70 years ago : Bir Hakeim (Pictures)

[Mat_fr]

70 years ago took place the Bir Hakeim battle where Free French troops managed to stop Rommel's troops.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bir_Hakeim

French ECPAD release some nice pictures for the anniversary.
http://www.ecpad.fr/bir-hakheim-ou-l...rancais-libres

Hope you'll enjoy



























































http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/577/00037898.jpg/][/URL]

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/198/d11163.jpg/][/URL]

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/28/d11164.jpg/][/URL]

[TG211]

Awesome history pics ! Thanks !!

Fun off-topic : wow ! They were kicking asses wearing shorts back in the days !!

[Mat_fr]

we STILL kick asses wearing shorts

[Carbean]

Wasn't it mostly 13 DBLE?

[Bidoul33t]

Wasn't it mostly 13 DBLE?

The backbone was the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 13DBLE (roughly a third of the force) but it was a mismatched patchwork of volunteers, colonials units and including some British and Commonwealth troops (the most notorious being the legendary Sir Walter "Tish" Cowan, who was captured in the first days while assaulting an italian tank with a handgun... At 71 years old).

[raoul volfoni]

Can someone please translate Rommel's letter ?

[OABB]

^ it goes like this:


"To the troops of Bir Hakeim,

Further resistance will only lead to unnecessary bloodshed.
You will have the same fate as the two English brigades which were wiped out two days ago at Got Valeb.

We will stop firing as soon as you hoist the white flag and come out to us unarmed.

Rommel"

[mas-36]

Awesome, thanks for posting!! This is one of my favorite battles of WW 2 to read about, but still haven't seen some of the pics above. It was an epic fight for sure......somewhat surprised their hasn't been a movie made of it. I believe it was Rommel himself (or maybe it was Gen. F. von Mellethin?) who made the comment that Bir Hakeim was the toughest defense they'd encountered during the whole war.

[Carbean]

The backbone was the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 13DBLE (roughly a third of the force) but it was a mismatched patchwork of volunteers, colonials units and including some British and Commonwealth troops (the most notorious being the legendary Sir Walter "Tish" Cowan, who was captured in the first days while assaulting an italian tank with a handgun... At 71 years old).

Will have to look into Sir Walter haha.

I read about the battle in a book called Voices of the Legion had accounts going back as far as Indochina in the 1800's.

But there was not realy that much on it.

[JUNKHO]

Nice - great pics. Thank you for the thread.

[shermbodius]

Great stuff. Hourra pour la France!! I hope I did that right.

[ubermensche]

Nice pics man. Thanks for sharing.

[boreal]

The worst thing about Bir Hakeim is that some of the prisoners taken by the germans died in a italian cargo ship, attacked by a british submarine.

[AliceInWonderland]

I remember most the Englishwoman Susan Travers. She was the only woman officially recognized as a legionnaire, and was Koenig's official driver during the battle. Thanks for the link and photos. Tich Cowan was a character!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Cowan

[raoul volfoni]

Thanks for the translation OABB