Battle of Bir Hakeim

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The Battle of Bir Hakeim (Arabic pronunciation: [biʔr ħaˈkiːm] ) took place at Bir Hakeim, an oasis in the Libyan desert southwest of Tobruk, during the Battle of Gazala (26 May – 21 June 1942). The 1st Free French Brigade (Général de brigade Marie-Pierre Kœnig) defended the position from 26 May to 11 June against Axis forces of the Panzerarmee Afrika (Generaloberst Erwin Rommel) that captured Tobruk ten days later. The delay imposed on the Axis offensive by the defence of Bir Hakeim influenced the cancellation of Operation Herkules, the Axis invasion of Malta. Rommel invaded Egypt, slowed by British delaying actions until the First Battle of El Alamein in July, where the Axis advance was stopped. Both sides used the battle for propaganda, Winston Churchill declared the Free French to be the "Fighting French".

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