Battle of Tobruk (1911)

Battle of Tobruk
Part of Italo-Turkish War
Commanders of the Ottoman side
Date 1911 Location Tobruk, Libya Result Ottoman Victory
Belligerents
Italy	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Carlo Caneva	Mustafa Kemal (Later: Atatürk)

Battle of Tobruk (1911) or Nadura Hill Battle was a conflict in the Italo-Turkish War.

Background

Tobruk was a port with strategical importance. Georg August Schweinfurth declared in 1883: "A nation that possesses Tobruk will dominate the eastern Mediterranean Sea." The First Fleet of the Italian naval forces, commanded by Admiral Aubry, approached Tobruk on October 3, 1911 and invaded the city the next day without encountering any serious opposition.

Turkish and Libyan forces were organized by Enver Bey (later Enver Pasha) after trivial clashes on November 9, 1911. The leader of the Libyan-Arabian forces was Sheik Muberra, who was backed by his "Meryem" tribe.

Active stage

2000 Italian soldiers against 200 Turco-Arab volunteers had captured the Nadura Hill in Mureyra Valley and were busy with reinforcements and digging trenches.

Captain Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) was then in command of Tobruk region and foresaw the jeopardizing consolidation of Italian forces. He ordered Sheik Muberra to attack as soon as possible to overcome the further reinforcement of the Italians on the strategic Nadura Hill. Under approval of Ethem Pasha, 12 Turkish soldiers, Lieutenant Necip Efendi and 120 Libyan volunteers were ordered to capture the hill, defended by 200 Italian soldiers. The Turco-Arabian forces approached Nadura Hill just before dawn and besieged the hill, followed by heavy fire and an all-out attack. Italian soldiers were surprised and responded in a disorganized fashion without the surveillance of cannon fire. Italian positions were captured in two hours and the Italian Bersaglieri escaped to Tobruk while leaving 3 machine guns among other munitions.

Meanwhile, Turco-Arabian soldiers began the destruction of Italian reinforcements, backing Italian forces near the hill and attacking. Sheik Muberra was shot and killed along with 10 Libyan volunteers. After five hours of fighting, the Italian attack was repulsed and forced to retreat to Tobruk.

Aftermath

Casualties among the Italian soldiers were approximately 200, along with the equipment, rifles and ammunition abandoned by the Bersaglieri. This was an important step for hindering the Italian advance into Tobruk in December 1911. However, the Italians later re-invaded these strategical sites with superior forces in 1912.