Something of a quasi-sequel to 1951’s Erwin Rommel biopic ‘The Desert Fox’, The Desert Rats honours the 9th Australian Division’s role during Tobruk. It wasn’t long after the siege’s end that director Robert Wise sought to recreate these events on the big screen. This prompts some of the soldiers to get captured by the British on purpose, as they would rather languish in prison than die in the desert.Īs the kind of underdog tale Hollywood loves, it’s perhaps no surprise that The Desert Rats was swiftly put into production. However, they quickly drive off and leave their men to the barren wasteland. We see the Italian Generals towards the end, who instruct the bedraggled soldiers to keep fighting. However, the German-Italian forces couldn’t gain a foothold on the city, and eventually fell back, abruptly ending the siege.Īfter suffering a barrage of attacks by the British, the Italians are ordered to fall back into the desert on foot. While the Allied troops possessed a handful of tanks and armoured cars, they were grossly outmatched by the sheer might of the Axis. The soldiers lived in dug-outs and caves, awaiting the next armed attack by a force that far outnumbered-them. During the day, they braved the desert’s blistering heat and vicious dust storms.
Tobruk, while relatively small in size, became a monumental battlefield in 1941.įor eight gruelling months, the Allies – consisting of the 9th Australian Division and the British 7th Armoured Division – withstood artillery barrages and tank attacks. An unlikely victory makes for a movie-ready story
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