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Siege of TobrukPrint Page 
The cross commemorates those who died in service of were killed in action in the Siege of Tobruk during World War Two.
The Siege of Tobruk was a confrontation that lasted 242 days between Axis and Allied forces in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaign of World War Two. The siege started on 10 April 1941, when Tobruk was attacked by an Italo–German force under Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel.
Australians provided the mainstay of the Tobruk defence force until August, when they were withdrawn and replaced by the British 70th Division, with the attached Polish Carpathian Brigade. British forces lifted the siege on 10 December 1941 during Operation 'Crusader', when 1st Army Tank Brigade linked up with a 'break out' force from Tobruk - the 32nd Army Tank Brigade - at Ed Duda, to the south-east of the town.
The “Rats of Tobruk” was the name given to the soldiers of the garrison who held the Libyan port of Tobruk against the Afrika Corps during the Siege.
The garrison, commanded by Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead, consisted of the 9th Australian Division (20th, 24th, and 26th Brigades), the 18th Brigade of the 7th Australian Division, four regiments of British artillery and some Indian troops
Location
| Address: | North Terrace & Kintore Avenue, Government House wall, rear of War Memorial, Adelaide, 5000 |
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| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -34.920824 Long: 138.601388 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Cross |
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| Monument Theme: | Conflict |
| Sub-Theme: | WW2 |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 10-April-1941 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 10-December-1941 |
| Link: |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Wednesday 19th April, 1978 |
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Engraved on cross circle :
Tobruk Siege
10. 4. 1941 10. 12. 1941
On arms of cross :
To those who fell
On lower part of cross :
Feats
Plaque:
Erected to the memory of those who paid the supreme sacrifice during the Siege of Tobruk
April to December 1941
And to those who have passed on since
Lest We Forget
Dedicated 19th April 1978
Plaque:
Erected by the Rats of Tobruk Association (S.A. State Branch) Inc.
Sculptor John Dowie
