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→Battle of Bardia
The Italians put in several platoon and company-sized counterattacks in the southern sector. These are repulsed by the 2nd/6th Battalion, which waited until their attackers were at close range before opening fire. Supported by tanks, the Australians closed in on the town of Bardia. At 1130 hours on 4 January, Major-General Iven Giffard Mackay, who commanded the 6th Infantry Division, accepted the surrender of the 25,000 Italian troops that had defended Bardia. <ref>"The report filed by the British journalist Jan Yindrich for the Australian Associated Press on 5 January was headlined SMASH WAY THROUGH MODERN HINDENBURG LINE: FEW CASUALTIES IN CAPTURING 25,000 PRISONERS." The Longest Siege: Tobruk, The Battle That Saved North Africa, Robert Lyman, p. 59, Pan Australia, 2009</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19410106&id=Ju4nAAAAIBAJ&sjid=p2kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4473,5225826&hl=en Bardia Falls to British, 25,000 Fascists Captured, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6 January 1941]</ref>
The Italians put in several platoon and company-sized counterattacks in the southern sector. These are repulsed by the 2nd/6th Battalion, which waited until their attackers were at close range before opening fire. Supported by tanks, the Australians closed in on the town of Bardia. At 1130 hours on 4 January, Major-General Iven Giffard Mackay, who commanded the 6th Infantry Division, accepted the surrender of the 25,000 Italian troops that had defended Bardia. <ref>"The report filed by the British journalist Jan Yindrich for the Australian Associated Press on 5 January was headlined SMASH WAY THROUGH MODERN HINDENBURG LINE: FEW CASUALTIES IN CAPTURING 25,000 PRISONERS." The Longest Siege: Tobruk, The Battle That Saved North Africa, Robert Lyman, p. 59, Pan Australia, 2009</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19410106&id=Ju4nAAAAIBAJ&sjid=p2kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4473,5225826&hl=en Bardia Falls to British, 25,000 Fascists Captured, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6 January 1941]</ref>
During the night, the two attacking brigades consolidated their positions and O'Connor brought forward the 19th Brigade to resume the advance in the morning. At first light, several hundred Italians counterattacked, nearly overrunning C Company from the 2nd/6th Battalion, which waited until their attackers were at close range before opening fire.
During the night, the two attacking brigades consolidated their positions and O'Connor brought forward the 19th Brigade to resume the advance in the morning. In the meantime, the Bardia commanders prepared their final effort and at first light several hundred Italians counterattacked, nearly overrunning a rifle company from the 2nd/6th Battalion, which waited until their attackers were at close range before opening fire.
Later that morning, the fresh infantry reinforcements and supporting tanks closed in on the town of Bardia. At 13.00 on 5 January, Major-General Iven Giffard Mackay, who commanded the 6th Infantry Division, formally accepted the surrender of the survivors from the reported 25,000 or 40,000 (depending on the source) strong garrison that had garrisoned Bardia. The Australians also captured 127 tanks and 216 field guns. The Australians suffered 130 killed and 326 wounded.
Among the captured of the Bardia garrison, was Captain Tua Felice, commander of a rifle company from the Cirene Division, who won the Medaglia D'Oro, Italy's highest award for bravery. He had been badly wounded in the fighting and in an effort to save his life, the British transferred him to a Cairo military hospital. (He recovered and spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner in British India. Upon his return to Italy in May 1946, he resumed his military career, rretiring with the rank of full colonel.)
Among the captured of the Bardia garrison, was Captain Tua Felice, commander of a rifle company from the Cirene Division, who won the Medaglia D'Oro, Italy's highest award for bravery. He had been badly wounded in the fighting and in an effort to save his life, the British transferred him to a Cairo military hospital. (He recovered and spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner in British India. Upon his return to Italy in May 1946, he resumed his military career, rretiring with the rank of full colonel.)
It would later emerge that the Italian defenders were in a terrible state, with several dying of hunger and thirst:
It would later emerge that the Italian defenders were in a terrible state, with several dying of hunger and thirst:{{cquote|The impact of insufficient food and drink on the Italian defenders at Bardia was soon quite clear to the Australians ... many were dying and weak with hunger and thirst ... They went down on their knees and drank up puddles of water ... Warrant Officer R. Donovan, 2/21 Field Regiment was haunted by mass cries for 'aqua, aqua,' ... Some died of exhaustion and thirst.<ref>Bardia: Myth, Reality and the Heirs of Anzac, Craig Stockings, p. 316, UNSW Press, 2009</ref>}}
{{cquote|The impact of insufficient food and drink on the Italian defenders at Bardia was soon quite clear to the Australians ... many were dying and weak with hunger and thirst ... They went down on their knees and drank up puddles of water ... Warrant Officer R. Donovan, 2/21 Field Regiment was haunted by mass cries for 'aqua, aqua,' ... Some died of exhaustion and thirst.<ref>Bardia: Myth, Reality and the Heirs of Anzac, Craig Stockings, p. 316, UNSW Press, 2009</ref>}}
Captain Halliday was later decorated for his oustanding courage and leadership in North Africa with the Military Cross (MC).
Captain Halliday was later decorated for his oustanding courage and leadership in North Africa with the Military Cross (MC).