Mechili () is a small village in

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika (, , after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, als ...

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 ...

and the site of a former Turkish fort. It is nearly east of

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

and west of Timimi.

Geography

Because of its location in the desert, Mechili suffered in the past from isolation. However, its isolation ended after the paving of the Charruba–Timimi desert road between the years 1975–1985, and this road became the preferred route for travel between

Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...

and

. The village sits at an elevation of 196 meters (643 feet).

World War II

*In January 1941, the British force named “Western Desert Force” under command of General Richard O’Connor (after taking Tobruk on 22 January) executed a daring outflanking movement and took Mechili from Italian forces on 27 January. *On 7 April the same year, the Italian armoured division ''Ariete'' captured the British garrison at Mechili as a part of German Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel's first offensive through

with the goal of encircling the British forces, and this helped in capturing O’Connor near Derna the same month. *On 18 December 1941, British forces re-took Mechili as a part of Operation Crusader. *In early February 1942, Rommel's forces again took Mechili as a part of his second offensive through Cyrenaica. *In November 1942, the British forces occupied Mechili for the last time.

Citations

References

*Kenneth Macksey, "Beda Fomm : The Classic Victory",Ballantine Books, New York, 1971. *Peter Young(ed.), "The History of World War II", vols. no.4 & 8, Orbis Publication,1984. *Derek Jewell (ed.), “Alamein and the Desert War”, Times Newspapers, Sphere Books, 1967. {{coord, 32, 10, N, 22, 17, E, display=title, region:LY_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Populated places in Derna District Cyrenaica Villages in Libya