Page 54 - All About History - Issue 18-14

10 Greatest Military Leaders

ROMMEL JUMPS
THE CHAIN IS SEVERED
THE BATTLE IS WON
THE AXIS FEINT
TRÂN HUNG ĐAO 1 Italian infantry and artillery 2 THE FENCE 3 While the French continue 4 Bir Hacheim continues
launch a massive attack on Under the cover of night to fight at Bir Hacheim, Rommel to fight, but in the north the
TheBattleofBachĐang the northern portion of the Rommel’s combined Afrika moves north, hitting the British British commander concentrates
Korps, the XX Motorised Corps
on defences around Tobruk.
Galaza Line, accompanied
1st Armoured Division. Despite
by a number of tanks from and the 90th Light Afrika some victories, lack of supplies Rommel sends forces north to
Date unknown, 1288, Vietnam
Rommel’s Afrika Korps and the Division infantry all circle back force Rommel to pull back. the Knightsbridge box – a major
The Mongol invasion of Vietnam ends Italian XX Motorised Corps. To and duck under the Galaza Once resupplied, the Afrika communications hub – and east
the south of all that, Rommel Line around the box at Bir Korps is able to link up with toward the Bir el Harmat box.
at the point of the stake appears to be leading the Hacheim, hoping to catch the the Italian X Corps and the Sidi Both are overrun, command is
y1288,the remaining units northward. enemy unawares. Muftah box is taken. shattered and a retreat begins.
rampant Mongol
BHorde had not
only left Europe and
Asia awash with
blood, but had taken
overChinaasthe 4
newYuanDynasty
of Emperor Kublai
Khan. Vietnam
hadseenoff
numerous Chinese 3
invasions, and were 1
determined that the
Mongols wouldn’t
have any more
success than the
Chinese had. AXIS ARMIES ALLIED ARMIES
Unable to meet the huge Mongol force of V
Prince Toghan directly in battle, Vietnamese 2 Innovation:
generalTrânHungĐaoledhissmallforcesoutof Boldness:
thevulnerablecitiesandwagedasavageguerrilla Prudence:
campaign from deep within the jungle, launching ROMMEL
night raids on Mongol positions and leading them Planning:
into the mud where their devastating cavalry
would get bogged down. The Battle of Gazala
EventuallyToghanwasforcedtosendfor 26May-21June1942,Libya
supplies,dispatchinghalfhisforceuptheBach
ĐangriverwheretheycouldsailbacktoChina. TheDesertFoxsmashesBritain’stankarmyintothesand
Harriedallthewaybyguerrillas,thecombined
Chineseand Mongolnavy wasconfrontedwitha he war in North Africa had turned into a stalemate. 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Gazala. That decision
The British and their Allies, outnumbering the turned Rommel’s victory from a possibility into a
smaller force of Vietnamese boats. The Mongols
gavechasetothisapparentlyeasypreybefore TGermans and Italians in both manpower (110,000 probability, allowing him to take the Knightsbridge
theysuddenlyranontoabedofbamboostakes men to 80,000) and horsepower (840 tanks to 560), boxon13JuneandthrowtheAlliedlinesof
tipped with iron spikes that lurked beneath were hunkered down behind the Gazala Line, an communication into total chaos.
thewater.PlantedbyTrânHungĐao,thelow 80-kilometre (50-mile) network of ‘boxes’, defensive Allchanceofanorganiseddefencecollapsed
tidehadmadethemdeadlytoallbuttheflat- points with barb wire and land mines that and the surviving boxes eventually fell, with
bottomed Vietnamese boats. stretchedfromthevillageofAinelGazala Tobrukjoiningthemon21June.British
With his enemy trapped – men as well as their onthecoasttothetownofBirHakeim armour in North Africa had been
vesselswerecaughtonthesavagestakes–Trân deep inland. Was it genius? almost completely obliterated. “What
unleashedfireboatstowardthehelplessenemy It may have taken longer than
Colonel-General Erwin Rommel, he expected, but Rommel’s difference does it make if you have
whilehisarchersonthebanksoftheriverrained ‘the Desert Fox’, struck the north of plan unfolded perfectly. two tanks to my one, when you
down flaming Seeing the weaknesses in
arrows. The theGalazaLineintheearlyhours the Gazala Line, he pulled the spread them out and let me smash
defeat was total of 26 May 1942, with Axis units defences apart and rendered them in detail?” Rommel explained
and the Mongols’ heading north to join the main numerical superiority toaBritishPOWasburningarmour
meaningless.
third attempted assault. Under the cover of night, those cooled in the breeze.
invasion of forces doubled back and, led by Rommel
Vietnam would himself, swept under Bir Hakeim and hit the
be their last. lastboxinthechainat8.15amon27May.Fiercely
defended by a Free French force that would hold
Was it
genius? outuntil11June,itlookedlikeRommel’sgambitwas
Trân Hung Ðao unravelling. With a supply convoy arriving on 29 May
VIETNAMESE V MONGOLS not only invented though Rommelwasabletopushfurtheruptheline
modern guerrilla
and smash into the box at Sidi Muftah from the west
Innovation: warfare as we while an Italian force attacked from the east – Allied
know it, but took
Boldness: it to the water, lines had been cut in two.
proving that even
WiththeisolatedBirHakeimboxdoomedand
Prudence: the Mongol Horde the Allies unable to send reinforcements, the British Australian troops prepare to defend
Planning: had something to begantopullbacktotheirbaseatTobruk,some Tobruk from Rommel’s advance
be afraid of.
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