Opeation Compass during World War II

Opeation Compass during World War II Operation Compass - Conflict: Operation Compass took place during World War II (1939-1945). Operation Compass - Date: Fighting in the Western Desert began on December 8, 1940 and concluded on February 9, 1941. Armies Commanders: British General Richard OConnorGeneral Archibald Wavell31,000 men275 tanks, 60 armored cars, 120 artillery pieces Italians General Rodolfo GrazianiGeneral Annibale Bergonzoli150,000 men600 tanks, 1,200 artillery pieces Operation Compass - Battle Summary: Following Italys June 10, 1940, declaration of war on Great Britain and France, Italian forces in Libya began raiding across the border into British-held Egypt. These raids were encouraged by Benito Mussolini who wished the Governor-General of Libya, Marshal Italo Balbo, to launch a full scale offensive with the goal of capturing the Suez Canal. After Balbos accidental death on June 28, Mussolini replaced him with General Rodolfo Graziani and gave him similar instructions. At Grazianis disposal were the Tenth and Fifth Armies which consisted of around 150,000 men. Opposing the Italians were the 31,000 men of Major General Richard OConnors West Desert Force. Though badly outnumbered the British troops were highly mechanized and mobile, as well as possessed more advanced tanks than the Italians. Among these was the heavy Matilda infantry tank which possessed armor that no available Italian tank/anti-tank gun could breach. Only one Italian unit was largely mechanized, the Maletti Group, which possessed trucks and a variety of light armor. On September 13, 1940, Graziani gave into Mussolinis demand and attacked into Egypt with seven divisions as well as the Maletti Group. After recapturing Fort Capuzzo, the Italians pressed into Egypt, advancing 60 miles in three days. Halting at Sidi Barrani, the Italians dug in to await supplies and reinforcements. These were slow arriving as the Royal Navy had increased its presence in the Mediterranean and was intercepting Italian supply ships. To counter the Italian advance, OConnor planned Operation Compass which was designed to push the Italians out of Egypt and back into Libya as far as Benghazi. Attacking on December 8, 1940, British and Indian Army units struck at Sidi Barrani. Exploiting a gap in the Italian defenses discovered by Brigadier Eric Dorman-Smith, British forces attacked south of Sidi Barrani and achieved complete surprise. Supported by artillery, aircraft, and armor, the assault overran the Italian position within five hours and resulted in the destruction of the Maletti Group and the death of its commander, General Pietro Maletti. Over the next three days, OConnors men pushed west destroying 237 Italian artillery pieces, 73 tanks, and capturing 38,300 men. Moving through Halfaya Pass, they crossed the border and captured Fort Capuzzo. Wishing to exploit the situation, OConnor wanted to keep attacking however he was forced to halt as his superior, General Archibald Wavell, withdrew the 4th Indian Division from the battle for operations in East Africa. This was replaced on December 18 by the raw Australian 6th Division, marking the first time Australian troops saw combat in World War II. Resuming the advance, the British were able to keep the Italians off balance with the speed of their attacks which led to entire units being cut off and forced to surrender. Pushing into Libya, the Australians captured Bardia (January 5, 1941), Tobruk (January 22), and Derna (February 3). Due to their inability to stop OConnors offensive, Graziani made the decision to completely abandon the region of Cyrenaica and ordered the Tenth Army to fall back through Beda Fomm. Learning of this, OConnor devised a new plan with the goal of destroying the Tenth Army. With the Australians pushing the Italians back along the coast, he detached Major General Sir Michael Creaghs 7th Armoured Division with orders to turn inland, cross the desert, and take Beda Fomm before the Italians arrived. Traveling via Mechili, Msus and Antelat, Creaghs tanks found the rough terrain of the desert difficult to cross. Falling behind schedule, Creagh made the decision to send a flying column forward to take Beda Fomm. Christened Combe Force, for its commander Lieutenant Colonel John Combe, it was composed of around 2,000 men. As it was intended to move quickly, Creagh limited its armor support to light and Cruiser tanks. Rushing forward, Combe Force took Beda Fomm on February 4. After establishing defensive positions facing north up the coast, they came under heavy attack the next day. Desperately attacking Combe Forces position, the Italians repeatedly failed to break through. For two days, Combes 2,000 men held off 20,000 Italians supported by over 100 tanks. On February 7, 20 Italian tanks managed to break into the British lines but were defeated by Combes field guns. Later that day, with the rest of the 7th Armoured Division arriving and the Australians pressing from the north, the Tenth Army began surrendering en masse. Operation Compass - Aftermath The ten weeks of Operation Compass succeeded in pushing the Tenth Army out of Egypt and eliminating it as a fighting force. During the campaign the Italians lost around 3,000 killed and 130,000 captured, as well as approximately 400 tanks and 1,292 artillery pieces. West Desert Forces losses were limited to 494 dead and 1,225 wounded. A crushing defeat for the Italians, the British failed to exploit the success of Operation Compass as Churchill ordered the advance stopped at El Agheila and began pulling out troops to aid in the defense of Greece. Later that month, the German Afrika Korps began deploying to the area radically changing the course of the war in North Africa.   This would lead to fighting back and forth with Germans winning at places such as Gazala before being halted at First El Alamein and crushed at Second El Alamein.  Ã‚   Selected Sources History of War: Operation CompassWorld War II Database: Operation Compass

Checking in on New Years Resolutions... How Are Yours Going

Checking in on New Years Resolutions... How Are Yours Going If you didn’t write down your New Year’s Resolutions in January, or even if you did, you may have completely forgotten about them by now. I know that left to my own devices, I would be completely unreliable with regard to checking back on my promises from January. Thankfully, I have a blog and newsletter- with an audience- to keep me accountable! As I look back at my resolutions for my business in 2013, I realize I have succeeded in fulfilling 2 out of 6 of them. Yikes! Let’s look at the hard facts: 1. Publish a Spanish-language version of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile. I engaged a consultant to look into the possibility of finding someone who wanted foreign rights to my e-book; no one was interested. This meant that if I were to publish a Spanish version of my book, I would have to do it myself. After considering the realities of the costs and effort involved in revising the book in Spanish as well as in English each time LinkedIn changes something in its platform, I determined that this project would not be a good use of time and resources. I did put a lot of thought into this decision however! 2. Publish a 50 Resume Tips book I’m pleased to announce that I will be publishing not one but TWO e-books on resumes within the next month: How to Write a WINNING Resume: 50 Tips to Reach Your Job Search Target and How to Write a STELLAR Executive Resume: 50 Tips to Reach Your Job Search Target. Watch my newsletter for the official announcement about when the books will be available on Amazon! 3. Obtain a Master Resume Writer certification (CMRW) from Career Directors International. DONE as of March 2013! 4. Increase the college essay / personal statement portion of my business to 25% of total business. I have not found the key to increasing the number of personal statement clients I work with in a year. Admissions season is about to start, so I can’t be sure of the numbers for the year, but as of today admissions consulting represents less than 10% of The Essay Expert’s business (last year was a little more than 10%). If you have ideas of how to change that, please let me know- and please send clients if you know anyone in need of personal statement coaching! 5. Start a training for resume writers. This project never quite got off the ground. I was focused on publishing the resume writing e-books and will revisit the resume writer training once the books gain some traction. My vision is to use the books as a syllabus for training. If you know anyone who would be interested in being trained by me as a resume writer, please have them contact me at BrendaB@TheEssayExpert.com. Thank you! 6.  Create 213 success stories! As of this writing my list is not completely updated, but I have about 50 success stories to report. I’m definitely behind on this goal. Part of the challenge is that many people do not keep me as updated as I would like about their job search successes! If you’re reading this and you have received an interview or job after hiring The Essay Expert or following my advice, please report to me at BrendaB@TheEssayExpert.com. Thank you! That’s my report. How are you doing on your New Year’s resolutions? If there’s any way I can support you please let me know! Category:Life and LeadershipBy Brenda BernsteinSeptember 3, 2013