'wise well', pronounced [biʔr ħaˈkiːm] ⓘ, sometimes written Bir Hacheim) is the site of a former Ottoman fort in the Libyan desert.

The battle occurred during the Battle of Gazala (26 May – 21 June 1942) when the 1st Free French Brigade of Général de brigade, future Maréchal de France Marie-Pierre Kœnig defended the site from 26 May – 11 June against much larger German and Italian forces, commanded by Generaloberst Erwin Rommel.

Although the Afrika Corps captured Tobruk ten days later, the delay imposed on the Axis offensive by the defence of Bir Hakeim influenced the cancellation of Operation Herkules, the planned German invasion of the Suez Canal and Malta.

The stand by the Free French gave the defeated and retreating British Eighth Army enough time to recover from its heavy losses, and to reorganize.

There, the 3rd Division d'Infanterie Algérienne (3rd DIA), and the Groupement des Tabors Marocains of Général Augustin Guillaume were recognized in breaking through the German defences of the Gustav Line.

On 14 March 1916, Major Hugh Grosvenor led an armoured car squadron, part of the Western Frontier Force, to Bir Hakeim after having traveled 120 miles across the desert from Sollum.