Operation Crusader order of battle

This is the order of battle for the ground forces involved in Operation Crusader, a World War II battle between the British Commonwealth and the European Axis Powers of Germany and Italy in North Africa between 18 November – 30 December 1941.

British and Commonwealth Forces

Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command: General Claude Auchinleck

British Eighth Army

Lieutenant-General Alan Cunningham, succeeded on 26 November by Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie

XXX Corps

Lieutenant-General Willoughby Norrie

XIII Corps

Lieutenant-General Reade Godwin-Austen

Tobruk Fortress

Major-General Ronald Scobie

Oasis Force

Brigadier Denys Reid

Army Reserve

German and Italian forces

Supreme Commander North Africa: General Ettore Bastico

Italian XX Corps (Corpo d'Armata di Manovra - Mobile Corps)

Lieutenant-General Gastone Gambara
  • Corps assets:
    • Three batteries of truck-mounted 102mm AA/AT guns[5]
  • 132nd Armoured Division Ariete (General Mario Balotta)
  • 101st Motorised Division Trieste
    • 65th Infantry Regiment
    • 66th Infantry Regiment
    • 9th Bersaglieri Regiment
    • 551st Heavy Weapons Battalion
    • 21st Artillery Regiment
  • RECAM (Raggruppamento Esplorante del Corpo d'Armata di Manovra - Reconnaissance Group of the Mobile Army Corps)
    • III Light Tank Battalion (attached from the 32nd Tank Infantry Regiment, Ariete division)
    • LII Medium Tank Battalion
    • "Romolo Gessi" Battalion, Italian Africa Police[9]
    • "Giovani Fascisti" Infantry Group (2 bns)
    • Raggruppamento Batterie Volanti ("Portees" - truck mounted - Artillery Group)[10]

Panzer Group Africa

General der Panzertruppe Erwin Rommel

German Afrika Korps (commanded by Generalleutnant Ludwig Crüwell)

  • 15th Panzer Division (Generalmajor Walter Neumann-Silkow until 6 December (killed in action), then Generalmajor Gustav von Vaerst)
    • 8th Panzer Regiment (2 bns)
    • 1st Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment
    • 2nd Machine Gun Battalion
    • 3rd Engineers Battalion
    • 33rd Recon Battalion
    • 33rd Anti-tank Battalion
    • 33rd Artillery Regiment
  • 21st Panzer Division (Generalmajor Johann von Ravenstein until 29 November (prisoner of war), then Generalmajor Karl Böttcher)
    • 5th Panzer Regiment (2 bns)
    • 104th Infantry Regiment (2 bns)
    • 15th Motorcycle Battalion
    • 3rd Recon Battalion
    • 200th Engineers Battalion
    • 39th Anti-Tank Battalion
    • 605th Anti-Tank Battalion
    • 155th Artillery Regiment
  • Special Purpose Division Afrika (Renamed 90th Light Africa Division from 28 November 1941) (Generalmajor Max Sümmermann until 10 December (killed in action), then Generalmajor Richard Veith)
    • 2nd Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment
    • 155th Infantry Regiment (3 bns)
    • 3rd Battalion, 255th Infantry Regiment
    • 3rd Battalion, 347th Infantry Regiment
    • 361st Infantry Regiment (2 bns)
    • 900th Engineers Battalion
    • 580th Recon Battalion
    • Elements from the 300th "Oasis" Battalion
    • 2nd Battalion,115th Motor Artillery Regiment
    • 2nd Motor Artillery Regiment (Italian)
  • 55th Infantry Division Savona (General Fedele de Giorgis)
    • 15th Infantry Regiment
    • 16th Infantry Regiment
    • "Genova Cavalleria" Machine Gun Battalion
    • 155th Machine Gun Battalion
    • Elements, from the 300th "Oasis" Battalion (German)
    • 12th Artillery Regiment[11]

Italian XXI Corps

Lieutenant-General Enea Navarini

Notes

  1. Farndale, pp. 165–8.
  2. Playfair, p. 158.
  3. Routledge, pp. 130–3, Table XX, p. 141
  4. "Order of Battle at Rats of Tobruk Tribute site". Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  5. Naval Blackshirts crews
  6. Two 75L28 battalions
  7. One 75L28 battalion
  8. One 105L28 battalion
  9. Two motorcycle and one armoured cars companies
  10. Two battalions with 65L17, one battery wiyj 100L17 and one battery with 20L65 light AA/AT)
  11. Two 75L28 and one 100L17 battalions
  12. One 100L17 and two 75L27 battalions
  13. Three 105L28 battalions
  14. One 149L28, one 149L40 and one 152L37 battalions
  15. Four 149L35 battalions
  16. Four 75L28 battalions
  17. One 75L28 and one 100L17 battalions
  18. Two 75L28 and one 100L17 battalions
  19. Two 75L28 battalions
  20. Two 75L28 and one 100L17 battalions

References

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