Tobruk

In the early days of April 1941, the 14,000 Australian forces garrisoned in the Libyan town of Tobruk were told to expect reinforcements and supplies within eight weeks... Eight months later these heroic, gallant, determined 'Rats of Tobruk' were rescued by the British Navy having held the fort against the might of Rommel's never-before defeated Afrika Corps. Like Gallipoli and Kokoda, the siege of Tobruk is an iconic battle in Australia's military history. Under ceaseless attack from Rommel's men, the Australian defence held strong.

Peter FitzSimons is a journalist with the Sydney Morning Herald and Sun-Herald. He is the author of over twenty-seven books - including biographies of Charles Kingsford Smith, Nancy Wake, Kim Beazley, Nene King, Nick Farr-Jones, Steve Waugh and John Eales - and is one of Australia's biggest selling non-fiction authors of the last fifteen years.