Rats of TobrukPrint Page

The monument commemorates the endurance of those who were besieged at Tobruk. The replica memorial is based on the 1941 memorial in the Tobruk War Cemetery, built by Australian soldiers during the siege, which has since been destroyed. The inscription stone, the only surviving relic of the original memorial, and at one time a front step of the Tobruk Post Office, is incorporated.

The memorial takes the form of an obelisk, and surrounding walls portray the perimeter defences and the design recalls the area in which the siege took place. The coastline and harbour are to the front and the defence positions flank the rear of the memorial. The Eternal Flame is fabricated from bronze.

The Siege of Tobruk was a confrontation that lasted 241 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 and continued for 241 days up to 27 November 1941, when it was relieved by the Allied 8th Army during Operation Crusader.

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.

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