This remote oasis in Libya's southeastern desert was taken by Italian forces in 1931 during the war against the Senussi. Nearby, explorers had mapped the Gilf Kebir in the early 1930s. On 1 March 1941 Free French troops under Colonel Leclerc captured Kufra and swore to fight until the flag flew over Strasbourg. It then became a base for the Long Range Desert Group and for raids on Tobruk.
Here in the story
On the road
Walking out of the desert for help, Almásy reaches a British outpost where his foreign name gets him arrested as a spy.
Here in the story
Base
The raiders join a Long Range Desert Group column and set off north, posing as prisoners and their German guards.
