A "Rat" of Tobruk leaves flowers at the memorial in Canberra.(ABC News: Ian Cutmore)In hostile conditions, beset by sandstorms, heat, flies and lice, the Australians dug in.

Mr Pritchard was the last known survivor of the 14,000 Australian troops who defied the Nazi-led war machine for 242 bloody days during the siege of Tobruk in 1941.

The last Rat of Tobruk, Tom Pritchard, left and top right, who died aged 102 on the weekend. Bottom right: Pritchard, left, and best mate Alf Jackson at Tobruk House in Melbourne in 2019.

Archive List > Siege of Tobruk 1941. Archive List > World > North Africa. ... The vital port of Tobruk was deemed to be too valuable to loose and it was defended by the 1st Australian Division.

AFTER JIM HENDERSON left the battlefields of Tobruk following 242 days under siege from German and Italian forces, it was the smell of a forgotten luxury, freshly baked bread, that brought home ...

Veterans of the World War Two Siege of Tobruk have been honoured with a service in Canberra to mark the 70th anniversary. In 1941 Australian soldiers played a key role in defending the Libyan ...

April 10 marks the 83rd anniversary of the siege of Tobruk, a lonely Libyan port town which, in 1941, Australian troops defended from a much larger German–Italian army commanded by “Desert Fox ...

The siege of Tobruk started on April 10, 1941. The Australian Rats were commanded by Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead, a Gallipoli veteran also known as “Ming the Merciless”.

In April, 1941, along with some British and Indian troops, about 14,000 Australian soldiers became besieged in the Libyan town of Tobruk, surrounded by Italian and German forces desperate to win ...

Australian newsreel, telling of the besieged Australian forces in Tobruk. Coverage shows dawn patrols, wrecks in Tobruk Harbour, tank patrols, anti-aircraft action against German planes, gun ...

As Australia prepares to mark 75 years since the end of WWII, Warren Brown looks at the war, its importance and its grim legacy. TODAY: PART FOUR. Subscribe for $4. Sign In. Read Today's Paper; ...

Australian helmer Phillip Noyce is prepping Rats of Tobruk, ... of the garrison who held the Libyan port against a German-Italian army commanded by Gen.Erwin Rommel during the 1941 Siege of Tobruk.