Bardia

After the fight and defeat at Sidi Barrani, the Italian divisions, under the command of General Bergonzoli, had fallen back to Bardia. After being fortified for years, the area around Bardia was well protected. The British General Mackay surrounded the …

1941-01-03

19383

After the fight and defeat at Sidi Barrani, the Italian divisions, under the command of General Bergonzoli, had fallen back to Bardia. After being fortified for years, the area around Bardia was well protected. The British General Mackay surrounded the position and decided to launch his attack against the Italian center, where his tanks would be most effective and the British guns could cover the assault. The plan was to split the Italian forces in two and then defeat each in detail. The advance began early in the morning and after the lanes through the minefields were open, the tanks turned to the right and left and began to clear the perimeter, while the infantry attacked the buildings. The high ground overlooking the harbor was taken on the following day.

Bardia, Libya

The Battle of Bardia was fought between 3 and 5 January 1941, as part of Operation Compass, the first British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. It was the first battle of the war in which an Australian Army formation took part, the first to be commanded by an Australian general and the first to be planned by an Australian staff. The 6th Australian Division assaulted the strongly held Italian fortress of Bardia, Libya, assisted by air support and naval gunfire and under the cover of an artillery barrage. The 16th Australian Infantry Brigade attacked at dawn from the west, where the defences were known to be weak. Sappers blew gaps in the barbed wire with Bangalore torpedoes and filled in and broke down the sides of the anti-tank ditch with picks and shovels. This allowed the infantry and 23 Matilda II tanks of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment to enter the fortress and capture all their objectives, along with 8,000 prisoners.

Wikipedia: Battle of Bardia

Italian

British

Game Type: Standard

Board Type: Desert

Website Access: Unavailable