Beda Fomm is a small coastal town in southwestern

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

. It is located between the much larger port city

Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...

to its north-west and the larger town of

El Agheila El Agheila ( ar, العقيلة, translit=al-ʿUqayla ) is a coastal city at the southern end of the Gulf of Sidra in far western Cyrenaica, Libya. In 1988 it was placed in Ajdabiya District; it was in that district until 1995. It was removed from ...

further to the south-west. Beda Fomm is known mainly for being the site of the final engagement of

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 ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

World War II

In late January 1941, during Operation Compass, the British learned that the Italians were evacuating

by way of Beda Fomm. The 7th Armoured Division was dispatched to intercept the 10th Army. Half way to their destination, it was evident that the division together was too slow and Combeforce, a flying column was sent on the direct route across the desert. On 5 February 1941, Combeforce arrived to cut off the retreating remnants of the 10th Army. The following day, the Italians arrived and attacked but failed to break through the blockade. The fighting was close and often hand-to-hand; at one point, a regimental sergeant major captured an Italian tank by hitting the commander over the head with the butt of his rifle. The final effort came 7 February, when 20 Italian

Fiat M13/40 The Carro Armato M13/40 was an Italian World War II tank designed to replace the M11/39 in the Italian Army at the start of World War II. It was the primary tank used by the Italians throughout the war. The design was influenced by the British Vi ...

tanks broke through the thin cordon of riflemen and anti-tank guns, only to be stopped by field guns, yards from regimental HQ. The officer commanding Italian forces was General

Giuseppe Tellera Giuseppe Tellera (March 14, 1882 in Bologna – February 7, 1941) was a general in the Italian Army during World War II. Italian Tenth Army On 23 December 1940 General Tellera took over the command of the Italian Tenth Army from Lt. Gen ...

, who was mortally wounded and Lieutenant-General

Ferdinando Cona Ferdinando Cona (Rome, 25 April 1882 – unknown) was an Italian military officer who participated in World War II. His positions included C.O. XXI. Granatieri di Sardegna Infantry Brigade; C.O. XXIX. Infantry Brigade; Deputy Chief of Staff, Eas ...

assumed command, only to be captured by the British. After that failure, with the rest of the 7th Armoured arriving and the

6th Australian Division The 6th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was raised briefly in 1917 during World War I, but was broken up to provide reinforcements before seeing action. It was not re-raised until the outbreak of World War II, when ...

bearing down on them from Benghazi, the Italians surrendered. A fictional version of the battle may be found in C.S. Forester's short story "An Egg for the Major", in the collection ''Gold from Crete'' (1941).

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World War II

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