Fort Capuzzo(Ridotta Capuzzo) was a fort in the colony of Italian Libya, near the Libyan-Egyptian border, next to the Italian Frontier Wire. The Litoranea Balbo(Via Balbia) ran south from Bardia to Fort Capuzzo, 13 km (8 mi) inland, west of Sollum, then east across the Egyptian frontier to the port, over the coastal escarpment. The fort was built during Italian colonial repression of Senussi resistance in the Second Italo-Senussi War (1923–1931), as part of a barrier on the Libya-Egypt and Libya-Sudan borders.
Halfaya Pass, Arabic: مَمَرّ حَلْفَيَا translit. Mamarr Ħalfayā, is in northwest Egypt, 11.5 kilometres east of the border with Libya and 7.5 kilometres south of the other, more major pass in the ridge today. A 600 feet (180 m) high, narrow escarpment extends south then southeastwards for a total of 55 kilometres (34 mi) from a short distance east of the border. It hems in east-facing small harbour town of as-Salum, continuing as an east-facing sea cliff further north. Land to the east is lower than that to the west and the east side has steep slopes.
The Western Desert campaign, took place in the deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main theatre in the North African campaign of the Second World War. Military operations began in June 1940 with the Italian declaration of war and the Italian invasion of Egypt from Libya in September. Operation Compass, a British five-day raid in December 1940, led to the destruction of the Italian 10th Army. Benito Mussolini sought help from Adolf Hitler, who sent a small German force to Tripoli under Directive 22. The Afrika Korps was formally under Italian command as Italy was the main Axis power in the Mediterranean and North Africa.
Operation Brevity was a limited offensive conducted in mid-May 1941, during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. Conceived by the commander-in-chief of the British Middle East Command, General Archibald Wavell, Brevity was intended to be a rapid blow against weak Axis front-line forces in the Sollum–Capuzzo–Bardia area of the border between Egypt and Libya. Although the operation got off to a promising start, throwing the Axis high command into confusion, most of its early gains were lost to local counter-attacks, and with German reinforcements being rushed to the front the operation was called off after one day.
The Kranji War Memorial is located at 9 Woodlands Road, in Kranji in northern Singapore. Dedicated to the men and women from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka, India, Malaya, the Netherlands and New Zealand who died defending Singapore and Malaya against the invading Japanese forces during World War II, it comprises the War Graves, the Memorial Walls, the State Cemetery, and the Military Graves.
Sallum, El Salloum, As Sallum or Sollum is a harbourside village or town in Egypt. It is along the Egypt/Libyan brief east coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the northwest corner of Egypt. It is, geodesically, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) east of the border with Libya, and 128 km (80 mi) from the notable port of Tobruk, Libya.
The Senussi campaign took place in North Africa from November 1915 to February 1917, during the First World War. The campaign was fought by the Kingdom of Italy and the British Empire against the Senussi, a religious order in Libya and Egypt. The Senussi were courted by the Ottoman Empire and the German Empire. In the summer of 1915, the Ottomans persuaded the Grand Senussi Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi to declare jihad, attack British-occupied Egypt from the west and to encourage insurrection in Egypt, to divert British forces from an Ottoman Raid on the Suez Canal from Palestine.
Operation Skorpion from 26 to 27 May 1941, was a military operation during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The operation was conducted by Axis forces under the command of Colonel Maximilian von Herff and British forces under Lieutenant-General William "Strafer" Gott. A counter-attack was made on British positions at Halfaya Pass in north-western Egypt, which had been captured during Operation Brevity (15–16 May).Unternehmen Skorpion was the second offensive operation commanded by Rommel in Africa.
The Italian invasion of Egypt was an offensive in the Second World War, against British, Commonwealth and Free French forces in the Kingdom of Egypt. The invasion by the Italian 10th Army ended border skirmishing on the frontier and began the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) proper. The Italian strategy was to advance from Libya along the Egyptian coast to seize the Suez Canal. After numerous delays, the scope of the offensive was reduced to an advance as far as Sidi Barrani and the engagement of any British forces in the area.
Derek Harland Ward, was a New Zealand flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was credited with six confirmed victories and one probable.
The Battle of Sidi Barrani(10–11 December 1940) was the opening battle of Operation Compass, the first big British attack of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. Sidi Barrani, on the Mediterranean coast in Egypt, had been occupied by the Italian 10th Army, during the Italian invasion of Egypt (9–16 September 1940) and was attacked by British, Commonwealth and imperial troops, who re-captured the port.
Warlencourt British Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for military personnel who died on the Western Front during the First World War. It is located in the Pas de Calais region of France. Established in 1919 to consolidate several smaller cemeteries, it was designed by Sir Edward Lutyens and is administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. There are 3,450 soldiers interred, over which 1,823 are unidentified. There are also memorials to 55 soldiers whose graves are unknown. The majority of the soldiers who have been identified are British, with smaller numbers of Australians, South Africans, New Zealanders, and Canadians.
AIF Burial Ground is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located near Flers on the Somme in France.
Bancourt British Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located in the Pas de Calais region of France, on the Western Front.
Abbeville Communal Cemetery Extension is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War and Second World War located near Abbeville, in the Somme region of France. It is adjacent to the Abbeville Communal Cemetery.
Abbeville Communal Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War and Second World War located near Abbeville, in the Somme department of France. It is adjacent to the Abbeville Communal Cemetery Extension.
Foncquevillers Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for military personnel who died on the Western Front during the First World War. It is located in the Pas de Calais region of France. Originally established in 1915 by the French military for its soldiers, it was later used for British personnel. Designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, there are 648 soldiers of the First World War interred in the cemetery with 53 of them unidentified. Another four graves are for German soldiers of the First World War, while five Canadian airmen who died in the Second World War and a French civilian are also buried in the cemetery.
Couin New British Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for military personnel who died on the Western Front during the First World War. It is located in the Pas de Calais region of France. Established in 1917, it was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and is administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. There are 363 soldiers of the First World War interred in the cemetery, including two from Germany.
Dantzig Alley British Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War. It is located near the village of Mametz, eight kilometres from Albert in the Somme department of France.
Group Captain Edward Preston Wells was a New Zealand flying ace of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during the Second World War. He was credited with the destruction of twelve enemy aircraft.
