Operation Compass – Summary of Battles

Map of Western Desert Campaign 1941/42

(from Operation Sonnerblume, Wikipedia)

Sidi el Barrani was the first battle of Operation Compass. It was the first British attack in the Western Desert Campaign 10th – 11th December 1940 with the capture of supplies and 20,000 Italian troops. Sidi el Barrani had been taken by the Italians three months before and was a vital rail connection on the border between Libya and Egypt.

Italian troops were forced to retreat suffering defeats at Sollum, Buq Buq, Fort Capuzzo, Halfaya Pass, Sidi Omar as the allies forced the Italian line to Bardia. While some 40,000 Italian soliders were taken prisoner at Bardia, some of these soldiers had been in battle at Sollum or Fort Capuzzo or Buq Buq before arriving at Bardia.

The attack on Tobruk took place 21st to 22nd January 1941.

The British took Derna on the 31st January 1941.

Late on 5 February, Combeforce arrived at the Via Balbia south of Benghazi and set up road blocks near Sidi Saleh, about 30 mi (48 km) south-west of Antelat and 20 mi (32 km) north of Ajedabia. The leading elements of the 10th Army arrived thirty minutes after the British who sprung the ambush. Next day the Italians attacked to break through and continued their attacks into 7 February. With British reinforcements arriving and the Australians pressing down the road from Benghazi, the 10th Army surrendered later that day. Between Benghazi to Agedabia, the British took 25,000 prisoners, captured 107 tanks and 93 guns of the Operation Compass totals of 133,298 men, 420 tanks and 845 guns. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Beda_Fomm)

Operation Compass – A light hearted summary

A RECIPE FOR: FINISTRONE SOUP (1941, March 8). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 31. Retrieved August 14, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142428590

The Axis Retaliation

Little did the Allies know what lay ahead for them.  Operation Sonnenblume  was the Axis offenive against the Allied forces 1941-1943. Siege of Tobruk which lasted 241 days from April to December 1941 is one of Australia’s most notable Desert War milestone.