Mechili is a small village in Cyrenaica

Cyrenaica

Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...

, Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

 and the former site of a turkish fort. It’s nearly 274 km (170.3 mi) east of Benghazi

Benghazi

Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...

, and 80 km (49.7 mi) west of Timimi

Timimi

Timimi, At Timimi or Tmimi, is a small village in Libya about 75 km east of Derna and 100 km west of Tobruk. It is on the eastern shores of the Libyan coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.-Geography:...

.

Geography

Because of its location in the desert, Mechili suffered in the past from isolation. However, its isolation ended after paving the Charruba-Timimi desert road between the years 1975-1985, and this road became preferred to those who want to travel from Tobruk

Tobruk

Tobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....

 to Benghazi

Benghazi

Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...

 and vice versa.

History

• In January 1941, during World War II
  World War II
  World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
  
  , the British force named “Western Desert Force” under command of General Richard O’Connor (after taking Tobruk on 22 January) executed a dare outflanking movement and took Mechili from Italian forces on 27 January.
• On 7 April the same year, German lieutenant general Erwin Rommel
  Erwin Rommel
  Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
  
  ’s forces occupied Mechili as a part of his first offensive through Cyrenaica
  Cyrenaica
  Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
  
   on the goal of encircling the British forces, and this helped in capturing O’Connor near Derna the same month.
• On 18 December 1941, the British forces re-took Mechili as a part of Operation Crusader
  Operation Crusader
  Operation Crusader was a military operation by the British Eighth Army between 18 November–30 December 1941. The operation successfully relieved the 1941 Siege of Tobruk....
  
  .
• In early February 1942, Rommel’s forces also re-took Mechili as a part of his second offensive through Cyrenaica.
• In November 1942, the British forces occupied Mechili for the last time.