Timimi التميمي At Timimi | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 | |
  Timimi Location in Libya | |
| Coordinates: 32°20′N23°03′E / 32.333°N 23.050°E | |
| Country |  Libya |
| District | Derna |
| Population (2006) [1] | |
• Total | 4,667 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
Timimi, At Timimi (Arabic : التميمي) or Tmimi, is a small village in northeastern Libya about 75 km east of Derna and 100 km west of Tobruk. It is on the eastern shores of the Libyan coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.
Due to its underground water being salty, Timimi was always a place of little importance, and its population in 2006 was 4,667. However, its situation improved after the Charruba–Timimi Road was paved between 1975 and 1985; it is now at the crossroads of the Charruba–Timimi Road and the Derna-Tobruk road.
The Greek historian Herodotus said that Cyrene was founded in the mid-7th century BC by a group of Greek immigrants from Thera. These settlers under Battus first landed along the Gulf of Bomba (now the Gulf of Timimi) and stayed there for years before moving to Cyrene. [2] [3]
The settlement at Timimi was known in antiquity as Paliurus (Ancient Greek : Παλίουρος, Palíouros) after its nearby river, in turn named after the plants growing within its marshes. Near the village there was a temple to Heracles. [4]
Its name was changed following its conquest by the early Muslim Caliphate in AD 642. [5]
During World War II's African campaign, German general Erwin Rommel and his troops reached Timimi on 3 February 1942, stopping there until 26 May 1942, when Rommel began the Battle of Gazala, [6] which is considered the greatest victory of Rommel's career. [7]
Cyrenaica or Kyrenaika, is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, was part of the Roman province of Crete and Cyrenaica, later divided into Libya Pentapolis and Libya Sicca. During the Islamic period, the area came to be known as Barqa, after the city of Barca.
Operation Sonnenblume was the name given to the dispatch of German and Italian troops to North Africa in February 1941, during the Second World War. The Italian 10th Army had been destroyed by the British, Commonwealth, Empire and Allied Western Desert Force attacks during Operation Compass (9 December 1940 – 9 February 1941). The first units of the new Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK), commanded by Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel, departed Naples for Africa and arrived on 11 February 1941. On 14 February, advanced units of the 5th Light Afrika Division, Aufklärungsbataillon 3 and Panzerjägerabteilung 39 arrived at the Libyan port of Tripoli and were sent immediately to the front line east of Sirte.
Tobruk or Tobruck is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000.
The siege of Tobruk took place between 10 April and 27 November 1941, during the Western Desert campaign (1940–1943) of the Second World War. An Allied force, consisting mostly of the 9th Australian Division, commanded by Lieutenant-General Leslie Morshead, was besieged in the North African port of Tobruk by German and Italian forces. The tenacious defenders quickly became known as the Rats of Tobruk. After 231 days, they were finally relieved by the British Eighth Army.
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 five-day raid by the British in December 1940, was so successful that it led to the destruction of the Italian 10th Army over the following two months. 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.
The Battle of Gazala, also the Gazala Offensive was fought near the village of Gazala during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of the Panzerarmee Afrika consisting of German and Italian units fought the British Eighth Army composed mainly of British Commonwealth, Indian and Free French troops.
This is a timeline of the North African campaign of World War II.
Gazala, or ʿAyn al-Ġazāla, is a small Libyan village near the coast in the northeastern portion of the country. It is located 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Tobruk.
The 27th Infantry Division "Brescia" was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Brescia was named after the city of Brescia in Lombardy. The Brescia was classified as an auto-transportable division, meaning it had some motorized transport, but not enough to move the entire division at once.
The 17th Infantry Division "Pavia" was an infantry division of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Pavia was formed in on 27 April 1939 and named after the city of Pavia. The Pavia was classified as an auto-transportable division, meaning it had some motorized transport, but not enough to move the entire division at once. The Pavia had its recruiting area and regimental depots in the Romagna and its headquarters in Ravenna. Its two infantry regiments were based in Cesena (27th) and Ravenna (28th), with the division's artillery regiment based in Ravenna. Shortly after its formation the division was sent to Sabratha in Italian Libya. It participated in the Western Desert campaign and was destroyed during the Second Battle of El Alamein.
Zawiat at-Taban, or Taban ; also An-Nayan or Wadi Sammalus, is a checkpoint in the District of Jabal al Akhdar in north-eastern Libya. It is located on the cross-roads between the Charruba–Mechili–Timimi desert road and the Marawa–Wadi Sammalus.
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 Libyan Coastal Highway, formerly the Litoranea Balbo, is a highway that is the only major road that runs along the entire east-west length of the Libyan Mediterranean coastline. It is a section in the Cairo–Dakar Highway #1 in the Trans-African Highway system of the African Union, Arab Maghreb Union and others.
Mechili is a small village in Cyrenaica, Libya and the site of a former Turkish fort. It is nearly 274 km (170 mi) east of Benghazi and 80 km (50 mi) west of Timimi.
Ras al-Helal is a village on the southern shore of the Mediterranean Sea in Derna District, Cyrenaica, Libya. It takes its name from its cape, which appears to have a crescent shape when viewed from the surrounding Jebel Akhdar mountainous plateau's foothills. It had a population totaling 2,235 in 2006. Ras al-Helal is known for its green, forested beach and its nearby waterfalls.
Bomba is a village in eastern Libya on the Gulf of Bomba. It is located 61 km (38 mi) south of Derna.
Tacnis, also Taknis, or Tècnis, is a small town in Jebel Akhdar region in northeastern Cyrenaica, Libya. It is located 127 km (79 mi) east of Benghazi. It is on the inner road between Marj and Lamluda. There is a minor road connecting the town to the north with Libyan Coastal Highway. There is also an indirect road connecting it with Charruba to the south.
Darnah Province was one of the provinces of Libya under Italian rule. It was established in 1937 with the official name: "Commissariato Generale Provinciale di Derna". Derna province was called only "Darnah District" after World War II.
Maturba is a town in eastern Libya in the Derna District. It is located at 32.575739n, 22.761505e, 27 km (17 mi) south of Derna and 557 miles from Tripoli and the city's population is 8,130.
Kambut, sometimes is known as Gambut, is a village in eastern Libya, some 50 km (31 mi) east of Tobruk. It is a site of an old military airfield in World War II.
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