page_title: Maletti Group
section_title: Operazione E
hierarchical_section_title: Maletti Group / Prelude / Operazione E
caption_attribution_description: Graziani's advance and Wavell's offensive -- en:September 13, en:1940 - en:February 7, en:1941
context_page_description: The Maletti Group was an ad hoc mechanised unit formed by the Italian Royal Army in Italian North Africa, during the initial stages of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The Italian army had three armoured divisions in Europe but all were needed for the occupation of Albania and the forthcoming invasion of Greece, which began on 28 October 1940. The Raggruppamento Maletti was formed in June 1940, as part of the 10th Army and contained all of the M11/39 medium tanks in Libya.
  The medium tanks and tankettes already in the colony were to be combined with medium tanks sent from Italy, to form a new armoured division and a new headquarters, the Libyan Tank Command was established on 29 August. The Raggruppamento Maletti participated in Operazione E, the Italian invasion of Egypt in 1940 and reached Sidi Barrani on 16 September. The group was destroyed at the Nibeiwa camp on 9 December, during Operation Compass, a British raid against the 10th Army positions inside Egypt.
context_section_description: Marshal Rodolfo Graziani revised Operazione E, the plan for the invasion of Egypt by the 10th Army and made Sidi Barrani the objective, six days before the deadline for an invasion imposed by Mussolini. XXII Corps (Generale di Corpo d'Armata Petassi Manella) was in general reserve, XXI Corps (Generale di Corpo d'Armata Lorenzo Dalmazzo) was at Tobruk as the 10th Army reserve with the un-motorized 61st Infantry Division "Sirte", 2nd Blackshirt Division (28 October) and a light tank battalion. The XXIII Corps (Generale di Corpo d'Armata Annibale Bergonzoli) comprised the un-motorized 64th Infantry Division "Catanzaro" and 4th Blackshirt Division (3 January).  A northern column with the Italian non-motorised divisions was to advance down the Via Balbia coast road, cross the frontier and attack through the Halfaya Pass, to occupy Sollum and capture Sidi Barrani. A southern column with the 1st Libyan Division "Sibelle", 2nd Libyan Division "Pescatori" and the Raggruppamento Maletti  were to advance along the track from Dayr al Hamra to Bir ar Rabiyah and Bir Enba south of the escarpment, round the British inland (southern)  flank.
  The flanking manoeuvre by the Raggruppamento Maletti misfired, because it lacked adequate maps and navigation equipment for desert travel and the group got lost as it moved to its jumping-off point at Sidi Omar. XXIII Corps Headquarters (HQ) had to send aircraft to guide the group into position. The accompanying 1st Libyan Division "Sibelle" and 2nd Libyan Division "Pescatori" were also delayed in reaching the rendezvous near Fort Capuzzo and the fiasco led Graziani to cancel the wide flanking manoeuvre. The 10th Army, in a mass of five divisions and the armoured groups, was ordered to move down the coast road, occupy Sollum and advance to Sidi Barrani through Buq Buq. Once at Sidi Barrani, the army would consolidate, extend the Via Balbia by building the Via della Vittoria to move supplies forward, destroy British counter-attacks and then advance to Mersa Matruh. The immobility of the non-motorized infantry divisions forced Graziani to use the coast road, despite the mechanised forces in the army, to try to defeat the British with mass rather than manoeuvre.
caption: Military operations, 13 September 1940 – 7 February 1941 (click to expand)
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