Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Axis supply in the Crusader Battle

The Official History says that despite the Axis forces being short on transport, they had well-stocked supply depots at locations such as "Gambut, Acroma, and Gazala". They generally operated close to them. When they tried to operate at a distance, they immediately had supply concerns. The Axis also captured a great deal of British transport, so that helped their situation. As the battle progressed, the supplies were depleted or captured by the British. That put the Axis forces in a situation that ultimately forced them to withdraw on El Agheila, where supplies were more easily brought forward. The British successes at sea against the Axis supply lines greatly complicated the situation for the Axis and meant that Rommel had little choice but to pull back to the west, to preserve this units for a more favorable opportunity (which soon arose). This is based on the account in Vol.III of the Official History.

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