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The Battle of Bardia
On the morning of 3 January 1941, Australians of the 6th
Division led an assault against the Italian colonial fortressvillage
of Bardia in Libya, not far from the Egyptian-Libyan
frontier. The ensuing battle was the second of the First
Libyan Campaign, but the first battle of the Second World
War planned and fought predominantly by Australians.
The fortress fell to the attackers a little over two days after
the attack began, in what could only be described as a
remarkable victory. At a cost of 130 killed and 326 wounded,
the 6th Division captured around 40,000 Italian prisoners
and very large quantities of military stores and equipment.
The victory was heralded at the time in Australia as one of
the greatest military achievements of that nation’s military
history. Quite soon afterwards, however, overshadowed
perhaps by Rommel’s subsequent desert advances, the
tragedy in Greece, and the war in the Pacific, Bardia
slipped from the public mind. Very few Australians today
have heard of the battle. This book attempts to bring
Bardia back into the light.
Division led an assault against the Italian colonial fortressvillage
of Bardia in Libya, not far from the Egyptian-Libyan
frontier. The ensuing battle was the second of the First
Libyan Campaign, but the first battle of the Second World
War planned and fought predominantly by Australians.
The fortress fell to the attackers a little over two days after
the attack began, in what could only be described as a
remarkable victory. At a cost of 130 killed and 326 wounded,
the 6th Division captured around 40,000 Italian prisoners
and very large quantities of military stores and equipment.
The victory was heralded at the time in Australia as one of
the greatest military achievements of that nation’s military
history. Quite soon afterwards, however, overshadowed
perhaps by Rommel’s subsequent desert advances, the
tragedy in Greece, and the war in the Pacific, Bardia
slipped from the public mind. Very few Australians today
have heard of the battle. This book attempts to bring
Bardia back into the light.
196 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 12, 2011
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