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Italy's initial armored units, relying on ineffective "tankettes" and the ill-equipped Fiat 3000, faced humiliating defeats in Ethiopia, Spain, and early North African campaigns.
The next stop was Derna, a small port 90 miles west of Tobruk on the Mediterranean. The commander of Dernaâs defenses was Lt.-Gen. Annibale Bergonzoli who had escaped, first from Sidi Barrani to Bardia, then to Tobruk, and now to Derna. Because of his beard, Gen. Bergonzoli was known as âBarba Elettricaâ (âElectric Beardâ). Barba Elettrica had commanded the Littorio Division in the Spanish Civil War, and in the recent invasion of Egypt, was commander of the XXIII Corps. At the time, Derna had a population of about 10,000. Today, its population tops 100,000. The city i...