Draft:Skirmish at Knightsbridge

Skirmish at Knightsbridge
Part of the Battle of Ain el Gazala during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II
A group of M13/40 Ariete tanks in the Libyan desert
Date 10 June 1942 Location Knightsbridge (Ain el Gazala), near Tobruk, Cyrenaica, modern-day Libya Result Italian victory
Belligerents
Fascist Italy Supported by: Germany	United Kingdom British India South Africa
Commanders and leaders
Giuseppe De Stefanis	Raymond Briggs  Alexander Gatehouse
Units involved
...see Order of Battle	...see Order of Battle
Casualties and losses
9 killed 23 wounded	20 killed 17 wounded 13 prisoners 16 armored vehicles
...more details in Losses

The Skirmish of Knightsbridge (in Italian: Scontro di Knightsbridge), was an episode of the Battle of Gazala, which took place on 10 June 1942. In this episode the British forces, who were moving south to intercept the Afrikakorps, were blocked and pushed back by the Ariete Division south of the junction of the Bir Hacheim track and the Fort Capuzzo.

The situation of the Battle of Gazala

Main article: Battle of Gazala

Final phase

On 10 June 1942, with the fall of Bir Hacheim (in Arabic: Biʾr Ḥakīm, "Well of Ḥakīm" or "Well of the Wise"), the final phase of the Battle of Gazala began, with the opening of Axis communications south of the line defended by the Commonwealth forces. General Erwin Rommel immediately moved the 15th Panzer towards the north, while the Ariete took up position in front of the crossroads between the Trigh Capuzzo and Trigh Bir Hacheim caravan routes, a crossroads which was manned by British forces and was indicated as "Knightsbridge". At the same time the British generals decided to engage the Axis armoured forces, trying to take them on the flank as they moved towards the north. The movements of the British armoured forces led them to directly oppose the Ariete, which was positioned as a defence. These movements were followed by a clash between British forces (equipped with Stuart and Grant tanks ) against Italian forces (equipped with M 13/40s ).