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A Box in the Desert: Using Open Access Satellite Imagery to Map the 151st Infantry Brigade’s Field Defences on the Gazala Line, 1942

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Abstract

At the end of May 1942, the Axis Afrika Korps launched an assault on the Allied Eighth Army’s defences of the Gazala Line in Libya: the Gazala Line was located to the west of Tobruk, and stretched south into the Libyan desert. By the time the Axis attacked the Gazala Line, the Allies’ defences consisted of a series of boxes which were defended by the different brigades of the Eighth Army. In this article, the results of a survey of the field defences of the 151st Infantry Brigade using open access satellite imagery is discussed. This research will demonstrate that the 151st Infantry Brigade’s box was primarily designed to defend against a frontal assault. In addition, the survey demonstrates the value of open access satellite imagery for understanding Second World War desert battles.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Dr Johanne Porter for her comments on earlier drafts of this article. I would also like to thank the two reviewers for their comments which has made this a better article.

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    Derwin Gregory

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Gregory, D. A Box in the Desert: Using Open Access Satellite Imagery to Map the 151st Infantry Brigade’s Field Defences on the Gazala Line, 1942. Int J Histor Archaeol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-023-00712-8

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