| − | '''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. | + | '''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><ref>"Churchill was profoundly relieved in the winter of 1940-41 when Wavell defeated the Italians ... capturing over 100,000 prisoners and much materiel." Winston Churchill: A Biography, Piers Brendon, p. 155, Harper & Row, 1984</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. |