Скачать или смотреть 3,700 French Soldiers vs 45,000 Germans for 16 Days — What Rommel Said Shocked the World

In May 1942, deep in the Libyan desert, 3,700 Free French soldiers found themselves completely surrounded.

They were trapped at a forgotten desert stronghold called Bir Hakeim, encircled by 45,000 German and Italian troops, cut off from water, ammunition, and any hope of reinforcement. Intelligence reports said the position would fall within forty-eight hours. British commanders quietly accepted it as inevitable.

But the French did not surrender.

For sixteen brutal days, the defenders of Bir Hakeim held off the full might of the Axis war machine—enduring relentless artillery barrages, Stuka dive-bomber attacks, armored assaults, and a total siege in the open desert. They fought with outdated weapons, minimal supplies, and no escape route.

Leading the defense was Pierre Koenig, commander of the Free French forces in North Africa—men who had already lost their country once and refused to lose it again. Every soldier at Bir Hakeim had sworn the Oath of Kufra: they would not stop fighting until France was free.

The man trying to crush them was Erwin Rommel, commander of the Afrika Korps and one of the most feared generals of the Second World War. Rommel expected the French position to collapse in hours. Instead, he was forced into a costly siege that drained his men, his tanks, and—most importantly—his time.

What followed shocked even the Desert Fox himself.

This documentary tells the full story of the Battle of Bir Hakeim—how a small, determined force delayed Rommel’s advance toward Egypt, disrupted Axis strategy in North Africa, and transformed the global reputation of the Free French Forces overnight.

Using archival footage, period photographs, battlefield maps, and firsthand accounts, this film explores:
How Bir Hakeim became the keystone of the Gazala Line
Why Rommel underestimated the Free French defenders
How siege warfare in the desert pushed men beyond human limits
The daring nighttime breakout through enemy lines
And why Rommel later admitted he had rarely seen more heroic resistance
Bir Hakeim was not just a battle for ground.
It was a battle for time, honor, and belief—proof that even after defeat, France was still fighting.

Sixteen days.
Three thousand seven hundred men.
Forty-five thousand enemies.
One oath kept against impossible odds.

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