The 10th Army ( Italian : 10ª Armata ) was a field army of the Royal Italian Army , which fought in World War I and in Italian North Africa during World War II .
73-745: After the Battle of Caporetto (November 1917) the Italian Army (Regio Esercito) was reorganized by Armando Diaz . In the summer of 1918 (after the Battle of the Solstice ) the Command continued to modify these changes and in preparation for the Italian Offensive planned for October 1918, the new 10th Italian Army was formed on 14 October. It was a British–Italian Army under command of the Earl of Cavan . It consisted of At
146-501: A dense cloud of poison gas . Knowing that their gas masks could protect them only for two hours or less, the defenders fled, but 500–600 were killed. Other parts of the valley were bombed with gas from common grenades. Then the front was quiet until 06:00, when all the Italian wire and trenches to be attacked were bombarded by mortars. At 06:41, 2,200 guns opened fire, many targeting the valley road along which reserves were advancing to plug
219-680: A museum in the town of Kobarid is dedicated to the Isonzo Battles in general, and the Caporetto Battle in particular. Combeforce 1941 1942 Associated articles Combeforce or Combe Force was an ad hoc flying column of the British Army during the Second World War , commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel John Combe . It comprised parts of the 7th Armoured Division (Major-General Sir Michael O'Moore Creagh ) of
292-421: A platoon of infantry could be spared to guard them. The vanguard of the Italian retreat had no tanks, contained few front-line infantry and had been trapped by the ambush which forced them to fight where they stood. While waiting for the 4th Armoured Brigade, Combe reconnoitred to the north and near a small white mosque found several long, low, north-south ridges with folds between, in which tanks could hide from
365-461: A shock" and "triggered a search for scapegoats," culminating in a 1919 Italian military commission that investigated the causes of the debacle. At Rapallo, a Supreme War Council was created to improve Allied military co-operation and develop a common strategy. Luigi Cadorna was forced to resign after the defeat, a final straw according to the Prime Minister, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando . Cadorna
438-576: A vast amount of stores and equipment. In contrast, the Austro-Hungarians and Germans sustained around 70,000 casualties. The last push of Austro-Hungarian and German forces was met and defeated by Italian forces at the First Battle of Monte Grappa : they had advanced more than 100 km (62 mi) in the direction of Venice , but they were not able to cross the Piave River. Up to this point
511-560: The Via Balbia . On 6 February, Combeforce had faced some well-organised attacks with artillery and tank support, which had been repulsed by C Battery RHA and nine Bofors anti-tank guns of the 106th RHA. Italian infantry had used wrecked tanks as cover for their advance, while many more lost hope and surrendered. During the night, some tanks from the Pimple arrived and four were knocked out by mines and gunfire, four got through with some lorries and
584-853: The Eastern Front to the Isonzo Sector. Erich Ludendorff was opposed to this but was overruled. Later, in September three experts from the Imperial General Staff , led by the chemist Otto Hahn , went to the Isonzo front to find a site suitable for a gas attack. They proposed attacking the quiet Caporetto sector, where a good road ran west through a mountain valley to the Venetian Plain . The Germans also sent Lieutenant General Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen , an expert in mountain warfare, to reconnoitre
657-572: The Fiat M13/40 medium tanks in Libya and held the south-west end of the defensive front near Mechili , the junction of several caravan routes, to block another British outflanking move. On 22 January, the British advanced towards Derna, with the 19th Australian Brigade of the 6th Australian Division and sent another Australian brigade to reinforce the 4th Armoured Brigade of the 7th Armoured Division south of
730-500: The Italian name of the town (also known as Karfreit in German). Austro-Hungarian forces, reinforced by German units, were able to break into the Italian front line and rout the Italian forces opposing them. The battle was a demonstration of the effectiveness of the use of stormtroopers and the infiltration tactics developed in part by Oskar von Hutier . The use of poison gas by
803-629: The Supreme War Council . Opera Nazionale Combattenti , an Italian charitable organization, was set up in December 1917 in the immediate aftermath of the battle, to provide assistance to veterans of the First World War ; it was closed in 1977. After the battle, the term "Caporetto" gained a particular resonance in Italy. It is used to denote a terrible defeat – the failed General Strike of 1922 by
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#1732845037083876-568: The Western Desert Force . The rapid British advance during Operation Compass (9 December 1940 – 9 February 1941) forced the Italian 10th Army ( 10ª Armata ) to evacuate Cyrenaica , the eastern province of Libya . In late January, the British learned that the Italians were retreating from Benghazi, along the coast road (the Litoranea Balbo recently renamed the Via Balbia after
949-410: The socialists was referred to by Mussolini as the "Caporetto of Italian Socialism". Many years after the war, Caporetto was still being used to destroy the credibility of the liberal state. The Battle of Caporetto has been the subject of a number of books. British writer and military historian Cyril Falls 's one volume The Battle of Caporetto is an operational and tactical account of the battle as
1022-441: The 106th ( Lancashire Hussars ) Battery RHA, with nine Bofors 37 mm anti-tank guns portée (carried on the back of a lorry, capable of being fired), a total of about 2,000 men. Combeforce reached Antelat during the morning and by 12:30 p.m. had observers overlooking the Via Balbia west of Beda Fomm and Sidi Saleh, about 48 km (30 mi) south-west of Antelat and 32 km (20 mi) north of Ajedabia, with
1095-464: The 106th (Lancashire Hussars) Anti-tank Regiment, RHA was chosen to become a Light Anti Aircraft (LAA) regiment of three batteries with thirty-six 20 mm Breda guns captured from the Italians. The regiment was renamed the 106th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA (Lancashire Hussars). In March 1941, the regiment was sent to Greece in Operation Lustre as part of W Force and the regiment was sent to defend
1168-570: The 10th Army conducted the Italian invasion of Egypt . Four infantry divisions and the Maletti Group marched 100 kilometres (62 mi) in four days and stopped at Sidi Barrani . The Maletti Group included most of the M11/39 medium tanks in North Africa and numerous L3 tankettes . Defensive positions were prepared by the Italians in fortified camps. In December 1940 during Operation Compass ,
1241-469: The Australian pursuit. At dawn on 4 February, the 11th Hussars left Mechili, along a route towards Beda Fomm, which had not been reconnoitred by ground forces to avoid alerting the Italians. The vehicles were loaded to capacity with supplies fuel and ammunition, the ration of drinking water cut to about a glass a day and halts for food and rest were cut by half. Low-flying air reconnaissance had reported that
1314-640: The Austro-German encirclement and retreat to the Tagliamento. Then, on 2 November, after an attack by Captain Emil Redl's 4th Battalion of the 4th Bosnian Infantry Regiment, the 55th Infantry Division (Austria-Hungary) established a bridgehead across the Tagliamento River. About this time, however, the rapid success of the attack caught up with them. The German and Austro-Hungarian supply lines were stretched to
1387-639: The Austro-Hungarian Lines in the Isonzo Sector, with the 11th Battle of the Isonzo being the most successful in pushing back the Austro-Hungarians. After the Italian success in the 11th Battle of the Isonzo , Emperor Karl knew a breakthrough was going to happen at any moment, as both the Austro-Hungarians and Italians were exhausted, and running out of men to sustain the war. So, he wrote to Kaiser Wilhelm II and requested that German forces be deployed to Italy. In August 1917 Paul von Hindenburg and Arthur Arz von Straußenburg decided to send troops from
1460-520: The Babini Group with 10 to 15 M13/40s attacked the 7th Hussars of the 4th Armoured Brigade, which was heading west to cut the Derna–Mechili track north of Mechili. The Italians lost seven M13s by 11:30 a.m., for the loss of one British cruiser and six light tanks. The 4th Armoured Brigade was ordered to encircle Mechili and cut the western and north-western exits, while the 7th Armoured Brigade cut
1533-493: The British Western Desert Force began Operation Compass, a raid against the Italian 10th Army (General Giuseppe Tellera ), which had conducted the Italian invasion of Egypt in September 1940. The Italians had advanced to Sidi Barrani and established defensive positions in a line of fortified camps, which were overrun during the raid. Sidi Barrani was captured and the scope of Compass was extended to exploit
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#17328450370831606-458: The British counter-attacked in what initially was to be a five-day raid against the Italian camps in Egypt. The Italian camps were overrun and the rest of the 10th Army was pushed further and further back into Italian Libya . Many Italian soldiers surrendered once the British troops encircled them in fortified places like Bardia and Tobruk . At the Battle of Beda Fomm (6–7 February 1941), most of
1679-625: The British in the Kingdom of Egypt , a British ally. The 5th Army was based in Tripolitania (western Libya) opposite French Tunisia . When Italy declared war on 10 June 1940 the 10th Army consisted of five divisions and the 5th Army consisted of nine. After the Fall of France at the end of June, several divisions were transferred from the 5th Army to strengthen the 10th Army, which was increased to ten divisions. On 13 September 1940, about four divisions of
1752-565: The German and Austro-Hungarian forces. Despite these logistical problems, the initial assault was extremely successful. However, as the area controlled by the combined Central Powers forces expanded, an already limited logistical capacity was overstrained. By the time the attack reached the Piave, the soldiers of the Central Powers were running low on supplies and were feeling the effects of exhaustion. As
1825-544: The German divisions to attack a weakpoint in the Italian line. The Italians inadvertently helped by providing weather information over their radio. The German and Austro-Hungarian battle plan was to use Otto von Below's German divisions, which would be guided by Konrad Krafft to attack a part of the Julian Alps which was near the northeastern corner of the Venetian salient. Meanwhile, Svetozar's Austro-Hungarian army would attack
1898-622: The Germans also played a key role in the collapse of the Italian Second Army . The rest of the Italian Army retreated 150 kilometres (93 mi) to the Piave River ; its effective strength declined from 1,800,000 troops down to 1,000,000 and the government of Prime Minister Paolo Boselli collapsed. Throughout the spring and summer of 1917, the Italians had launched numerous offensives on
1971-518: The Isonzo , the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit ) took place on the Italian front of World War I . The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central Powers and took place from 24 October to 19 November 1917, near the town of Kobarid (now in north-western Slovenia , then part of the Austrian Littoral ), and near the river Isonzo. The battle was named after
2044-612: The Italian eastern flank. On the morning of 7 February, the Italians attempted a final, desperate attempt to break through. By this stage, the British units were almost out of food, petrol and ammunition. The British blocking line was almost breached and convinced of the overwhelming size and strength of the blocking force, the encircled Italian units surrendered. The 10th Army was destroyed. Battle of Caporetto 13,000 dead 30,000 wounded 265,000–275,000 captured 1916 1917 1918 White War (1915–1918) The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of
2117-456: The Italian tanks had been reported. The Australians was ambushed by part of the Babini Group with concealed anti-tank guns and machine guns; four Australians were killed and three taken prisoner. The 11th Hussars found a gap at Chaulan south of Wadi Derna and the Italians disengaged on the night of 28/29 January. Rearguards of the Babini Group cratered roads, planted mines and booby-traps and managed to conduct several skilful ambushes, which slowed
2190-507: The Italian tanks, which concentrated on the RHA anti-tank guns. C Battery 4th RHA fired on the Rifle Brigade positions as the tanks passed and the Rifle Brigade resumed fire on Italian infantry following the tanks, to pin them down. The M13s knocked out all but one anti-tank gun and kept going into the reserve company area but the last gun was driven to a flank by the battery commander, his batman and
2263-472: The Italians attacked to break through the roadblock and continued to attack into 7 February. With British reinforcements arriving and the Australians pressing down the road from Benghazi, the 10th Army surrendered later that day. From Benghazi to Agedabia, the British took 25,000 prisoners, captured 107 tanks and 93 guns. Having succeeded in its objectives, Combeforce was disbanded. In early December 1940,
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2336-417: The Italians began to counter the pressure put on them, the German forces lost momentum and were once again caught up in another round of attrition warfare . Brian R. Sullivan called Caporetto "the greatest defeat in Italian military history." John R. Schindler wrote "By any standard, Twelfth Isonzo [Caporetto] and its aftermath represented an unprecedented catastrophe for Italian arms." The disaster "came as
2409-558: The Italians had been left to fight on their own but, after the Battle of Caporetto, Britain and France sent reinforcements to the Italians. They were reinforced by six French infantry divisions and five British infantry divisions as well as sizeable air contingents. However, these troops played no role in stemming the advancing Germans and Austro-Hungarians, because they were deployed on the Mincio River, some 97 kilometres (60 mi) behind
2482-523: The Jebel Akhdar, for an advance on Mechili. On 23 January, Tellera ordered a counter-attack against the British as they approached Mechili, to avoid an envelopment of XX Corpo D'Armata di Manovra from the south. Communication within the Babini Group was slow because only the tanks of senior commanders had wireless; the other crews were reliant on flag signals limited to "halt", "forward", "backwards", "right", "left", "slow down" and "speed up". Next day,
2555-587: The Piave River. The 8th Army was to cross the Piave River and advance to Vittorio in order to split the Austro-Hungarian Trentino Army from the ones defending Piave. The 10th Army was to protect their right flank. They were also expected to cross the Piave by breaking the Austro-Hungarian defenses at Grave di Papadopoli, a large island in the river. The 10th Army was augmented by the addition of
2628-478: The Piave, as the British and French strategists did not believe the Piave line could be held. The Piave served as a natural barrier where the Italians could establish a new defensive line, which was held during the subsequent Battle of the Piave River and later served as springboard for the Battle of Vittorio Veneto , where the Austro-Hungarian army was finally defeated after eleven days of resistance. On 5 November, Allied officials came together at Rapallo to form
2701-492: The airstrip at Larissa . The German advance forced the British to retreat to the town of Nauplion , where the 106th were the only anti-aircraft defence. After destroying their Breda guns, the regiment was evacuated to Crete on board HMS Calcutta . Most of the regiment ended the campaign in the defence of Suda Bay in the Battle of Crete and were taken prisoner. The regiment was placed in suspended animation in July and many of
2774-444: The battle in his novel Caporetto . The bloody aftermath of Caporetto was vividly described by Ernest Hemingway in his novel A Farewell to Arms . Curzio Malaparte wrote an excoriation of the battle in his first book, Viva Caporetto , published in 1921. It was censored by the state and suppressed; it was finally published in 1980. The battle also features prominently in the novel Questa storia by Alessandro Baricco . Today,
2847-567: The battle, often bemoaned the demands placed upon his "poorly fed troops". The Allied blockade of the German Empire , which the Kaiserliche Marine had been unable to break, had led to food shortages and widespread malnutrition in Germany and the Central Powers in general. The inadequate provisioning, as well as the grueling night marches preliminary to the Battle of Caporetto, took a toll on
2920-567: The breaking point and unable to launch another attack to isolate a part of the Italian army against the Adriatic. Cadorna was able to retreat further and by 10 November had established a position on the Piave River and Monte Grappa. Even before the battle, Germany was struggling to feed and supply its armies in the field. Erwin Rommel , who as a junior officer won the Pour le Mérite for his accomplishments in
2993-410: The centerpiece of the larger campaign in northeastern Italy. Infanterie greift an ( Infantry Attacks ), an interwar memoir and military handbook written by the future German field marshal Erwin Rommel , features the actions of then lieutenant Rommel and units he led during the battle, providing insight into "stormtrooper" tactics. The Swedish author F.J. Nordstedt (pseud. Christian Braw) wrote about
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3066-470: The cook. The improvised crew commenced firing as the last M13s drove towards the Officers' mess tent put up the day before and knocked out the last tank 20 yd (18 m) from the tent. On the road, the Italians could hear British tank engines on the flanks and from the rear and further north, the 4th Armoured Brigade surrounded another group, at which point the Italians surrendered. At the end of February,
3139-421: The crests of the adjoining ridges, Matajur and Kolovrat , laying out their telephone lines as they advanced to maintain contact with their artillery. Specially-trained and equipped stormtrooper units led attacks, making use of the new German model 08/15 Maxim light machine gun , light trench mortars, mountain guns, flamethrowers and hand grenades . The attackers in the valley marched almost unopposed along
3212-527: The death of Italo Balbo , the Governor General of Libya). The 7th Armoured Division was dispatched to intercept the remnants of the 10th Army by moving through the desert, south of the Jebel Akhdar (Green Mountain) via Msus and Antelat , as the 6th Australian Division pursued the Italians along the coast road, north of the jebel. The terrain was hard going for the British tanks and Combeforce, with
3285-406: The eastern end of the salient and a stretch of ground near the Adriatic shore. The buildup of German and Austro-Hungarian military forces in the region was noticed by Italian air reconnaissance. Foul weather, as well as lack of readiness in some of the Austro-Hungarian divisions and in particular of their artillery, delayed the attack for two days but on 24 October there was no wind and the front
3358-421: The excellent road toward Italy, some advanced 25 kilometres (16 mi) on the first day. The Italian army beat back the attackers on either side of the sector where the central column attacked, but von Below's successful central penetration threw the entire Italian army into disarray. Forces had to be moved along the Italian front in an attempt to stem von Below's breakout, but this only weakened other points along
3431-407: The following Italian troops prior to the battle: The pontieri played an important preparatory role by transporting a contingent of British soldiers by boat to the island to surprise the Austro-Hungarian garrison there and gain control of the island before the commencement of the battle. The 10th Army provided one of the early successes in the Battle as it established a bridgehead on the left bank of
3504-508: The gap. At 08:00 two large mines were detonated under strong points on the heights bordering the valley and the infantry attacked. Soon they penetrated the almost undefended Italian fortifications in the valley, breaching the defensive line of the Italian Second Army between the IV and XXVII Corps. To protect the attackers' flanks, Alpine Troops infiltrated the strong points and batteries along
3577-399: The garrison left hurriedly and some cars followed up another 30 mi (48 km) to Antelat. By dawn on 5 February, the tracked vehicles and the rest of the 7th Armoured Division had reached Msus. Creagh had been informed by air reconnaissance that the 10th Army was retreating and Richard O'Connor ordered that the advance be pressed to cut off the Italian retreat. Creagh decided to send
3650-497: The going was difficult and for the first 50 mi (80 km) the route was the worst yet encountered. The journey began in high winds and bitter cold and by the time the tail end moved off the winds had risen to gale force. The head of the column drove into windblown sand which cut visibility to nil, while at the tail, drivers and vehicle commanders standing up reading compasses, were hit by frozen rain. By 3:00 p.m. armoured cars had reached Msus, 94 mi (151 km) away, where
3723-477: The ground. The Austro-Hungarian Army Group Boroević , commanded by Svetozar Boroević , was prepared for the offensive. In addition, a new 14th Army was formed with nine Austrian and six to eight German divisions, which were commanded by the German Otto von Below . The German divisions were Ludendorff's general reserve. Lieutenant Colonel Georg Wetzell , Ludendorff's strategic adviser, advised Ludendorff to use
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#17328450370833796-461: The line and invited further attacks. At this point, the entire Italian position was threatened. The Italian 2nd Army commander Luigi Capello was bedridden with fever. Recognizing that his forces were ill-prepared for this attack and were being routed, Capello requested permission to withdraw to the Tagliamento River. Cadorna , who believed the Italian force could regroup and hold out, denied
3869-404: The national rejuvenation that had been spurred by invasion and defeat. Italian losses were enormous: 13,000 were killed, 30,000 wounded and 265,000–275,000 were taken prisoner. Morale was so low among the Italian troops, mainly due to Cadorna's harsh disciplinary regime, that most of these surrendered willingly. 3,152 artillery pieces, 3,000 machine guns and 1,712 mortars were lost, along with
3942-408: The remainder of the retreating 10th Army was isolated by Combeforce (Lieutenant-Colonel John Combe ) a small advance guard of the 7th Armoured Division (Major-General Michael O'Moore Creagh ). Combeforce took a shortcut across the desert, to block the Italian army's retreat, while the 6th Australian Division continued the coastal pursuit. The force was delayed by the harsh terrain, so Combeforce
4015-452: The request. Finally, on 30 October 1917, Cadorna ordered the majority of the Italian force to retreat to the other side of the Tagliamento. It took the Italians four full days to cross the river, and by this time the German and Austro-Hungarian armies were on their heels, ambushing the defenders whenever they could. These ambushes would become known as the Battle of Pozzuolo . Eventually, the retreating Italian soldiers were able to break through
4088-407: The rest gave up. The Italians had only about thirty tanks left and planned to force their way through Combeforce at dawn, before the British could attack the flanks and rear of the column. The attack had artillery support, as soon as it was light enough to see movement by the anti-tank guns portée of the 106th RHA. The infantry of the 2nd Rifle Brigade stayed under cover as they were overrun by
4161-463: The rest of Combeforce following on. An Italian convoy drove up about thirty minutes later and ran onto mines; the column was engaged by the British artillery, anti-tank guns and armoured cars, which threw the convoy into confusion. Some members of the 10th Bersaglieri tried to advance down the road and others looked for gaps in the ambush on either side of the road. The Bersaglieri had little effect, being unsupported by artillery, most of which
4234-443: The retreating Italian column arrived 30 minutes later. The Italians were stunned to find the British force blocking them at Beda Fomm , whose strength they greatly overestimated. With the Australians in pursuit, a desperate battle ensued, in which newly arrived Fiat M13/40 medium tank battalions were thrown against the British positions, at great loss. In the afternoon of 6 February, the 7th Armoured Division tanks arrived and harassed
4307-641: The river, despite high and fast waters (floods) in the river. In fact, elements of the 8th Army had to improvise and use the 10th Army's crossings in order to initially get across the river and then achieve the capture of Vittorio. The 10th Army proceeded to speed across the Italian countryside crossing the Tagliamento River towards 1) Tolmezzo (the XIV Corps) and 2) Udine (the XI Corps) as the Austro-Hungarian Army rapidly retreated and then collapsed. The 10th Army
4380-400: The road as they moved back and forth to fire at close range. The brigade set off from Msus at 7:30 a.m. but the journey was delayed by moving in single-file through a field of Thermos bombs. The brigade took until 4:00 p.m. to cover the 40 mi (64 km) to Antelat, where they came into the range of Combeforce wireless transmissions. Combe briefed Caunter to head for the mosque north of
4453-411: The road from Mechili to Slonta but found that the Babini Group had already retired into the hills. On 26 January, Graziani ordered Tellera to continue the defence of Derna and to use the Babini Group to stop an advance westwards from Mechili–Derna. During 27 January, a column of Bren Gun Carriers of the 6th Australian Cavalry Regiment was sent south from the vicinity Derna to reconnoitre the area where
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#17328450370834526-402: The roadblock and then attack all along the Italian column, to reduce the pressure on Combeforce. Caunter ordered the 7th Hussars and the artillery at full speed to the Via Balbia followed by the 2nd RTR in their slower tanks; the 3rd Hussars were sent north-east to cut the routes from Soluch and Sceleidima. The brigade moved westwards on hard, flat sand, raising clouds of dust and soon reached
4599-404: The same time General Jean César Graziani of France was asked to command another new Italian Army (joint), the 12th Army consisting of I Corps (Italy), the 52nd Division – Alpini (Italy) and 23rd Division (France). The newly constituted 10th Army participated in the victory of the Battle of Vittorio Veneto (October–November 1918). The Army was inserted between the Italian 8th and 3rd Armies at
4672-554: The survivors reinforced the 102nd ( Northumberland Hussars ) Anti-tank Regiment RA, which was refitting after being evacuated from Greece and Crete. The 2nd Battalion The Rifle Brigade fought through the rest of the Western Desert Campaign and took part in the defence of Outpost Snipe from 26 to 27 October 1942 during the Second Battle of El Alamein . Along with the 239th Battery, 76th Anti-Tank Regiment RA and other units,
4745-626: The victory and the Italian garrisons in Bardia and then Tobruk were isolated and captured. The 10th Army attempted to establish a defensive line at Derna east of the Jebel Akhdar mountains, with XX Corps (XX Corpo D'Armata di Manovra ) (Lieutenant-General Annibale Bergonzoli), comprising the 60th Infantry Division "Sabratha" and the Babini Group , an improvised armoured brigade, which had lost some of its tanks in Tobruk. The Babini Group, had all of
4818-427: The wheeled vehicles of the 7th Armoured Division, was sent ahead across the chord of the jebel. Late on 5 February, Combeforce arrived at the Via Balbia south of Benghazi and set up roadblocks near Sidi Saleh, about 30 mi (48 km) south-west of Antelat and 20 mi (32 km) north of Agedabia . The leading elements of the 10th Army arrived thirty minutes later and ran into the British ambush. Next day
4891-506: The wheeled vehicles on ahead, to block the Via Balbia between Benghazi and Agedabia as quickly as possible and to follow on to the south-west with the tracked vehicles, rather than westwards to Soluch. Combeforce (Lieutenant-Colonel John Combe ) consisted of an armoured car squadron from each of the 11th Hussars and King's Dragoon Guards , the 2nd Battalion The Rifle Brigade , an RAF armoured car squadron, six 25-pounder field guns of C Battery 4th Royal Horse Artillery (4th RHA) and
4964-415: Was divided and the lighter, faster elements were detached to complete the interception, leaving the tracked vehicles to follow. The first elements arrived at Msus late on the afternoon of 4 February and cleared the local garrison. During the following night and day the advance continued and the British artillery and infantry were in position across the coast road by 4:00 p.m. on 5 February. The head of
5037-403: Was known to have maintained poor relations with the other generals on his staff and by the start of the battle, had sacked 217 generals, 255 colonels and 355 battalion commanders. In addition, he was detested by his troops as being too harsh. Cadorna had been directing the battle some 30 kilometres (19 mi) behind the front and retreated another 160 km (99 mi) to Padua . Cadorna
5110-403: Was misted over. At 02:00, in the northern area of the battle (near Bovec /Plezzo) 894 metal tubes similar to Livens Projectors ( Gaswurfminen ), dug into a reverse slope, were triggered electrically to simultaneously fire canisters containing 600 ml (21 imp fl oz; 20 US fl oz) of chlorine - arsenic agent and diphosgene , smothering the Italian trenches in
5183-472: Was replaced by Armando Diaz and Pietro Badoglio , who commanded one of the corps easily overwhelmed by the Germans in the early stages of the battle, but escaped from all charges during the commission hearings. Italian propaganda offices were established, promising land and social justice to soldiers. Italy also accepted a more cautious military strategy from this point on. Diaz concentrated his efforts on rebuilding his shattered forces while taking advantage of
5256-572: Was subsequently joined in the Battle by the 332nd Infantry Regiment (United States) , as part of the British XIV Corps; the American regiment forming the advance guard of the corps. On 4 November, when the Italian armistice came into effect, the line of the 10th Army was Basagliapenta-Meretto di Tomba-Coseano-S. Daniele-Pinzano. In 1940, the 10th Army was based in Cyrenaica (eastern Libya ) and faced
5329-490: Was with the rearguard to the north. The attempts by the Italians to break through became stronger and in the afternoon, the 2nd Rifle Brigade crossed the Via Balbia into the dunes, to block the route south between the road and the sea. Combe also brought up a company behind the roadblock, placed some 25-pounders behind the infantry and kept some armoured cars manoeuvring in the desert to the east, to deter an Italian outflanking move. Several hundred prisoners were taken but only
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