Bir Hacheim
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Bir Hakeim (, , sometimes written ''Bir Hacheim'') is the site of a former Ottoman fort in the
Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
n desert. The
fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...
was built around the site of an ancient Roman well, dating to the period when the oasis was part of
Ottoman Tripolitania Ottoman Tripolitania, also known as the Regency of Tripoli, was officially ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1551 to 1912. It corresponded roughly to the northern parts of modern-day Libya in historic Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. It was initially ...
. It is about west of
Sollum Sallum ( various transliterations include ''El Salloum'', ''As Sallum'' or ''Sollum'') is a harbourside village or town in Egypt. It is along the Egypt/Libyan short north–south aligned coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the far northwest corner o ...
on the Libyan coast and south-east of
Gazala Gazala, or ʿAyn al-Ġazāla ( ), is a small Libyan village near the coast in the northeastern portion of the country. It is located west of Tobruk. History In the late 1930s (during the Libya as Italian colony, Italian occupation of Libya), th ...
. Bir Hakeim is best known for the
battle of Bir Hakeim The Battle of Bir Hakeim () took place at Bir Hakeim, an oasis in the Libyan desert south and west of Tobruk, during the Battle of Gazala (26 May – 21 June 1942). The 1st Free French Brigade under Marie-Pierre Kœnig defended the position f ...
, which took place there during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The battle occurred during the
Battle of Gazala The Battle of Gazala, also the Gazala Offensive (Italian language, Italian: ''Battaglia di Ain el-Gazala'') was fought near the village of Gazala during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, f ...
(26 May – 21 June 1942) when the 1st Free French Brigade of ''Général de brigade'', future
Maréchal de France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) and for a period ...
Marie-Pierre Kœnig Marie Joseph Pierre François Kœnig or Koenig (10 October 1898 – 2 September 1970) was a French general during World War II during which he commanded a Free French Brigade at the Battle of Bir Hakeim in North Africa in 1942. He started a poli ...
defended the site from against much larger German and Italian forces, commanded by ''Generaloberst''
Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of ...
. Capitaine
Pierre Messmer Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer (; 20 March 191629 August 2007) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Minister of Armies under Charles de Gaulle from 1960 to 1969 – the longest serving since Étienne François, duc de Choiseul under ...
was one of the French officers of the 13th half-brigade of the
French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...
. Messmer had graduated from St Cyr Military School. He was commanding the 3rd battalion of the Legion. Many of his soldiers were from Spanish and German origin, and many of them Jews. The
Kaddish The Kaddish (, 'holy' or 'sanctification'), also transliterated as Qaddish, is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the lit ...
was said most evenings at Bir-Hakeim. The other half-brigade of the 1st Free French Division included units that did not belong to the French Foreign Legion, such as the Bataillon de Marche n°2 de l'Afrique équatoriale française (BM2), the Bataillon du Pacifique (
French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...
, New Caledonia and New Hebrides), the 1st Bataillon of Infanterie de Marine, the 1st Regiment of Artillerie, the 1st Bataillon of Fusiliers Marins in association with troop D of the 43rd Battery of the 11th City of London Yeomanry Regiment and the 22nd North-African French Armored Company. Pierre Messmer was the first French Foreign Legion soldier to be elected to the Académie Française. He would later become Prime Minister of the French Republic under President Georges Pompidou. During these 14 days, 3700 French soldiers immobilized 40 000 Axis soldiers. Out of these 3700, 800 died or went missing. This half-brigade had already fought the German Army at Battles of Narvik, Narvik on 27 May 1940. Although the Afrika Corps captured Tobruk ten days later, the delay imposed on the Axis offensive by the defence of Bir Hakeim influenced the cancellation of Operation Herkules, the planned German invasion of the Suez Canal and Malta. The stand by the Free French gave the defeated and retreating British Eighth Army (United Kingdom), Eighth Army enough time to recover from its heavy losses and to reorganize. The British then stopped the German advance at the First Battle of El Alamein. The Algerian and Moroccan units of the 1st Free French Division gave birth to the French Expeditionary Corps under the command of Général Alphonse Juin, future
Maréchal de France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) and for a period ...
, and Général Joseph de Goislard de Monsabert. They also took part in the Battle of Monte Cassino. There the 3rd Division d'Infanterie Algérienne (3rd DIA) and the Groupement des Tabors Marocains of Général Augustin Guillaume were recognized in breaking through the German defences of the Gustav Line. This battle would serve as the namesake for Bir-Hakeim (Paris Métro), a station on the Paris Métro, and Pont de Bir-Hakeim, a bridge. Bir Hakeim had been the site of Bir Hakeim rescue, a daring rescue during World War I. On 14 March 1916 Major Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor led an Armored car (military), armoured car squadron, part of the Western Frontier Force, to Bir Hakeim after having travelled 120 miles across the desert from Sollum. There they rescued 91 British POWs from TSS Hibernia (1899), HMS ''Tara'' and HMT ''Moorina''. German U-boats had captured the British sailors after torpedoing their vessels and had turned their prisoners over to the local Senussi, who were allied with the Germans. As a result of the Italo-Turkish War (1911-1912), Italy captured the Ottoman Ottoman Tripolitania, Tripolitania Vilayet (province), which became known as Italian Libya. The Italian army stationed a unit of its Zaptié Méhariste, Meharista at Bir Hakeim.


See also

* Battle of Bir Hakeim *
Battle of Gazala The Battle of Gazala, also the Gazala Offensive (Italian language, Italian: ''Battaglia di Ain el-Gazala'') was fought near the village of Gazala during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, f ...
* Western Desert Campaign


References

{{Authority control Ottoman Tripolitania History of Cyrenaica Ottoman fortifications Oases of Libya Former populated places in Libya