The Rats of Tobruk
Encyclopedia
The Rats of Tobruk was the name given to the soldiers of the garrison
who held the Libyan port of Tobruk
against the Afrika Corps, during the Siege of Tobruk
in World War II
. The siege started on 10 April 1941 and was finally relieved at the end of November.
Australia
n troops of the Australian 9th Division
and the 18th Brigade of the Australian 7th Division
under Lieutenant General
Leslie Morshead
made up more than half of the Allied presence in Tobruk with a total strength of over 14,000 men. The rest of the garrison was made up of 12,000 British
(the 3rd Armoured Brigade, 4 artillery regiments) and India
n (the 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry
) troops. During the three moonless periods between August and October the Australian troops and Indian cavalry were withdrawn by sea and replaced by British 70th Infantry Division and the Polish Independent Carpathian Brigade with the Czechoslovak 11th Infantry Battalion
under command.
derisively referred to the Garrison as "poor desert rats of Tobruk" during radio broadcasts. This was probably due mostly to two factors:
The Australians gave themselves the nickname 'the Rats of Tobruk' after Radio Berlin described the Australians as 'caught like rats in a trap'.
The old warships that helped the Rats of Tobruk with supplies and evacuation of the wounded were insulted by Radio Berlin, being called a 'pile of scrap iron'. The Australians therefore called them 'The Scrap Iron Flotilla'.
bearing the likeness of a rat
. The metal used to make the medals came from a German bomber
the Rats had shot down with captured German guns. Throughout the conflict the Axis attackers had at least twice the manpower and had the advantage of strong air support while the Tobruk garrison had little air support because of the remoteness of friendly air bases. This made supply of the garrison, necessarily by sea, very difficult with ships having to arrive, unload and depart under the cover of darkness.
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At this time, Rommel
's Afrika Korps
had never been defeated. During the first phase of the offensive the Rats were mostly concerned with constructing and reinforcing their defenses and observing the enemy. After a few months, however, purely defensive operations gave way to patrols. These forays outside friendly lines were broken into two categories: reconnaissance
and fighting.
Apart from providing information on the enemy, sometimes these reconnaissance patrols entailed the capture and/or field interrogation of an enemy. Later, almost exclusively at night, a fighting patrol would act on viable targets found, operating under the simplest of guidelines: do as much damage as you can, without getting caught.
Commonly an attack would involve crawling several miles, surrounding the enemy position, followed by a concerted rush with bayonet
s. In most cases the action was over in a minute or two, more often than not without a shot fired. Probably the most well-known single offensive action by the Rats was a fighting patrol led by Lieutenant
William Horace Noyes, which stalked and destroyed three German light tanks, and killed or wounded the crews of 7 machine-gun and 11 anti-tank gun positions and their protective infantry
. In addition, they damaged a German heavy tank, killed and wounded 130 in the process of taking a German garrison, most in the initial bayonet charge. No Rats were lost that night.
In April, the soldiers were told to expect reinforcement and resupply within 8 weeks. In the summer of 1941 Lieutenant-General Thomas Blamey
, commander of the Second Australian Imperial Force
, with the support of the Prime Minister of Australia requested the withdrawal of 9th Australian Division from Tobruk in order to meet the strong desire of the Australians that all their forces in the Middle East should fight under one command. General Claude Auchinleck
, who had replaced Wavell as C-in-C Middle East Command
in Cairo, agreed in principle but was not anxious to expedite the operation because a troop movement of this size would have to be made by fast warships during moonless periods of the month (because of the risk of air attacks to shipping) at a time when every resource needed to be concentrated on the planned Operation Crusader
.
Based on reports from Australian H.Q. Middle East that the health of the troops had been suffering the new Australian Prime Minister Arthur Fadden
and his successor John Curtin
rejected requests from Winston Churchill to change their minds and the replacement of the division was effected by the Royal Navy
between August and October. During 9th Australian Division's stay in the besieged Tobruk some 3000 Australians had become casualties and 941 taken prisoner.
The Australians were gradually withdrawn during the three moonless periods between August and October. In August 18 Australian Infantry Brigade and the Indian Army's 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry
were replaced by the Polish Carpathian Brigade with Czechoslovak 11th Infantry Battalion
(East) under command and in September and October the British 70th Infantry Division
including the 32nd Army Tank Brigade replaced the rest of the Australians. Morshead was succeeded as commander of the Tobruk fortress by 70th Division's commander, Major-General Ronald Scobie
.
.
On March 22, 1944, original members of the Rats of Tobruk formed the North Bondi Sub-Branch of the Returned and Services League of Australia
and it is still known in modern times as Tobruk House or The Rathouse. In 2003, the New York Times ran an article on The Rathouse calling it "an ideal beachside hang out."
Their overarching international association, The Rats of Tobruk Association is partly responsible for the erection of numerous monuments in Australia and the UK and involvement with official memorial services. The association also organised with the Royal Mint of Australia the striking of a 50 year anniversary medallion in 1991.
The association's insignia shows the elements of a large uppercase letter 'T' for Tobruk, a long-tailed desert rat
, and a crown mimicking Tobruk's official pre-war city flag which was liberated from the city's hall during the siege.
In April 2007, the Victorian
contingent of the Rats of Tobruk Association concluded that it could no longer afford the upkeep of Tobruk House, the inner-city Melbourne
meeting hall that had been purchased by the Association in the 1950s. Back then the Victorian Association had 1,800 members. By 2007, there were just 80 left, all aged in their 80s and 90s, who decided to sell the hall. From the sale, they hoped to raise up to A$1.5 million to be used for research at Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne
, where a neuroscience ward, the Rats of Tobruk Ward, had already been named after them. Bill Gibbons, who made his wealth out of trucking, went well beyond the expected price to outbid a Sydney developer for A$1.73 million. As reported by The Age
, "in an act that stunned the old diggers, Mr Gibbons... then told the veterans they could keep the hall as long as they wanted."
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
who held the Libyan port of 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 ....
against the Afrika Corps, during the Siege of Tobruk
Siege of Tobruk
The siege of Tobruk was a confrontation that lasted 240 days between Axis and Allied forces in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War...
in 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 siege started on 10 April 1941 and was finally relieved at the end of November.
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n troops of the Australian 9th Division
Australian 9th Division
The 9th Division was a division of the Australian Army that served during World War II. It was the fourth division of the Second Australian Imperial Force and was formed in the United Kingdom in late 1940 from infantry brigades and support units which had been previously raised in Australia and...
and the 18th Brigade of the Australian 7th Division
Australian 7th Division
The 7th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was formed in February 1940 to serve in World War II, as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force...
under Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Leslie Morshead
Leslie Morshead
Lieutenant General Sir Leslie James Morshead KCB, KBE, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian soldier, teacher, businessman, and farmer, with a distinguished military career that spanned both world wars...
made up more than half of the Allied presence in Tobruk with a total strength of over 14,000 men. The rest of the garrison was made up of 12,000 British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(the 3rd Armoured Brigade, 4 artillery regiments) and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n (the 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry
18th King Edward's Own Cavalry
The 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry was a regular cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922 by the amalagamation of the 6th King Edward's Own Cavalry and the 7th Hariana Lancers...
) troops. During the three moonless periods between August and October the Australian troops and Indian cavalry were withdrawn by sea and replaced by British 70th Infantry Division and the Polish Independent Carpathian Brigade with the Czechoslovak 11th Infantry Battalion
Czechoslovak 11th Infantry Battalion
The 11th Infantry Battalion — East was a Czechoslovak infantry battalion during World War II. It served with British Commonwealth forces in the Middle East and North African campaigns. The 2008 Czech film, Tobruk, which depicts experiences of a Czech battalion in 1941, was nominated for the 2009...
under command.
Origins of the name
In what proved to be a propaganda mis-step, Lord Haw-HawLord Haw-Haw
Lord Haw-Haw was the nickname of several announcers on the English-language propaganda radio programme Germany Calling, broadcast by Nazi German radio to audiences in Great Britain on the medium wave station Reichssender Hamburg and by shortwave to the United States...
derisively referred to the Garrison as "poor desert rats of Tobruk" during radio broadcasts. This was probably due mostly to two factors:
- The Australians tended to counterattack to gather equipment as soon as the enemy was routed.
- The defenders dug extensive tunnel networks and shelters to supplement their trenches — and weren't afraid to use them when bombarded.
The Australians gave themselves the nickname 'the Rats of Tobruk' after Radio Berlin described the Australians as 'caught like rats in a trap'.
The old warships that helped the Rats of Tobruk with supplies and evacuation of the wounded were insulted by Radio Berlin, being called a 'pile of scrap iron'. The Australians therefore called them 'The Scrap Iron Flotilla'.
Adoption of the name
With typically Australian dry wit, Australians reclaimed the name as a badge of pride, even going so far as to strike their own unofficial medalMedal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
bearing the likeness of a rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
. The metal used to make the medals came from a German bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
the Rats had shot down with captured German guns. Throughout the conflict the Axis attackers had at least twice the manpower and had the advantage of strong air support while the Tobruk garrison had little air support because of the remoteness of friendly air bases. This made supply of the garrison, necessarily by sea, very difficult with ships having to arrive, unload and depart under the cover of darkness.
Role of the Rats of Tobruk
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 Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps
The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...
had never been defeated. During the first phase of the offensive the Rats were mostly concerned with constructing and reinforcing their defenses and observing the enemy. After a few months, however, purely defensive operations gave way to patrols. These forays outside friendly lines were broken into two categories: reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
and fighting.
Apart from providing information on the enemy, sometimes these reconnaissance patrols entailed the capture and/or field interrogation of an enemy. Later, almost exclusively at night, a fighting patrol would act on viable targets found, operating under the simplest of guidelines: do as much damage as you can, without getting caught.
Commonly an attack would involve crawling several miles, surrounding the enemy position, followed by a concerted rush with bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
s. In most cases the action was over in a minute or two, more often than not without a shot fired. Probably the most well-known single offensive action by the Rats was a fighting patrol led by Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
William Horace Noyes, which stalked and destroyed three German light tanks, and killed or wounded the crews of 7 machine-gun and 11 anti-tank gun positions and their protective infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
. In addition, they damaged a German heavy tank, killed and wounded 130 in the process of taking a German garrison, most in the initial bayonet charge. No Rats were lost that night.
In April, the soldiers were told to expect reinforcement and resupply within 8 weeks. In the summer of 1941 Lieutenant-General Thomas Blamey
Thomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
, commander of the Second Australian Imperial Force
Second Australian Imperial Force
The Second Australian Imperial Force was the name given to the volunteer personnel of the Australian Army in World War II. Under the Defence Act , neither the part-time Militia nor the full-time Permanent Military Force could serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to...
, with the support of the Prime Minister of Australia requested the withdrawal of 9th Australian Division from Tobruk in order to meet the strong desire of the Australians that all their forces in the Middle East should fight under one command. General Claude Auchinleck
Claude Auchinleck
Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, GCB, GCIE, CSI, DSO, OBE , nicknamed "The Auk", was a British army commander during World War II. He was a career soldier who spent much of his military career in India, where he developed a love of the country and a lasting affinity for the soldiers...
, who had replaced Wavell as C-in-C Middle East Command
Middle East Command
The Middle East Command was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to defend British interests in the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean region.The...
in Cairo, agreed in principle but was not anxious to expedite the operation because a troop movement of this size would have to be made by fast warships during moonless periods of the month (because of the risk of air attacks to shipping) at a time when every resource needed to be concentrated on the planned 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....
.
Based on reports from Australian H.Q. Middle East that the health of the troops had been suffering the new Australian Prime Minister Arthur Fadden
Arthur Fadden
Sir Arthur William Fadden, GCMG was an Australian politician and, briefly, the 13th Prime Minister of Australia.-Introduction:...
and his successor John Curtin
John Curtin
John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...
rejected requests from Winston Churchill to change their minds and the replacement of the division was effected by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
between August and October. During 9th Australian Division's stay in the besieged Tobruk some 3000 Australians had become casualties and 941 taken prisoner.
The Australians were gradually withdrawn during the three moonless periods between August and October. In August 18 Australian Infantry Brigade and the Indian Army's 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry
18th King Edward's Own Cavalry
The 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry was a regular cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922 by the amalagamation of the 6th King Edward's Own Cavalry and the 7th Hariana Lancers...
were replaced by the Polish Carpathian Brigade with Czechoslovak 11th Infantry Battalion
Czechoslovak 11th Infantry Battalion
The 11th Infantry Battalion — East was a Czechoslovak infantry battalion during World War II. It served with British Commonwealth forces in the Middle East and North African campaigns. The 2008 Czech film, Tobruk, which depicts experiences of a Czech battalion in 1941, was nominated for the 2009...
(East) under command and in September and October the British 70th Infantry Division
British 70th Infantry Division
- History :This formation had a brief history during the Second World War. It was formed originally in the Middle East from units stationed in Egypt, Palestine, Cyprus and in Crete, as the regular British 6th Infantry Division. It was then redesignated as the 70th Division on 10 October 1941. -...
including the 32nd Army Tank Brigade replaced the rest of the Australians. Morshead was succeeded as commander of the Tobruk fortress by 70th Division's commander, Major-General Ronald Scobie
Ronald Scobie
Lieutenant-General Sir Ronald MacKenzie Scobie KBE, CB, MC was a British Army officer who commanded III Corps.-Military career:...
.
Modern commemoration
The Rats of Tobruk hold an identifiable place within the ranks of returned servicemen, particularly in Australia, where there is the Rats of Tobruk Memorial, CanberraRats of Tobruk Memorial, Canberra
The Rats of Tobruk Memorial is on ANZAC Parade, the principal ceremonial and memorial avenue of Canberra, Australia.The German siege of the Libyan Mediterranean Sea port town of Tobruk began on 10 April 1941. After desperate fighting, most of the Australian forces were relieved by October 1941...
.
On March 22, 1944, original members of the Rats of Tobruk formed the North Bondi Sub-Branch of the Returned and Services League of Australia
Returned and Services League of Australia
The Returned and Services League of Australia is a support organisation for men and women who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force ....
and it is still known in modern times as Tobruk House or The Rathouse. In 2003, the New York Times ran an article on The Rathouse calling it "an ideal beachside hang out."
Their overarching international association, The Rats of Tobruk Association is partly responsible for the erection of numerous monuments in Australia and the UK and involvement with official memorial services. The association also organised with the Royal Mint of Australia the striking of a 50 year anniversary medallion in 1991.
The association's insignia shows the elements of a large uppercase letter 'T' for Tobruk, a long-tailed desert rat
Jerboa
The jerboa form the bulk of the membership of the family Dipodidae. Jerboas are hopping desert rodents found throughout Asia and Northern Africa. They tend to be found in hot deserts....
, and a crown mimicking Tobruk's official pre-war city flag which was liberated from the city's hall during the siege.
In April 2007, the Victorian
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
contingent of the Rats of Tobruk Association concluded that it could no longer afford the upkeep of Tobruk House, the inner-city Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
meeting hall that had been purchased by the Association in the 1950s. Back then the Victorian Association had 1,800 members. By 2007, there were just 80 left, all aged in their 80s and 90s, who decided to sell the hall. From the sale, they hoped to raise up to A$1.5 million to be used for research at Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne
Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne
The Royal Children's Hospital is a major children's hospital in Melbourne, Australia.As the major paediatric hospital in Victoria, the Royal Children's Hospital and offers a full range of clinical services, tertiary care and health promotion and prevention programs for children and adolescents...
, where a neuroscience ward, the Rats of Tobruk Ward, had already been named after them. Bill Gibbons, who made his wealth out of trucking, went well beyond the expected price to outbid a Sydney developer for A$1.73 million. As reported by The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, "in an act that stunned the old diggers, Mr Gibbons... then told the veterans they could keep the hall as long as they wanted."
In popular culture
- Charles Chauvel directed a 1944 movie titled The Rats of TobrukThe Rats of Tobruk (1944 film)The Rats of Tobruk is a 1944 Australian film directed by Charles Chauvel. The film follows three drover friends who enlist in the Australian Army together during World War II. Their story is based on the siege of the Libyan city of Tobruk in North Africa by Rommel's Afrika Korps...
, starring Peter FinchPeter FinchPeter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
and Chips RaffertyChips RaffertyChips Rafferty MBE was an iconic Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the 1940s until his death in 1971, and during this time he performed regularly in major Australian feature films as well as appearing in British and American...
, see IMDB.