SkipCaptcha
797
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 15:
Line 15: + + + +
→British response
O'Connor wanted to continue attacking. He wanted to get at least as far as Benghazi. However, on December 11 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 Indian troops from December 14. The Australians had barely finished training, were missing their armoured regiment, and as yet had only one artillery regiment equipped with the new 25 pounder field guns.
O'Connor wanted to continue attacking. He wanted to get at least as far as Benghazi. However, on December 11 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 Indian troops from December 14. The Australians had barely finished training, were missing their armoured regiment, and as yet had only one artillery regiment equipped with the new 25 pounder field guns.
US War Correspodent Edward Kennedy reported that the 4th Blackshirt Division fought well in defence of the Maktila positions:
{{quote|"With the dawn the British column, made entirely of English and Scottish regiments—started for Sidi Barrani with tanks leading the way ... Two-thirds of a mile south of the town they came under the fire of Italians entrenched on a ridge ... After seven hours of hard fighting, in which the British said the Blackshirts fought well and inflicted considerable casualties, the British drove them back and took the ridge at 2 pm." (https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19401216&id=AvQtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=x9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6472,3067063&hl=en British Astonished At Great Italian Supplies, Ottawa Citizen, 16 December 1940)}}