10/27/2019 Bardia - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 31°46′N 25°06′E

Bardia
Bardia,[2] or El Burdi (Arabic: ‫ اﻟﺒﺮدي‬or ‫ )اﻟﺒﺮدﯾﺔ‬is a Mediterranean seaport
in the Butnan District of eastern Libya. It is also occasionally called Bórdi
Bardia
‫اﻟﺑردﯾﺔ‬
Slemán.[3]
Town

History
In Roman times the town was known as Petras Maior.[4]

During World War I, German U-boats made several landings in the port of
Bardia in support of the Senussi order during their revolt against British
and Italian colonial rule.[5]

During World War II, it was the site of a major Italian fortification, invested
by the XXIII Corps under the command of General Annibale Bergonzoli.[6]
On 21 June 1940, the town was bombarded by the 7th Cruiser Squadron of
the Mediterranean Fleet. The bombardment force consisted of the French The Port of Bardia
battleship Lorraine, British cruisers HMS Orion and HMS Neptune, the
Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney, and the destroyers HMS Dainty, Decoy,
Bardia
Hasty, and HMAS Stuart.[7] However the bombardment is reported to have
only caused minimal damage. The town was taken during Operation
Compass by Commonwealth forces consisting mainly of the Australian 6th
Division in fighting over 3–5 January 1941 at the Battle of Bardia.

The Axis later reoccupied the town and set up a prisoner of war camp there.
On 2 January 1942, Bardia was re-taken by the South African 2nd Infantry
Division, led by 1st Battalion, Royal Durban Light Infantry,[8] supported by
the New Zealand Divisional Cavalry Regiment[9] and also the South African
2nd Anti-Aircraft Brigade (Light Anti-Aircraft).[10] The South Africans lost
approximately 160 men,[8] and the operation freed about 1,150[8] Allied Location in Libya
prisoners of war (including 650 New Zealanders) and took some 8,500 Axis Coordinates: 31°46′N 25°06′E
prisoners (German and Italian).[11][8] Country Libya
Region Cyrenaica
Bardia again changed hands in June 1942, being re-occupied by Axis forces
District Butnan
for a third time, but was abandoned without contest in November following
Elevation[1] 85 ft (26 m)
the Allied victory at El Alamein.[9]
Population (2004)[1]
Bardia is the location of a unique mural created during World War II, a • Total 9,149
favorite site to visit by tourists, known as the Bardia Mural.[12]
Time zone UTC+2 (EET)

References
1. "Wolfram-Alpha: Making the world's knowledge computable" (http://ww
w.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Bardiyah). www.wolframalpha.com.
Retrieved 21 April 2018.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardia 1/3
10/27/2019 Bardia - Wikipedia

2. Bardīyah (Approved)) (http://geonames.nga.mil/namesgaz/detaillinksea

rch.asp?G_NAME='32FA880745A43774E0440003BA962ED3'&Diacriti
cs=DC) at GEOnet Names Server, United States National Geospatial-
Intelligence Agency
3. Bórdi Slemán (Variant) (http://geonames.nga.mil/namesgaz/detaillinkse
arch.asp?G_NAME='32FA880745A73774E0440003BA962ED3'&Diacrit
ics=DC) at GEOnet Names Server, United States National Geospatial-
Intelligence Agency
4. Stern, Robert Cecil (2007) The hunter hunted: submarine versus
submarine : encounters from World War I Naval Institute Press,
Annapolis, Maryland, note 15 of Chapter 13, page 205, from page 94 (h
ttps://books.google.com/books?id=PloSkc5rsZ0C&pg=PA205), An old mosque in Bardia
ISBN 978-1-59114-379-6
5. Hans Werner Neulen: Feldgrau in Jerusalem. 2. Aufl., Universitas,
München 2002, S. 100 ff., ISBN 3-8004-1437-6.
6. Collier, Richard (1977) The War in the Desert Time-Life Books,
Alexandria, Virginia, p. 29, ISBN 0-7835-5721-3 and Time-Life Books
(1990) Afrikakorps Time-Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia, p. 15, ISBN 0-
8094-6983-9
7. http://www.sydneymemorial.com/history.htm, and Jürgen Rohwer
(2005). Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History
of World War Two. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-
59114-119-8, p.29
8. U.S. War Department, WWII (25 July 1942). "The British Capture of
Bardia (December 1941 – January 1942): A Successful Infantry-Tank
Attack" (http://www.lonesentry.com/bardia_intel/). Lone Sentry.
Washington, DC: Military Intelligence Service, Information Bulletin No.
21. p. MID 461. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
9. "Battle of Bardia" (http://www.awm.gov.au/units/event_222.asp).
Australian Military Units. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved
28 December 2014.
10. Personal account of battle by Ron Myburgh's (as yet unpublished)
memoirs.
11. Loughman, R. J. M. (1963) "Chapter 9: The Capture of Bardia" (http://w
ww.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2DiCa-c9.html) Divisional Cavalry War
History Branch, New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs,
Wellington, New Zealand, pp. 149–168
12. Simmonds, Donald "Bardiyah (Bardia) Masterpiece" (http://www.don-si
mmonds.co.uk/)

Further reading
Stevens, William George (1962) Bardia to Enfidaville War History Branch, New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs,
Wellington, New Zealand, OCLC 4377202 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/4377202); history of New Zealand troops in
North Africa in World War II
Agar-Hamilton, J. A. I. and L. C. F. Turner. The Sidi Rezegh Battles, 1941. Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 1957.

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This page was last edited on 26 November 2018, at 14:14 (UTC).

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