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→Aftermath
==Aftermath==
==Aftermath==
After ten weeks of fighting, Graziani's 10th Army had been completely outfought and forced to relinquish most strongholds (Bardia, Tobruk, Derna, etc). The British Commonwealth and Free French forces had advanced 800 km, destroyed or captured about 400 tanks and 850 or 1,290 artillery pieces, and 100,000 or 130,000 (depending on the source) Italian and Libyan soldiers besides a vast quantity of other war material. Among the Italian captured were 22 generals. The Italian general staff and Graziani in his memoirs acknowledge 850 guns of all types lost and 100,000 captured, including 17,000 Libyan soldiers. The British and Commonwealth forces admit 494 dead and 1,225 wounded.
Contrary to expectations the British advance stopped short of capturing Tripoli and completely defeating the Italians in North Africa. As the British Commonwealth vanguards reached El Agheila, Churchill ordered that the offensive be stopped and infantry and armoured units dispatched urgently to defend northern Greece. The Greeks had most of their divisions pinned down in Albania containing Italian counteroffensives and a German invasion was soon expected to materialize through the undermanned Metaxas Line.
Contrary to expectations the British advance stopped short of capturing Tripoli and completely defeating the Italians in North Africa. As the British Commonwealth vanguards reached El Agheila, Churchill ordered that the offensive be stopped and infantry and armoured units dispatched urgently to defend northern Greece. The Greeks had most of their divisions pinned down in Albania containing Italian counteroffensives and a German invasion was soon expected to materialize through the undermanned Metaxas Line.