The Italian failures during the initial period of the North African Campaign forced the "Wehrmacht" to reinforce the Axis forces in North Africa which led to a 28-month aerial campaign. The He 111 along with the Ju 88 took on deep offensive bombing operations from the very beginning. In January 1941 a number of "Kampfgeschwaders" carried out raids against the Royal Navy and Allied convoys. KG 26 was the first unit to be used in this capacity. Some of the early raids were costly despite the lack opposition. On night of 17/18 January 12 of KG 26s machines set out to bomb Benghazi, seven of eight were lost after running out of fuel. Successes were frequent and the minesweeper HMS "Huntley" and the freighter "Sollum" were sunk. A number of He 111 units, mostly KG 26, also supported the German invasion of Crete.