(May 14, 2021) This week, 80 years ago, Commonwealth forces in North Africa launched a limited offensive against Erwin Rommelâs Axis forces. Before delving into the particulars of that operation, letâs reacquaint ourselves with the history.
Libya was an Italian colony, and had been so since the Kingdom of Italy wrested it from the Ottoman Empire in 1912. It was bordered on the west and south by the French colonies of Tunisia, Algeria and modern-day Chad and Niger. It was bordered on the east by British-dominated Egypt.
When the Italians declared war on the British and French on June 10, 1940, their colony was surrounded on three sides by enemies. However, on June 22, France executed an Armistice with Germany and ceased fighting. On Sept. 9, 1940, the Italian Tenth Army, under the command of Spanish Civil War veteran, Mario Berti, crossed the Egyptian border and advanced 60 miles east into Egypt, stopping at Sidi Barrani, 240 miles west of Alexandria.