North Africa Ep. 9: Rommel tightens the Noose around Cyrenaica

April 1941, North Africa. The British forward line at Mersa Brega has collapsed, 2nd Armoured Division is in retreat, and Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps is on the move. What was supposed to be a cautious blocking force has turned into a fast-moving desert offensive threatening Benghazi, Mechili, and all of Cyrenaica.

In this episode of our WW2 in Real Time – North Africa miniseries, we follow:

Rommel as he ignores Hitler’s orders and pushes east after Mersa Brega
The chaotic British retreat and fuel-starved tanks abandoning the desert
The fall of Benghazi without a fight
Wavell’s misjudgements and late reactions from Middle East Command
The race for Mechili, a vital crossroads and supply dump
The brutal reality of desert logistics – where sand and distance destroy more vehicles than enemy shells

While Rommel drives his reconnaissance units toward Benghazi and Mechili, British commanders try to trade ground for time and avoid encirclement. At the same time, Italian commanders warn Rommel about overstretch, and German divisional leaders complain about fuel and breakdowns – warnings he largely ignores.

By the end of this week in 1941, the Desert Fox is deep inside Cyrenaica, the British are burning their own supply dumps, and both sides are racing for the next key position. A clash at Mechili is imminent – and so is a showdown at the Er Regima pass with the “Devil’s Own” Australians waiting in ambush.

This is Episode 9 of our North Africa 1941 miniseries – part of our larger effort to cover WW2 week by week, in real time.

If you want to support this work and get deeper into the war in the desert and beyond, join the TimeGhost Army at timeghost.tv or patreon.com.

Excelsior!

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Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Co-produced by: James Newman
Creative Director: Iryna Dulka
Community Management: Anna Deinhard & Tom Aldis
Written by: Sebastian Brandstetter
Research by: Sebastian Brandstetter
Map animations by: Daniel Weiss and Andreas Olsson
Map research by: Tom Aldis, Andreas Olsson
Edited by: Łukasz Zoń
Color grading by: Łukasz Zoń
Artwork by: Iryna Dulka
Sound design by: Marek Kamiński

Source literature list: https://bit.ly/SourcesWW2

Archive footage: https://www.screenocean.com

Image sources:
Imperial War Museum

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.