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| April 10 1941 |
| THE FIRST ATTACK on Tobruk by the Germans was a failure and resulted in the death of a German General. A light German force, with several armoured cars, was approaching a bridge crossing a wadi some 16km from Tobruk. It's objective was to try and bounce the allies out of Tobruk before they had a chance to reorganise and dig in. The bridge was demolished in front of them by the 2/3 Australian Field Company and the battle that ensued lasted for much of the day. The Germans came under heavy artillery fire, with participation from the recently formed "Bush Artillery". General Heinrich von Prittwitz und Graffon was leading an attack in an armoured car when he was hit by an anti-tank shell and killed. The perimeter was taken over by the 26th, 20th and 24th Australian Infantry Brigades. For more information see Dispositions. On the night of the 10th, 2/3rd and 2/13th Australian Field Companies being mining the gaps in the antitank ditch and repairing perimeter wire. |
10 April 1941 - General Lavarack's 42nd birthday.
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