Overview: The Siege of Tobruk was a siege imposed by the Axis Forces for 240 days on the town-fortress and Allied port of Tobruk in 1941, in the context of World War II. The siege began on April 10, when a German-Italian force led by Erwin Rommel attacked Tobruk, placing the city under a siege that would continue until November 27, when British 8th Army forces lifted the siege during Operation Crusader.