Bir Hakeim 1942 Variety Mint Set

关于此套币: Bir Hakeim, an oasis and Ottoman fortress in the Libyan desert, was the scene of an intense 1942 battle between Rommel's invading Panzerarmee Afrika and the fort's defenders, the outnumbered and under-equipped 1st Free French led by Général Marie Pierre Kœnig. Rommel eventually took Bir Hakeim on his way to Tobruk but the Free French's sustained defense (May 27-June 11) of the fort caused delays serious enough to halt Operation Herkules, the Axis plan for an invasion of Malta. Rommel spared the French survivors out of admiration. Hitler later credited the Free French as the Wehrmacht's most formidable opponent man for man.