Operation Compass
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| Operation Compass | |||||||
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| Part of World War II, North African Campaign | |||||||
 The Italian Offensive and Operation Compass December 8, 1940 - February 7, 1941 (Click to enlarge) |
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Western Desert Force | Italian Tenth Army | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Richard O'Connor | Rodolfo Graziani Pietro Maletti † |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 50,000 soldiers 120 guns 275 tanks |
100,000 soldiers 1,600 guns 600 light tanks |
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| Casualties | |||||||
| 494 dead 1,225 wounded |
3,000 dead 130,000 captured 400 tanks 1,292 guns |
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| Western Desert Campaign |
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| Compass – Sonnenblume – Tobruk – Brevity – Battleaxe – Crusader – Gazala – Bir Hakeim – 1st Alamein – Alam Halfa – Agreement – 2nd Alamein |
Operation Compass was the first major World War II Allied military operation in the Western Desert Campaign. It resulted in British forces pushing across a great stretch of Libya and capturing over 100,000 Italian soldiers with very few casualties of their own.
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[edit] Prelude
After the italian declaration of war, on June 10, 1940 Mussolini urged general Rodolfo Graziani, the commander of the Italian Tenth Army in Libya (then an italian colony) to use his troops in an invasion of British-controlled Egypt. Graziani expressed doubts about the ability of his largely un-mechanized force could defeat the British, however, he followed orders and the Tenth Army attacked on September 13. The Italian troops had advanced from the libyan border into Egypt, and occupied the little town of Sidi Barrani.
[edit] Initial British attack
On December 8, 1940, British Army, and Indian Army forces under the command of Major-General Richard O'Connor attacked the Italian rear, via a gap in the defenses south of Sidi Barrani. Planning of the operation (and discovery of the gap) is often credited to Brigadier Eric Dorman-Smith, who served as an adviser to O'Connor, although this is disputed.
As a counter-espionage measure, many of the troops involved were not informed that the operation wasn't an exercise, until they were very nearly engaged in combat. The attack was supported by 25 Pounder artillery and Blenheim bombers and was centered on the advance of Matilda Mk.II tanks, a target unpierceable to all the italian anti-tank guns. Within an hour of the onset of combat, Italian General Pietro Maletti would be dead and 4,000 Italian soldiers would surrender. Within three days, 237 artillery, 73 tanks, (mainly Fiat L3 tankettes) and 38,300 soldiers would be destroyed or captured. The attacking forces would move west along the Via della Vittoria, through Halfaya Pass, and capture Fort Capuzzo, Libya.
The Italians were not expecting counterattack. Several large Italian units were surrounded and cut of from their supply, resulting in their surrender after some hard fighting.
O'Connor wanted to continue attacking, at least as far as Benghazi; however, General Wavell had ordered the Indian 4th Infantry Division to take part in an offensive against Italian forces in Italian East Africa. O'Connor would state, "[This] came as a complete and very unpleasant surprise...It put paid to the question of immediate exploitation...". The Australian 6th Division replaced the Indians but only after an inevitable pause.
[edit] Battle of Beda Fomm
In late January 1941, the British learned that the Italians, fearing the British advance were evacuating Cyrenaica by way of Beda Fomm; The British 7th Armoured Division was dispatched to intercept the Italian army. Halfway to their destination, it was evident that the entire division together was too slow so a 'flying column' was sent on a direct route across the desert. On 5 February 1941, they arrived at the town to cut off the retreating remnants of the Italian Tenth Army. The following day, the Italians arrived and attacked, but failed to break through the blockade. For two days, 500 riflemen, a squadron of tanks and a few field- and anti-tank guns held off 20,000 Italian soldiers with one hundred light tanks and two hundred guns. The fighting was close and often hand-to-hand; at one point, a regimental sergeant major captured an Italian light tank by hitting the commander over the head with a rifle-butt. The final effort came 7 February when the last 20 Italian Fiat M13/40 light tanks broke through the thin cordon of riflemen and anti-tank guns and could only be stopped by the fire of British field guns, few yards from regimental HQ.
[edit] Conclusion
After 10 weeks the Allies had advanced 800km, destroying 400 tanks, 1,292 artillery pieces and capturing 130,000 POWs. The Allies suffered 494 dead and 1,225 wounded. However the advance stopped short of driving the Italians out of North Africa. As the advance reached El Agheila, Churchill ordered that it be stopped, and troops dispatched to defend Greece attacked by the Italians. A few weeks later the first troops of the German Afrika Korps would begin arriving in Tripoli (Operation Sonnenblume), and the desert war would take a completely different turn. [1]
[edit] Quotes
- Bonner Fellers: "General Wavell told me they were going to do manoeuvres, so I went up as an observer, and God dammit — it was the works."
- Anonymous Coldstream Guards officer: "We have [taken prisoner] about 5 acres [20,000 m²] of officers and 200 acres [800,000 m²] of other ranks."
- Rodolfo Graziani: (writing to Mussolini after the defeat) "In this theatre of operations a single armoured division is more important than an entire [infantry] army."
