[Image] 25 Pounder at the Australian War Memorial

August, 2008. Australian War Memorial

The 25 Pounder Heavy Field Gun.

A British 25 Pounder Heavy Artillery piece is as returned from service with the 9th Division in the Western Desert Campaign. This actual gun was used during the Battle of El Alamein in the attack that stopped Rommel's final drive across North Africa and is on public display at the Australian War Memorial at Canberra, Australia.

It sits on a heavy steel base plate that acts as a means with which to anchor and turn the gun on uneven ground, like the sand or rock of the Western Desert. It fires the standard commonwealth High Explosive charge but was also capable of firing Armour Piercing, Chemical, Smoke and Flare rounds. This gun is said by many to be the best artillery piece of the Second World War, though there are just as many supporters of the German 88mm.

The 25 Pounder was the standard artillery piece of both the Royal Australian Artillery as well as the Royal Horse Artillery, the British Artillery Regiment, that aided the Australian Infantry with the defence of Tobruk during the siege by the Afrika Korps in 1941.

Several of these guns, along with countless crates of ammunition, were captured by the Germans at Mersa Matruh in Rommel's rapid advance towards Alexandria in 1942. These same guns were turned upon the 2/48th Infantry Battalion during the Battle of El Alamein with devastating effect. The 2/48th retook the guns within a short period of time and again set them upon the fleeing Germans.

All accounts from Tobruk that I have read all say that without the support of the Royal Horse Artillery the Siege of Tobruk would have been over very quickly. Tobruk was the perfect example of Australian Infantry and British Cavalry and Artillery working as one cohesive unit.

image courtesy of Robert Snewin. Used with permission.

This post is a direct reponse to the question asked by Douglas Chan who wanted to know what were the Royal Horse Artillery guns used during the Siege of Tobruk. I hope this helps Douglas. Good luck with your project!

[Image] Anzac Day 2008, Tobruk, Libya.

April 25th, 2008, Tobruk, Libya.

An impromptu dawn service at Tobruk.

On a cold, windy Libyan April morning a small group of expat Australians and a few English gather at the Australian Memorial at the Tobruk War Cemetery. With no official consular representation or organised service these dedicated few gathered together to say a few words in memorial to the Rats of Tobruk that never came home to taste the glory of a proud nation.

I find it extremely sad that there was no official Australian Government representative at Tobruk on Anzac Day. It seems that it is up to a few of us to remind the world of the extreme sacrifice undertaken by them on our behalf.

It is my sincere hope to be there at Tobruk on Anzac Day, 2011 for the 70th Anniversary memorial. If the Australian government wont see fit to appropriately honour these men then I will do it myself, by any means possible.

image news.ninemsn.com.au

[Memorial] Australian War Memorial, Tobruk

Sunset.

16th October, 1941. Tobruk, Libya.

The unveiling of the Australian War Memorial.

This photograph was taken at the official ceremony to commemorate the unveiling of the tablet on the Australian War Memorial at the Tobruk War Cemetery. The memorial, built entirely by sappers of the Royal Australian Engineers, included a marble tablet inlaid at the base of the memorial.

The inscription reads;

"Here is hallowed ground, for here lie those that died for their country".

Major General Leslie Morshead officiated the official dedication of the war memorial to honour the Australian fallen of the Tobruk campaign. It would be some years before Maj. Gen. Morshead was to return to this site but return he did to honour his Rats of Tobruk.

image 020988 Australian War Memorial.

[Memorial] Alamein 9th Division Memorial

22nd December, 2006. El Alamein, Egypt.

The 9th Division Memorial.

This is a modern photo of the 9th Division Memorial at Alamein. The site of the major battle's of 1942 has now been built upon, as evidenced by the buildings in the background. A 5 star hotel now stands on the site of the 2/17th's front line positions during the 2nd Battle of Alamein.

image by Acad Ronin from Wikipedia Commons. Click on the image for a high resolution shot.