommel's failed attempts to assault Tobruk, sent a report to OKW describing Rommel's position as weak, with critical shortages of both fuel and ammunition. With [[Operation Barbarossa]] imminent, [[Field Marshal (Germany)|Field Marshal]] [[Walther von Brauchitsch]], Commander-in-Chief of the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]], ordered Rommel not to advance further or attack Tobruk again.<ref name="TSWW166">Bradley, p. 166</ref> ===Operation Brevity=== {{Main|Operation Brevity}} [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-443-1589-07, Nordafrika, Rommel in Befehlsfahrzeug.jpg|right|thumb|[[Erwin Rommel]] in his command halftrack, [[Sd.Kfz. 250|Sd.Kfz. 250/3]].]] Through [[Ultra (cryptography)|Ultra]] intercepts, the British also received the report by Paulus. Churchill, believing that one strong push would dislodge German forces, began to increase the pressure on Wavell to attack.<ref name="TSWW166"/> [[Operation Brevity]] was quickly planned as a limited operation to seize Sollum, [[Halfaya Pass]] and [[Fort Capuzzo]], then advance on Sidi Aziz and Tobruk. The operation was to continue as far as supply would allow but not risk the forces committed; the objective was to destroy as much Axis equipment as possible and secure a foothold for the larger Operation Battleaxe, once the new tanks were made available.<ref name="Playfair, p. 116">Playfair, p. 116</ref><ref name ="MedII163">Playfair, p. 163</ref> Brevity began on 15 May and Fort Capuzzo and Halfaya Pass were captured but next day [[William Gott]], concerned that his [[22nd Guards Brigade]] would be destroyed if caught in the open by Germans tanks, decided to pull almost the entire force back to Halfaya Pass. The operation ended on 17 May, with only the Halfaya Pass captured. The pass was retaken by a small German force on 27 May, in [[Operation Skorpion]].<ref>Playfair, p. 162</ref><ref>Rommel, p. 137</ref> ===Greece and Crete=== By the end of May, the [[Greece|Greek]] island of [[Crete]] had been captured in the [[Battle of Crete]], providing the ''Luftwaffe'' with more airfields from which to attack Allied shipping and protect their supply convoys and troops in Cyrenaica; delaying Battleaxe could mean stronger Axis opposition.<ref>Hall, p. 189</ref> The British Chiefs of Staff stated that it was imperative that control be wrested in the area between Sollum and [[Derna, Libya|Derna]] and British air power be re-established there.<ref name="MedII163"/>
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