Got El Oualeb having fallen, Bir Hakim was to be invested and attacked the next day on June 2 Groups in British and French went to continual raids on our lines of communication. It had to be stopped.

Encirclement of Bir Hakim

On the night of 1 to 2 June, the 90th Light Division andthe division advanced towards Trieste Bir Hakim. After these two units had crossed without significant losses, minefields, the encirclement of the fulcrum was completed by the East.

An invitation to visit, brought to the besieged by our parliamentarians, having been postponed, the attack was launched around noon, conducted by the Northeast Division Trieste, and South East by the 90th light, against fortifications, positions and minefields, established by French troops. The battle began with an artillery preparation, it should be continued for ten days with an uncommon violence. During this period, I assumed myself, several times, the command of an attacking force. On African theater, I have rarely seen more hard fighting. The French had appointed positions remarkably, they used foxholes, bunkers, location of machine guns and antitank guns, and all were surrounded by a broad belt of mines. The fortifications of this kind admirably protect against the shellfire and air attacks: a hit at most risk of destroying an individual hole. Also to inflict significant losses to an opponent with such positions, it is essential not to skimp on ammunition.

The main challenge was to create breaches in the minefields, under fire from French troops. The price of heavy losses, the military engineers accomplished this superhuman task. Protected by smoke screens and artillery, they had, in places, digging saps to send to the mines ... It is they, largely, that we were indebted for success.

First attacks against the fortress

Supported by the continuous attacks of Flight - between 2 and 11 June, day of taking the last French positions, the Luftwaffe attacks executed 1300: against Bir Hakim - assault groups, composed of troops from various weapons and taken from different units, pledged action in North and South. But each time, the assault was stopped in the fortifications remarkably established by the French. Curiously, the bulk of British troops refrained from intervention in the early days of the offensive against Bir Hakim. Only the Ariete division was attacked on June 2, but opposed a stubborn resistance the assailant. After a cons-attack made by the 21st Panzer, the situation stabilized.

General Rommel then explains how in the days of 3, 4 and 5 June, he broke an offensive-against Anglo-Indian himself by attacking the opponents near Knightisbridge.

Under fire from French

We no longer had to fear that the British launch important diversionary attacks against our forces who invested Bir Hakim, and we hope to continue our assault against the fortress, without being disturbed.

The activity displayed by our troops before the French fortifications was found temporarily reduced. On June 6, at 11 am, the 90th light went back to the assault troops commanded by General Koenig. Reached spikes advanced 800 meters from the fort, then the offensive stopped. The rocky terrain, offered no camouflage and the fierce fire of the French opened gaps in our ranks. In the evening, the assault was interrupted while the siege was tightened around the fulcrum. Low clearance attacks launched by the 71st Motorised Brigade against our British 90th light, were repulsed.

During the night of June 6 to 7, in the area occupied by that unit, we managed to open lanes in the minefields, and the cover of darkness, assault groups were able to distance attack. The work was subjected to a severe bombardment by artillery and aviation, and on 7 June in the morning, the infantry returned to the attack.

Despite its bite, the assault was stopped by the fire of all weapons available to the circled. It was only in Northern Bir Hakim that the battle groups succeeded in some penetrations into the enemy. He was an admirable feat on the part of defenders, meanwhile, found themselves completely isolated. On June 8, the attack continued. Throughout the night, we had stopped to drop flares and beat the defensive positions with our machine guns to prevent the French from taking rest. Yet the next day when my troops departed, they were met by a fierce fire, whose intensity had not decreased depuisla day. The enemy was hiding in his foxhole, and remained invisible.

On June 9, I appealed to a unit of the Afrika Korps to support the attack against Bir Hakim. Again, in the morning, the waves of our infantry rushed against the French fortifications. Around noon, the 90th light, which so far had argued with his heavy weapons the progress of groups fighting in the north and south of the fortress, joined the assault. Despite heavy losses, constantly exposed to fire of the French who fought with the energy of despair, the head unit arrived around 8 o'clock, 200 meters from the fort of Bir Hakim. That day, General Ritchie launched, south of Bir Hakim, a small diversionary attack against the elements protecting the flank of the 90th Light. Alongside detachments, motorized, he hired a tank platoon belonging to the 4th Armoured Brigade. We had no difficulty in repelling them.

Kesselring impatient

Meanwhile, differences of opinion had arisen between Kesselring and me. Kesselring violently criticized the slow progress of our offensive against French troops. The fact that the Luftwaffe squadrons were constantly flying over Bir Hakim, where they suffered heavy losses (in one day, the RAF had shot nearly 40 Stuka), provoked his anger, Kesselring demanded the immediate release of an offensive great style, supported by all the armored forces. However, this was an impossibility; tanks could be used in minefields riddled with points. Furthermore, it was expected that, in this case, the general would Richie on another point in the forehead. One such measure would have led right to a disaster. We apaisāmes Kesselring; obviously he could not realize the difficulties we had to overcome.

Unexpected success of the release of Koenig

Finally, on June 10, that is to say the next day, the shock force of the Afrika Korps, commanded by Colonel Baade, managed to penetrate deep into the opponent's main positions, north of Bir Hakim . The French defended desperately every nest of resistance suffering losses extraordinarily heavy. This breakthrough made the position untenable, we expected that the enemy should proceed to support attacks from the outside to facilitate an eventual exit the surrounded troops. Some elements of the 7th Motorized Brigade British, as I said before, tried to disrupt the delivery of our reinforcements, had been sighted by our reconnaissance while heading towards Bir Hakim. To deal with any eventuality, I ordered the 15th Panzer reach Bir Hakim. The next day the French garrison was to receive the coup de grace. Unfortunately for us, the French did not wait. Despite the security measures we had taken, they managed to leave the fortress, commanded by their chief, General Koenig, and save a significant portion of their workforce. Under cover of darkness, they escaped to the West and joined the 71st British brigade. Later, it was found that where this had taken place out, the encirclement was not performed according to orders.

Once again, the evidence was made a chief decided not to throw the gun after the test pattern, at the earliest opportunity, can perform miracles, although the situation appears hopeless.

(Excerpt from The War Without Hate).