At 7:30 am local time on 19 March, Gaddafi's forces began artillery shelling the city.
At around 9:00 am local time they entered the city from west and south with tanks.
Rebel armoured units engaged the initial loyalist armoured column at around 10:00 am Twelve T-72 tanks spearheaded the main thrust into the city, and by 10:30 am, it seemed the Benghazi was in danger of falling to Pro Gaddafi forces.
A rebel tank, aging and rusted, opened fire on the lead pro Gaddafi tank, damaging it and forced its occupants to abandon the vehicle.
The tanks behind the lead vehicle all began a withdrawal from the area, under rebel fire, and retreated apparently to the city limits.

By 2:30 pm local time the opposition fighters had repelled the first wave of loyalist forces out of the city.
During the daytime battles, a rebel MiG-23 crashed to the ground in the outskirts of Benghazi.
The pilot, Colonel Mohammed Mbarak al-Okaili, remained in the plane until moments before the crash before ejecting but was reported not to have survived the crash.
The cause of the crash was unclear, but may have been a catastrophic engine failure or friendly fire from rebel air-defences that had mistaken it for a loyalist plane.
This prompted rebels to use loudspeakers, mainly from mosques, urging not to attack the planes.
At 7:30 am local time on 19 March, Gaddafi's forces began artillery shelling the city. At around 9:00 am local time they entered the city from west and south with tanks. Rebel armoured units engaged the initial loyalist armoured column at around 10:00 am Twelve T-72 tanks spearheaded the main thrust into the city, and by 10:30 am, it seemed the Benghazi was in danger of falling to Pro Gaddafi forces. A rebel tank, aging and rusted, opened fire on the lead pro Gaddafi tank, damaging it and forced its occupants to abandon the vehicle. The tanks behind the lead vehicle all began a withdrawal from the area, under rebel fire, and retreated apparently to the city limits.
By 2:30 pm local time the opposition fighters had repelled the first wave of loyalist forces out of the city. During the daytime battles, a rebel MiG-23 crashed to the ground in the outskirts of Benghazi. The pilot, Colonel Mohammed Mbarak al-Okaili, remained in the plane until moments before the crash before ejecting but was reported not to have survived the crash. The cause of the crash was unclear, but may have been a catastrophic engine failure or friendly fire from rebel air-defences that had mistaken it for a loyalist plane. This prompted rebels to use loudspeakers, mainly from mosques, urging not to attack the planes.
Second Battle of Benghazi