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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 of Tobruk in World War II. The siege started on 10 April 1941.
Australian troops of the Australian 9th Division and the 18th Brigade of the Australian 7th Division under Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead made up more than half of the Allied presence in Tobruk with a total strength of over 14,000 men. The rest of the garrison was made up of British (the 3rd Armoured Brigade, 4 artillery regiments) and Indian (the 18th Indian Cavalry Regiment, a mechanised infantry unit)troops and beginning in August the Polish Independent Carpathian Brigade.
Origins of The Moniker
In what proved to be a propaganda misstep, Lord Haw-Haw derisively referred to the Garrison as "poor desert rats of infesting Tobruk" during radio broadcasts. This was probably due mostly to two factors:-
- The Australians tended to counterattack to gather equipment as soon as the enemy was routed.
- The defenders dug extensive tunnel networks and shelters to supplement their trenches -- and weren't afraid to use them when bombarded.
Adoption of the Moniker
Regardless of the logic, Australians took the name as a badge of pride, even going so far as to strike their own unofficial medal bearing the likeness of a rat. The metal used to make the medals came from a German bomber the Rats had shot down with captured German guns. Throughout the conflict the Axis attackers had at least twice the manpower, were a modern mechanized force with tanks, and most importantly, possessed the abilities of reinforcement and resupply via land. In contrast, the Tobruk garrison was ill-equipped and relied on supply by sea.
Role of the Rats of Tobruk
At this time, Rommel's Afrika Korps had never been defeated. During the first phase of the offensive the Rats were mostly concerned with constructing and reinforcing their defenses and observing the enemy. After a few months, however, purely defensive operations gave way to patrols. These forays outside friendly lines were broken into two categories: reconnaissance and fighting.
The job of a reconnaissance patrol is largely obvious: to provide information on the enemy. Sometimes this entailed capture and/or field interrogation of an enemy. Later, almost exclusively at night, a fighting patrol would act on viable targets found, operating under the simplest of guidelines: do as much damage as you can, don't get caught.
Commonly an attack would involve crawling several miles, surrounding the enemy position, followed by a concerted rush with bayonets. In most cases the action was over in a minute or two, more often than not without a shot fired. Probably the most well-known single offensive action by the Rats was a fighting patrol led by Lieutenant William Horace Noyes, which stalked and destroyed three German light tanks, and killed or wounded the crews of 7 machine-gun and 11 anti-tank gun positions and their protective infantry. In addition, they damaged a German heavy tank and killed or wounded 130 in the taking of a German garrison, most in the initial bayonet charge. No Rats were lost that night.
In April, the soldiers were told to expect reinforcement and resupply within 8 weeks. Against all odds, the Rats held Tobruk until December of 1941, when they were replaced by the British 70th Infantry Division which were brought in by the Royal Navy at the start of Operation Crusader which would lift the siege. By that point, the garrison had held Tobruk for 250 days, a little over 8 months.
Modern Commemoration
The Rats of Tobruk hold an identifiable place within the ranks of returned servicemen, particularly in Australia. Their overarching international association, The Rats of Tobruk Association is partly responsible for the erection of numerous monuments in Australia and the UK and involvement with official memorial services. The association also organised with the Royal Mint of Australia the striking of a 50 year anniversary medallion in 1991.
The association's ensignia shows the elements of a large uppercase letter 'T' for Tobruk, a long-tailed desert rat, and a crown mimicking Tobruk's official pre-war city flag which was liberated from the city's hall during the siege.
In Australia there is the Rats of Tobruk Memorial, Canberra.
See also
World War II military units | World War II British forces | World War II Polish forces
"Rats of Tobruk"