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Operation Crusader

Operation Crusader (18 November – 30 December 1941) was a military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War by the British Eighth Army (with Commonwealth, Indian and Allied contingents) against the Axis forces (German and Italian) in North Africa commanded by Generalleutnant (Lieutenant-General) Erwin Rommel. The operation was intended to bypass Axis defences on the Egyptian–Libyan frontier, defeat the Axis armoured forces near Tobruk, raise the Siege of Tobruk and re-occupy Cyrenaica.

On 18 November 1941, the Eighth Army began a surprise attack. From 18 to 22 November, the dispersal of British armoured units led to them suffering 530 tank losses and inflicting Axis losses of about 100 tanks. On 23 November, the 5th South African Brigade was destroyed at Sidi Rezegh but caused many German tank losses. On 24 November Rommel ordered the "dash to the wire" and caused chaos in the British rear but allowed the British armoured forces to recover. On 27 November, the New Zealanders reached the Tobruk garrison and ended the siege.

Lack of supplies forced Rommel to shorten his lines of communication and on 7 December 1941, the Axis forces withdrew to the Gazala position and on 15 December began a withdrawal to El Agheila. The 2nd South African Division captured Bardia on 2 January 1942, Sollum on 12 January and the fortified Halfaya position on 17 January, taking about 13,800 prisoners. On 21 January 1942, Rommel surprised the Eighth Army and drove it back to Gazala where both sides regrouped. The Battle of Gazala began at the end of May 1942.

Intelligence
Nachrichten Fernaufklärungs Kompanie (FAK 621 [Signals Unit 621]) provided Rommel with tactical intelligence of high quality from August 1941 to January 1942. The German organisation benefited greatly from British incompetence in the use of tactical codes, R/T signalling in clear and an ineffective call-sign procedure from brigade to battalion at the front. FAK 621 read much of the War Office high-grade hand cypher, which the wireless traffic from the Eighth Army HQ down to divisional HQs used. Until January, when the British improved their recyphering, the Germans obtained as much information on the British order of battle as the Government Code and Cypher School (GC & CS) Ultra decrypts revealed of the Axis equivalents. In October 1941, British Army Enigma decrypts had contained German data about increased British tank strengths. The German information was so accurate that the War Office became seriously worried about signals security but only July 1942, when the British captured FAK 621, did they learn the extent of German eavesdropping.

Axis supply
A German motorised division needed 350 LT per day, and moving the supplies 300 mi took 1,170 2 LT lorries. With seven Axis divisions, as well as air and naval units, 70000 LT of supplies per month were needed. The Vichy French agreed to the use of Bizerta, but no supplies reached the port until late 1942. From February to May 1941, a surplus of 45000 LT was delivered. Attacks from Malta had some effect but in May, the worst month for ship losses, 91 per cent of supplies arrived. Lack of transport in Libya left German supplies in Tripoli and the Italians had only 7,000 lorries to transport supplies to 225,000 men. A record amount of supplies arrived in June but at the front, shortages worsened.

There were fewer Axis attacks on Malta from June and the British increased the proportion of ships sunk from 19 per cent in July to 25 per cent in September, when Benghazi was bombed and ships diverted to Tripoli, air supply in October making little difference. Deliveries averaged 72000 LT per month from July to October, but the consumption of 30 to 50 per cent of fuel deliveries by road transport and 35 per cent of supply lorries unserviceable reduced deliveries to the front. In November, during Operation Crusader, a five-ship convoy was sunk and air attacks on road convoys prevented daylight journeys. Lack of deliveries and the Eighth Army offensive forced a retreat to El Agheila from 4 December, crowding the Via Balbia, where British ambushes destroyed about half of the remaining Axis transport.

Convoys to Tripoli resumed and ship losses increased but by 16 December, the supply situation had eased except for the fuel shortage. In December, the Luftwaffe was restricted to one sortie per day. The Vichy French sold 3600 LT of fuel, U-boats were ordered into the Mediterranean and air reinforcements sent from the Soviet Union in December. The Regia Marina used warships to carry fuel to Derna and Benghazi and made a maximum effort from 16 to 17 December. Four battleships, three light cruisers and 20 destroyers escorted four ships to Libya. The use of an armada for 20000 LT of cargo ships depleted the navy's fuel reserve and allowed only one more battleship convoy. Bizerta, Tunisia, was canvassed as an entrepôt, but it was in range of RAF aircraft from Malta and was another 500 mi west of Tripoli.

Siege of Tobruk
The great importance of Tobruk as an entrepôt for supplies and the denial of it to an opponent led to Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) and Comando Supremo making frequent demands for its capture and Winston Churchill and the British War Cabinet demanding that General Archibald Wavell prevent its loss. The garrison, mainly the 9th Australian Division, had defeated an Axis attack in May 1941 and the siege had settled into an active defence by the Australians, who patrolled most nights, reconnoitring, attacking and ambushing, gaining mastery over no man's land. Larger sorties needed reinforcements from Egypt which were not available but the 20th Australian Infantry Brigade improved the Australian position at the Ras el Medauar salient and the 24th Australian Infantry Brigade made an abortive attack on the shoulders of the salient, the garrison then returning to active defence.

Eighth Army plan
The Afrika Korps was to be defeated by the 7th Armoured Division as the South African Division covered its left flank. XIII Corps and the 4th Armoured Brigade (detached from the 7th Armoured Division), would make a clockwise flanking advance west of Sidi Omar. To threaten the rear of the Axis defences east from Sidi Omar to the coast at Halfaya. After the destruction of the Axis armour by the 7th Armoured Division, XIII Corps was to advance north to Bardia.

XXX Corps was to continue north-west to Tobruk to meet a breakout by the 70th Infantry Division. There was also a deception plan to persuade the Axis that the main Allied attack would not be ready until early December and be a sweeping outflanking move through Jarabub, an oasis on the edge of the Great Sand Sea, more than 150 mi to the south of the real point of attack. That proved so successful that Rommel, refusing to believe that an attack was imminent, was not in Africa when it came.

18 November
Before dawn on 18 November, the Eighth Army advanced westwards from Mersa Matruh, crossed the Libyan border near Fort Maddalena, about 50 mi south of Sidi Omar, then turned the north-west. Storms on the night before the offensive grounded the aircraft of both sides. The 7th Armoured Brigade of the 7th Armoured Division advanced north-west towards Tobruk with the 22nd Armoured Brigade to the west. XIII Corps, with the 2nd New Zealand Division, advanced with the 4th Armoured Brigade on its left and the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade, 4th Indian Division on its right at Sidi Omar.

Action at Bir el Gubi
On 19 November, the 22nd Armoured Brigade attacked the Ariete Division at Bir el Gubi but withdrew after 25 of its new Crusader tanks were knocked out for an Italian loss of 34 tanks. The 7th Armoured Brigade and the Support Group advanced to the airfield at Sidi Rezegh, captured 19 aircraft and menaced the rear of Division z.b.V. Afrika. After the failure of a counter-attack by Division z.b.V. Afrika and the "Bologna" Division the division dug in facing south. A battlegoup of the he 21st Panzer Division moved to Gabr Saleh and knocked out 23 Stuart tanks of the 4th Armoured Brigade for a loss of three by nightfall. By attaching the 4th Armoured Brigade to XIII Corps, allowing the 22nd Armoured Brigade to be bogged down against the "Ariete" Division and letting the 7th Armoured Brigade advance towards Tobruk, Cunningham had dispersed the British tanks before they met the main Axis armoured force.

On 20 November, the 15th Panzer Division was ordered to Sidi Aziz and thence towards Capuzzo, the 21st Panzer Division was to move north of the Trigh el Abd on Sidi Omar. Nothing but British reconnaissance units were found and then the 21st Panzer Division was stranded, short of fuel and ammunition. Crüwell found that British tanks were moving west along the Trigh el Abd. During the afternoon, the 15th Panzer Division attacked the 4th Armoured Brigade near Gabr Saleh and inflicted another ten tank casualties, reducing it to less than two-thirds its establishment of 164 tanks and forcing the brigade to another retirement. The 22nd Armoured Brigade had been ordered to disengage from the "Ariete" Division and to move east in support of the 4th Armoured Brigade. The 1st South African Division was to take over against the "Ariete" Division and the 4th Armoured Brigade was released from its role as flank guard for XIII Corps. The 22nd Armoured Brigade arrived too late to support the 4th Armoured Brigade. During the night of 20/21 November, Rommel ordered the German tanks north-west for an attack on Sidi Rezegh.

Tobruk
The 70th Infantry Division was to break out from Tobruk on 21 November and cut off the Germans to the south-east. The night before, the garrison gapped the wire, planted and marked minefields and put four bridges over the anti-tank ditch. Infantry On the evening of 20 November the 14th Infantry Brigade (2nd Battalion Black Watch, 2nd Queen's), the 16th Infantry Brigade (2nd King's Own) the 32nd Army Tank Brigade (1/4th RTR, 7th RTR), the 1st, 104th and 107th regiments RHA and 144th Field Regiment RA, with detachments of the 2nd and 54th Field Companies RE and several armoured cars (to lift mines each carrying a sapper) moved up.

The Polish Carpathian Brigade was to mount a diversion just before dawn against the "Pavia" Division. The "Bologna", "Brescia" and "Pavia" divisions on the Tobruk perimeter were to receive 40,000 rounds from 100 guns. The 7th Armoured Brigade and the 7th Support Group was to advance from Sidi Rezegh and capture part of the ridge above the Trigh Capuzzo, then the 6th RTR was to advance and join the breakthrough force at El Duda. The 7th Support Group consisted of 1st Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (1st KRRC), 2nd Battalion, The Rifle Brigade, 3rd Field Regiment RA (anti-tank), 60th Field Regiment RA and a battery of the 51st Field Regiment RA. The Tobruk breakout force attacked with the 2nd King's Own on the right flank, the 2nd Black Watch in the centre and the 2nd King's Own on the left flank, to capture strongpoints leading to Ed Duda. The Italians were stunned by the massive fire and a company of the "Pavia" Division was overrun in the dark but the "Bologna" Division recovered. By mid-afternoon, the break-out force had advanced some 3.5 mi toward Ed Duda on the main supply road when they paused, as it became clear that the 7th Armoured Division would not link up.

The central attack by the Black Watch involved a charge under massed machine-gun fire against strongpoints until it reached strongpoint Tiger. The Black Watch lost an estimated 200 men and its commanding officer. The British pressed on but the attack petered out since the infantry could not capture the "Bologna" Division defences around the Tugun strongpoint.

On 21 November, there was a costly action by parts of the German 155th Rifle Regiment, Artillery Group Bottcher, Panzer Regiment 5 and the 4th, 7th and 22nd Armoured Brigades for possession of Sidi Rezegh and the high ground held by the "Bologna" Division. On 22 November, Scobie ordered the position to be consolidated and the corridor widened in the hope that the Eighth Army would link up. The 2nd York and Lancaster Regiment with tank support took strongpoint Tiger and left a 7000 yd gap between the corridor and Ed Duda, but attacks on the Tugun and Dalby Square strongpoints failed. The defenders of strongpoint Tugun reduced the strength in one attacking British company to 33 all ranks.

Sidi Rezegh
On 23 November, the 70th Infantry Division in Tobruk attacked the 25th "Bologna" Infantry Division to reach Sidi Rezegh. Parts of the "Pavia" Division arrived and contained the attack. (On 26 November, the British attacked Ed Duda ridge and early on 27 November linked up with a small force of New Zealanders.) The 7th Armoured Division had planned its attack northwards to Tobruk to start at 8:30 a.m. on 21 November but at 7:45 a.m., patrols reported tanks to the south-east. The 7th Hussars and 2nd RTR faced the tanks and four infantry companies with the guns of the Support Group attacked to the north, expecting reinforcements from the 5th South African Infantry Brigade. The South Africans had been detached from the 1st South African Division at Bir el Gubi, which faced the "Ariete" Division and was en route.

The Support Group attack failed and by nightfall the 7th Armoured Brigade had been joined by the Support Group and the remnants of the 6th RTR to hold on, the tanks down to 28 runners. The South African brigade was dug in south-east of Bir el Haiad but the panzers were between them and Sidi Rezegh. By dusk on 21 November, the 4th Armoured Brigade was 8 mi south-east of Sidi Rezegh and the 22nd Armoured Brigade was in contact with German tanks at Bir el Haiad, 12 mi south-west of Sidi Rezegh. From the north, the 70th Infantry Division was opposed by German and Italian troops facing north and west. Another Axis force faced south. Part of the 7th Support Group was north of the airfield at Sidi Rezegh and the rest with the 7th Armoured Brigade faced south against most of the DAK advancing north, which was being pursued by the 4th and 22nd Armoured brigades from the south. Rommel divided his forces again, the 21st Panzer Division went on the defensive with the "Afrika" Division between Sidi Rezegh and Tobruk, while the 15th Panzer Division moved 15 mi east to Gambut, ready for a battle of manoeuvre, which General Ludwig Crüwell believed would favour the Afrika Korps; the 21st Panzer Division was ordered to Belhamed.

On 22 November, with the 7th Armoured Division down to 209 tanks, Norrie decided to wait. In the early afternoon, the 21st Panzer Division attacked Sidi Rezegh and captured the airfield. Despite having fewer tanks, German all-arms tactics knocked out fifty tanks (mainly from the 22nd Armoured Brigade) and pushed the 7th Armoured Division back. The fighting at Sidi Rezegh continued until 22 November, with the 5th South African Brigade fighting to the south of the airfield attacking northwards, which was a failure. The 7th Armoured Brigade withdrew, with only four of its 150 tanks remaining operational. In four days, the Eighth Army had lost 530 tanks against about 100 Axis losses.{{efn|The most memorable action during the North African Campaign of the 3rd Field Regiment, Transvaal Horse Artillery, was during the Battle of Sidi Rezegh. On 23 November 1941 it was surrounded by German armour and artillery and subjected to a continuous barrage. They tried to take cover in shallow slit trenches but in many places, the South Africans could dig in only around {{cvt|9|in}} because of the solid limestone under their positions.{{sfn|Matthews|1997}} The Transvaal Horse Artillery engaged tanks from the 15th Panzer Division and the 21st Panzer Division, the gunners firing over open sights as they were overrun. Many of the gun crews were captured and as darkness fell, those who could escape made their way to Allied lines.{{sfn|Glass|2009}}} The gunners managed to save five of their 24 guns and later recovered seven other guns. After the Battle of Sidi Rezegh, Norrie stated that the South African "sacrifice resulted in the turning point of the battle, giving the Allies the upper hand in North Africa at that time".}}

Frontier
On 22 November on the frontier, XIII Corps sent the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade north-east to capture Fort Capuzzo on the main Sollum–Bardia road. The brigade attacked Bir Ghirba, south of Fort Capuzzo, the headquarters of the Savona Division but was repulsed. To the south, two battalions of, the 42nd RTR and part of the 44th RTR captured Sidi Omar and most of the Libyan Omar strongpoints, the westernmost fortifications of the Axis border defences, for the loss of 37 tanks, most of them Matildas, to mines and anti-tank guns. The tank losses caused a delay in attacks on the other strong points until replacements had arrived. On 23 November, the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade continued its advance south-east, down the main road from Fort Capuzzo towards Sollum and cut off of the Axis positions from Sidi Omar to Sollum and Halfaya from Bardia and its supply route. Cunningham decided that the main action at Tobruk needed more infantry and ordered XIII Corps to send the 2nd New Zealand Division west, leaving a skeleton force to contain the Axis positions at Bardia and Capuzzo; XXX Corps was to continue to attack the Axis tank forces and support the New Zealand Division if it encountered tanks.

Neither the Eighth Army HQ or the 7th Armoured Division HQ knew the real condition of its tank units until 23 November; the severely depleted 7th Armoured Brigade was ordered to maintain its hold on Sidi Rezegh. The 7th Indian Infantry Brigade was to continue its attack on Libyan Omar and the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade was to take Sollum barracks; the rest of the 2nd New Zealand Division was to head west for Tobruk. The 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade took Gambut and the 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Group on the left flank at Bir el Hariga, moved north-west along the Trigh Capuzzo (Capuzzo–El Adem). The brigade arrived at Bir el Chleta, about 15 mi east of Sidi Rezegh at first light on 23 November. The new Zealanders stumbled on the Afrika Korps HQ and captured most of its staff (Crüwell was absent) and no supplies reached either panzer division that day. Later that day, the 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Group was sent north of the 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade to apply pressure on Tobruk and the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade covered Bardia and the Sollum–Halfaya positions.

Totensonntag
On 23 November, Totensonntag (Sunday of the Dead to the Germans) the 15th Panzer Division moved southwards and ran into the positions of the 7th Support Group which faced north-west and was equally surprised. The Panzers turned west and encountered the 5th South African Brigade near Sidi Rezegh. Neumann-Silkow wanted to exploit the situation but Crüwell pressed on southwards towards the "Ariete" Division and ran into the 1st South African Brigade, which was moving to reinforce the 5th South African Brigade, which veered away to escape the German tanks. At 3:00 p.m. the 15th Panzer Division attacked the 5th South African Brigade but the South Africans had dug in to an area 7 × with 100 guns and many anti-tank guns. Panzer Regiment 5 had caught up with its division and attacked on the right flank with the Panzer Regiment 8 in the centre. The "Ariete" Division was to attack on the left with troop carrying vehicles following the tanks.

The infantry of the 21st Panzer Division joined the attack after an hour, advancing from the north. The "Ariete" Division attack was prevented when it was attacked from a flank by the 22nd Armoured Brigade and Panzer Regiment 5 diverted to the north-east to face New Zealand units which had just arrived. The Axis attack overran the 5th South African Brigade and the 22nd Armoured Brigade lost about eleven of its 43 remaining tanks; the Afrika Korps suffered the loss of 72 of its 162 tanks. Many officers and NCOs became casualties. The tactical victory was too costly for the Germans; not exploiting surprise to unite with the Italians was costly, the tank losses were irreplaceable and had a serious effect on operations. Comando Supremo in Rome agreed to put the XX Mobile Corps, including the Ariete Armoured Division and the Trieste Motorised Division, under Rommel's command.

Further afield, during the morning the 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade captured much of the Afrika Korps staff and most of its wireless units on the Trigh Capuzzo. The New Zealanders continued their advance and took the ridge at Point 175, after defeating Afrika Regiment 361. The 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade took Gambut, the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade captured Upper Sollum and the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade captured Italian positions near Sidi Omar. Cunningham was alarmed at the extent of British tank losses, XXX Corps reporting that it was down to 44 tanks against 120 serviceable Axis tanks. On the morning of 23 November, before the destruction of the 5th South African Infantry Brigade, Cunningham asked Auchinleck to meet him at the Eighth Army HQ to decide whether to continue Crusader. Arriving that evening Auchinleck bluntly insisted that Cunningham continue the operation regardless of loss.

Dash to the wire
Later on 23 November Rommel decided to finish off the 7th Armoured Division and advance towards Sidi Omar to relieve the frontier garrisons. In the morning of 24 November, Rommel took command of the Afrika Korps and the "Ariete" Division to destroy the remnants of the British force and block the routes of retreat to Egypt and return by the evening or the next morning at the latest. The German and Italian tanks scattered the many rear echelon support units in their path, split XXX Corps and almost cut off XIII Corps. On 25 November, the 15th Panzer Division set off north-east for Sidi Azeiz, found the area empty and was constantly attacked by the Desert Air Force. South of the border, Panzer Regiment 5, 21st Panzer Division, attacked the 7th Indian Brigade at Sidi Omar but was repulsed by the 1st Field Regiment RA firing over open sights. A second attack left Panzer Regiment 5 with few operational tanks. The rest of 21st Panzer Division had headed north-east, south of the border, to Halfaya.

By the evening of 25 November, the 15th Panzer Division was west of Sidi Azeiz (the 5th New Zealand Brigade headquarters) and down to 53 tanks, almost the remaining tank strength of the Afrika Korps. The Axis column had only a tenuous link to its supply dumps on the coast between Bardia and Tobruk and supply convoys had to find a way past the 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Group and the 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Group. On 26 November, the 15th Panzer Division bypassed Sidi Azeiz, headed for Bardia for supplies and arrived around mid-day. The remains of the 21st Panzer Division attacked north-west of Halfaya towards Capuzzo and Bardia. Ariete, approaching Bir Ghirba (15 mi north-east of Sidi Omar, from the west, was ordered towards Fort Capuzzo to clear any opposition and link with the 21st Panzer Division. They were to be supported by the depleted Infantry Regiment 115 of the 15th Panzer Division, which was to advance with some artillery, south-east from Bardia toward Fort Capuzzo.

The two battalions of the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade, between Fort Capuzzo and Sollum Barracks, were engaged by the converging elements of the 15th Panzer Division and the 21st Panzer Division at dusk on 26 November. During the night, Infantry Regiment 115 got to within 800 yd of Capuzzo. In the early hours of 27 November, Rommel met with the commanders of the panzer divisions at Bardia. The Afrika Korps had to return to the Tobruk front, where the 70th Infantry Division and the 2nd New Zealand Division had gained the initiative. On 25 November, in the Trento Division sector, the 2nd Battalion Queens Royal Regiment attacked the Bondi strongpoint but was repulsed. The garrison of Tugun, down to half their strength and exhausted and low on ammunition, food and water, surrendered on the evening of 25 November after it had defeated a British attack the previous night.

While Gruppe Böttcher contained the British tank attacks in the Bologna sector, a battalion of Bersaglieri from the "Trieste" Division counter-attacked the British breakout from Tobruk. Afterwards Oberstleutnant Fritz Bayerlein wrote:

"On 25 November heavy fighting flared up again at Tobruk, where our holding force was caught between pincers, one coming from the south-east and the other from the fortress itself. By mustering all their strength, the Boettcher Group succeeded in beating off most of these attacks, and the only enemy penetration was brought to a standstill by an Italian counterattack."

Rommel ordered the 21st Panzer Division back to Tobruk, and the 15th Panzer Division was to attack forces that were thought to besiege the border positions between Fort Capuzzo and Sidi Omar. The 15th Panzer Division first had to capture Sidi Azeiz to make room. Neumann-Silkow felt the plan to have little chance of success and resolved to advance to Sidi Azeiz, where he believed there was a British supply dump, before he headed to Tobruk.

Defending the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Headquarters at Sidi Azeiz were a company of the 22nd New Zealand Infantry Battalion and the armoured cars of the New Zealand Divisional Cavalry Regiment, with some field artillery, anti-tank, anti-aircraft and machine-gun units. The New Zealanders were overrun early on 27 November and 700 prisoners were taken but the armoured cars escaped. Rommel congratulated Brigadier James Hargest on the determined New Zealand defence. The 21st Panzer Division ran into the 22nd battalion, 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade at Bir el Menastir while it was heading west to Tobruk from Bardia. After an exchange lasting most of the day, it was forced to detour south via Sidi Azeiz, which delayed its return to Tobruk by a day. By early afternoon, the Eighth Army HQ had known by radio intercepts that both divisions of the Afrika Korps were heading west to Tobruk, with the "Ariete" Division on their left. The audacious manoeuvre by Afrika Korps had failed but come within 4 mi of 50 Field Maintenance Centre, the supply base of XIII Corps.

The dash of the Afrika Korps to the south removed a severe threat to the left flank of the New Zealand Division, which had remained ignorant of the danger because news of the losses of the 7th Armoured Division had not reached XIII Corps and German tank losses had been wildly overestimated. The New Zealand Division engaged elements of the Afrika, "Trieste", "Bologna" and "Pavia" Divisions, advanced westwards and retook the Sidi Rezegh airfield and the overlooking positions to the north that led to Tobruk. The 70th Infantry Division resumed its attack on 26 November, and the next day, elements linked with the advancing New Zealanders of the 4th New Zealand Brigade at Ed Duda on the Tobruk by-pass. The 6th New Zealand Brigade cleared the Sidi Rezegh escarpment in a mutually-costly engagement.

27 November
At noon on 27 November, the 15th Panzer Division reached Bir el Chleta and met the 22nd Armoured Brigade, which had been reorganised as a composite regiment with less than 50 tanks. By the afternoon, the 22nd Armoured Brigade was holding on and the 4th Armoured Brigade, with 70 tanks, had arrived on the left flank of the 15th Panzer Division, having dashed over 20 mi north-east and begun harassing its rear echelons. The 15th Panzer Division was also suffering losses from bombing. As night fell, the British tanks disengaged to replenish, inexplicably moving south, which left the route west open for the 15th Panzer Division. The New Zealand Division, engaged in heavy fighting on the south-eastern end of the tenuous corridor into Tobruk, would be vulnerable to the Afrika Korps.

By 27 November, the situation of the Eighth Army had improved since XXX Corps had reorganised after the chaos of the breakthrough and the New Zealand Division had linked up with the Tobruk garrison. Auchinleck had spent three days during the breakthrough with Cunningham, who had wanted to halt the offensive and withdraw. Auchinleck handed Cunningham a directive on 25 November before returning to Cairo,

"You will therefore continue to attack the enemy relentlessly using all your resources, even to the last tank. Your ultimate object remains the conquest of Cyrenaica and then to advance on Tripoli...."

Once in Cairo, Auchinleck relieved Cunningham and substituted his Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Major-General Neil Ritchie, promoting him to acting lieutenant-general.

Tobruk corridor
From 26 to 27 November,the 70th Infantry Division killed or captured the Italian defenders of several concrete pillboxes and reached Ed Duda. On 27 November, the 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade attacked a battalion of the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment, dug in around the Prophet's Tomb and used their machine-guns to great effect. The 6th New Zealand Brigade managed to link up with the 32nd Tank Brigade at Ed Duda creating a small bridgehead. By 28 November, Bologna had regrouped largely in the Bu Amud and Belhamed areas and deployed along 8 mi of the Via Balbia to the Tobruk bypass. On the night of 27/28 November, Rommel wanted to cut the Tobruk corridor and to destroy the defenders. Crüwell first wanted to eliminate the 7th Armoured Division tanks to the south. The 15th Panzer Division spent most of 28 November engaged with the 4th and 22nd Armoured brigades and looking for supplies. Despite being outnumbered 2–1 in tanks and at times being immobile because of lack of fuel, the 15th Panzer Division pushed the British tanks southwards and then moved to the west.

On 28 November, fighting continued around the Tobruk corridor. It had not been possible to consolidate the junction of the 70th Infantry Division and the 2nd New Zealand Division, which hampered co-ordination. When two Italian motorised battalions of Bersaglieri, with tanks, anti-tank guns and artillery, moved toward Sidi Rezegh, they overran a New Zealand field hospital and captured 1,000 patients and 700 medical staff. About 200 Germans, held captive in the enclosure on the grounds of the hospital were liberated.

At 6:00 p.m., the Australian 2/13th Battalion moved to reinforce Ed Duda, where several platoons suffered severe casualties from artillery-fire. On the night of 28 November, Rommel rejected Crüwell's plan for a direct advance towards Tobruk since frontal attacks during the siege had failed. He decided on a circling movement to attack Ed Duda from the south-west, move on to cut off British forces outside the Tobruk perimeter and to destroy them. Early on 29 November, the 15th Panzer Division set off west, south of Sidi Rezegh. The remnants of the 21st Panzer Division were supposed to be moving up on their right to form a pincer but were in disarray when Ravenstein was captured reconnoitring that morning. In the afternoon, to the east of Sidi Rezegh, at the Action at Point 175, elements of Ariete overran the 21st New Zealand Battalion. The New Zealanders thought that reinforcements from the 1st South African Brigade had arrived from the south-west and held their fire.

Lieutenant-Colonel Howard Kippenberger wrote,

"About 5.30 p.m. damned Italian Motorized Division (Ariete) turned up. They passed with five tanks leading, twenty following, and a huge column of transport and guns and rolled straight over our infantry on Pt. 175."

The 24th and 26th Battalions met a similar fate at Sidi Rezegh on 30 November. On 1 December, a German armoured attack on Belhamed almost destroyed the 20th Battalion. The New Zealanders suffered 879 dead, 1,699 wounded and 2,042 captured.

The leading elements of the 15th Panzer Division had reached Ed Duda but before night fell were held up by the defenders. A counter-attack by the 4th Royal Tank Regiment and Australian infantry recaptured the positions, forcing the Germans back 1000 yd. On 29 November, the two British Armoured Brigades did little. The 1st South African Brigade was unable to move in the open without the armoured brigades because of the danger of German tanks. On the evening of 29 November, the 1st South African Brigade came under the command of the 2nd New Zealand Division and ordered to advance north to recapture Point 175. Wireless intercepts led the Eighth Army HQ to believe that the 21st Panzer Division and Ariete were in difficulty; Ritchie ordered the 7th Armoured Division to "stick to them like hell". Eight Matilda tanks provided the preliminary bombardment for a counter-attack by two companies of the 2/13th Australian Infantry Battalion on the night of 29/30 November. In a bayonet charge against German positions, the 2/13th suffered two killed, five wounded and took 167 prisoners.

After the fighting at Ed Duda, Rommel ordered the 15th Panzer Division to Bir Bu Creimisa, 5 mi to the south and attack again north-eastwards on 30 November between Sidi Rezegh and Belhamed, leaving Ed Duda outside the encirclement. By mid-afternoon, the 6th New Zealand Brigade had come under severe pressure on the west end of the Sidi Rezegh position. The 24th Australian Battalion and two companies of 26th Battalion were overrun but on the eastern flank, the 25th Australian Battalion repulsed Ariete as it moved from Point 175.

At 6:15 a.m. on 1 December, the 15th Panzer Division resumed its attack towards Belhamed, supported by a massed artillery-fire, imposing severe pressure on the 2nd New Zealand Division. During the morning, the 7th Armoured Division was ordered to advance and reinforce the New Zealanders. The 4th Armoured Brigade arrived at Belhamed, outnumbering about forty panzers of the 15th Panzer Division. The 4th Armoured Brigade thought that they were to cover the withdrawal of the 6th New Zealand Brigade, rather than attack.

The remains of the 2nd New Zealand Division were now concentrated near Zaafran, 5 mi east of Belhamed. Early on 1 December, Freyberg saw a signal from the Eighth Army HQ indicating that the 1st South African Brigade would be under the command of the 7th Armoured Division and inferred that HQ had lost hope of holding the Tobruk corridor. He signalled in mid-morning that without the South Africans, his position would be untenable and was planning a withdrawal. Freyberg ordered the 2nd New Zealand Division to be ready to move east at 5:30 a.m. The 15th Panzer Division, which had been replenishing, attacked again at 4:30 p.m. and "Trieste" cut the link with Tobruk.

The 2nd New Zealand Division made a fighting withdrawal from its western positions. The troops had formed up by 1:30 p.m. and having paused an hour for the tanks and artillery to join them from the west, set off at 6:45 p.m. reaching XXX Corps. In the early hours, the 3,500 men and 700 vehicles that had emerged, headed back to Egypt.

Sollum
On 2 December, believing that he would not be attacked until 3 December, Rommel sent two columns, each comprising an infantry battalion, an anti-tank company and some artillery to open the routes to Bardia, Capuzzo and Sollum, with XX Corps along the Trigh Capuzzo, guarding the southern flank. On 3 December, the German columns were spotted by air reconnaissance, despite poor weather. The northern column was ambushed by the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade on the Bardia road, 10 mi west of the port, near Menastir and "almost annihilated" (Playfair, 2004).

The southern column, on the Trigh Capuzzo, met Goldforce (based on the Central India Horse reconnaissance regiment) and was subjected to an artillery bombardment and attacked by Blenheim bombers and Hurricane fighter-bombers. On 3 December, Rommel ordered the capture Ed Duda to open the Tobruk bypass and another attempt to relieve the frontier forts. On 4 December, the attack on Ed Duda was abandoned and the columns heading towards Bardia and Sidi Azeiz were recalled. Rommel decided to send the two panzer divisions with the "Ariete" Division and the "Trieste" Division southwards, which depleted the force around Tobruk; the troops on the eastern side were withdrawn.

Ed Duda
On 4 December, the 21st Panzer Division attacked Ed Duda against the 14th Infantry Brigade of the 70th Infantry Division but was only able to reach the bypass. When it was clear that the attack would fail, Rommel resolved to withdraw from the eastern perimeter of Tobruk to allow him to concentrate his strength against the growing threat of XXX Corps to the south.

Bir el Gubi
After the withdrawal of 2nd New Zealand Division, Ritchie had reorganised his rear echelon units to release the 5th and 11th Indian Infantry Brigades of the 4th Indian Infantry Division and the 22nd Guards Brigade. By 3 December, the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade was in action against a strongpoint near Bir el Gubi, about 25 mi south of Ed Duda. The I and II battalions, 136th "Giovani Fascisti" Regiment in the hilltop position repulsed several attacks by British armour and Indian infantry units in the first week of December,

"Although Norrie had an overwhelming superiority in every arm in the area of Bir Gubi, the failure to concentrate them and co-ordinate the action of all arms in detail had allowed one Italian battalion group to frustrate the action of his whole corps and inflict heavy casualties on one brigade."

the Eighth Army infantry were left vulnerable because Norrie had been ordered to send the 4th Armoured Brigade east due to the threat to Bardia and Sollum.

On 4 December, the Pavia Division and Trento Division counter-attacked the 70th Infantry Division to contain them within the Tobruk perimeter. On 5 December, the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade continued its attritional attack against Point 174. As dusk approached, the Afrika Korps and the Ariete Division intervened to relieve the Young Fascist garrison at Point 174 and attacked the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade. Crüwell was unaware that the 4th Armoured Brigade, with 126 tanks, was over 20 mi away and withdrew to the west. The 11th Indian Brigade had to be withdrawn to be refitted and replaced by the 22nd Guards Brigade. The 4th Armoured Brigade made no move to close up to the 22nd Guards Brigade on 6 December but Crüwell hesitated and dark fell. By 7 December, the 4th Armoured Brigade had closed up and the Axis opportunity had been lost. Neumann-Silkow, the commander of the 15th Panzer Division, was mortally wounded late on 6 December.

Gazala line
On 7 December, the 4th Armoured Brigade engaged the 15th Panzer Division, disabling 11 more tanks. Rommel had been told on 5 December by the Italian Comando Supremo that supply could not improve until the end of the month with the start of the airborne supply from Sicily. Realising that success was now unlikely at Bir el Gubi, he decided to narrow his front and to shorten his lines of communication by abandoning the Tobruk front and withdrawing to the positions at Gazala, 10 mi to his rear. They had been prepared by Italian rear echelon units and had been occupied by 8 December. He placed the Italian X Corps at the coastal end of the line and the Italian XXI Corps inland. The weakened Italian Mobile Corps anchored the southern end of the line at Alem Hamza while the Afrika Korps were placed behind the southern flank ready to counter-attack.

On 6 December, Rommel ordered his divisions to retreat westwards and on 8 December Comando Supremo and OKW ordered the Italian and German garrisons at Sollum, Halfaya and Bardia. On 19 December Rommel requested a naval evacuation but this was refused. Bardia surrendered on 2 January 1942 and on 17 January the Axis troops around Halfaya Pass capitulated. On the night of 6/7 December, the 70th Division captured the German-held Walter and Freddie strong points without any resistance. A Pavia battalion, dug in on Point 157, inflicted heavy casualties on the 2nd Durham Light Infantry, before it was overcome after midnight. Although the 90th Light Division pulled out of the Tobruk sector on 4 December, Bologna held out until the night of 8/9 December, when trucks were finally assigned to give them some support. In a final action on the part of the 70th Division, the Polish Carpathian Brigade attacked elements of Brescia, followed the Axis retreat and captured the White Knoll position.

Better to co-ordinate his infantry and armour, Ritchie transferred the 7th Armoured Division to XIII Corps and directed the XXX Corps HQ to take the 2nd South African Division under command to conduct a siege of the border fortresses. He also sent forward to XIII Corps the 4th Indian Infantry Division and the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade. The Eighth Army launched its attack on the Gazala line on 13 December and the 5th New Zealand Brigade attacked along an 8 mi front from the coast. The 5th Indian Infantry Brigade made a flanking attack at Alem Hamza. Although Trieste held Alem Hamza, the 1st Battalion, The Buffs from the 5th Indian Infantry Division took Point 204, some miles west of Alem Hamza. They were thus left in a salient and the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade to their left was ordered to send northwards the 4th battalion 11th Sikh Regiment, supported by guns from the 25th Field Regiment RA and twelve Valentine tanks from the 8th Royal Tank Regiment, to ease their position. The force found itself confronted by the Afrika Korps, fielding 39 tanks and 300 lorries of infantry and guns. Once again, the 7th Armoured Division was not in place to intervene and it was left to the force's artillery and supporting tanks to face the threat. They took heavy casualties but managed to knock out 15 German tanks and repulse the counter-attack.

Godwin-Austen ordered Gott to get the British armour to a position from where it could engage the Afrika Korps since he was unaware that Gott and his senior commanders were no longer confident they could defeat the enemy directly, despite their superiority in numbers. Due to the Germans' superior tactics and anti-tank artillery, British commanders preferred making a wide detour to attack their soft-skinned elements and lines of supply, to immobilise them. On 14 December, the Polish Independent Brigade was brought forward to join the New Zealanders and prepare a new attack for the early hours of 15 December. The attack went in at 03:00, taking the defenders by surprise. Both brigades made good progress but narrowly failed to breach the line. On 14 December, to the south, there was little activity from the Afrika Korps and the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade was limited to patrolling through a shortage of ammunition as supply problems multiplied. At Alem Hamza, the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade attacked again but made no progress against determined resistance and at Point 204 the 5th Indian Brigade's battalion of Royal East Kent Regiment ("The Buffs"), supported by ten I tanks, an armoured car squadron of the Central India Horse, a company of Bombay Sappers and Miners, the artillery of 31st Field Regiment RA and elements of the 73rd Anti-Tank Regiment and some anti-aircraft guns, were attacked by ten or twelve tanks, the remnants of Ariete, which they beat off.

On 15 December, Brescia and Pavia, with Trento in close support, repelled a strong Polish–New Zealand attack, freeing the 15th Panzer Division, which had returned to the Gazala Line, to be used elsewhere.

"The Poles and New Zealanders made good initial progress, but the Italians rallied well, and by noon it was clear to [General Alfred] Godwin-Austen that his two brigades lacked the weight to achieve a breakthrough on the right flank. It was the same story in the centre, where the Italians of 'Trieste' continued to repulse 5th Indian Brigade’s attack on Point 208. By mid-afternoon the III Corps attack had been fought to a halt all along the line."

Rommel considered Point 204 a key position and many of the neighbouring armoured and infantry units were committed to attack it on 15 December. In fierce and determined fighting, the attacking force, Ariete, the 15th Panzer Division, with 8th Bersaglieri Regiment and 115th Lorried Infantry Regiment, overran the Buffs and its supporting elements during the afternoon. The Buffs lost over 1,000 men killed or captured with only 71 men and a battery of field artillery escaping. It was too late in the day for the attacking force to collect itself and to advance further to intervene at Alem Hamza. The attackers also had suffered heavily in the engagement and the German commander was heard on a radio intercept to report the inability of his force to exploit his success because of the losses sustained. By 15 December, Afrika Korps were down to eight operational tanks and Ariete about thirty. Rommel, who had greater respect for the 7th Armoured Division than either Crüwell (or apparently even Gott) became very concerned about a perceived flanking move to the south by the British armour. Despite the vehement objections of the Italian generals and Crüwell, Rommel ordered an evacuation of the Gazala line on the night of the 15/16 December.

By the afternoon of 15 December, the 4th Armoured Brigade, having looped round to the south, was at Bir Halegh el Eleba, some 30 mi north-west of Alem Hamza and was ideally placed both to strike at the rear of the Afrika Korps and to advance north to cut the main lines communication of Panzer Group Afrika along the coast, as Godwin-Austen urged. Early on 16 December, only a small detachment was sent north, which caused serious confusion among Panzer Group Afrika's rear echelon but was not decisive and the rest of the brigade headed south to meet its petrol supplies. In the afternoon, the 15th Panzer Division, moving west, passed by the rear of the 4th Armoured Brigade and blocked any return move to the north. The mere presence of the British armour had prompted Rommel to withdraw from Gazala but the opportunity for the British to gain a big victory had been missed.

Axis retreat
For ten days, the Axis forces withdrew to a line between Ajedabia and El Haseia, maintaining their lines of communication and avoiding being cut off, unlike the Italians in 1940–1941. As the Axis lines of supply shortened and deliveries to El Agheila improved, Rommel rebuilt the Axis tank force as the Eighth Army lines of supply lengthened. On 27 December, during a three-day tank battle at El Haseia, the 22nd Armoured Brigade was severely depleted, which forced the vanguard of the Eighth Army to withdraw. The Axis forces fell back to a better defensive line at El Agheila in the first two weeks of January.

Aftermath
The Axis threat to Egypt and the Suez Canal had been ended but the Axis strongholds on the Libya–Egypt border remained, despite Rommel's recommendation for an evacuation by sea, to block the coast road and tie down Allied troops. In early December, the Allies decided that clearing the Axis frontier positions was necessary to clear their supply lines and maintain the momentum of their advance. On 16 December, the 2nd South African Division commenced an attack on Bardia, garrisoned by 2,200 German and 6,600 Italian troops and on 2 January 1942, the port fell. Sollum fell to the South Africans on 12 January after a small but determined engagement.

The South Africans surrounded the fortified Halfaya Pass (which included the escarpment, the plateau above it and the surrounding ravines) and cut it off from the sea. The garrison of 4,200 Italians of the 55th Infantry Division "Savona" and 2,100 Germans was already desperately short of food and water. The defences against artillery and aerial bombardment led to relatively few casualties but hunger and thirst forced General Fedele De Giorgis and Major Wilhelm Bach to capitulate on 17 January. On 21 January, Rommel launched a surprise attack from El Agheila. The action was a "reconnaissance in force" but when Rommel found the Eighth Army forward elements to be dispersed and tired, he took advantage and drove the Eighth Army back to Gazala.

Eighth Army
The Western Desert Force was renamed the Eighth Army (Lieutenant-General Alan Cunningham) to 25 November, then Neil Ritchie. The Eighth Army had XXX Corps (Lieutenant-General Willoughby Norrie) which comprised the 7th Armoured Division (Major-General William Gott), the 4th Armoured brigade Group, the 1st South African Division (Major-General George Brink) less one brigade, that had recently arrived from the East African Campaign and the 22nd Guards Brigade to defend XXX Corps communications, supplies and landing grounds. XIII Corps (Lieutenant-General Reade Godwin-Austen). comprised the 4th Indian Infantry Division (Major-General Frank Messervy), the 2nd New Zealand Division (Major-General Bernard Freyberg) recently arrived and the 1st Army Tank Brigade.

The Tobruk garrison was composed of the 70th Infantry Division (Major-General Ronald Scobie, the garrison commander), the Carpathian Infantry Brigade Group (Major-General Stanisław Kopański) and the 32nd Army Tank Brigade (Brigadier Arthur Willison). In November, the 20th Australian Brigade (Brigadier John Murray) was still in Tobruk. The 2nd South African Division was in army reserve and Oasis Force (Brigadier D. W. Reid) comprised the 29th Indian Infantry Brigade Group and the 6th South African Armoured Car Regiment. The Eighth Army had the equivalent of seven divisions with 770 tanks (including many of the new Crusader Cruiser tanks and new American M3 Stuart light tanks). Air support was provided by up to 724 front-line aircraft of the Air Headquarters Western Desert and Malta.

Axis
Data from Playfair (2004) unless indicated

 * Comando Superiore Forze Armate in Africa Settentrionale (Generale d'Armata Ettore Bastico)

Frontier defences

 * 55th Infantry Division "Savona".
 * Division z.b.V. Afrika to 28 November 1941; renamed the 90th Light Afrika Division

The Axis forces had built fortified points along the escarpment running from near the sea at Bardia, eastwards along the coast to Sollum and westwards along the border wire to Fort Capuzzo, manned by the Savona Division and Division zbV Afrika. Rommel kept the rest of his forces near Tobruk, where an attack on 14 November had been put back to 24 November due to supply difficulties.

Panzergruppe Afrika
Panzergruppe Afrika (General Erwin Rommel since July 1941) (The DAK had 260 tanks.)
 * Deutsches Afrika Korps (Lieutenant-General Ludwig Crüwell)
 * 15th Panzer Division
 * 21st Panzer Division

Tobruk

 * XXI Corps (Generale di corpo d'Armata [Lieutenant-General] Enea Navarini)
 * 17th Infantry Division "Pavia"
 * 102nd Motorized Division "Trento"
 * 27th Infantry Division "Brescia"
 * 25th Infantry Division "Bologna"

West of Tobruk

 * XX Mobile Corps (Generale di corpo d'Armata [Lieutenant-General] Gastone Gambara; Rommel on 23 November.)
 * 132nd Armoured Division "Ariete" 146 medium M13/40 tanks
 * 101st Motorised Division "Trieste" (Generale di divisione [Major-General] Alessandro Piazzoni)

Fliegerführer Afrika
On 15 November, Fliegerführer Afrika (Generalmajor Stefan Fröhlich) had 140 Luftwaffe aircraft but only 76 were operational, 35 being Bf 109F4 fighters (27 serviceable) with 12 Bf 110s, seven serviceable. In Greece, Fliegerkorps X had 181 aircraft (104 operational) which could provide assistance.

5° Squadra aerea
In Libya, the Italian 5° Squadra aerea, (Generale di squadra aerea Vittorio Marchese) had about 441 aircraft of which 154 were fighters (304 serviceable aircraft).

title: Operation Crusader


text:
Szkarpawa

The Szkarpawa (, Elbinger Weichsel) is a distributary river in the Vistula delta of northern Poland. It branches off the Vistula near Drewnica and flows eastward to the Vistula Lagoon at Osłonka. In the past it was known as Wisła Elbląska (English translation: Elbląg Vistula)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Szkarpawa


text:
Bovingdon

Bovingdon is a village in Hertfordshire, England, 4 mi south-west of Hemel Hempstead, and a civil parish within the local authority area of Dacorum. It forms the largest part of the ward of Bovingdon, Flaunden and Chipperfield, which had a population of 4,600 at the 2001 census, increasing to 9,000 at the 2011 Census.

History
The name is first mentioned in deeds from 1200 as Bovyndon. It could originate from Old English Bufan dune meaning "above the down" or from Bofa's down, the down belonging to Bofa.

What used to be the Bobsleigh Inn on Box Lane, just east of the village, is a large house with some parts dating to the sixteenth century. It used to be a hotel and restaurant. It was the Bovingdon Country Club until 1964 when Tony Nash, the son of the owner, was part of the gold medal winning British two-man bobsleigh team at the Winter Olympics at Innsbruck in Austria. It was renamed the Bobsleigh Inn in his honour. During World War 2 many celebrities stayed at the Country Club while entertaining troops at the airfield, including Bob Hope, James Stewart and Glenn Miller.

Bovingdon airfield
Next to Bovingdon is the disused former World War II, Eighth Air Force and post-war Royal Air Force airfield, RAF Bovingdon. The airfield was built in 1942. Between 1943 and 1946 it became a B-17 operational training base for units such as 92nd Bomber Group, B-17 Flying Fortress Combat Crew Replacement Centre (CCRC), 11th CCRC, and 8th USAAF HQ Squadron. The RAF resumed control until 1951, then the USAF took over again until 1962 flying B-26 Marauders, B-29 Superfortresses, and B-50 Superfortresses. General Dwight D. Eisenhower's personal aircraft was said to be located here, as Bovingdon was the closest Eighth Air Force airfield to London.

Flying ceased in 1969, though some flying scenes for the film Hanover Street were shot there in 1978. The airfield served as airport for Hemel Hempstead during most of the postwar period. Several films have been made there including The War Lover, 633 Squadron, Hanover Street, an episode of The Persuaders!, The Man with the Golden Gun (the flying car scene), Mosquito Squadron, and the Live Aid recreation in the film Bohemian Rhapsody. The airfield site houses a VOR navigational beacon, code BNN. The airspace above the airfield and nearby Chesham is known as the Bovingdon stack and is a holding area for aircraft approaching Heathrow Airport, 20 mi to the south. At busy times on a clear day a dozen planes circle.

Part of the airfield was used to build The Mount Prison during the 1980s; it was located on the site of the aircraft hangars and administration blocks. The remainder of the site is used for a Saturday market and there is a permanent circuit for banger racing although there has not been any regular racing since 2008. The airfield is also a site for paintballing and in more recent years, ITV Studios Bovingdon.

Of the three original runways, the North East/South West runway is still complete, and used for parking on market days. The North West/South East runway is completely gone. The East/West runway is still complete, the Eastern end of which is used for the weekend Market, the Western end used to be used by the Farmers aircraft. The control tower still exists, but is in a very poor state. A lot of the taxiways, and the 2nd World War Bomb Dump trackways are mostly gone, a victim of hardcore reclamation, a common end of a large number of disused airfields in the UK.

Halfpenny Green Airfield in Shropshire was renamed from Bobbington, the name of the local village, during World War II after a B-17 tried to land there when the crew became lost.

Community
The village is sometimes confused with Bovington Camp in Dorset.

Bovingdon Parish Council meets in the Memorial Hall. Local charities and nation organisations fundraise in the village throughout the year.

Bovingdon high street provides school access, a library and Memorial Hall, a Tesco store, and predominantly local independent businesses including a newsagent, dry cleaner, two estate agents, a kebab shop, an off-licence, hardware store, cafe, two pubs, two butchers, a florist, and a funeral home.

Transport
Carousel Buses, a subsidiary of Go-Ahead Group, operates an hourly bus service through the village between Hemel Hempstead and High Wycombe.

Climate
Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).

Churches
The Church of Saint Lawrence is the Church of England parish church and is a Grade II* listed building. St Lawrence Church was originally a medieval structure in the Decorated Gothic and Perpendicular Gothic styles, and was heavily restored in 1845 by Thomas Talbot Bury. The interior includes several stained-glass windows dedicated to local families and Victorian carved pews. A tomb effigy of a knight in armour has been dated to about 1370. The churchyard is the believed to be the second largest in Hertfordshire and includes an avenue of clipped yew trees and several installations, including a sculpture made from a tree felled in the churchyard. As well as traditional 8am communion the church holds weekly child-focused morning service at 9:30am and a family communion at 10am on the first Sunday each month. They have several youth teams, including Littlefish for Infant age, Explorers for Primary and the 3:16s for Secondary School age. St Lawrence has a close relationship with Bovingdon Academy. St Lawrence hosts annual community events including Easter Egg Hunt, Summer Fete, Light Party, Christmas Market and Nativity.

The first record of a meeting-house for Anabaptists in Bovingdon was in 1702. The current Baptist church building started as a Wesleyan Methodist Church and changed to Baptist. The Baptist church has a weekly morning service at 10:30 a.m. with a Sunday school. They also host a youth group on a Friday evening. The churches organise a joint live nativity in the high street every Christmas.

Education
Bovingdon has one Primary school. In 2011 it achieved Academy status, and is now known as Bovingdon Primary Academy. The school is part of the Aspire Academies Trust. The school regularly achieves 'outstanding' on Offsted reports and has been allocated 'Teaching School Status' by the National College of School Leadership. The students are divided up into houses called 'Ryder' 'Shantock' 'Shothanger' and 'Westbrook' which are named for families and places of local historical importance.

Bovingdon Pre-School is held in the Memorial Hall. Several Toddler groups are held at various locations throughout the week, at St Lawrence Church Hall - Wednesdays 9-11:30am, the Baptist Church - Mondays 9-11:30am and Toddler Tales at Bovingdon Community Library - Fridays 9:15-9:45am

Sports & Leisure
Bovingdon Football Club has 2 full size pitches, clubhouse and both Junior and Adult teams. Bovingdon Bowls Club has a bowling green and Bovingdon & Flaunden Tennis Club offers lessons to all ages and abilities on 5 hard courts.

Bovingdon has its own Community Library.

Bovingdon also has a highly popular online community via the Facebook Group, founded on 17 June 2013 and boasts over 8900 members who share local information, news and discuss local affairs.

Notable residents

 * Goldie, drum-and-bass DJ.
 * Tony Nash, athlete
 * David Seaman, footballer
 * David Tremlett, artist
 * Frances de la Tour, actress

title: Bovingdon


text:
James Bell

James, Jim, Jimmy and Jamie Bell may refer to:

Arts and entertainment

 * James Bell (actor) (1891–1973), American character actor
 * James Madison Bell (1826–1902), African-American poet, orator, and political activist
 * Jamie Bell (born 1986), English actor
 * Jimmy Velvit (born 1941), US singer who used the pseudonym James Bell

Business

 * James Bell (merchant) (c. 1739–1814), Scottish-born merchant in Canada
 * James Ford Bell (1879–1961), American entrepreneur; founder of General Mills
 * James George Bell (1831–1911), American settler and businessman
 * James A. Bell (born 1948), American business executive; Boeing Chief Financial Officer

Military

 * James Bell (Medal of Honor) (1845–1901), American; US Army private
 * James B. Bell (1835–1910), American soldier and Medal of Honor recipient
 * J. Franklin Bell (1856–1919), Chief of Staff of the United States Army

Politicians and government officials

 * James Bell (Australian politician) (1836–1908), Australian businessman and politician, Victorian Legislative Council member 1880–1904
 * James Bell (New Hampshire politician) (1805–1857), American; U.S. Senator
 * Sir James Bell (town clerk) (1866–1937), Town Clerk of London, 1902–1935
 * James Bell (trade unionist) (1872–1955), English Labour MP for Ormskirk
 * James A. Bell (New York politician) (1814–?), New York politician
 * James F. Bell (judge) (1915–2005), Democratic lawyer and judge of the Ohio Supreme Court
 * James H. Bell (1825–1892), Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas
 * James M. Bell (1878–1953), Iowa state legislator and mayor
 * James Martin Bell (1796–1849), American; U.S. Congressman
 * James Spencer-Bell (1818–1872), known until 1866 as James Bell, MP for Guildford
 * James W. Bell (d. 1881), deputy sheriff in Lincoln, New Mexico
 * Sir James Bell, 1st Baronet (1850–1929), Scottish shipowner and yachtsman, Lord Provost of Glasgow 1892 to 1896

Religion

 * James Bell (bishop) (born 1950), English clergyman
 * James Bell (priest) (1524–1584), Catholic martyr
 * James Bell (reformer) (died 1596), English Reformer

Science

 * James Bell (chemist) (1825–1908), Irish chemist
 * James F. Bell III (born 1965), American scientist
 * James Mackintosh Bell (1877–1934), New Zealand geologist, writer and company director

Sport

 * Cool Papa Bell (James Thomas Bell, 1903–1991), American baseball player
 * James Bell (Australian footballer) (born 1999), Australian rules footballer (Sydney Swans)
 * James Bell (basketball) (born 1992), American basketball player
 * James Bell (footballer, born 1866) (1866–?), Scottish footballer (Dumbarton, Celtic and Kilmarnock)
 * James Bell (footballer, born 1883) (1883–1962), Middlesbrough, Portsmouth and Exeter City player
 * James Bell (rugby league) (born 1994), New Zealand rugby league footballer
 * Jay Bell (footballer) (James Bell, born 1989), English footballer
 * Jim Bell (footballer) (1935–2019), footballer who represented New Zealand
 * Jim Bell (ice hockey) (died 1998), American ice hockey player and head coach

Others

 * James Bell (geographical writer) (1769–1833), Scottish geographical writer
 * James Stanislaus Bell (1797–1858), British adventurer in Circassia
 * Jim Bell (born 1958), American crypto-anarchist
 * J. Carleton Bell (1872–1946), American educational psychologist and professor of education
 * James Bell, character in Pure Genius
 * James "Jim" Bell, character in Friday Night Dinner

title: James Bell


text:
Selenopidae

Selenopidae, also called wall crab spiders, wall spiders and flatties, is a family of nocturnal, free-ranging, araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1897. It contains over 281 species in nine genera, of which Selenops is the most well-known. This family is just one of several families whose English name includes the phrase "crab spider". These spiders are often called "Flatties" due to their flattened dorsal profile. The Afrikaans name for these spiders is "Muurspinnekop," which translates directly to "wall spider." The name Selenopidae comes from the greek moon goddess, Selene, as their eyes resemble the moon.

Description
They are a variety of colors, including shades of grey, brown, yellow, and orange, with darker markings on the cephalothorax and spots or mottling on the abdomen, and annulations on the legs of most species. It is though they mimic both lichens or rocks in their area. They are very flat dorsoventrally, and have two tarsal claws and laterigrade legs. Each of their legs face a different direction. Like most other Entelegynae, they have eight eyes arranged in two rows; one with six and one with two.

Although they are usually sedentary, their running and striking speeds place them among the world’s fastest animals, making them difficult to capture, while their coloring often makes them difficult to see. Their spin is the fastest leg-driven turning maneuver of any terrestrial animal, being able to strike their prey in an eighth of a second (three times the speed of a blink); therefore, the spiders' spins are being used by researchers in robotics applications. Dr. Zeng of UC Merced claims that the flattie spiders' "outward stance," which "tracks parallel to the ground" allows them to spin rapidly, giving them a "wider range of unrestricted motion."

Habitat
They occur worldwide, from sea level to over 2500 m, and are primarily tropical and subtropical, though several species are found in deserts. They are commonly found on walls or under rocks. Selenops is the most widely distributed and Anyphops is found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. The remaining genera have more specific distributions. At least one (possibly extinct) species of Garcorops, G. jadis, is known only from subfossil copal.

Genera

, the World Spider Catalog accepts the following genera:

 * Amamanganops Crews & Harvey, 2011 — Philippines
 * Anyphops Benoit, 1968 — Africa
 * Garcorops Corronca, 2003 — Comoros, Madagascar
 * Godumops Crews & Harvey, 2011 — Papua New Guinea
 * Hovops Benoit, 1968 — Madagascar
 * Karaops Crews & Harvey, 2011 — Australia
 * Makdiops Crews & Harvey, 2011 — India, Nepal
 * Selenops Latreille, 1819 — Asia, North America, Caribbean, South America, Africa, Central America
 * Siamspinops Dankittipakul & Corronca, 2009 — Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan

title: Selenopidae


text:
Talk:2004 Madrid train bombings

"Spanish nationals who sold the explosives to the terrorists were also arrested."
I just have to ask, do we really need 15 sources for that statement? Zazaban 06:21, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

 * Please look to the archived discussion to see how dificult is to say the truth in this article. The more evident issue have required months and tones of references.--Igor21 09:38, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

All three sources [10] [11] [12] that are now cited after " Although they had no role in the planning or implementation, the Spanish miners who sold the explosives to the terrorists were also arrested." do not mention any such thing, this should be changed. Penschy (talk) 14:28, 6 November 2020 (UTC)

External links modified
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Requested move 9 June 2018

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: no consensus to move the page to the proposed title at this time, per the discussion below. Dekimasu よ! 04:29, 17 June 2018 (UTC)

2004 Madrid train bombings → Madrid train bombings – Per Manchester Arena bombing. Unreal7 (talk) 12:40, 9 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Oppose there have been other bombings In ictu oculi (talk) 08:57, 15 June 2018 (UTC)

 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Requested move 27 December 2019

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: not moved to the proposed title at this time, per the discussion below. Dekimasu よ! 12:29, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

2004 Madrid train bombings → Madrid train bombings – Per Manchester Arena bombing. Already redirects here. Unreal7 (talk) 18:10, 27 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Support - No other multiple train bombings in Madrid. The July 1979 Madrid bombings didn't happen on trains, but train stations (two of them), and are far less known than the 2004 bombings. Prism55 (talk) 15:23, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Oppose - "In the escalating violence, in 1979, one wing of the ETA bombed two Madrid train stations and the airport on the same day" ... but even without that, no benefit to any reader from removing year. In ictu oculi (talk) 17:00, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Oppose essentially per IIO Red   Slash  05:50, 5 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Oppose. As IIO says, this could be ambiguous. And although WP:CONCISE would suggest omitting the year, there are far too many examples of articles where it is included, and is useful, that I think it's fine to keep it. — Amakuru (talk) 11:58, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

How many days between Sept. 11, 2001 and March 11, 2004?
The article says 911.

My calendar says 912: 19 days to the end of September 2001, plus October (31), November (30), and December (31) makes 111.

Then all of 2002 (365 days) and 2003 (3)5 more days) brings the total to 841.

Then January (31) and February (29--a leap year) of 2004 brings the total to 901.

Then the event was the 11th day of March. That's 912.

Is there some Spanish convention at play here where you don't count the last day? Jeffreynye (talk) 16:19, 4 October 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:2004 Madrid train bombings


text:
Test match

Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:

 * Test cricket
 * Test match (indoor cricket)
 * Test match (rugby union)
 * Test match (rugby league)
 * Test match (association football)
 * Test match (netball)
 * Test Match (board game), cricket-themed board game

title: Test match


text:
List of theaters and campaigns of World War II

The List of theatres and campaigns of World War II subdivides military operations of World War II and contemporary wars by war, then by theater and then by campaign.

Asia

 * Japanese invasion of Manchuria (September 18, 1931 – February 26, 1932)
 * January 28 incident (January 28 – March 3, 1932)
 * Defense of the Great Wall (January 1 – May 31, 1933)
 * Action in Inner Mongolia (May 26 – October, 1933)
 * Suiyuan campaign (October – November 1936)
 * Soviet-Japanese Border War (May 11 – September 16, 1939)
 * Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 – December 7, 1941)

Europe and Africa

 * Sudeten German uprising (September–October 1938)
 * Second Italo-Abyssinian War (October 3, 1935 – February 19, 1937)
 * Spanish Civil War (July 17, 1936 – April 1, 1939)
 * S-Plan (January 16, 1939 – March 1940)
 * Hungarian invasion of Carpatho-Ukraine (March 14–18, 1939)
 * Slovak-Hungarian War (March 23 – 31, 1939)
 * Italian invasion of Albania (April 7–12, 1939)

Invasion of Poland

 * Fall Weiss
 * Soviet invasion of Poland

Nordic Front

 * List of military operations in the Nordic countries during World War II
 * Invasion of Denmark and Norway (April–June 1940)
 * Continuation war (June 25, 1941 – September 19, 1944)
 * Lapland War (October 1, 1944 – April 25, 1945)
 * Liberation of Finnmark (October 23, 1944 - April 26, 1945)

Western Front

 * Phony War (Oct 1939-April 1940)
 * Battle of France (with Benelux countries/Fall Gelb) (May–June 1940)
 * Battle of Britain ( + Operation Sea Lion Unternehmen Seelöwe ) (July–October 1940)
 * Western Front (1944–1945)
 * Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) commanded Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until May 1945.
 * Battle of Normandy (June–August 1944)
 * Northern France Campaign (July–September 1944)
 * Southern France Campaign (Operation Dragoon) (August–September 1944)
 * Battle of the Siegfried Line (Rhineland Campaign, Ardennes-Alsace Campaign) (August–December 1944)
 * Central Europe Campaign (March–May 1945)

Eastern Front

 * Eastern Front (initially Operation Barbarossa) (June 1941 to May 1945)
 * Continuation War (Finland) (June 1941-September 1944)

Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre

 * Allied Force Headquarters (AFHQ), controlled all forces in the Mediterranean Theatre late 1942 to May 1945.
 * Gibraltar (9 September 1939 – 28 May 1944)
 * Adriatic Sea (7 April 1939 – 15 May 1945)
 * Palestine (June 1940 – June 1941)
 * East Africa (10 June 1940 – 27 November 1941)
 * North Africa (10 June 1940 – 13 May 1943)
 * Western Desert (11 June 1940 – 4 February 1943)
 * French North Africa (	8–16 November 1942)
 * Tunisia (17 November 1942 – 13 May 1943)
 * Malta (11 June 1940 – 20 November 1942)
 * Bahrain (19 October 1940)
 * Greco-Italian War (28 October 1940 to April 1941)
 * Invasion of Yugoslavia (Operation Punishment) (April 1941)
 * Battle of Greece (Operation Marita) (April 1941)
 * Crete (Operation Mercury) (May–June 1941)
 * World War II in Yugoslavia (April 1941 to May 1945)
 * Iraq (2–31 May 1941)
 * Syria-Lebanon (8 June – 14 July 1941)
 * Iran (25–31 August 1941)
 * Sicily (9 July – 17 August 1943)
 * Italy (10 July 1943 - 2 May 1945)
 * Corsica (August 1943)
 * Dodecanese (8 September – 22 November 1943)
 * Southern France (15 August – 14 September 1944)
 * Alpes-Maritimes (23 March - 2 May 1945)

Pacific-Asian Theatre

 * Second Sino-Japanese War (December 8, 1941 – September 9, 1945)
 * Pacific War
 * American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
 * Pacific Theater of Operations
 * Pacific Ocean Areas
 * South West Pacific Area
 * South-East Asian Theatre
 * Burma Campaign
 * China Burma India Theatre
 * Japan
 * Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign
 * Soviet-Japanese War (1945)
 * Soviet Manchurian Campaign (1945)

Other theatres

 * Americas
 * Australia
 * Arctic and Antarctica
 * West Africa (1940)
 * Madagascar (1942)

Naval wars

 * Battle of the Atlantic
 * Arctic Convoys (Operation Rösselsprung)
 * Battle of the Mediterranean
 * Battle of the Indian Ocean

Air wars

 * Battle of Britain
 * Strategic bombing during World War II
 * Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Contemporary wars

 * Chinese Civil War (April 12, 1927 – May 1, 1950)
 * Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 – December 7, 1941)
 * S-Plan (January 16, 1939 - March, 1940)
 * Soviet-Japanese Border War (May 11, 1939 – September 16, 1939)
 * Winter War (November 1939-March 1940)
 * French-Thai War (September 1, 1940 – May 9, 1941)
 * Ecuadorian–Peruvian War (July 5, 1941 – January 31, 1942)
 * Northern Campaign (September 2, 1942 - December, 1944)
 * Greek Civil War (December 3, 1944 – October 16, 1949)
 * Afghan tribal revolts (February 1944 – 11 January 1947)


text:
Palmolive

Palmolive may refer to:
 * Colgate-Palmolive, the company associated with Palmolive brand soap
 * Palmolive (brand), a soap brand owned by Colgate-Palmolive
 * Palmolive (musician) or Paloma Romero (born 1955), Spanish-born drummer

title: Palmolive


text:
Kathy Bates

Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as nominations for a Tony Award and two BAFTA Awards.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, she studied theater at Southern Methodist University before moving to New York City to pursue an acting career. She landed minor stage roles before being cast in her first on-screen role in Taking Off (1971). Her first Off-Broadway stage role was in the play Vanities (1976). She garnered a nomination for the Tony Award Best Lead Actress in a Play for 'night, Mother (1983), and won an Obie Award for her role in Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (1988).

She earned the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Annie Wilkes in the thriller Misery (1990). Her other Oscar-nominated roles were in Primary Colors (1998), About Schmidt (2002), and Richard Jewell (2019). Her other notable films include Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Dolores Claiborne (1995), Titanic (1997), The Waterboy (1998), Revolutionary Road (2008), The Blind Side (2009), and Midnight in Paris (2011).

Bates is also known for her extensive work on television. She won her first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for the ninth season of Two and a Half Men (2012) and her second for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her portrayal of Delphine LaLaurie in American Horror Story: Coven (2013). Her other Emmy-nominated roles were in The Late Shift (1996), Annie (1999), Six Feet Under (2003), Warm Springs (2005), Harry's Law (2011–2012), American Horror Story: Freak Show (2014), and American Horror Story: Hotel (2015).

Early life
Bates was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the youngest of three daughters of mechanical engineer Langdon Doyle Bates and homemaker Bertye Kathleen (née Talbert). Her paternal grandfather was lawyer and author Finis L. Bates. Her great-great-grandfather, an Irish immigrant to New Orleans, Louisiana, served as President Andrew Jackson's doctor. She graduated early from White Station High School (1965) and from Southern Methodist University (1969), where she studied theater and became a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. She moved to New York City in 1970 to pursue an acting career. Bates is an alumna of the William Esper Studio for the performing arts in Manhattan, New York City.

Early work and success on stage (1970–1989)
After moving to New York City, Bates worked several odd jobs as well as minor stage roles while struggling to find work as an actress. At one point, she worked as a cashier at the Museum of Modern Art.

In 1970, Bates was cast in a minor role in the Miloš Forman comedy Taking Off (credited as "Bobo Bates"), her first on-screen role in a feature film. Following this, she continued to struggle to find acting roles, later claiming in an interview with The New York Times that more than one casting agent told her that she wasn't sufficiently attractive to be a successful actress: "'I'm not a stunning woman. I never was an ingenue; I've always just been a character actor. When I was younger it was a real problem, because I was never pretty enough for the roles that other young women were being cast in. The roles I was lucky enough to get were real stretches for me: usually a character who was older, or a little weird, or whatever. And it was hard, not just for the lack of work but because you have to face up to how people are looking at you. And you think, 'Well, y'know, I'm a real person."After Taking Off was released, Bates did not work on another feature film until she appeared opposite Dustin Hoffman in Straight Time'' (1978), though she continued to perform on stage throughout the 1970s. In 1973 she performed in Wayside Theatre's traveling group, Wayside Theatre on Tour, and was credited as "Bobo Bates". Her first Off-Broadway performance was in the 1976 production of Vanities. Bates subsequently originated the role of Lenny in the first production of Crimes of the Heart at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in 1979. Beginning in 1980, she appeared in Lanford Wilson's Fifth of July. In 1982, she starred in the Robert Altman-directed Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean with Karen Black and Cher. During this time, she also began working in television, starring in a variety of soap operas such as The Doctors, All My Children, and One Life to Live, as well as making guest appearances in episodes of prime-time series such as The Love Boat, Cagney & Lacey, and St. Elsewhere in the late 1970s through the mid-1980s.

The New York Times wrote that, in the early 1980s, Bates "established herself as one of America's finest stage actresses". In 1983, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Play for her role in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play 'night, Mother. The stage production ran for more than a year. She found further success on Off Broadway, in Terrence McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, for which she won an Obie Award for Best Actress in 1988. McNally specifically wrote the play for Bates. She later succeeded Amy Irving in the Off-Broadway production of The Road to Mecca in 1988. Around this time, she shifted her focus to screen acting, with roles in The Morning After (1986), and Summer Heat (1987).

Film breakthrough and critical success (1990–2009)
Bates' performance in the 1990 horror film Misery, based on the book of the same name by Stephen King, marked her Hollywood breakthrough. The film was a commercial and critical success, and her performance as Annie Wilkes was met with widespread critical adulation. Also that year, she had a role in Warren Beatty's crime film Dick Tracy. In the following year she won the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama. The American Film Institute included Annie Wilkes (as played by Bates) in their "100 Heroes and Villains" list, ranking her as the 17th-most iconic villain (and sixth-most iconic villainess) in film history.

Soon after, she starred in the acclaimed 1991 film Fried Green Tomatoes, based on the novel by comedic actress Fannie Flagg. For her performance in this film, she received a BAFTA Award nomination. In 1995, Bates played the title character in Dolores Claiborne, another well-received Stephen King adaptation, for which she was nominated for Best Actress at the 22nd Saturn Awards.

In 1995, Bates began working behind the screen as well, as a director, on several television series; her early directing jobs include episodes of Great Performances, Homicide: Life on the Street, and NYPD Blue.

In 1996, Bates received her first Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie, for her performance as Jay Leno's manager Helen Kushnick in HBO's The Late Shift (1996). That role also earned Bates her second Golden Globe Award win in the category of Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film and her first Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.

Bates gained wider recognition in 1997 when she portrayed Molly Brown in James Cameron's epic romance and disaster film Titanic.

She received her second Academy Award nomination (and first in the Best Supporting Actress category) for her work as the acid-tongued political advisor Libby Holden in Primary Colors (1998), which was adapted from the book by political journalist Joe Klein. The following year, she was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her work in the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun as well as for Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or Movie for her work on the Dashiell Hammett-Lillian Hellman biopic Dash & Lilly. In 2000, Bates received another Emmy Award nomination for her turn as Miss Hannigan in Disney's remake of Annie (1999).

In 2002, she received her third Academy Award nomination, again in the Best Supporting Actress category, for performance as an aging free-spirited woman in About Schmidt, opposite Jack Nicholson. A scene in the film, which features Bates completely nude entering a hot tub, was noted by critics and received significant public attention. NPR called it "the scene everyone is talking about". Bates spoke about the scene in several interviews; speaking to Hello!, she said: "'People either laugh or cheer ... I was at the premiere and there are a lot of women who are shouting, 'You go, girl!' ... I think there are a lot of women in the audience who are thrilled to see a real woman up on the screen in all her glory.'"Throughout the 2000s Bates worked consistently in Hollywood cinema, often playing supporting roles, such as in Rumor Has It... (2005), Failure to Launch (2006), P.S. I Love You (2007), The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), and The Blind Side (2009). In 2006, she directed and co-starred in her feature film directorial debut Have Mercy (2006) with Melanie Griffith. In 2008, Bates re-teamed with her Titanic co-stars, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, in the romantic drama film Revolutionary Road.

During this time, she also appeared frequently on television. She starred in ten episodes of the HBO television drama series Six Feet Under, for which she received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in 2003. She also directed several episodes of the series. Bates received another Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie, for Lifetime Television's film Ambulance Girl (2006), which she also directed.

Continued acclaim (2010–present)
In 2010, Bates appeared in the romantic comedy film Valentine's Day, directed by Garry Marshall. From 2010 to 2011, she had a recurring guest role on the NBC sitcom The Office as Jo Bennett. Her first lead role on a television series was in David E. Kelley's legal drama Harry's Law, which began airing on NBC on January 17, 2011, but was later canceled on May 14, 2012. In 2011, she portrayed famed art collector Gertrude Stein in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. In 2012, Bates made a guest appearance on Two and a Half Men as the ghost of Charlie Harper on the episode "Why We Gave Up Women", which aired on April 30, 2012. This guest appearance resulted in Bates winning her first Emmy Award, in the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, following nine nominations.

In 2013, she began starring in the American Horror Story series' third season, Coven, as Delphine LaLaurie, an immortal racist New Orleans socialite who is brought back into the modern world after spending 180 years buried alive. For that role, she won her second Emmy Award, in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. Bates claimed that Ryan Murphy, the creator of the series, "resurrected [her] career".

Bates returned for the fourth season of American Horror Story, Freak Show, this time as Ethel Darling, a bearded lady who performs in a freak show. She subsequently returned again for the fifth season, Hotel, where she played Iris, the hotel's manager. Bates returned for her fourth, and the show's sixth season, Roanoke, playing two characters—Thomasin "The Butcher" White and Agnes Mary Winstead. She received further Emmy Award nominations for Freak Show and Hotel.

On September 20, 2016, Bates received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her work in the film industry. Her star is located at 6927 Hollywood Boulevard. In 2017, Bates starred in the Netflix television series Disjointed, in which she played the character of Ruth Whitefeather Feldman, an owner of a California medical marijuana dispensary. The show aired for two seasons.

In 2018, she appeared in two films: in Xavier Dolan's critically panned arthouse film The Death and Life of John F. Donovan and as political activist Dorothy Kenyon in the Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic On the Basis of Sex. That year, she also guest-starred in the finale of the 11th season of the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

In 2019, Bates portrayed American politician Miriam A. Ferguson in the Netflix crime film The Highwaymen. She also starred in the Clint Eastwood biographical drama film Richard Jewell, playing the mother of the title individual. For her performance, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, as well as her fourth Academy Award nomination (also in the Best Supporting Actress category).

In 2020, it was reported that Bates would be starring in an Irish drama film, The Miracle Club, with Maggie Smith and Laura Linney. The film's plot is being described as a "joyful and hilarious" journey of a group of riotous working-class women from Dublin, whose pilgrimage to Lourdes in France leads them to discover each other's friendship and their own personal miracles." The film premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. She was cast in the coming-of-age film Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023), a feature adaptation of Judy Blume’s novel of the same name, directed by Kelly Fremon Craig.

Reception and acting style
Since her universally acclaimed breakout role in Misery (1990), Bates has often been referred to by the media as one of America's most respected actresses.

She has been praised for her ability to portray a wide range of characters across genres and performing media. Bates ascribes this to her perceived lack of conventional beauty, which has allowed her to take on unconventional and interesting roles from the very beginning of her career. Derek Malcolm of The Guardian noted that Bates emerged as a new kind of a film actress unrestrained by the necessity to be glamorous, a standard that had hitherto been expected of female screen stars. Referring to her acting talent, Malcolm added that, "[Bates] is a fine actress who knows that less in the way of a ‘performance’ is often more and that strong moments have to be severely rationed." Roger Ebert suggested that her role of Annie Wilkes is a prime example of Bates' exceptional talent for versatility, commenting that she is "uncanny in her ability to switch, in an instant, from sweet solicitude to savage scorn".

In addition to commending Bates for her versatility, critics have pointed to her remarkable talent for making her characters believable, no matter how strange or unconventional their personality may be. Jacob Trussell of Film School Rejects notes how "truthful" Bates' performances are, observing that her ability to access a character's inner life enables her to "approach [them] from unique angles that can surprise even the writers who created them".

Due to being theatrically trained, Bates tends to invest considerable time in studying the script, examining her given character's background, and rehearsing.

Personal life
As a teenager, Bates wrote self-described "sad songs" and struggled with bouts of depression. Bates was married to Tony Campisi for six years, from 1991 until their divorce in 1997. She met Campisi in 1977 and dated him for 14 years before their marriage. She is a member of the United Methodist Church and a registered Democrat.

Health issues
Bates has battled ovarian cancer since her diagnosis in 2003. In September 2012, she revealed via Twitter that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer two months earlier and had undergone a double mastectomy. In 2014, at the New York Walk for Lymphedema & Lymphatic Diseases, Bates announced via pre-recorded audio that, due to the double mastectomy, she has lymphedema in both arms. That year, Bates became a national spokesperson for lymphedema and chairperson for the Lymphatic Education & Research Network's (LE&RN) honorary board.

On May 11, 2018, Bates led advocates in a Capitol Hill Lobby Day to garner congressional support for further research funding. The next day, May 12, Bates addressed supporters at the first-ever DC/VA Walk to Fight Lymphedema & Lymphatic Diseases at the Lincoln Memorial. She was awarded the 2018 WebMD Health Heroes "Game Changer" Award for her role in raising awareness of this chronic lymphatic disease.

Activism
In June 2016, the Human Rights Campaign released a video in tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting; in the video, Bates and others told the stories of the people murdered there.

Filmography and awards
A nominee for the Triple Crown of Acting, she is one of few performers to be nominated in acting categories for one Tony Award, four Academy Awards, and 14 Emmy Awards.

title: Kathy Bates