The Australian 6th Division captured Tobruk from Italian forces in January 1941 due to its strategic harbor. They were later replaced by the 9th Division, who became besieged by German forces led by Rommel from April to September 1941. During this siege, the 9th Division endured harsh conditions including dust storms, heat, fleas, flies and enemy bombardment while defending Tobruk's port facilities. Over 700 Australian soldiers were killed and over 2,000 wounded during the siege, earning them the name "The Rats of Tobruk" for their resilience.

1. The Rats of Tobruk
The experiences of Australians during WW2

2. Where is Tobruk?

3. Tobruk before 1938
 Before WW2, this part of Libya was controlled by the
Italians.
 Tobruk was of strategic importance to the power that
controlled it because of its deep water harbour.
 It became a well fortified naval base.
SOURCE A – An aerial
photograph of
Tobruk, 1941

4. The battle for Tobruk, WWII
 Britain and Commonwealth forces advanced out of
Egypt into Libya in January 1941.
 The Australian Troops of the 6th Division (AIF) gained
control of Tobruk from the Italian infantry on the
morning of the 22nd of January.
 27, 000 Italian soldiers were taken as prisoners of war
(POWs) and 200 artillery pieces became Australian
possessions.
 49 Australians were killed in the fight for Tobruk

5. The siege of Tobruk
 The soldiers of the 6th Division were withdrawn from Tobruk to
serve in Greece and were replaced by soldiers of the 9th Division
who garrisoned Tobruk.
 German troops lead by General Erwin Rommel had arrived in
Libya to reinforce their Italian allies.
 Rommels men landed at El Agheilar, a Libyan town to the West of
Tobruk
 The soldiers of the 9th Division were commanded to hold Tobruk
from the advancing Germans so that could not gain control of its
port facilities.
 The soldiers of the 9th Division were ‘encircled’ or surrounded by
the Germans at Tobruk from April until September 1941.
Garrisoned = stationed/occupied

6. A map of North Africa

7. What was the fighting at
Tobruk like?
SOURCE B
Dust storms, heat, fleas, flies, sleepless nights, when the earth
shook with the roar of the enemy’s fury, daring raids into no man’s
land through mine fields and barbed wire, scorching day after day in
the front line, where no man dared stand upright, but crouched
behind a knee-high protection of rocks – all these things had been
the lot of the defenders of Tobruk.
The Age, 24, November 1941
SOURCE C
–
(Left)
Australian
Soldiers
‘digging in’
SOURCE D
–
(Right)
Casualties
in the 9th
Division
749 killed
1996
Wounded
604
Prisoners

8. Activities
1. Using the information on this presentation create a
detailed fact file of the Australian troops experiences
at Tobruk. Your fact file must include the answers to
the following questions.
1. Where is Tobruk?
2. Who controlled Tobruk before the Australians?
3. What happened in Tobruk between April and September
1941?
4. When did General Erwin Rommel lay siege to Tobruk?
5. Why did our troops call themselves the ‘Rats of Tobruk’?
2. Paragraph Response: Describe the experiences of Australian Troops at
Tobruk: Refer to Source B, C and D in your response.