In May 1942 the situation in North Africa was favorable for the Axis powers. So General Rommel was ordered from Berlin and Rome to continue his attack. After the decision was taken, the drawing up of plans for its implementation began. The German services did not manage this time to gather enough information about the exact disposition of the enemy forces on the Gazala – Bir Hakeim line. Even the patrols of the Afrika Korps were prevented from carrying out their mission by the corresponding British ones.
At the same time, the British forces were strengthening their defensive positions in the area. Immense minefields were laid, mainly in the center of the site, the coverage of which was undertaken by the 150th British Brigade, whose presence had completely escaped the attention of the Germans. Further south, the stronghold of Bir Hakeim was manned by the Free French Brigade, which included in its ranks war-experienced units of the Foreign Legion.
The right horn of the British defensive position was covered by the reinforced 1st South African Division. Also west of Tobruk the British had established a huge supply base (Base 4) to serve the needs of the units manning the defensive line. However, the need to cover this base at all costs, was finally a brake on the British plans.
For his part, the Afrika Korps had also been seriously strengthened. At the end of May 1942 the Afrika Korps had 332 Pz III and Pz IV tanks. Most of the early ones were equipped with the 50 mm gun. 42 calibers. Another 19 however – all attached to the 21st Panzer Division (MPa) – of these were equipped with the excellent 50 mm cannon. of 60 calibers. As for the Pz IVs all but four carried the short-barreled 75 mm gun. 24 calibers.
The four other Pz IVs carried a long-barreled 75 mm gun. However, these tanks did not take part in the initial phases of the battle due to a lack of suitable ammunition. About 230 Italian tanks, mainly M 13/40 and M 14/41, were to fight alongside the German panzers. , but also a few Samovente assault guns, armed with a 75mm gun.
Also the Afrika Korps was reinforced with 48 88 mm guns. and with an unspecified number of 76mm anti-tank guns. At the same time, the British had also been seriously reinforced and in fact for the first time the 8th Army had tanks that could stand up to the panzers, having hopes of survival. There were 240 American M3 Grand / Lee tanks.
Enterprise "Venice"
Strengthened, Rommel decided that the time had come for the final blow and crisis of the fight. Operation "Venice", the operation to break up the British defense line in the location of Gazala - Bir Hakeim, was drawn up with this reasoning in mind. Rommel's plan was simple and relied on the discipline and fighting spirit of the Afrika Korps , which would take on the most difficult role in the upcoming battle.
Under General Nering the three divisions of the Afrika Korps were to carry out a wide outflank maneuver of the British left, bypass Bir Hakeim and encircle the British forces in the main line of resistance. At the same time the Italian 20th Motorized Corps would attack Bir Hakeim and the also Italian 10th and 21st Army Corps, reinforced with elements of the German 90th Light and under the general command of Gruvel, would carry out deceptive attacks against the Gazala line.
Also in the southern sector, the German 90th Light Division was also provided with specially modified trucks fitted with aircraft engines. Their mission was to kick up as much dust as possible by misleading the British about the size and nature of the threat they represented. The 90th Light Division with its special trucks was ordered by Rommel to move south-east of Bir Hakeim, completely into the desert, so that the British would think that the German over-waisting maneuver was to be carried out deeper than it actually was within their formation.
Surrounding the attacked... escape, counterattack
On the evening of May 26, Rommel's 10,000 vehicles and approximately 80,000 men were set in motion and occupied his advance positions for the following morning. The Afrika Korps "as a well-oiled machine," according to von Melendin, had been prepared down to the last detail. At first light the "Venice" operation began. Africa Corps advanced unmolested and overcame Bir Hakei m, which would be attacked by the Italian Armored Division Ariete. Indeed the Italians attacked with momentum but were repulsed by the experienced men of the Foreign Legion guarding this stronghold.
At the same time the two panzer divisions of the Afrika Korps were clashing with the 7th Infantry Division and the 4th Indian Division. In this battle the German tanks first came face to face with the Grand tanks of the 7th Division and suffered heavy losses before discovering the weaknesses of their opponents. However, if the 15th and 21st Infantry Divisions suffered losses, the British divisions were almost crushed.
The 4th Indian Division in particular withdrew from the battle in pieces, while the 7th Armored Division (ADF) also saw many of its precious Grands blown to pieces. Even so, the 7th Infantry Division held its positions and Rommel did not succeed in encircling the main enemy defensive position. As if this were not enough the overstretched Afrika Korps began to experience fuel shortages. The 15th Army was halted for this reason, and Rommel continued his attack with only the 21st Army toward Knights Bridge, the focal point to the south of the main British position of resistance.
But now the Afrika Korps was in mortal danger of being cut off and utterly destroyed. Essentially Rommel was fighting on two different main fronts. The Italian forces were fighting "orthodox" at the front with the British, while he and his "children" had penetrated deep into the enemy's rear and were fighting on an inverted front with the British forces of the second echelon!
The Africa Corps, however, was saved by its allies, but also by the experience of its officers. On the 28th and 29th of May, the Afrika Korps confronted and defeated all the British forces that attacked it at Knights Bridge. At the same time the Italians of the Trieste Division had opened a wide corridor through the British minefields and managed to join the until then blocked in the rear of the enemy Afrika Korps.
This road of salvation was not used by Rommel to withdraw his exhausted forces, as one might think, but as a supply route for the Afrika Korps, in order to continue the offensive maneuver! Rommel himself, at great personal risk, led a fuel convoy to his blocked panzer divisions and resupplied them. Then, using the British minefields defensively, he ordered the Afrika Korps into a semi-circle formation, crushing any British attack against him.
Having recovered, the Afrika Korps was once again ready for the continuation of the battle. The first objective was to destroy the British 150th Brigade, which threatened the left flank of the Corps, within the minefields and capture Bir Hakeim, so as to permanently break the enemy's left flank. The 150th Brigade heroically held its position for 72 hours against concentrated attacks by the 15th and 21st Infantry Divisions, but was finally destroyed.
Thus Rommel was finally able to break through the enemy's position of resistance and carve a broad avenue into the British minefields, through which fuel, ammunition, and resupply reached his beleaguered air force. However, the victory did not come without losses. The two MPAs of the Afrika Korps had suffered losses of approximately 50% of their tank strength.
Despite this, the Afrika Korps repelled with characteristic ease the new British counterattack launched on June 5. The British 32nd Armored Brigade which opened the attack lost 58 tanks out of 70 and was forced to withdraw. The 9th and 10th Indian Brigades and the 22nd Armored Brigade supporting them had a worse fate. All these units were almost completely disbanded. It is telling that of the three brigades only one British officer managed to return. The rest were killed or captured. Around 5,000 British and Indian soldiers were killed or captured with them.
At the southern end of the front, the intervention of the 90th Light Division, reinforced by the reconnaissance units of the TTH divisions, allowed the capture of Bir Hakeim on June 10. The brave guard, however, had managed to escape.