The "Trieste" was sent to Libya in North Africa in August 1941, as part of the Italian XX Motorised Corps under General Gastone Gambara with the 132 Armoured Division Ariete. The division participated in all the major Western Desert battles from then on; Operation Crusader, the January 1942 Axis counteroffensive, the Battle of Gazala in 1942, the Battle of Bir Hakeim, the First Battle of El Alamein and the Second Battle of El Alamein where it was virtually destroyed. During Operation Crusader the "Trieste" took advantage of the British 4th Armoured Brigade's withdrawal from the Tobruk sector, and achieved a notable success on December 1 when its armoured columns moved forward and cut the tenuous link the 6th New Zealand Brigade had established with Tobruk on November 27. On December 13, the 1st Buffs captured Point 204 on the Alam Hamza Ridge, but the" Trieste" Division successfully defended Point 208. During the Battle of Gazala, the "Trieste" played an important part in the destruction of the British 2nd and 4th Armoured Brigades south of Knightsbridge on June 12. During the First Battle of El Alamein, the "Trieste" on Ruweisat Ridge put up a tenacious defence and lost two regimental commanders before being partly overcome, delaying the Allied advance for several hours and allowing German armoured forces to launch a devastating counterattack. The division fought against the British Eighth Army in Tunisia, first on the Mareth Line, then at Wadi Akarit and eventually on the Enfidaville Line. The division formally surrendered to the Allies on 13 May 1943.