infantry. The Germans were surprised, having assumed that the shipping at Tobruk was to evacuate the garrison and planned a night attack by the 5th Light Division for Groups of Axis vehicles were attacked by 45 and 55 Squadrons RAF, which rearmed at the airfields inside the perimeter. The attack began after dark, with an attempt to get over the anti-tank ditch west of the El Adem road in the 2/17th Australian Battalion sector, which the Australians repulsed. Another attempt was made later and by dawn a small bridgehead had been established, where the 5th Panzer Regiment drove through and turned northwards, ready to divide into one column for the harbour and one to move west to stop the escape of the garrison. The German tanks were engaged head on by the 1st RHA and veered away, only to drive into the path of the British cruiser tanks, waiting hull-down and received anti-tank fire from three sides, losing sixteen of and retreated. The Australian infantry had stood their ground and pinned down the German infantry. As the retreat continued, every gun and aircraft at Tobruk fired into the area and the German 8th Machine-Gun Battalion lost about of its men including its commander Gustav Ponath, for a garrison loss of two tanks and a field gun knocked out. Attacks from the south were abandoned and the 5th Light Division dug in, with the Schwerin Group (renamed after Prittwitz had been killed) to the east. In support, the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica flew 959 sorties over Tobruk; on 14 April 40 Ju 87s bombed the defences and on day 27 they succeeded in destroying a heavy anti-aircraft battery at Tobruk by swamping the defences with 50 aircraft allowing for an entire staffel (12) to concentrate on each gun. Ras el Medauar On 16 April, Rommel led an attack from the west, with the 132nd Armoured Division "Ariete" reinforced by the 62nd Infantry Regiment of the 102nd Motorised Division "Trento". The 2/48th Australian Battalion counter-attacked and took In the morning, the 132nd Armoured Division "Ariete" attacked again and some tanks reached the most advanced Australian posts, found that their infantry had not followed and retired after five tanks were knocked out. Morshead ordered the garrison to exploit Axis disorganisation and their inability to quickly dig in on stony ground, through conducting patrols and small sorties. On 22 April, a company of the