Tobruk

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"Tobruk is a fortified harbour with several defence lines for the Germans to cross. A few canyons surround the city. The Germans are on the move and are closing in on the enemy's first line of defence."

— World War II Anthology Edition Manual

The Siege of Tobruk (Arabic: حصار طبرق) was a series of North African-theatre battles of World War II, fought in 1941-2 between Nazi German attackers and Australian defenders, over the town's invaluable harbor. In the initial battle, the Australians held off the Nazi attack. The next year, the city was captured by the Germans in a second battle. It was finally liberated in November 1941. One such engagement is featured in Battlefield 1942.

The historical battle was fought mostly by Australian troops, against the Germans and Italians.

Description[]

"Despite staggering losses of tanks and troops, Allied Forces have been able to hold Tobruk. Now, though, German and Italian tank divisions are swiftly descending on the city. Much of the Eighth Army is retreating into Egypt, so it will be up to a relatively small group of men to hold the city against this latest onslaught. Hopefully, this will give the Eighth Army some time to regroup, refuel and return to hit the enemy before they can overrun the city.

A small group of men will establish the first line of defense. Their mission is to keep the enemy from gaining any momentum as they approach the city. If the enemy begins to overrun these positions, the soldiers will fall back to a secondary line and continue to offer resistance. These men have survived months of siege on Tobruk. Now it looks like the decisive battle is at hand."

— British Map Briefing

"Rommel has been leading the Afrika Korps to one stunning victory after another in North Africa. Now he's joining with Italian forces to attack Tobruk and finally overrun the city that the Allies have clung to for far too long. After two days of bombing by sea and air, it is time to escalate the ground assault into Tobruk.

Intelligence indicates that the enemy has vastly improved its fortifications along the Tobruk perimeter. However, they won't be able to withstand the massive amount of firepower about to be unleashed upon them. This should be a dark day for the Allies, and a glorious one for the combined German and Italian forces."

— German Map Briefing

Conquest[]

"Tobruk must not fall! Hold the Afrika Korps at the outer perimeter and we can successfully withstand this assault."

— British campaign briefing

"The British have their backs to the sea. Capture and control all of their outposts to force their immediate surrender."

— German campaign briefing

BF1942 Tobruk campaign — Campaign briefing

The German forces are equipped with an uncapturable base. The British have a central, capturable base in the city of Tobruk itself. Between these lie 5 capturable bases, all initially held by the British. They are arranged in a first line of three bases and a second of two, each equipped with Browning machine guns, capable of cutting down the German infantry.

The Germans must capture as many as possible to begin decreasing Allied tickets while the British must retain all of the bases to continue reducing the Axis tickets.

Equipment[]


Afrika Korps
Medium tank(s)	Panzer IV
Heavy tank(s)	Tiger
Self-propelled artillery	Wespe


British Army
Medium tank(s)	M4 Sherman
Heavy tank(s)	M10 Wolverine
Self-propelled artillery	M7 Priest
Emplacement(s)	M2 Browning

Bases[]

Germans start with one base and the Allies initially control all other points in the map. Germans can stop their ticket bleed once they capture several control points from the Allies.

British Base[]

The Allied base spawns tanks and other vehicles for the Allied team. It's at the opposite end of the map from the German base and is within the city of Tobruk.

1st Line Bunkers[]

There are three control points that form the Allies' First Line. These three are the closest to the German lines. Each point features at least a bunker and a machine gun emplacement. Some points are more fortified than others. There are also multiple tank traps, barbed wire and sand bags around the first line.

2nd Line Bunkers[]

There are two control points that form the Allies' Second Line. Both points are close to the city of Tobruk and have bunkers, sand bags, machine gun emplacements, barbed wires and anti-tank traps just like the First Line Bunkers. In addition, vehicles can also spawn there. In front of these two bunkers is a depression that may be used as trenches for the defenders.

German Base[]

The Germans start here with numerous vehicles of different types. This is the only point the Germans have in the start of the game.

Team Deathmatch[]

The flag layout is the same as Conquest, except both bases are uncapturable and the bunkers start neutral.

Outcomes[]

"It was an extremely difficult battle, but the Allied forces were able to defend Tobruk. Though the enemy attacked with everything, they were unable to breach the front lines. There have been rumors that the Axis is gearing up for one last major assault in North Africa. Rommel's forces will soon be out of fuel, and Berlin will have to admit that this attempt to control North Africa is doomed."

— British Victory

"For months, a relatively small contingent was able to hold Tobruk. Today, though, a combined force of Germans and Italians were too much to overcome. Rommel and his troops could not be stopped in their campaign to capture this highly valued city. The Axis has been trying to take Tobruk for months. Now they are one step closer to realizing the dream of controlling supply lines in North Africa."

— British Defeat

"Victory in North Africa is nearly assured now that Tobruk has fallen. The Allies fought desperately to hold the city, but at the end of the day this was another great victory for the Fatherland. Rommel has received congratulations from the highest level at German headquarters."

— German Victory

"The Germans were blaming the Italians, and the Italians were blaming the Germans. In the end, it was a catastrophic defeat for both armies. When historians look back at the war, they may say the inability of the Axis to take Tobruk was the reason for their defeat in North Africa. Until that time, though, there's still a lot of fighting left to do. Rommel is the genius of desert warfare - he will think of some way to rouse his Korps from this humiliating defeat."

— German Defeat

Trivia[]

Tobruk is the map featured in the Battlefield 1942 Singleplayer Demo.