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{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Action at Bir el Gubi (December 1941)
| width =
| partof = [[Operation Crusader]] during the [[Second World War]]
| image = Mortaio 81 grande capacita.jpg
| image_size = 300
| caption = Members of the "Giovani Fascisti" Division operating a Mod. 35 (81 mm) mortar in North Africa.
| date = 4–7 December 1941
| place = Bir el Gubi, [[Italian Libya]]
| coordinates =
| map_type =
| latitude =
| longitude =
| map_size =
| map_caption =
| map_label =
| territory =
| result = Axis victory
| status =
| combatants_header =
|combatant1={{flag|United Kingdom}}
|combatant2={{flag|Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|name=Kingdom of Italy}} {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Germany]]
|commander1={{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Willoughby Norrie, 1st Baron Norrie|Willoughby Norrie]] {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} Andrew Anderson
|commander2={{nowrap|{{flagicon|Fascist Italy (1922–1943)}} Ferdinando Tanucci {{WIA}}}} {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Ludwig Crüwell]]
| units1 =
| units2 =
|strength1= [[XXX Corps (United Kingdom)|XXX British Corps]] -11th Indian Brigade around 3,000 men<ref>John Gooch. ''Decisive campaigns of the Second World War''. Chapter: The North African Campaign</ref> -7th Armoured Division 14,964 men<ref>John Gooch. ''Decisive campaigns of the Second World War''. Chapter: The North African Campaign</ref> 
[[22nd Guards Brigade]] around 3,000 men{{sfn|Murphy|1961|p=483}}

|strength2=[[136 Infantry Division Giovani Fascisti|Battalion Group "Giovani Fascisti"]] 1,454 men 10 guns 2 tanks and 12 tankettes later reinforced by 3 armoured divisions
| casualties1 = unknown
| casualties2 = 60 killed 117 wounded 31 missing and prisoners<ref>Roggiero, Roberto: ''El Alamein'', Delta Editrice, 2007 p. 128</ref> 10 tankettes
| notes =
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Western Desert}}
}}

The '''Action at Bir el Gubi (December 1941)''' was fought near Bir el Gubi, [[Italian Libya|Libya]], between 3 and 7 December 1941, between [[Kingdom of Italy|Italian]] (later reinforced by [[Nazi Germany|German]]) and [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] forces. It followed the [[Action at Bir el Gubi (November 1941)]] a failed Allied attempt to capture Bir el Gubi two weeks' previous. Bir el Gubi was a tactical position whose fall would have allowed the Allies to outflank the German-Italian forces in [[Cyrenaica]]. The battle was part of [[Operation Crusader]].

== Background ==
On 18 November, north of Bir el Gubi, Commonwealth forces started a new offensive, [[Operation Crusader]]. On 19 November the [[132nd Armored Division "Ariete"]] repulsed in the [[Action at Bir el Gubi (November 1941)]] a British attack and on 23 November a great tank battle, ''Totensonntag'' ("Sunday of the Dead" in German), took place in the desert. The [[136th Infantry Division Giovani Fascisti|Battalion Group "Giovani Fascisti"]] and some [[Bersaglieri]] units took position in Bir el Gubi. A tank company of the I Battalion of the [[32nd Tank Infantry Regiment]] of the Ariete with ten [[Fiat L3]] [[tankette]]s and two [[M13/40]] [[medium tank]]s was also sent in support.

The Italian soldiers strengthened the existing fortifications, building [[machine gun]] and [[anti-tank gun]] posts, building [[barbed wire]] barriers and digging holes in the ground. These fortifications allowed Bir el Gubi to be defended from attackers coming from any direction. One of the two M13/40s and some of the L3 tankettes, immobilized by mechanical breakdowns, were interred and used as defensive positions.<ref>Cappellano, Filippo: ''Carri leggeri in Libia'', ''Storia militare'' n. 208/2011, Albertelli Edizioni, Parma, p. 30</ref> The soldiers took position in the holes in the evening of 1 December, under torrential [[rain]]. The garrison also had ten 47/32 mm guns, 24 Breda Mod. 37 machine guns, 12 Mod. 35 [[anti-tank rifle]]s, six [[Solothurn S-18/100]] anti-tank rifles and eight 81 mm [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]]s.

{{Quote|The GGFF made their mark during Operation Crusader. Tasked to defend the small hill known as Bir el Gobi, they fought off repeated attacks by the 11th Indian Brigade and British 7th Armoured Division during the first week of December, 1941. Despite overwhelming odds, they inflicted massive casualties on the Allies and held their ground despite severe hunger and thirst.<ref>John Gooch. ''Decisive campaigns of the Second World War''. Chapter: The North African Campaign</ref>}}

== Action ==
Following the withdrawal of 2nd NZ Division General [[Neil Ritchie]] had reorganised his rear echelon units to release to the front line 4th Indian Infantry Division's 5th and the 22nd Guards Brigade. By 3 December 11th Indian Brigade (belonging to the [[4th Indian Infantry Division]]) was heavily engaged in action against a strongpoint near Bir el Gubi, some 25 miles south of Ed Duda. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Italian Battalion Group "Giovani Fascisti" from this hilltop position fought off repeated attacks by the British armour and Indian infantry units during the first week of December.
At 12:00 on 3 December, Allied [[artillery]] started shelling the Italian positions, causing some losses (among them [[Major]] Fulvio Balisti, commander of the I Battalion of the Battalion Group "Giovani Fascisti", who was wounded). During the night, all the Italian units outside of the perimeter of Bir el Gubi were captured, along with their vehicles and equipment.

In the morning of 4 December, the Allied forces launched two attacks against Bir el Gubi. Hundreds of men from the [[Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders]] (part of the [[11th Indian Infantry Brigade]]), supported by tanks and by an artillery barrage, attacked the positions of the I Battalion, while the rest of the [[11th Indian Brigade]], supported by [[Valentine tank]]s of the [[7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|7th Armoured Division]], attacked the lines of the II Battalion, further north. Both attacks were repelled, and the attackers left dozens of killed on the ground; they did manage, however, to encircle the Italian positions. Around 14:00 on the same day, a third attack was launched against the Italian lines; the Italian defenders resisted for several hours in the face of increasing infantry and artillery pressure, but in the evening the 4th Company had to abandon Point 188 and withdrew to Point 184.

The L3 tankettes proved useful against infantry, thanks to their two machine guns and their armour, but were powerless against tanks, and all ten of them were destroyed. General [[Willoughby Norrie, 1st Baron Norrie|Willoughby Norrie]] had an overwhelming superiority in the area, but he failed to concentrate and co-ordinate the action of his forces.<ref>Gooch, John, ed. (1990). Decisive Campaigns of the Second World War, London: Frank Cass, p. 100.</ref> The Italians, instead, effectively coordinated the action of their infantry, artillery, and light tanks.<ref>[https://books.google.it/books?id=MOefIO5NE-sC&pg=PT19&lpg=PT19&dq=battle+of+bir+el+gubi&source=bl&ots=PMFP3qhvbh&sig=qCqG807h2UlafKkCPccftb27nKQ&hl=it&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjbyvGnx4bKAhWDMBoKHUcmAf84FBDoAQgsMAI#v=onepage&q=battle%20of%20bir%20el%20gubi&f=false World War II Desert Tactics.]</ref>

During the fighting, [[Colonel]] Ferdinando Tanucci, commander of the Giovani Fascisti, was wounded; [[Lieutenant Colonel]] Alfred George Butler, of [[Rajputana Rifles]], was killed.<ref>[https://books.google.it/books?id=p1ejC-gHzAcC&pg=PA124&lpg=PA124&dq=colonel+butler+rajputana+rifles&source=bl&ots=v_GAa3kdlD&sig=1kDZdvIdIKjpZTe1JqunjFkHEsI&hl=it&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwja7ZehyYbKAhVBORoKHZY8DQ0Q6AEIIzAA#v=onepage&q=colonel%20butler%20rajputana%20rifles&f=false Rommel's North Africa Campaign: September 1940-November 1942]</ref> Between 4 and 7 December the [[XXX Corps (United Kingdom)|XXX British Corps]] launched seven attacks, all repelled with heavy losses by the Italian defenders. Hunger and lack of supplies, however, started to weaken the Italian garrison, which asked for reinforcements; [[Erwin Rommel]] decided to send armoured forces ([[15th Panzer Division|15th]] and [[21st Panzer Division]]s) to support the Italians in Bir el Gubi.

At dawn on 5 December, the first German armoured units arrive near Point 188, which they recaptured after a fiery clash between German and British tanks. After this, the German tanks headed towards Bir el Gubi. The Ariete and [[Trieste Division|Trieste]] Divisions were also sent, but the former was stopped by an Allied attack, and the latter lost its way in the [[desert]]. Crüwell was unaware that 4th Armoured Brigade (part of the [[7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|7th Armoured Division]]), now with 126 tanks, was over {{convert|20|mi|km|0}} away and he withdrew to the west. The Indian Brigade was broken and had to be withdrawn to refit and arrangements made to bring 22nd Guards Brigade into their place.{{sfn|Murphy|1961|p=479}}

Tank clashes continued; during the following night the Ariete Division managed to reach Bir el Gubi and joined the German Panzers of general [[Ludwig Crüwell]], and their combined force repelled the last British attacks. With the arrival of the Ariete, the Commonwealth force had lost its numerical superiority and withdrew ending the Action.

==Aftermath==
Crüwell had lost the opportunity to strike a heavy blow on 6 December as 4th Armoured Brigade (part of the 7th Armoured Division<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the British 4th Armoured Brigade - The Black Rats |url=http://www.desertrats.org.uk/bde/4thABhistory.htm |website=www.desertrats.org.uk |access-date=24 May 2021}}</ref>) made no move to close up to [[22nd Guards Brigade]]; he waited too long, and on 7 December the 4th Armoured Brigade closed up.{{sfn|Murphy|1961|p=483}} [[Walter Neumann-Silkow]], the commander of the 15th Panzer Division, was mortally wounded late on the 6th.{{sfn|Murphy|1961|p=483}} Axis forces were later forced to abandon Bir el Gubi with the progress of Operation Crusader.

== See also ==
* [[List of British military equipment of World War II]]
* [[List of Italian military equipment in World War II]]
* [[List of German military equipment of World War II]]

==References==
<references />

==Sources==
* {{cite book | last =Murphy | first =W. E. | editor1-last =Fairbrother | editor1-first =Monty C. | title =The Relief of Tobruk. The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945 | year =1961 | publisher =War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs | location =Wellington, NZ |edition =online scan |via=New Zealand Electronic Text Collection | isbn = }}

{{portal|World War II}}
{{World War II}}

{{coord missing|Libya}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bir el Gubi (December 1941), Action at}}
[[Category:Conflicts in 1941]]
[[Category:1941 in Libya]]
[[Category:Western Desert campaign]]
[[Category:Land battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom|Bir el Gubi]]
[[Category:Battles of World War II involving Italy]]
[[Category:Battles of World War II involving Germany]]
[[Category:December 1941 events]]

Action at Bir el Gubi (December 1941) - Revision history

109.93.77.205 at 07:22, 16 September 2022