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'''Operation Compass''' was the first major [[World War II]] Allied military operation in the Western Desert Campaign. It resulted in British Commonwealth forces pushing 800 kilometres across [[Libya]] and capturing 100,000<ref>"These initial exchanges were a prelude to the German advance into North Africa, after Wavell's armies put the Italians to flight, captured Tobruk and took 100,000 prisoners." The Silent Service: The Inside Story of the Royal Navy's Submarine Heroes, John Parker, Hachette, 2013</ref> or 130,000 (depending on the source) Italian and Libyan soldiers at the cost of 500 killed, 1,373 wounded and 56 missing or captured.

'''Operation Compass''' was the first major [[World War II]] Allied military operation in the Western Desert Campaign. It resulted in British Commonwealth forces pushing 800 kilometres across [[Libya]] and capturing 100,000<ref>"These initial exchanges were a prelude to the German advance into North Africa, after Wavell's armies put the Italians to flight, captured Tobruk and took 100,000 prisoners." The Silent Service: The Inside Story of the Royal Navy's Submarine Heroes, John Parker, Hachette, 2013</ref><ref>"In Operation Compass his desert forces seized Cyrenaica, taking more than 100,000 prisoners." Commanders, p. 314, Dorling Kindersley, 2011</ref>or 130,000 (depending on the source) Italian and Libyan soldiers at the cost of 500 killed, 1,373 wounded and 56 missing or captured.

==Prelude==

==Prelude==

After the Italian declaration of [[war]] on France and the [[United Kingdom]] on 10 June 1940, the British and Italian forces in Libya  began a series of incurisons. Among the more notable achievements of these raids were the capture of Fort Capuzzo by the British Army's 11th Hussars on 17 June. On 12 June, 63 Italians were captured in a raid. [[Benito Mussolini]] urged the Libyan Governor-General Marshal Italo Balbo to launch a large scale offensive against the British in [[Egypt]]. Mussolini's immediate aim was to capture the Suez Canal, ultimately wanting to link up his forces in Libya with those in Italian East Africa. But, fearing a Free French invasion and Senussi Arab uprising, Balbo was reluctant. After Balbo's accidental death on 28 June, Mussolini was just as adamant in urging his replacement, Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, to attack. Like Balbo, Graziani too was reluctant.

After the Italian declaration of [[war]] on France and the [[United Kingdom]] on 10 June 1940, the British and Italian forces in Libya  began a series of incurisons. Among the more notable achievements of these raids were the capture of Fort Capuzzo by the British Army's 11th Hussars on 17 June. On 12 June, 63 Italians were captured in a raid. [[Benito Mussolini]] urged the Libyan Governor-General Marshal Italo Balbo to launch a large scale offensive against the British in [[Egypt]]. Mussolini's immediate aim was to capture the Suez Canal, ultimately wanting to link up his forces in Libya with those in Italian East Africa. But, fearing a Free French invasion and Senussi Arab uprising, Balbo was reluctant. After Balbo's accidental death on 28 June, Mussolini was just as adamant in urging his replacement, Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, to attack. Like Balbo, Graziani too was reluctant.

==Italian invasion of Egypt==

==Italian invasion of Egypt==

On 9 August 1940, in a special meeting of the Libyan nationalist leaders in Cairo, a Senussi government-in-exile was announced under Sayyid Idris with British political, financial and military support.  

On 9 August 1940, in a special meeting of the Libyan nationalist leaders in Cairo, a Senussi government-in-exile was announced under Sayyid Idris with British political, financial and military support.  

==Battle of the Camps==

==Battle of the Camps==

Following the Italian halt, Wavell ordered the commander British Troops Egypt, Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson to plan a limited operation to push the Italians back. Operation Compass was originally planned as a five-day raid but was extended after its initial success.  

Following the Italian halt, Wavell ordered the commander British Troops Egypt, Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson to plan a limited operation to push the Italians back. Operation Compass was originally planned as a five-day raid but was extended after its initial success.