Battle of Bir Hakeim Bir Hakeim ( ; sometimes written " Bir Hacheim " ) is a remote oasis in the Libyan desert , and the former site of a Turkish fort . During the Battle of Gazala , the 1st Free French Division of " Général de brigade " Marie Pierre Kœnig defended the site from 26 May - 11 June 1942 against much larger attacking German and Italian forces directed by " Generaloberst " Erwin Rommel . The battle was later greatly used for propaganda purposes by all involved parties . Tobruk was taken 10 days later by Rommel ' s troops . Rommel continued to advance against delaying actions by the British until halted at First Battle of El Alamein in July . " Général " Bernard Saint - Hillier said in an October 1991 interview : " A grain of sand had curbed the Axis advance , which reached Al - Alamein only after the arrival of the rested British divisions : this grain of sand was Bir Hakeim . " The Battle of Bir Hakeim . Libyan context in summer 1942 . At the beginning of 1942 , after its defeat in the west of Cyrenaica , the British 8th Army faced the Axis troops in Libya roughly west of the port of Tobruk along a line running from the coast at Gazala south south - east some ending at Bir Hakeim . Both sides were busily regrouping and General Claude Auchinleck , the Commander in Chief of British Middle East Command , had been advised to fight a major battle in May to forestall Axis plans of attack . However , 8th Army was not ready to make an offensive and so Lieutenant - General Neil Ritchie , the army commander , anticipated fighting a battle on his prepared position , meeting an Axis attack and destroying his enemy ' s armoured forces in the process . Ritchie ' s defences in the northern half of the front comprised well dug in mutually supporting Brigade Group positions protected with wire and minefields . To the south of this , in order to extend the front and force any potential enemy flanking force to travel a long distance and also hamper its resupply , the defences consisted of two Brigade group defensive " boxes " linked by thickly sown minefields and wire . The first box , held by British 150th Infantry Brigade was roughly from the next position north ( held by 69th Infantry Brigade ) while the gap to the southernmost box at Bir Hakeim ( 1st Free French Brigade ) was further south . While the defences of these boxes were well prepared and constructed , they were too far apart to provide mutual support should one of them face a concentrated attack . Auchinleck ' s appreciation of the situation to Ritchie in mid - May anticipated two possible Axis strategies : a concentrated attack in the centre of the front and then a thrust at Tobruk or an enveloping of the southern flank looping round towards Tobruk . Auchinleck saw the former as more likely ( with a feint on the flank to draw away 8th Army ' s armour ) while Ritchie favoured the latter . Auchinleck suggested that 8th Army ' s armour should be concentrated near El Adem and so be well placed to meet either threat . At the meeting of Axis leaders at Berchtesgaden on 1 May it was agreed that Rommel should attack at the end of May with the object of capturing Tobruk . He was not to move further east than the border with Egypt and was then to remain on the defensive while the Axis concentrated on the capture of Malta ( Operation Herkules ) . Once his supply lines were secured by the fall of Malta , Rommel would invade Egypt . To prepare his attack , Rommel relied on multiple intelligence sources : German Military Intelligence ( " Abwehr " ) had managed to crack British military codes , and could decipher the communications sent to U . S . military attachés describing their military situation . They had also infiltrated Cairo with a spy , Johannes Eppler ( Operation Salaam ) , and could use the Horch Radio surveillance company ' s services . Rommel had only 90 , 000 men and 575 " Panzer " s compared to the British forces of 100 , 000 men and 994 tank s , but he had the initiative and his troops were more experienced , and had proven themselves more competent at desert warfare . On top of this , Rommel ' s tanks and cannon were stronger than their British counterparts , and their tactical use of layered anti - tank gun screens , with 5 cm Pak 38 guns in front of the famous 88 mm gun anti - aircraft gun used in an anti - tank role , out - ranged most British tank guns ( also note that the British 2 pounder tank gun had no high explosive shell to effectively engage soft targets such as anti - tank guns ) . Rommel ' s plan was to go south , around the British front , and then to head north to split General Neil Ritchie ' s 8th Army in two . On 26 May , Rommel launched his attack , hoping to reach the Suez Canal . With his left flank composed of the Italian X and XXI Corps ( " Sabratha " , " Trento " , " Brescia " and " Pavia " divisions ) , and of the German 150th Infantry Brigade ( " 150 . Infantriebrigade " ) , Rommel launched a frontal attack on Gazala , situated on the coast to give the impression that his main attack would be in the north . At the same time , he sent to the south his five best divisions ( the 15th and 21st " Panzer " , 90th Light Infantry , Italian 132nd " Ariete " Armoured , and the Italian 101st " Trieste " Motorized ) , flanking the north - south 8th Army line and to gain access to the rear of his enemy and cut their supply lines . The fort at Bir Hakeim . The fortress at Bir Hakeim , which previously was set up by the Turkish and later used as a station by the Italian camel corps , the meharist , is located on the crossroad of former Bedouin paths . The wells at the place had long been dried out and it was abandoned until British Indian troops occupied it to build a " strong point " against the advancing axis troops . The British troops were relieved by the 1st Free French Division , commanded by " Général " Marie Pierre Kœnig . This was quite a diverse unit , created from several distinct groups fleeing the military occupation of France . It had about 3 , 600 men and at least one woman , split into six battalions : There were also small units , such as the 22nd North African Company of Captain Lequesne and the 17th Sappers Company of Captain Desmaisons . They had artillery support from the 1st artillery regiment of Colonel Laurent - Champrosay . Their equipment was also diverse in origin . There were 63 Bren Carrier s , several trucks and two howitzer s from the British , but most of the artillery pieces were French and came from the Levant : 54 75mm gun s ( 30 were used in an anti - tank role ) , 14 47 mm APX anti - tank gun , 18 25 mm Hotchkiss anti - tank gun and 86 British - supplied Boys anti - tank rifle s and eighteen Bofors 40 mm gun anti - aircraft gun s . Most of the infantry equipment was French , with 44 or mortars , 76 Hotchkiss machine gun s , 96 anti - aircraft and 270 infantry FM 24 / 29 light machine gun s . The fort had food supplies for 10 days and 20 , 000 75 mm shell s . Preparing for the battle , Kœnig had the luxury of three months time , which he used for digging trenches , setting up machine gun nests as well as spreading a vast amount of land mines around the fortress . The vast majority of the defenses were at or below ground level thus presenting few direct - fire targets . The Italian assault . On the night of 26 May 1942 , Rommel started his attack , taking the initiative . The 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions , the rest of the 90th Motorized Infantry Division , and the Italian " Trieste " and " Ariete " Divisions started the large encircling move south of Bir - Hakeim as planned . The British armoured units — taken by surprise — reacted in an improvised and unorganized manner at the attack and took heavy casualties . Learning about the enemy moves , Kœnig awoke his men and ordered them to take their battle positions . On 27 May , Rommel gave the order to General De Stefanis - commanding the " Ariete " Armoured Division - to attack Bir Hakeim from the southeast . This division - formed of the 132nd Armoured Regiment , equipped with M13 / 40 s , of the 8th " Reggimento bersaglieri " and of the 132nd Artillery Regiment - attacked the French position at 09 : 30 from the rear in two successive waves . The " bersaglieri " had tried to get out of their trucks to support the armored advance , but a heavy barrage from the French artillery forced them to retreat . The armored vehicles , charging courageously without infantry support , tried to cross the minefield and six tanks managed to infiltrate the French lines , avoiding mines and anti - tank fire . They were eventually destroyed by very close range 75 mm fire , and the crews were captured . Captain Morel , leading the 5th company , thought the situation was desperate and set fire to the company flag and confidential documents . The " Ariete " Division , reduced to only 33 tanks in 45 minutes , had to retreat . The remaining tanks then tried to outflank this resistance by attacking the north , but made contact with the " V zone " minefield protecting that face . They eventually regrouped and retreated , leaving behind 32 destroyed tanks and 91 prisoners , including Lieutenant Colonel Pasquale Prestisimone , commander of the 132nd Italian Armoured Regiment . Only two French soldiers were wounded and a truck and a cannon were destroyed . Most of the antitank artillery fire took place only 400 or 200 meters away from the French lines , but the legionnaires did not step back . The 27 was a defeat for the Axis in the south , but north of Bir Hakeim , the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade had been annihilated , and two weakened British brigades - the 4th and the motorized 7th Armoured - were forced to retreat to Bir - el - Gubi and to El - Adem , leaving Bir - Hakeim completely isolated . On 28 – 29 May , the Royal Air Force bombed Bir Hakeim and its surroundings , misled by the Italian tank wrecks in and out of the position . Kœnig was therefore forced to send a detachment under " Capitaine " de Lamaze ' s orders to destroy the wrecks to avoid any more mistakes . The group sent a column to make contact with the 150th British brigade , stationed further to the north . After a few hours Italian artillery forced them to give up , but the retreating French column managed to destroy seven enemy half - tracks . On 29 May , the detachment of " Capitaine " Gabriel de Sairigné destroyed three German " panzer " s . On 30 May , Bir Hakeim was quite calm ; only one enemy infiltration occurred in the minefields . When 620 thirsty and exhausted Indian soldiers , captured by the Axis and then released in the middle of the desert during their attack , eventually reached the safety of the fort , adding to the 243 prisoners already there , a water shortage threatened . The detachment of " Capitaine " Lamaze - on the demand of the 7th British Armoured Division - sealed off the breach opened the day before by the Axis tanks in the minefields . Led by Colonel Dimitri Amilakhvari , the legionnaires were ambushed by the enemy , but managed to retreat with the help of the Bren Carriers of the 9th company " Messmer " . On 31 May , the 50 resupplying trucks of the 101st motorized company of " Captaine " Dulau eventually reached Bir Hakeim with its water cargo . On its return , the convoy took the Indians , the prisoners , and the heavily wounded back to Allied lines . A raid by the detachments " Messmer " , " de Roux " and " de Sairigné " — led by Colonel Amilakhvari — destroyed five tanks and an armored vehicle repair workshop . The Germans had been forced to retreat temporarily to the west because of a counter - attack by 150th British brigade , but during night this same brigade was destroyed allowing Rommel access to his supply lines north of Bir Hakeim , and the next morning the encirclement of the fort was resumed . The siege . Rommel ' s success in the north was very costly , especially in tanks where he was outnumbered to begin with . Even with the destruction on 1 June of the British 150th Brigade , Rommel ' s wide flanking plan was proving riskier because of the resistance at Bir Hakeim ( his right flank and supply route was threatened by this position ) . The Afrika Korps had to take Bir Hakeim . The Italian divisions received troop reinforcements from the Afrika Korps and the fort had been bombed several times on the first of June . Then , on 2 June , Rommel sent the " Trieste " division , the 90th Light Infantry Division , and 3 recon armored regiments from the Pavia division against Bir Hakeim . The garrison spotted the enemy advance at 8am , German troops coming from the south , while Italian forces were coming from the north . Two Italian officers presented themselves at 10 : 30am at the 2nd Foreign Legion battalion lines , asking for the capitulation of the fort . General Koenig rejected the offer . From the 2 June 10a . m . , an artillery dual took place , while the fort was being massively bombed by German and Italian air forces . The German Stuka s alone flew more than twenty bombing raids on Bir Hakeim . The British Army was unable to support the French forces , except on 2 June , when they repulsed the attack of the " Ariete " division . Koenig ' s isolation was almost total , although the RAF continued to attack the German and Italian concentrations around the fort , and the scores of burning vehicles helped to maintain the morale of Bir Hacheim ' s defenders . On 4 June Koenig signalled Air Vice - Marshal Arthur Coningham : " Bravo ! Merci pour la R . A . F . " which brought the reply " Merci pour le sport " . From 6 June , the fighting became even more intense . At about 11am , the 90th Light Division , commanded by Brigadier - General ( " Generalmajor " ) Ulrich Kleemann - holder of the Knight ' s Cross - sent its assault detachments , with the support of pioneers , to try to clear a passage through the minefield . The German pioneers managed to approach to within of the fort , after having breached the outer minefield ; during the night they managed to clear several passages into the inner perimeter . German infantry were able to gain a foothold , but the French defenders , taking cover in fox holes , dug outs , and blockhouses , kept up heavy fire on the exposed attackers . Although some parts of the minefields had been cleared , the precision and density of fire prevented any significant advance by the German troops . Even with food and water shortages , the well - entrenched legionnaires were still resisting . On 7 June , four RAF raids were made against the advancing troops engaged in the minefields . That night a last convoy approached the fort , and Aspirant Bellec broke through the German lines to meet it . With the help of a heavy fog , the unseen convoy then managed to resupply the fort . On the other side , exploiting the same weather conditions , Rommel prepared for the final assault : heavy tanks , 88 mm gun s and Colonel Hacker ' s pioneers were formed up in front of the fort . On the morning of 8 June Rommel was ready for the last battle . He personally commanded the attack on the north , approaching as close as he could , with artillery firing directly against the fortifications . The Luftwaffe was in constant support , with , amongst others , a raid of 42 Stukas . General Koenig addressed his men , telling them 10 June would be the last day to hold on , and that they could retreat on 11 June , since the British had had enough time to reorganize their troops . The brigade had just enough ammunition and food for another day , but not enough water . Before 9am the fog prevented any combat , and gave enough time for the radio team of Captain Renard to contact the British , whose planes dropped 170 liters , most of which was given to the wounded . Rommel had asked for the reinforcement of the 15th Panzerdivision , and no real ground combat actions were attempted before its arrival , around 12 , apart from the German artillery and air forces still bombarding the fort . A few skirmishes occurred between the 66th Italian Infantry regiment of the Division Trieste and the men of Lieutenant Bourgoin , now fighting only with hand grenades . At 1 pm , 130 aircraft bombed the fort ' s north face while the German infantry launched its attack , supported by the 15th Panzerdivision , with heavy barrages from the artillery . A breach was made in Captain Messmer ' s 9th company lines , and into the central position of Aspirant Morvan , but the situation was saved with the help of the Bren Carrier s . The Axis artillery continued bombarding until 9 pm , and at that time a new attack was launched , again without success . After this last assault , the French officers planned to abandon the position , which was untenable and strategically unimportant . Evacuation . On 9 June , the evacuation order reached the French camp . That night , General Koenig set up its plan . He asked for RAF protection and planned the evacuation at 11 pm on the 10 , since he had to wait for a watering and extraction point to be set by the British troops southwest of the position . So they will have to resist for another full day before evacuating , with only 200 75 mm and 700 mortar rounds left for the day . On the morning of 10 June , the heavy bombings started over , and assault was launched against the Oubangui - Chari and 3rd Foreign Legion battalion lines , preceded by a raid of 100 Stukas on the fort . The tanks of the 15th Panzerdivision nearly overpowered the sector , but a last counter - attack by Messmer ' s and Lamaze ' s men , supported by Bren Carriers and the last mortar rounds , eventually repulsed them . After this , another two hour long German attack will fail , and the Axis forces decided to delay the attack to the next morning , not knowing that the defenders had run out of ammunition . Then , the complex evacuation began . The heavy equipment was destroyed , and the 2nd Foreign battalion prepared to break through the lines to rendez - vous with the British 7th Motorized Brigade , 7 kilometers southwest of the fort . Mine clearance by the sappers took longer than they had planned for , and , 75 minutes late , Capitaine Wagner ' s 6th company first left the perimeter . Out of time , the sappers had not been able to clear the 200 meters wide corridor they should have , and only a narrow passage was cleared to the southwest . Then , an illumination flare spotted the French evacuation , and French officers , understanding that Germans would soon appear issued a decisive order : they decided to rush massively to the southwest , even if the cleared path was not wide enough . Many vehicles got blown away , but the 3rd Foreign battalion , and the Pacific overseas battalion had managed to leave the sector . More than a real planned evacuation , it had become a massive rush to southwest of the French . Little detachments neutralized , on the way out of the blockade , the three successive Axis defensive lines . Captain Lamaze ' s Bren Carriers excelled in this task , but the Captain was killed with Captain Bricogne , while running from a machine gun nest to another , using grenades to destroy them . Lieutenant Dewey was also killed by a 20 mm round . Others , like the captain commanding the 3rd battalion , were captured , but most of the brigade managed to break through the encirclement , following Amilakvari ' s section , and reached Gasr - el - Arid . The British spotted the first element of the French column , led by Bellec , at 4 in the morning . At 8 am , most of the brigade had reached the extraction point , but during the day , British patrols would rescue numerous lost men . Consequences of the battle of Bir Hakeim . For the Free French , a victory was badly needed to show the Allies that the army of the Free France was not , as often suggested , a bunch of desperados , but a serious force that could contribute in the battle against the Reich . The Free French used the battle to show the world that France was not the decadent nation it appeared to be after its catastrophic defeat in 1940 . De Gaulle used it to delegitimize cooperation with the Vichy regime . To withstand the overpowering Rommel army was an enormous achievement by Koenig and his men . British General Ian Playfair said : " The lengthened defense of the French garrison played a major role in the re - establishment of the British troops in Egypt . The free French gravely disrupted , from the beginning , Rommel ' s offensive , resulting on a disturbed supply line of the Afrika Korps . The growing Axis troop concentration in the sector , needed to subjugate the fort , saved the British 8th Army from a disaster . The delays in the offensive caused by the relentless French resistance increased the British chances of success and eased the preparation of the counter - offensive . On long term , holding back Rommel allowed the British forces to escape from its meticulously planned annihilation . That ' s why we can say , without exaggerating , that Bir Hakeim greatly contributed to El - Alamein defensive success " . General Claude Auchinleck said on June 12 , 1942 , about Bir Hakim : " The United Nations need to be filled with admiration and gratitude , in respect of these French troops and their brave General Koenig " . . Winston Churchill was more terse : “ Holding back for fifteen days Rommel ' s offensive , the free French of Bir Hakeim had contributed to save Egypt and the Suez Canal ' s destinies ” . Even Adolf Hitler respond to the journalist Lutz Koch , coming back from Bir Hakim : " You hear , Gentlemen ? It is a new evidence that I have always been right ! The French are , after us , the best soldiers ! Even with its current birthrate , France will always be able to mobilize a hundred divisions ! After this war , we will have to find allies able to contain a country which is able of military exploits that astonish the world like they are doing right now in Bir - Hakeim ! " . On 6 June , Rommel had already received orders from Hitler to kill all enemy soldiers in battle or shoot them when captured . In Hitler ' s view the Free French troops were a group of partisans , rather than regular soldiers , that also hosted political refugees from Germany . Rommel supposedly burnt this order : regardless , he never followed it and took Free French soldiers as regular POWs .