| Original caption: “German eighty-eight millimeter antiaircraft gun in action against British tanks in Africa. Apparently this weapon, obsolescent for the original purpose for which designed (antiaircraft artillery), has been modified so that it can be fired horizontally from the trailer. Note the big, thick shield. A most potent antitank weapon!” Nazi German 88 millimeter (3.46 inch) Flugabwehrkanone (Flak – “Aircraft Defense Cannon”) Sechsunddreißig (“Thirty-Six”) in action against United Kingdom Royal Army vehicles during Kommandant, Deutsche Afrika Korps (DAK), Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel’s (November 15, 1891 – October 14, 1944) 1st Cyrenaican Campaign, Operation Sonnenblume. On March 2, 1941, the 1st 88 millimeter dual purpose anti-aircraft/anti-tank artillery arrived and provided much needed firepower. The 1st large-scale battle began at 0950 Hours on March 31, 1941. The date was remarkable since Rommel had arrived only 6 weeks before and his units were arriving piecemeal during the time in between. Frequent reconnaissance flights had told him much about the situation that awaited the Afrika Korps. 40 miles east of El Agheila, the British had set up a defensive line that extended from the sea south through Mersa el Brega. Rommel’s 1st thought was to make a flank attack. But he found that dipping south in order to skirt the stronger frontal defenses was not an option, because the terrain there (mostly sand and salt marsh-es) was terrible for mechanized travel. After the show of force at El Agheila, the British were well aware of Rommel’s intentions for advancing They began beefing up their defenses with minefields and tank barriers. Deducing that a delay would allow the enemy to strengthen his position even more, Rommel made the command decision to strike immediately. Keep in mind that all this was happening while his superiors in Berlin and Rome still directed a defensive posture. At this time, Rommel’s force was numerically inferior compared to the Allied forces before him. In what later came to be known as Rommel’s 1st Cyrenaican campaign, elements of 3.Panzeraufklärungsbataillon (“Third Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion”) struck at forward posts manned by the United Kingdom Royal Army 2nd Armored Support Group at Mersa el Brega. When the reconnaissance probe was repelled, 5.Panzer-Regiment was called in. However, British armor on site was deployed as well, and again the Nazi Germans were repelled. The Nazi Germans were hard pressed to utilize 88 millimeter dual purpose anti-aircraft/anti-tank artillery during the battle. The guns took time to set up and calibrate, and the fast-moving nature of the battlefield meant that they were needed elsewhere ass soon as they were in place. Later that afternoon, with Stuka dive bombers in support, Maschinengewehr-Bataillon 8 (“Machine Gun Battalion 8”) supplemented the attacking forces and broke through British defenses. Once across the lines, the Germans fought their way up to Mersa el Brega. General Officer in Command Middle East Archibald General Wavell (May 5, 1883 – May 24, 1950) ordered Lieutenant General Sir Philip Neame (December 12, 1888 – April 29, 1978) to withdraw. The old fortress of Mersa el Brega fell into German hands in late afternoon, yielding a booty of 50 Bren gun carriers and 30 trucks. Wavell’s plan was to fight delaying actions along a 140 miles of curvy coastline northward and then take a firm stand at Benghazi. An additional order to Neame was to keep losses of his mechanized units to a minimum, because so much British armor had been diverted to operations elsewhere. Neame and other British officers would be captured in Rommel’s drive, adding to his mythology. Rommel plunged onward from Mersa el Brega directly to Agedabia, which he promptly surrounded, defused and bypassed. Throughout these advances, Rommel was in the midst of the action, racing up and down his battle line in whatever vehicle was available, always relying on firsthand observation as the basis for his command decisions. This was in complete disregard of his personal safety. Disaster was averted for the majority of the forces under Neame’s command through a rapid retreat by the 9th Australian Division into the coastal town of Tobruk, where it was joined by 3rd Indian Motor Brigade, and surviving remnants of 2nd Armored Division (most of which had been overrun and captured in the rout), in hastily organizing a defensive perimeter, which would go on to withstand the Axis Forces’ subsequent extended siege. This photo appeared in the July 9, 1942, United States Army War Information Bulletin Number 20. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0720.jpg |
| Image Size | 298.09 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2125 x 1348 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Kriegsberichter |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | April 15, 1941 |
| Location | |
| City | Marsa al-Brega |
| State or Province | Cyrenaica |
| Country | Libya |
| Archive | Imperial War Museum |
| Record Number | HU 1205 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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