The fortress at Bir Hakeim (Old Man's Well) had been built by the Ottomans and later used as a station by the Italian Meharist (camel corps) to control movement at the crossroads of two Bedouin paths.
The wells had long been dry and had been abandoned but Indian troops re-occupied the site to build a strongpoint surrounded by 50,000 mines.
The fortification was a rough pentagon pointing north, about 4 km × 5 km (2.5 mi × 3 mi) wide.
On 14 February, the 150th Infantry Brigade was relieved at the box by the 1st Free French Brigade (Général Marie Pierre Kœnig), part of XXX Corps (Lieutenant-General Willoughby Norrie).
With a fighting strength of 3,000 men and a rear echelon of about 600 men based 24 km (15 mi) to the east behind the line, the brigade was composed of the 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion (DBLE), the Bataillon de Marche de I'Oubanghi Chari and the Bataillon du Pacifique.
The Legion comprised the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 13th DBLE.
By mid-May the perimeter and central areas were honeycombed with 1,200 entrenchments, foxholes, gun emplacements and underground bunkers, deep camouflaged hides for vehicles and supply dumps.
The interior of the fort was divided into zones, each the responsibility of a unit, with Kœnig's headquarters near the centre, at the crossroads.
The V-shaped anti-tank and anti-personnel minefields were patrolled by the 3rd Foreign Legion Battalion (Lamaze), manning sixty-three Bren Gun Carriers divided into three squadrons.
The patrols moved along lanes in the minefields, paying particular attention to the area north to the Sidi Muftah box at Got el Ualeb, held by the 150th Brigade.
The fortress at Bir Hakeim (Old Man's Well) had been built by the Ottomans and later used as a station by the Italian Meharist (camel corps) to control movement at the crossroads of two Bedouin paths. The wells had long been dry and had been abandoned but Indian troops re-occupied the site to build a strongpoint surrounded by 50,000 mines. The fortification was a rough pentagon pointing north, about 4 km × 5 km (2.5 mi × 3 mi) wide. On 14 February, the 150th Infantry Brigade was relieved at the box by the 1st Free French Brigade (Général Marie Pierre Kœnig), part of XXX Corps (Lieutenant-General Willoughby Norrie). With a fighting strength of 3,000 men and a rear echelon of about 600 men based 24 km (15 mi) to the east behind the line, the brigade was composed of the 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion (DBLE), the Bataillon de Marche de I'Oubanghi Chari and the Bataillon du Pacifique. The Legion comprised the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 13th DBLE. By mid-May the perimeter and central areas were honeycombed with 1,200 entrenchments, foxholes, gun emplacements and underground bunkers, deep camouflaged hides for vehicles and supply dumps. The interior of the fort was divided into zones, each the responsibility of a unit, with Kœnig's headquarters near the centre, at the crossroads. The V-shaped anti-tank and anti-personnel minefields were patrolled by the 3rd Foreign Legion Battalion (Lamaze), manning sixty-three Bren Gun Carriers divided into three squadrons. The patrols moved along lanes in the minefields, paying particular attention to the area north to the Sidi Muftah box at Got el Ualeb, held by the 150th Brigade.
Battle of Bir Hakeim