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Nibeiwa
The Attack on Nibeiwa took place on 9 December 1940 near Nibeiwa, Egypt, when the Italian fortified camp held by the Maletti Group, the armoured force of the 10th Army, was overrun by British and Indian troops. The attack was the opening engagement of Operation Compass a British raid which, if successful, would be followed up to try to expel the Italians from Egypt. Italy had declared war on France and Britain on 10 June and in the Italian invasion of Egypt (''Operazione E'') from 1940, the Italian Italian Tenth Army, 10th Army had reached Sidi Barrani and dug in to await the completion of the ''Via della Vittoria'', an extension of the Litoranea Balbo, ''Via Balbia'', being built from the frontier; the Maletti Group garrisoned a camp at Nibeiwa, south of the port of Sidi Barrani. The British had fought a delaying action during the Italian advance with the 7th Support Group of the 7th Armoured Division and kept their main force at the railhead of Mersa Matruh about east of Sidi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Compass
Operation Compass (also it, Battaglia della Marmarica) was the first large British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) during the Second World War. British, Empire and Commonwealth forces attacked Italian forces of the 10th Army (Marshal Rodolfo Graziani) in western Egypt and Cyrenaica, the eastern province of Libya, from December 1940 to February 1941. The Western Desert Force (WDF) ( Lieutenant-General Richard O'Connor) with about advanced from Mersa Matruh in Egypt on a five-day raid against the Italian positions of the 10th Army, which had about in fortified posts around Sidi Barrani in Egypt and in Cyrenaica. The WDF swiftly defeated the Italians in their fortified posts and at Sidi Barrani and then exploited the success, forcing the rest of the 10th Army out of Egypt and capturing the ports along the Libyan coast. The 10th Army was cut off as it retreated towards Tripolitania and defeated at the Battle of Beda Fomm, the remnants being pursue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pietro Maletti
Pietro Maletti (24 May 1880 – 9 December 1940) was an Italian General and war criminal who participated in World War I, the Italian colonization of Libya, the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, and World War II. He was killed in action during the early stages of the North Africa Campaign. Early life Pietro Maletti was born in Castiglione delle Stiviere, Province of Mantua, Lombardy, Kingdom of Italy. In 1898, Maletti volunteered for the Italian Royal Army (''Regio Esercito''). In 1904, he was admitted to the Military Academy of Modena. In 1909, Maletti was promoted to Lieutenant (''Tenente'') and, in 1914, he was promoted to Captain (''Capitano''). World War I and Libya Maletti participated in World War I but, in August 1917, he was sent to Libya. With only a few brief postings elsewhere, Maletti remained in Italian North Africa (''Africa Settentrionale Italiana'', or ASI) until 1934 to quell Libyan resistance there. In 1926, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel (''Tenente Col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maletti Group
The Maletti Group ( it, Raggruppamento Maletti) was an mechanised unit formed by the Italian Royal Army () in Italian North Africa (, ASI), during the initial stages of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The Italian army had three armoured divisions in Europe but all were needed for the occupation of Albania and the forthcoming invasion of Greece, which began on 28 October 1940. The was formed in June 1940, as part of the 10th Army (General Mario Berti) and contained all of the M11/39 medium tanks in Libya. The medium tanks and tankettes already in the colony were to be combined with medium tanks sent from Italy, to form a new armoured division and a new headquarters, the Libyan Tank Command was established on 29 August. The participated in E, the Italian invasion of Egypt in 1940 and reached Sidi Barrani on 16 September. The group was destroyed at the Nibeiwa camp on 9 December, during Operation Compass, a British raid against the 10th Army position ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
7th Royal Tank Regiment
The 7th Royal Tank Regiment (7th RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army from 1917 until disbandment in 1959. History The 7th Royal Tank Regiment was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. The regiment originally saw action as G Battalion, Tank Corps in 1917. Part of the 1st Army Tank Brigade, 7th RTR saw service in France in May 1940, alongside the 4th Royal Tank Regiment and the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division during the Battle of Dunkirk and was soon evacuated at Dunkirk, and abandoning most of their vehicles. The 7th RTR returned to England and was sent overseas later in the year. In December 1940, as part of the British Western Desert Force in Egypt, the 7th RTR contained Matilda infantry tanks and supported the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade of the 4th Indian Infantry Division. The regiment attacked and destroyed the Italian "Maletti Group" at the Nibeiwa Camp. The 7th RTR also supported the attack of the 11th Brigade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italian Invasion Of Egypt
The Italian invasion of Egypt () was an offensive in the Second World War, against British, Commonwealth and Free French forces in the Kingdom of Egypt. The invasion by the Italian 10th Army () ended border skirmishing on the frontier and began the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) proper. The Italian strategy was to advance from Libya along the Egyptian coast to seize the Suez Canal. After numerous delays, the scope of the offensive was reduced to an advance as far as Sidi Barrani and the engagement of any British forces in the area. The 10th Army advanced about into Egypt against British screening forces of the 7th Support Group ( 7th Armoured Division) the main force remaining in the vicinity of Mersa Matruh, the principal British base in the Western Desert. On 16 September 1940, the 10th Army halted and took up defensive positions around the port of Sidi Barrani. British casualties were ten men killed and the Italians suffered 120. The army was to wait in fortified cam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italian Tenth Army
The 10th Army ( it, 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. World War I Formation 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 * 1 Italian Army corps, the XI Corps (Italian) (Corpo d'Armata) of Lt. General Giuseppe Paolini. ** 37th division of Maj. General Giovanni Castagnola (Brigata Macerata of Brig. General Florenzio Tagliaferri, 121st and 122nd Infantry Regiments; Brigata Foggia of Brig. General Raffaele Radini Tedeschi, 280th and 281st Infantry Regiments) ** 23rd Bersaglieri Division of Lt. General Gustavo F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenth Army (Italy)
The 10th Army ( it, 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. World War I Formation 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 * 1 Italian Army corps, the XI Corps (Italian) (Corpo d'Armata) of Lt. General Giuseppe Paolini. ** 37th division of Maj. General Giovanni Castagnola (Brigata Macerata of Brig. General Florenzio Tagliaferri, 121st and 122nd Infantry Regiments; Brigata Foggia of Brig. General Raffaele Radini Tedeschi, 280th and 281st Infantry Regiments) ** 23rd Bersaglieri Division of Lt. General Gustavo Fara ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawker Hurricanes
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by the Supermarine Spitfire during the Battle of Britain in 1940, but the Hurricane inflicted 60 percent of the losses sustained by the Luftwaffe in the campaign, and fought in all the major theatres of the Second World War. The Hurricane originated from discussions between RAF officials and aircraft designer Sir Sydney Camm about a proposed monoplane derivative of the Hawker Fury biplane in the early 1930s. Despite an institutional preference for biplanes and lack of interest by the Air Ministry, Hawker refined their monoplane proposal, incorporating several innovations which became critical to wartime fighter aircraft, including retractable landing gear and the more powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. The Air Ministry ordered Hawker's ''In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gloster Gladiators
The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. Developed privately as the Gloster SS.37, it was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft, and was rendered obsolete by newer monoplane designs even as it was being introduced. Though often pitted against more formidable foes during the early days of the Second World War, it acquitted itself reasonably well in combat. The Gladiator saw action in almost all theatres during the Second World War, with a large number of air forces, some of them on the Axis side. The RAF used it in France, Norway, Greece, the defence of Malta, the Middle East, and the brief Anglo-Iraqi War (during which the Royal Iraqi Air Force was similarly equipped). Other countries deploying the Gladiator included China against Japan, beginning in 1938; Finland (along with Swedish voluntee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until the end of the war. Development began with the ''Type 142'', a civil airliner, in response to a challenge from Lord Rothermere to produce the fastest commercial aircraft in Europe. The ''Type 142'' first flew in April 1935, and the Air Ministry, impressed by its performance, ordered a modified design as the ''Type 142M'' for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a bomber. Deliveries of the newly named Blenheim to RAF squadrons commenced on 10 March 1937. In service the Type 142M became the Blenheim Mk.I which would be developed into the longer Type 149, designated the Blenheim Mk.IV, except in Canada where Fairchild Canada built the Type 149 under licence as the Bolingbroke. The Type 160 Bisley was also developed from the Blenheim, but was already o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
7th Support Group (United Kingdom)
The 7th Support Group was a supporting formation within the British 7th Armoured Division, active during the Second World War's Western Desert Campaign. History The 7th Support Group was formed from the expansion of the 7th Armoured Division's existing pivot group. The pivot group, and later the support group, controlled the division's motorised infantry, field artillery, anti-tank guns, and light anti-aircraft guns. While the artillery would provide support for the tanks on an attack, the infantry were intended to protect the division's base or occupy territory captured by the tanks and not supplement them. Towards the end of Operation Crusader, the support group joined the 1st Armoured Division for a couple of weeks before reverting to the command of the 7th Armoured Division. The 7th Support Group was abolished in February 1942, after Crusader came to an end, following a reorganization of the British armoured forces in North Africa. Commanders * Lieutenant-Colonel E. S. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free French Forces
__NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, label=none or FFL) during World War II. The military force of Free France, it participated in the Italian and Tunisian campaigns before landing in France with the allies liberating the country and occupying Germany until it had forced its capitulation in 1945. History The French Liberation Army was created in 1943 when the Army of Africa () led by General Giraud was combined with the Free French Forces of General de Gaulle. The AFL participated in the campaigns of Tunisia and Italy; during the Italian campaign the AFL was known as the French Expeditionary Corps in Italy ( ''en Italie or CEFI)'' making a quarter of the troops deployed. The AFL was key in the liberation of Corsica, the first French metropolitan department to be liberate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
