Operation Skorpion

Operation Scorpion/Unternehmen Skorpion
Part of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War
A large scale coloured map showing the Egyptian–Libyan border near the coast; dotted lines identify the border and frontier barbed wire fence while black dots represent important places and towns.
The area of fighting from 24 March – 17 June 1941
Date26–27 May 1941
Location
Halfaya Pass, Egypt
31°30′N 25°11′E / 31.500°N 25.183°E / 31.500; 25.183
Result German victory
Territorial
changes
Germany re-captured Halfaya Pass
Belligerents
 United Kingdom Germany
Commanders and leaders
United Kingdom William Gott Germany Maximilian von Herff
Strength
Infantry battalion and supporting arms Kampfgruppe von Herff
Casualties and losses
173 men
12 guns
5 Infantry tanks

Operation Skorpion (Unternehmen Skorpion) from 26 to 27 May 1941, was a military operation during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The operation was conducted by Axis forces under the command of Colonel Maximilian von Herff and British forces under Lieutenant-General William "Strafer" Gott. A counter-attack was made on British positions at Halfaya Pass in north-western Egypt, which had been captured during Operation Brevity (15–16 May). Unternehmen Skorpion was the second offensive operation commanded by Rommel in Africa (apart from the Siege of Tobruk).

Skorpion pushed the British out of Halfaya Pass and forced them to retire to the area from Buq Buq to Sofafi. The Germans and Italians fortified the pass and built other strong points back towards Sidi Azeiz as tank killing zones, ready to meet another British attack. The British continued with preparations for Operation Battleaxe (15–17 June) but it was another costly British failure that led to the sacking of General Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief Middle East and other senior officers.