Acroma Explained

Official Name:Acroma
Other Name:`Akramah
Native Name:عكرمة
Settlement Type:Town
Pushpin Map:Libya
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Libya
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Libya
Subdivision Type1:District
Subdivision Name1:Butnan
Population Blank1 Title:Ethnicities
Population Blank2 Title:Religions
Timezone:EET
Utc Offset:+2
Coordinates:32.0528°N 23.6989°W
Elevation M:143

Acroma (also Akramah and Ikrimah) is a town in northeastern Libya in Butnan District, about 28 km west of Tobruk.

On April 17, 1917, the Treaty of Acroma,[1] was signed by the Italian government (as occupying, colonial power) and Mohammed Idris (head of Senussi). The pact was an ambiguous ceasefire recognizing a de facto authority for Idris in Cyrenaica, while not excluding the overall Italian territorial sovereignty.

World War II

During the North African Campaign of World War II, the area was the scene of heavy fighting on several separate occasions. Acroma was captured from Axis forces on December 10, 1941, by the Polish Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade.

Later, an intersection of two Bedouin paths 19km (12miles) south of Acroma, assumed strategic importance, and became known by the Allied codename Knightsbridge. The area was the focus of the Battle of Knightsbridge, during June 1942.

Following the war's end, Knightsbridge War Cemetery, containing Allied war dead, was built 6.5km (04miles) north of Acroma, near the main road linking Tobruk and Gazala.[2]

External links

Notes and References

  1. A. Del Boca, "Gli Italiani in Libia - Tripoli Bel Suol d'Amore", Mondadori 1993, pp. 334-341.
  2. Web site: Australian War Graves Photographic Archive: Libya: Knightsbridge War Cemetery . https://web.archive.org/web/20090404112046/http://www.australianwargraves.org/countries/libya.php . 4 April 2009 . dead . dmy.