The Historical Background

Operation Compass, instigated by British General Wavell on December 9, 1940, against the Italians, had been extremely successful. Although the British were outnumbered, they possessed an advantage in tanks. The Italians could field only 120 armored vehicles, while the British had 275 at their disposal.

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The attacks were led by the 4th Indian Division and the 7th Armored Division, or "The Desert Rats." They were so called for the red Jerboa, a small ratlike desert creature, painted as an emblem on their vehicles. General Richard O Connor was a slender, soft spoken leader, who nonetheless possessed a streak of daring and a genius for command.

The Desert Rats’ symbol

From Sidi Barrani, the Italians were routed, and headed westward in confusion. Even though some Axis soldiers showed individual acts of heroism, it was all for naught. The allied juggernaut rolled right over them. Literally thousands of Italian soldiers surrendered. Two Italian strong points, Bardia and Sollum, were cut off and bypassed as the Desert Rats relentlessly pursued the retreating enemy.

By January 21, 1941, Tobruk, an important port city for resupply, had fallen to the British troops. The chase continued even though the 7th Armored Division was now down to 50 tanks, most of these running on liberated Italian fuel. Many vehicles were falling apart, and both sides suffered from thirst and exhaustion. The supply situation was a shambles as Allied troops outran their supply lines. In spite of this, General O’Connor, commander of the 7th, requested permission from General Wavell to go across country and cut off the retreating Italians at Benghazi. Wavell replied to the request, "You go ahead, Dick."

When it looked as though the ragged and tired British forces would not get there in time, General Creagh, leader of the 7th Armored Division, split off a small fast unit of trucks, anti-tank guns, and armored recon vehicles. It was called "Combeforce", and was under the command of Lt. Col. John Combe. The flying column included the 2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade, C Battery of the 4th RHA, and some antitank guns of the 106th Regiment of the Royal Artillery. Its task was to get to a strategic point on the highway and form a blocking force to hold the Italians until the bulk of the 7th Armored Division could catch up to them.

The primary Italian tank at that time was the upgraded M13/39, with the nomenclature of M13/40. Opinions vary widely among authorities on armor as to its worth. Some praise it; others condemn it soundly. The biggest change of the newer version was a larger main gun. Instead of a 37mm antitank cannon, it had been improved with a much more effective 47mm one in a larger turret. With a crew of 4, it was 16.5 feet long and nearly 8 feet tall.

Its maximum road speed was 20 miles per hour. The armor plating was reasonable for that day, varying from one half inch to nearly two inches in the front. All in all it did not seem to be a bad tank. The British put over 100 captured M13/40s in service during the desert war. Its failure came in its use. Poorly led, with poor armor training, the Italian tankers invariably came out second best in the fight.

The opponent of the M13/40 in this engagement was the A-13 Cruiser tank. This tank was one of the main battlewagons of the Royal Armored Corps in the first two years of the war. It was found to be insufficient and at times unreliable. Its main armament was the 2 pounder antitank gun (similar to the US 37mm AT cannon).

By now the excellent Christie suspension system had been incorporated into the A models. Even though up-armored and with a larger turret, the tank was to prove inadequate for the standards of that day. Nevertheless, British tankers made do once and again with what they had, and for the most part performed admirably. In addition to the 2 pounder main armament, it carried two Besa machine guns (later upgraded to Vickers). It was 20 feet long and stood 8.5 feet high. Its maximum road speed was about 30 miles per hour and it had a range of almost 100 miles.

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