Tobruk fell to the imperial forces invading Libya. Darna surrendered (Jan. 24); Benghazi, capital of Cyrenaica, was entered (Feb. 7); and advance units reached El Argheila (Feb. 8). In a campaign of two months the imperial divisions, commanded by Gen. Sir Archibald Wavell, had captured over 114,000 prisoners at a cost of 3,000 casualties.
Neguelli in southern Ethiopia was occupied by the British and Ethiopian forces, and the capital, Addis Ababa, capitulated (April 6). Italian resistance in Eritrea collapsed by June, and before the end of 1941 all of Italian East Africa was under British control.
The Italians, reinforced by German divisions trained for desert fighting, and brilliantly commanded by Gen. Erwin Rommel, opened an attack against the imperial outposts in Libya. Weakened by the dispatch of 60,000 troops to Greece, the British were forced to abandon their recent conquests in a costly retreat.
Tobruk was encircled, but the imperial garrison held out with naval support. The drive of Axis mechanized divisions stopped at the Egyptian frontier (May 29). Through the summer the British prepared for a counteroffensive.
Trial of retired chief of staff Aziz Ali al-Masri and several other Egyptian officers for attempting to reach Axis lines in western Egypt and defect to the enemy.
German-Turkish nonaggression pact, signed partly to foil Soviet ambitions on Turkish territory. Another compelling motive was the close proximity of German troops, who had recently occupied Greece. For the Turks, one of the benefits of the treaty was a lucrative wartime trade with the Germans, particularly in the export of chrome.
