Beda Fomm

On February 4th, Major-General O'Connor, with armored cars leading the way followed by 4th Armored Brigade, moved out to trap the Italians. The going was tough and a fast-wheeled vanguard was dispatched under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Combe to …

1941-02-07

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On February 4th, Major-General O'Connor, with armored cars leading the way followed by 4th Armored Brigade, moved out to trap the Italians. The going was tough and a fast-wheeled vanguard was dispatched under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Combe to set up a blocking position while the rest of the column followed as fast as possible. The Italians were strung-out in a long disjointed column over miles of road and when they deployed, their battle tactics were poor. Instead of attacking the roadblock in force, which would have most certainly overpowered Combe's position, they approached slowly in small groups. With pressure mounting on the roadblock the 4th Armored Brigade arrived with the rest of the infantry. Fierce fighting ensued but it soon became apparent that the Italians could not fight their way out. Bergonzoli's escape plan had failed and white flags began to appear all along the entire Italian column.

Beda Fomm, Libya

The rapid British advance during Operation Compass forced the Italian 10th Army to evacuate Cyrenaica, the eastern province of Libya. In late January, the British learned that the Italians were retreating along the Litoranea Balbo from Benghazi. The 7th Armoured Division was dispatched to intercept the remnants of the 10th Army by moving through the desert, south of the Jebel Akhdar 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, a flying column of wheeled vehicles, was sent ahead across the chord of the jebel.

Wikipedia: Battle of Beda Fomm

Italian

British

Game Type: Standard

Board Type: Desert

Website Access: Classified