The Baggush Box was a
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
field fortification
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
built in the
Western Desert near
Maaten Baggush, east of
Mersa Matruh
Mersa Matruh ( ar, مرسى مطروح, translit=Marsā Maṭrūḥ, ), also transliterated as ''Marsa Matruh'', is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located west of Alexandria and east of Sallum on the main highway ...
during the
Western Desert Campaign of
World War II
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 opposing ...
.
Background
The box was built by men of the
Western Desert Force
The Western Desert Force (WDF) was a British Army formation active in Egypt during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War.
On 17 June 1940, the headquarters of the British 6th Infantry Division was designated as the Western Des ...
(Lieutenant-General
Richard O'Connor
General Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor, (21 August 1889 – 17 June 1981) was a senior British Army officer who fought in both the First and Second World Wars, and commanded the Western Desert Force in the early years of the Second World War. ...
) as a tented camp, with offices, said to be bomb-proof dug under sand dunes, as a temporary billet for troops taking part in operations against the
Italian invasion of Egypt in 1940 by the Italian
10th Army. O'Connor opened his headquarters on 8 June. An airfield was a short distance inland and served as the headquarters of the
Desert Air Force
The Desert Air Force (DAF), also known chronologically as Air Headquarters Western Desert, Air Headquarters Libya, the Western Desert Air Force, and the First Tactical Air Force (1TAF), was an Allied tactical air force created from No. 204 ...
(Air Commodore
Raymond Collishaw).
Prelude
On 28 June,
Marshal of the Air Force ()
Italo Balbo
Italo Balbo (6 June 1896 – 28 June 1940) was an Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Libya and Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa. Due to his young a ...
,
Governor-General of
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 the east, Suda ...
and
Commander-in-Chief of
Italian North Africa ( ASI), flew a reconnaissance sortie over Sidi Barrani and Maaten Baggush. Balbo's aircraft was shot down by the cruiser
''San Giorgio'' in Tobruk harbour and the occupants killed while coming in to land; Balbo was replaced by Marshal
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli (; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was a prominent Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's '' Regio Esercito'' ("Royal Army"), primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and durin ...
.
On 26 November, O'Connor held a meeting at the Baggush Box after the completion of "Training Exercise No. 1", a rehearsal for
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 which attacks on fortified positions had been practised, the troops not being told that the positions were replicas of the Italian camps at Nibeiwa and the Tummars. The officers with O'Connor reported that the method laid down in ''The Division in Attack'' was too slow and sacrificed surprise, leaving the attackers vulnerable to air attack. The
Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Air Marshal
Arthur Longmore
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Murray Longmore, (8 October 1885 – 10 December 1970) was an early naval aviator, before reaching high rank in the Royal Air Force. He was Commander-in-Chief of the RAF's Middle East Command from 1940 to 1941.
E ...
, was being pressured from London to send formations to Greece and to provide air cover for Operation Compass, he stripped the air defences of Egypt of two squadrons and a flight, which he placed at O'Connor's disposal.
Before the offensive began O'Connor vacated the Baggush Box for a forward headquarters and Lieutenant-General
Henry Maitland Wilson
Field Marshal Henry Maitland Wilson, 1st Baron Wilson, (5 September 1881 – 31 December 1964), also known as Jumbo Wilson, was a senior British Army officer of the 20th century. He saw active service in the Second Boer War and then during the ...
the
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the
British Troops in Egypt
British Troops in Egypt was a command of the British Army.
History
A British Army commander was appointed in the late 19th century after the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882. The British Army remained in Egypt throughout the First World War and, after t ...
took over the headquarters.
Footnotes
References
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Further reading
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External links
Australia in the War of 1939–1945: To BenghaziThe Sheep Dog Remembers
Military installations of the United Kingdom
Mersa Matruh
Western Desert campaign
{{Egypt-hist-stub