Question: The Battle of Gazala, was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of which time period, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942, Axis troops of the "Panzerarmee Afrika", "Generaloberst" Erwin Rommel, a German general and military theorist?

Context paragraphs:
Battle of Point 175: The Battle of Point 175 was a military engagement of the Western Desert Campaign that took place during Operation Crusader from 29 November – 1 December 1941, during the Second World War.  Point 175 is a small rise just south of the Trigh Capuzzo, a desert track east of Sidi Rezegh and south of Zaafran, with a good view of the vicinity.  In early November 1941, the feature was held by German infantry of "Division z.b.V. Afrika" (later named the 90th Light "Afrika" Division).  Troops of the 2nd New Zealand Division and Infantry tanks of the 1st Army Tank Brigade attacked and captured Point 175 on 23 November, during the Battle of Sidi Rezegh, at the start of Operation Crusader.  The New Zealand troops then attacked westwards and made contact with the Tobruk garrison, which had broken out to meet them.  From 29 November – 1 December, the New Zealanders defended the point and the area to the west against Axis attempts to sever the link with the Tobruk garrison and regain control of the local roads.  The new 132nd Armoured Division "Ariete" re-captured Point 175 late on 29 November.

First Battle of El Alamein: The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, fought in Egypt between Axis forces (Germany and Italy) of the Panzer Army Africa ("Panzerarmee Afrika", which included the "Afrika Korps") (Field Marshal ("Generalfeldmarschall") Erwin Rommel) and Allied (British Imperial and Commonwealth) forces (Britain, British India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand) of the Eighth Army (General Claude Auchinleck).

Battle of Mersa Matruh: The Battle of Mersa Matruh was fought from 26 June to 29 June 1942 following the defeat of the Eighth Army (General Sir Claude Auchinleck) at the Battle of Gazala.  It was part of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War.  The combatants on the Axis side were the "Panzerarmee Afrika" ("Generalfeldmarschall" Erwin Rommel), consisting of German and Italian units.  The Allied forces of the Eighth Army comprised X Corps and XIII Corps.  The battle developed as the "Afrika Korps" pursued the Eighth Army as it retreated into Egypt.  Rommel intended to engage and destroy the Allied infantry formations in detail, before the British had a chance to regroup.  In the event he was able to cut off the line of retreat of X Corps and the XIII Corps but his forces were too weak to stop them from breaking out.  The fortress port of Mersa Matruh and 6,000 prisoners fell into his hands there, along with a great deal of supplies and equipment, but his main goal of destroying the Eighth Army escaped him.

Battle of El Agheila: The Battle of El Agheila was a brief engagement of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War.  It took place in December 1942 between Allied forces of the Eighth Army (General Bernard Montgomery) and the Axis forces of the German-Italian "Panzer" Army ("Generalfeldmarschall" Erwin Rommel), during the long Axis withdrawal from El Alamein to Tunis.  It ended with the German-Italian "Panzer" Army resuming its retreat towards Tunisia, where the Tunisia Campaign had begun with Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942).

Battle of Gazala: The Battle of Gazala (near the modern town of "Ayn al Ghazālah") was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942.  Axis troops of the "Panzerarmee Afrika" ("Generaloberst" Erwin Rommel), consisted of German and Italian units.  Allied forces (Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Sir Claude Auchinleck), were mainly British, Indian, South African and Free French.

Western Desert Campaign: The Western Desert Campaign (Desert War), took place in the deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main theatre in the North African Campaign during the Second World War.  The campaign began in September 1940 with the Italian invasion of Egypt; Operation Compass, a British five-day raid in December 1940, led to the destruction of the Italian 10th Army.  Benito Mussolini sought help from Adolf Hitler, who responded with a small German force sent to Tripoli under Directive 22 (11 January).  The German "Afrika Korps" ("Generalleutnant" Erwin Rommel) was under nominal Italian command but Italian dependency on Nazi Germany made it the dominant partner.

Erwin Rommel: Erwin Rommel (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German general and military theorist.  Popularly known as the Desert Fox, he served as field marshal in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II.

Battle of Alam el Halfa: The Battle of Alam el Halfa took place between 30 August and 5 September 1942 south of El Alamein during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. " Panzerarmee Afrika"—a German–Italian force commanded by "Generalfeldmarschall" Erwin Rommel—attempted an envelopment of the British Eighth Army, commanded by Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery.  In the last major Axis offensive (Operation Brandung/"Unternehmung Brandung") of the Western Desert Campaign, Rommel had planned to defeat the Eighth Army before Allied reinforcements made an Axis victory in Africa impossible.

Operation Herkules: Operation Herkules (Unternehmen Herkules/Operazione C3) was the German code-name given to an abortive plan for the invasion of Malta during World War II.  Through combined air and sea landings, the Italians and Germans hoped to eliminate Malta as a British air and naval base and secure an uninterrupted flow of supplies across the Mediterranean Sea to their forces in Libya and Egypt.  Extensive preparations were made for the invasion but the Axis victory at the Battle of Gazala (26 May to 21 June 1942), the capture of Tobruk on 21 June and "Unternehmen Aïda" (Operation Aïda), the pursuit of the British as they retreated into Egypt, led to the plan being postponed and then cancelled in November 1942.

Battle of Bir Hakeim: The Battle of Bir Hakeim (] ) took place at Bir Hakeim, an oasis in the Libyan desert south and west of Tobruk, during the Battle of Gazala (26 May – 21 June 1942).  The 1st Free French Brigade ("Général de brigade" Marie Pierre Kœnig) defended the position from 26 May – 11 June against much larger Axis forces of "Panzerarmee Afrika" ("Generaloberst" Erwin Rommel).  The "Panzerarmee" captured Tobruk ten days later but the delay imposed on the Axis offensive by the defence of the fortress influenced the cancellation of Operation Herkules, the plan for an Axis invasion of Malta.  Rommel continued to advance and invaded Egypt, slowed by British delaying actions until the First Battle of El Alamein in July, where the Axis advance was stopped.  Both sides used the battle for propaganda, Winston Churchill renamed the Free French as the Fighting French and Hitler called the French the second best fighters after the Germans.

Supporting paragraphs: Battle of Gazala Erwin Rommel
Answer: Second World War