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''"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>
''"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>
==Bardia==
==Battle of Bardia==
The Italians put in a last-ditch regimental-sized counterattack in the southern sector, killing about 40. This was repulsed by 2/6th 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 a last-ditch regimental-sized counterattack in the southern sector, killing about 40. This was repulsed by 2/6th 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 Italian commander, Bergonzolli, escaped and was able to stay just ahead of the Commonwealth forces as they then advanced to Tobruk. Ultimately Bergonzoli became a prisoner in Benghazi after the remnants of the Italian Tenth Army was cut off and defeated at Beda Fomm.
The Italian commander, Bergonzolli, escaped and was able to stay just ahead of the Commonwealth forces as they then advanced to Tobruk. Ultimately Bergonzoli became a prisoner in Benghazi after the remnants of the Italian Tenth Army was cut off and defeated at Beda Fomm.
==Giarabub==
==Battle of Beda Fomm==
The rapid advance of the British Commonwealth units, forced the Italian Supreme Command to issue orders for the 30,000-strong Benghazi stronghold to abandon the city and instead defend Tripoli. In late January 1941, the British Middle East Command in Cairo learned that the Italians were abandoning Cyrenaica along the main coastal road from Benghazi. The British 7th Armoured Division, under Major General Sir Michael O'Moore Creagh, was dispatched to intercept and defeat the remnants of Marshall Graziani'sItalian Tenth Army.
Creagh's division was ordered to cut through Msus and Antelat, while the Australian 6th Division pursued the Italians along the coastal road at the foot of the Jebel Akhdar mountains. The poor terrain was difficult going for the armoured columns, and Creagh took the bold decision to send a "flying column" (christened Combe Force) south-west across the virtually unmapped Libyan Desert. Combe Force, under Lieutenant Colonel John Combe of the 11th Hussars, consisted of 11th Hussars, a squadron of King's Dragoon Guards, 2nd Rifle Brigade, a Royal Air Force armoured car squadron, anti-tank guns from 3 Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) and 'C' battery 4 RHA. The force totalled about 2,000 men. In order to maintain speed, only light and Cruiser tanks were part of the Combe Force column.
==Battle of Giarabub==
General Wavell's offensive had cut off approximately 2,000 Italian and Libyan troops (under the command of Major Salvatore Castagna) defending the Giarabub stronghold guarding against the Free French Forces in Chad. Giarabub was an oasis 160 miles (260 km) to the south of Bardia and 25 miles (40 km) from the border. Although the Libyan troops deserted the defences, the Italian troops held firm and were still fighting off aerial and ground reconnaissance missions in mid-March. Although cut off, the garrison was supplied by air and the 6th Australian Division's divisional mechanized cavalry unit which was besieging the oasis did not have the necessary strength to overcome the opposition.
General Wavell's offensive had cut off approximately 2,000 Italian and Libyan troops (under the command of Major Salvatore Castagna) defending the Giarabub stronghold guarding against the Free French Forces in Chad. Giarabub was an oasis 160 miles (260 km) to the south of Bardia and 25 miles (40 km) from the border. Although the Libyan troops deserted the defences, the Italian troops held firm and were still fighting off aerial and ground reconnaissance missions in mid-March. Although cut off, the garrison was supplied by air and the 6th Australian Division's divisional mechanized cavalry unit which was besieging the oasis did not have the necessary strength to overcome the opposition.