March 31, 1941. North Africa
At 07:45, the Afrika Korps launches the next stage of its offensive, sending 50 tanks and taking part in the defences at Mersa Brega. The Afrika Korps takes Ajdabiya. The British lose numerous armoured cars and light tanks. This attack is into the “Mersa El Brega Gap,” an area between the coast and desert where the flat ground makes it good tank country.
The British 2nd Armoured Division of XIII Corps is poorly sited in the area and its units are quickly overrun or sent packing. The attack features the 5th Light Division, the 5th Panzer Regiment, and two Italian divisions, Ariete and Brescia. Ariete Division sends its reinforced 12th Bersaglieri battalion into the heights north of Mersa Brega. The British counterattack but are beaten off, and the Italian air force attacks the British around Agedabia and Mersa Brega.
This attack is an unusual example of how British top-secret Ultra intelligence can work against them. The British have been decoding messages from Berlin which effectively have ordered Lieutenant General Rommel not to attack until he has all of his projected forces assembled. This is not supposed to be the case until May. However, Rommel has decided on his own initiative to attack, confounding the British, who expected him to wait.
Rommel has other good news: elements of the 15th Panzer Division begin to arrive in Tripoli.
Photo: Afrika Korps panzers and scout vehicles on the road to Mersa Brega, 31 March 1941. Nice, flat, unobstructed roads without many bridges and little air defence make these areas perfect for tank advances.
Source: worldwartwodaily