operation skorpion rommels first strike halfaya pass may 1941Battleground, North Africa, 26 May, 1941 The recent Allied attack to relieve the Tobruk garrison, "Operation Brevity," had been largely a failure. However, it left them in possession of the strategically important Halfaya Pass, the gateway to Egypt. In addition, British forces were harassing the German defenders with mobile columns to the South. German General Rommel recognized the need to recapture this terrain in order to stabilize the front. Still