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On the night of 10/11 July, the Australian 9th Division attacked the 60th ''Sabratha'' Infantry Division defending Tel el Eisa, very close to the Afrika Korps' Command Post. The German 621st Radio Intercept Company and 835 Italians from the ''Sabratha'' are captured.  The attacking 2nd/48th Battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel Heathcote Hammer, had been greatly assisted by the supporting fire from 100 artillery guns. The night, the South Africans also attacked and captured Tel el Makh Khad.

On the night of 10/11 July, the Australian 9th Division attacked the 60th ''Sabratha'' Infantry Division defending Tel el Eisa, very close to the Afrika Korps' Command Post. The German 621st Radio Intercept Company and 835 Italians from the ''Sabratha'' are captured.  The attacking 2nd/48th Battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel Heathcote Hammer, had been greatly assisted by the supporting fire from 100 artillery guns. The night, the South Africans also attacked and captured Tel el Makh Khad.

The next morning, a battalion from the [[7th Bersaglieri Regiment]], under Lieutenant-Colonel Ugo Scirocco, counterattacks and recaptures part of Tel el Eisa along with thirteen Australians. <ref>According to the 2nd/48th Battalion War Diary: ''"[a]t approx 2000 hrs enemy tks-number unknown-and inf attacked D Coy front. They overrun posn and enemy inf forced D Coy to withdraw and occupied their psn."''</ref>The Bersaglieri suffers heavy casualties, but their attack allows the 15th Panzer Division and ''Trieste'' Infantry Division to send forward a company, under Captain Vittorio Bulgarelli, from the 11th Armoured Battalion that halts the Australians.<ref>"That afternoon Italian tanks counter-attacked both Australian battalions in an attempt to retake Hill 33 near the coast. Maj. Gabriele Verri, commanding 11th Armd. Bn. of the Trieste Motorised Division, sent a company of M13 and M14 tanks into the assault under Capt. Vittorio Bulgarelli." War in the Desert, Neil D. Orpen, p.367, Purnell, 1971</ref>

The next morning, a battalion from the [[7th Bersaglieri Regiment]], under Lieutenant-Colonel Ugo Scirocco, counterattacks and recaptures part of Tel el Eisa along with thirteen Australians. <ref>According to the 2nd/48th Battalion War Diary: ''"[a]t approx 2000 hrs enemy tks-number unknown-and inf attacked D Coy front. They overrun posn and enemy inf forced D Coy to withdraw and occupied their psn."''</ref>The Bersaglieri suffers heavy casualties, but their attack allows the 15th Panzer Division and Italians to send forward a company of tanks, under Captain Vittorio Bulgarelli, from the Trieste Division that halts the Australians.<ref>"That afternoon Italian tanks counter-attacked both Australian battalions in an attempt to retake Hill 33 near the coast. Maj. Gabriele Verri, commanding 11th Armd. Bn. of the Trieste Motorised Division, sent a company of M13 and M14 tanks into the assault under Capt. Vittorio Bulgarelli." War in the Desert, Neil D. Orpen, p.367, Purnell, 1971</ref>

On 14 July, Colonel Erminio Angelozzi's 1st Battalion (85th Infantry Regiment) from the ''Sabratha'', counterattacks the Australians dug in on Tel el Eisa and succeeded in recapturing the position. The defending battalion withdrew, but the 2nd/23rd Battalion and the British 8th Royal Tank Regiment (8 RTR) attempted to push out the Italians on 16 July, overrunning a good part of the ''Sabratha'' <ref>"Next day, the 16th July, the British attacked again, but this time only locally. After intensive artillery preparation, the Australians attacked in the early hours of the morning with tank support and took several strong-points held by the Sabratha.“ History of the Second World War, Volume 3, p.1074, Purnell and Sons Limited, 1967</ref>before being forced to withdraw.<ref>"On Tell el Eisa the situation was now too hot for the Australians. The area was swept by fire, and they had no artillery, no Vickers guns and no anti-tank guns, and casualties were mounting. They withdrew again.“ Dance of War: The Story of the Battle of Egypt, p.165, Peter Bates, Pen and Sword, 1992</ref>

On 14 July, Colonel Erminio Angelozzi's 1st Battalion (85th Infantry Regiment) from the ''Sabratha'', counterattacks the Australians dug in on Tel el Eisa and succeeded in recapturing the position. The defending battalion withdraws, but the 2nd/23rd Battalion and the British 8th Royal Tank Regiment (8 RTR) attack on 16 July, overrunning a good part of the ''Sabratha'' <ref>"Next day, the 16th July, the British attacked again, but this time only locally. After intensive artillery preparation, the Australians attacked in the early hours of the morning with tank support and took several strong-points held by the Sabratha.“ History of the Second World War, Volume 3, p.1074, Purnell and Sons Limited, 1967</ref>before being forced to withdraw.<ref>"On Tell el Eisa the situation was now too hot for the Australians. The area was swept by fire, and they had no artillery, no Vickers guns and no anti-tank guns, and casualties were mounting. They withdrew again.“ Dance of War: The Story of the Battle of Egypt, p.165, Peter Bates, Pen and Sword, 1992</ref>

== Notes ==

== Notes ==

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[[Category:World War II Battles]]

[[Category:World War II Battles]]