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During the Siege of Tobruk, the besieging troops were in the main part Italian units belonging to the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division and ''Trieste'' Motorized Division from the XXnd Motorised Corps, in support of the the ''Pavia'', ''Bologna'', and ''Brescia'' Infantry Divisions from the XXIst Infantry Corps. The sector manned by the ''Bologna'' Division consisted of several strongpoints manned by infantry and artillery battalions, all protected by extensive minefields.

During the Siege of Tobruk, the besieging troops were in the main part Italian units belonging to the ''Ariete'' Armoured Division and ''Trieste'' Motorized Division from the XXnd Motorised Corps, in support of the the ''Pavia'', ''Bologna'', and ''Brescia'' Infantry Divisions from the XXIst Infantry Corps. The sector manned by the ''Bologna'' Division consisted of several strongpoints manned by infantry and artillery battalions, all protected by extensive minefields.

The Italians, during the [[Battle of the Salient]], had overrun most of the Australian positions lost outside Tobruk on 1 May. Combat engineers under Lieutenant Francesco Tuci and Second Lieutenant Ernesto Betti, supported by Italian flamethrower tanks, had helped the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment capture several of the Australian strongpoints, and Lieutenant Tuci was posthumously awarded the ''Medaglia D'Argento'' (the Silver Medal, Italy's second highest military award for bravery, in helping his platoon fight off an Australian counterattack.

The Italians, during the [[Battle of the Salient]], had overrun most of the Australian positions lost outside Tobruk on May 1st 1941. Combat engineers under Lieutenant Francesco Tuci and Second Lieutenant Ernesto Betti, supported by Italian flamethrower tanks, had helped the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment capture several of the Australian strongpoints, and Lieutenant Tuci was posthumously awarded the ''Medaglia D'Argento'' (the Silver Medal, Italy's second highest military award for bravery, in helping his platoon fight off an Australian counterattack.

==Operation Crusader==

==Operation Crusader==

On 21 November 1941, the ''Bologna'' Division brought to a halt a strong British advance through its positions as part of [[Operation Crusader]].<ref>"The front was a series of strongpoints and not continuous trench lines. One was the Tugun position held by the Bologna infantry division, anything but an elite formation. The New Zealand Official History states, "The more elaborate attack on Tugun went in at 3 p.m. and gained perhaps half the position, together with 250 Italians and many light field guns; but the Italians in the western half could not be dislodged and the base of the break-out area remained on this account uncomfortably narrow." The Official History goes on to comment on the "...strong Italian opposition at Tugun as part of the reason for the decision to halt the sortie at this time." Rommel's North Africa Campaign: September 1940-November 1942, Page 110, Jack Greene & Alessandro Massignani, Combined Books, 1994</ref> The British forces involved (2nd/King’s Own, 2nd/Black Watch, 2nd/Queen’s and 4th RTR with Matilda tanks)overran part of the ''Bologna'' defences, but the attacks were eventually stopped by the Italian defenders. In summing up the experience of the 2nd Battalion ''The Black Watch'' in the attack, the ''Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War'' noted that:{{cquote|The superlative élan of the Black Watch in the attack had been equalled by the remarkable persistence of the defence in the face of formidable tank-and-infantry pressure.<ref>The Relief of Tobruk, W. E. Murphy, Pg 93, War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1961</ref>}}

On November 21st 1941, the ''Bologna'' Division brought to a halt a strong British advance through its positions as part of [[Operation Crusader]].<ref>"The front was a series of strongpoints and not continuous trench lines. One was the Tugun position held by the Bologna infantry division, anything but an elite formation. The New Zealand Official History states, "The more elaborate attack on Tugun went in at 3 p.m. and gained perhaps half the position, together with 250 Italians and many light field guns; but the Italians in the western half could not be dislodged and the base of the break-out area remained on this account uncomfortably narrow." The Official History goes on to comment on the "...strong Italian opposition at Tugun as part of the reason for the decision to halt the sortie at this time." Rommel's North Africa Campaign: September 1940-November 1942, Page 110, Jack Greene & Alessandro Massignani, Combined Books, 1994</ref> The British forces involved (2nd/King’s Own, 2nd/Black Watch, 2nd/Queen’s and 4th RTR with Matilda tanks) overran part of the ''Bologna'' defences, but the attacks were eventually stopped by the Italian defenders. In summing up the experience of the 2nd Battalion ''The Black Watch'' in the attack, the ''Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War'' noted that:{{cquote|The superlative élan of the Black Watch in the attack had been equalled by the remarkable persistence of the defence in the face of formidable tank-and-infantry pressure.<ref>The Relief of Tobruk, W. E. Murphy, Pg 93, War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1961</ref>}}

 

On November 23rd, the ''Bologna'' Division again withstood another strong British attack from Tobruk aimed at penetrating into the area of Sidi Rezegh, and the defenders bought sufficient time to allow the [[17th ''Pavia'' Infantry Division]] to mount an effective counter-attack and derail the British advance, as a German narrative later recorded:{{cquote|After a sudden artillery concentration the garrison of Fortress Tobruk, supported by sixty tanks, made an attack on the direction of Bel Hamid at noon, intending at long last unite with the main offence group. The Italian siege front around the fortress tried to offer a defence in the confusion but was forced to relinquish numerous strong points in the encirclement front about Bir Bu Assaten to superior enemy forces. The Italian "Pavia" Division was committed for a counterattack and managed to seal off the enemy breakthrough. <ref>German Experiences in Desert Warfare During World War II, Generalmajor Major Alfred Toppe (et al), Combat Studies Institute/Combined Arms Research Library, 1952</ref>}}