The Rats of Tobruk were the soldiers of the garrison who held the Libyan port of Tobruk against the Afrika Corps during the siege of Tobruk in World War 2. The siege started on 10th April 1941 and lasted until the end of November that same year.
Australian troops totalled more than 14,000 men and made up more than half of the Allied presence in Tobruk. During the siege there were 3,000 Australian casualties and 941 soldiers had been taken prisoner.