Following the evacuation from Crete, a detachment from No. 8 (Guards) Commando consisting of five officers and 70 other ranks was sent to Tobruk, which was at the time was under siege. In June the Allies launched Operation Battleaxe, an attempt to relieve the garrison. Within this situation it was decided that the commandos in Tobruk could be used to carry out raids against the positions facing them. In the middle of the month the detachment from No. 8 (Guards) Commando began carrying out patrols in an effort to become familiar with the terrain and to practice moving at night. It was then decided that they would carry out the a raid on an Italian position that was dominating the forward areas of the Indian 18th Cavalry. The position, which was known as the Twin Pimples, consisted of two small hills that sat close together and from where the Italians were able to observe the Allied lines.