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General O'Connor wanted to continue attacking. He wanted to get at least as far as Benghazi. However, on December 11 General Wavell had ordered the Indian 4th Infantry Division to take part in an offensive against Italian forces in Italian East Africa. O'Connor would later write, ''"[This] came as a complete and very unpleasant surprise . . . It put 'paid' to the question of immediate exploitation ... "'' The Australian 6th Division replaced the Indian brigades starting on 14 December. The Australians had just completed their intense training and were lacking their armoured regiment, but had one artillery regiment equipped with new 25 pounder field guns.
General O'Connor wanted to continue attacking. He wanted to get at least as far as Benghazi. However, on December 11 General Wavell had ordered the Indian 4th Infantry Division to take part in an offensive against Italian forces in Italian East Africa. O'Connor would later write, ''"[This] came as a complete and very unpleasant surprise . . . It put 'paid' to the question of immediate exploitation ... "'' The Australian 6th Division replaced the Indian brigades starting on 14 December. The Australians had just completed their intense training and were lacking their armoured regiment, but had one artillery regiment equipped with new 25 pounder field guns.
US War Correspodent Edward Kennedy reported that the 4th Blackshirt Division fought well in defence of the Maktila positions:{{cquote|With the dawn the British column, made entirely of English and Scottish regiments—started for Sidi Barrani with tanks leading the way ... Two-thirds of a mile south of the town they came under the fire of Italians entrenched on a ridge ... After seven hours of hard fighting, in which the British said the Blackshirts fought well and inflicted considerable casualties, the British drove them back and took the ridge at 2 pm. <ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19401216&id=AvQtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=x9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6472,3067063&hl=en British Astonished At Great Italian Supplies, Ottawa Citizen, 16 December 1940]]</ref>}}
US War Correspodent Edward Kennedy reported that the 4th Blackshirt Division fought well in defence of the Maktila positions:{{cquote|With the dawn the British column, made entirely of English and Scottish regiments—started for Sidi Barrani with tanks leading the way ... Two-thirds of a mile south of the town they came under the fire of Italians entrenched on a ridge ... After seven hours of hard fighting, in which the British said the Blackshirts fought well and inflicted considerable casualties, the British drove them back and took the ridge at 2 pm. <ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19401216&id=AvQtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=x9sFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6472,3067063&hl=en British Astonished At Great Italian Supplies, Ottawa Citizen, 16 December 1940]</ref>}}
==Battle of Bardia==
==Battle of Bardia==