



Operation Compass

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseAs the Italian invasion into British-occupied Egypt slowed to a halt in Sep 1940, Archibald Wavell ordered British Troops Egypt Lieutenant General Henry Wilson to begin planning a limited operation to push the Italians back in to Libya. The offensive was codenamed Operation Compass. It was originally planned to be a raid to be conducted over a five-day period, but by 28 Nov 1940 the British were so confident in their superiority that Wavell gave the permission for Wilson to escalate the operation on the fly should he find the opportunity to achieve a greater victory. The British plan was to dispatch the Support Group of the British 7th Armoured Division (under Major General Sir Michael O'Moore Creagh) to Sofafi, Egypt to tie down the Italian 63rd Division headquartered there. Meanwhile, the remainder of the 7th Armoured Division and the Indian 4th Division (under Major General Noel Beresford-Peirse) were to advance in two separate columns through the gap between Sofafi to the south and Nibeiwa to the north. After the breakthrough, the British 7th Armoured Division was to attack northwest toward Buq Buq, Egypt while the Indian 4th Division was to attack northeast toward Sidi Barrani, Egypt, attempting to capture Nibeiwa and the Tummars en route. The British Royal Navy was also to participate in the operation by bombarding Sidi Barrani. The operation plan was guarded with great secrecy; as late as 25 and 26 Nov when a rehearsal was held, only a small number of officers knew that the training grounds were modeled after the towns of Nibeiwa and the Tummars.

ww2dbaseBattle of Marmarica/Battle of the Camps

8-12 Dec 1940

ww2dbaseOn 7 Dec, the attackers were in position, and the operation was launched in the early hours of 8 Dec under the overall command of Major General Richard O'Connor. RAF aircraft opened the battle by a surprise attack that destroyed 29 Italian aircraft on the ground. Meanwhile, monitor HMS Terror and gunboat HMS Aphis bombarded Maktila and gunboat HMS Ladybird bombarded Sidi Barrani. Commander of the Italian 10th Army General Mario Berti was on sick leave when the attack began, and General Italo Gariboldi of the 1st "23 March" Blackshirt Division was in charge initially; Berti was on his way back to the front lines as soon as he heard the news of the attack.

ww2dbaseAt 0500 hours on 9 Dec, British artillery bombarded the Italian camp at Nibeiwa from the east for an hour, causing the Maletti Group to reinforce the eastern side of the camp. At 0715 hours, the Italians were surprised by an attack by the Indian 11th Infantry Brigade from the northwest, spearheaded by tanks of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment. Nibeiwa was taken by 0830 hours. General Maletti, for whom this Italian group was named after, was killed. Over 2,000 Italians were captured, as was a large supply cache. The British only lost 8 officers and 48 men. The Indian 5th Infantry Brigade of the Indian 4th Division immediately advanced toward the next target, the Tummars.

ww2dbaseThe attack on the Italian camp of Tummar West began at 1350 hours on the same day, 9 Dec, again spearheaded by the tanks of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment. The Tummars were held by the Italian 2nd Libyan Colonial Infantry Division. Attacking from the northwest, the British tanks broke through with little opposition, but the infantry which came 20 minutes after had a tougher time securing this camp compared to the one at Nibeiwa. Tummar West was mostly secured at 1600 hours save a small pocket of Italian resistance in the northeast corner that would fall given time. Tummar East was taken by nightfall.

ww2dbaseDuring the attacks on Nibeiwa and the Tummars, the 4th Armoured Brigade of the British 7th Armoured Division drove north, forcing the 400-strong Italian garrison at Azziziya to surrender. Meanwhile, Brigadier A. R. Selby's 1,800-strong Selby Force moved forward to seal off the western exits from Maktila despite orders to remain in place a few miles east of Maktila; despite Selby's move, troops of the Italian 1st Libyan Colonial Infantry Division was still able to escape Maktila and move westward.

ww2dbaseThe attack on the primary objective Sidi Barrani began. The initial attack conducted by the Indian 16th Brigade (thus far held in reserve) and elements of the Indian 11th Brigade, transported to Sidi Barrani by trucks. They suffered some casualties en route before reaching the town by 1330 hours. At 1600 hours, with the support with all artillery pieces available to the division, they attacked, once again supported by tanks of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment, capturing the town by nightfall. The Italian 4th "3 January" Blackshirt Division surrendered by the evening of 11 Dec.

ww2dbaseWith Sidi Barrani captured, the Selby Force launched an attack on the Italian 1st Libyan Colonial Infantry Division on 11 Dec, leading to its surrender. Also on the same day, Buq Buq was secured, with large numbers of Italian prisoners and weapons captured.

ww2dbaseWith the operation advancing so successfully thus far, the British forces pressed on with their pursuits, although they quickly experienced supply issues. On the road between Sidi Barrani and Buq Buq, trapped Italian troops became easy targets for the British monitor and gunboats on 11 and 12 Dec.

ww2dbaseThis opening phase of Operation Compass was known to the Italians as the Battle of the Marmarica, named after the coastal plain where the actions took place. To the British, the actions thus far were named the Battle of the Camps as their goals were to capture Italian camps in the area. Between 8 and 11 Dec, the British forces captured or destroyed 237 artillery pieces, 73 medium tanks, and 38,300 Italian and colonial troops.

ww2dbaseAlthough eager to pursue to shattered Italian forces, Wavell transferred the Indian 4th Infantry Division to Sudan for future actions against Italian East Africa, O'Connor became disappointed as he thought he could have further exploited the weakened Italian forces before they could have gained the opportunity to regroup. On 14 Dec, O'Connor was given the Australian 6th Division as replacement; this division had no battle experience and was incompletely equipped.

ww2dbaseBattle of Bardia

3-5 Jan 1941

ww2dbaseDespite losing the Indian 4th Infantry Division, O'Connor pressed on with his attacks. By 15 Dec, Sollum and Halfaya Pass were captured, followed by the advance to Fort Capuzzo on the Libyan side of the border, thus completing the objective of recovering all lost Egyptian territory. The next target was Bardia on the Libyan coast, which was guarded by about 45,000 Italian and colonial troops under the command of Lieutenant General Annibale Bergonzoli, who had orders from Mussolini to fight until the last man to his dismay. The northern sector of Bardia was defended by the Italian 2nd "28 October" Blackshirt Division; the central sector by the 1st "23 March" Blackshirt Division and elements of the 62nd "Marmarica" Infantry Division; the southern sector by the 63rd "Cirene" Infantry Division and the rest of the 62nd "Marmarica" Infantry Division. Bergonzoli also had the remnants of the disbanded 64th "Catanzaro" Infantry Division, some 6,000 Frontier Guard troops, three companies of Bersaglieri, part of the dismounted Vittorio Emanuele cavalry regiment, and a machine gun company of the 60th "Sabratha" Infantry Division. The entire Italian defensive perimeter was about 29 kilometers long, which featured a continuous anti-tank ditch, extensive wire fence, and a double row of concrete strong points about every 730 meters. Bergonzoli requested support on a large scale by German aircraft (which would never come) while he prepared his defenses.

ww2dbaseBritish intelligence reports indicated that Bardia was defended by 20,000 to 23,000 troops, supported by 100 guns, and probably no tanks. This was a serious under-estimation of Italian strength.

ww2dbasePrior to the assault, over 100 bombing sorties were flown against Bardia between 31 Dec 1940 and 2 Jan 1941 by British aircraft in hope that it would demoralize the defenders, possibly leading to their withdraw. As it was certain that an assault was necessary, one last, and the largest, raid was launched during the night of 2-3 Jan 1941 to soften the defenses. In the early morning of 3 Jan, battleships bombarded Bardia, followed by close bombardment by monitor HMS Terror and gunboats HMS Ladybird, HMS Aphis, and HMS Gnat.

ww2dbaseThe leading companies of the ground assault moved into their positions at about 0416 hours on 3 Jan 1941; they were from the 16th Infantry Brigade of the Australian 6th Division, under Major General Iven Mackay. At 0530, an artillery bombardment began. As the infantry moved in from the west side of Bardia, casualties were incurred early, but the barbed wires and other obstacles were destroyed by engineers relatively quickly. Troops of the Australian 17th Infantry Brigade then rushed into the breach, moving alongside 23 Matilda tanks of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment. Although progress slowed, the advance remained steady. On 4 Jan, the Australian 16th Infantry Brigade entered Bardia, capturing many prisoners and dividing the Italian forces into a northern group and a southern group. In the morning of 5 Jan, the Australian 19th Infantry Brigade launched its attack on the Meriega Sector with support from 6 Matilda tanks. By 1115 hours, the C Company of the brigade had reached the Switch Line and captured two strongpoints, while Italian troops in this area began to surrender. In the early afternoon, Italian Lieutenant General Ruggero Tracchia and Brigadier General Alessandro de Guidi were captured; meanwhile, large groups of Italian troops of the northern group were surrendering to the Australian 16th Infantry Brigade and the Support Group of the British 7th Armoured Division outside the fortress. By the end of the day, all Italian troops surrendered, and Bardia fell under Allied control. 36,000 of the defenders became prisoners of war, but Bergonzolli was able to escape by a narrow margin together with a few thousand troops. About 1,000 Italians were killed and 3,000 were wounded, while the Allies suffered 130 killed and 326 wounded, all of whom Australian. In addition to the troops, the Allies also captured 708 vehicles, 26 coastal defense guns, 7 medium guns, 216 field guns, 146 anti-tank guns, 12 medium tanks, and perhaps most importantly, a large but damaged pumping station that would soon become a significant source of fresh water for the Allies in the region.

ww2dbaseThe significant contribution of Australian troops in the Battle of Bardia earned them fame in Allied and friendly neutral nations. In the United States, not yet in the war but strongly favoring the western Allies, the Washington Times-Herald newspaper ran the headline "Hardy Wild-Eyed Aussies Called World's Finest Troops" while the Chicago Daily News newspaper mentioned that Australians "in their realistic attitude towards power politics, prefer to send their boys to fight far overseas rather than fighting a battle in the suburbs of Sydney".

ww2dbaseBattle of Tobruk

21-23 Jan 1941

ww2dbaseUpon capturing Bardia, Libya, the British 7th Armoured Division and Australian 19th Brigade advanced toward Tobruk to the northwest, reaching the port city on 6 Jun. By 9 Jan 1940, Tobruk was surrounded. On 21 Jan, the main British attack began in the morning as field guns opened up on Italian positions before dawn. Dug-in Italian tanks and defensive bunkers gave Australian infantry, who bore the main responsibility of securing the port city, a difficult time, but one by one they were all silenced. After nightfall, the headquarters of the Australian 19th Brigade offered a ceasefire, but General Petassi Manella, commanding officer of the garrison of 25,000 men, rejected the offer, having received a call from Benito Mussolini earlier that day that the Tobruk garrison was to fight until the last man. Later that night, Italian SM.79 bombers carried out a low level attack on the Australian positions unexpectedly; unfortunately, the troop concentration they attacked was actually an enclosure containing 8,000 Italian prisoners of war, and the attack caused hundreds of casualties among their own countrymen. On the following day, Manella surrendered himself, but not his troops. In the afternoon, Italian Brigadier General Vincenzo della Mura, commanding officer of the Italian 61th Infantry Division "Sirte", surrendered the 17,000 men that had been placed under his command. On 23 Jan, Australian forces secured Tobruk. On 24 Jan, all remaining Italian outposts outside of Tobruk were captured. Alongside of the large number of Italian soldiers captured, the Allies also took possession 236 artillery pieces, 23 medium tanks, and 200 other vehicles. The Allies suffered fewer than 500 casualties, most of which were Australian.

ww2dbaseBattle of Derna

26 Jan 1941

ww2dbaseO'Connor ordered the British 7th Armoured Division northwest to the Jebel Akhdar mountains toward Mechili and the Australian 6th Division toward Derna further to the north. En route, on 24 Jan, the Allied troops ran into the newly organized Italian Special Armoured Brigade (Brigata Corazzato Speciale) under the command of General Valentino Babini; the ensuring combat saw the destruction of 9 Italian tanks and 7 British tanks. Heavy infantry action at the Derna airfield, Derna-Giovanni Berta area, and Wadi Derna slowed the Allied advance, but ultimately the Italian counter-offensive would fail to encircle the Allies, and Derna, a town of 10,000 residents, would be taken on 26 Jan. The Italian 60th Infantry Division "Sabratha" suffered heavy casualties as the result of this battle.

ww2dbaseIntercepting the Italian Retreat

5-7 Feb 1941

ww2dbaseThe series of losses suffered by the Italians triggered the decision to evacuate the Cyrenaica of Libya. As the remainder of the Italian Tenth Army fled west, the British 7th Armoured Division was dispatched to give chase inland via Msus and Antelat, while the Australian 6th Division advanced along the coastal road. Major General Creagh formed the Combe Force under Lieutenant Colonel John Combe of the 11th Hussars regiment with about 2,000 men and ordered it to race for the area south of Benghazi. The Combe Force reached the Benghazi-Tripoli road in the afternoon of 5 Feb and set up road blocks near Sidi Saleh about 32 kilometers north of Ajedabia. 30 minutes later, the leading elements of the Italian Tenth Army arrived, engaging them in combat. By the evening, the British 4th Armoured Brigade reached Beda Fomm overlooking the road about 16 kilometers north of the road blocks, thus threatening the rear of the Italians. On 6 and 7 Feb, Italians attempted breakouts with tanks; the fighting was fierce, but generally without positive results. The final breakout attempt took place in the morning of 7 Feb when the last 20 Italian medium tanks of the Italian Special Armoured Brigade broke through the first line of Allied infantry, but the British field guns positions near the regimental headquarters behind stopped the tanks. Discouraged with this latest failure, the Italians surrendered. Both Babini and Bergonzoli were captured. O'Connor dispatched the 11th Hussars regiment toward Agedabia and El Agheila further to the west to wipe out the small groups of Italians that managed to flee.

ww2dbaseEpilogue

ww2dbaseBy 9 Feb 1941, as the Allied troops reached El Agheila, Libya, the Italian Tenth Army had ceased to exist. In about 10 weeks, the Allied forces advanced 800 kilometers and captured a total of 130,000 Italian and colonial personnel (including 22 officers of general rank), 400 tanks, and 1,290 artillery pieces; about 32,000 Italian troops were able to escape Cyrenaica. For this victory, the Allies suffered 494 killed and 1,225 wounded. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill ordered the offensive halted so that some of the men could be routed to defend Greece from Axis attack. The Axis forces, however, did the opposite, transferring in Italian and German troops into North Africa for a major counter-offensive.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.

Last Major Update: Sep 2010

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