Battle of Bir Tabraz

The Battle of Bir Tabraz was fought in December 1911 during the Italo-Turkish War between the Kingdom of Italy and Senussi forces in a place near Tripoli in modern Libya, the Senussi successfully forced to Italians to withdraw.

Battle
Bir Tabraz was one of the most important positions the Senussi had near Tripoli after the Battle of Ain Zara happened on December 4. Bir Tabraz's position was garrisoned by 200-300, according to Italian reports; this alarmed the Italians alongside other Senussi gathering positions, which harassed the Italian forces resisting them. An expedition was launched led by General Fara with a force of 2,780 or 1,500 men at 2-2:30 a.m. on December 19 and didn't reach that position until 9:00 a.m. after a long floundering on the way.

It wasn't until they marched to meet the Senussi that they were attacked by them, and according to Italian reports, the Senussis focused on the right and left wings of the army. Though the Senussi forces weren't equivalent to the Italians, they went from a defensive to an aggressive stance and almost cut off the escape route of the Italians and communication lines to Ain Zara, which forced the Italians to avoid a battle with unwanted results.

The Italians attempted to march to some heights, but the Senussi prevented them and forced them to engage and attack from all sides. This situation made it impossible for the enemy to retreat back to Ain Zara due to the success of the Senussi. Panic struck the camp, fearing they would lose their supplies and their retreat route. The Italians, however, managed to retreat during the night. However, they kept facing the Senussi, which forced them to ask for reinforcements to cover their retreat which did not arrive.

The Italians retreated at 7:25 a.m. the next day, the battle had lasted for the entire day. The Italians lost around 150 killed and 250 wounded or 11 killed and 91 wounded, while the Senussi lost 11 deaths and 40 wounded.