Operation Brevity Operation Brevity was a limited offensive conducted in mid - May 1941 , during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War . Conceived by the commander - in - chief of the British Middle East Command , General Archibald Wavell , Brevity was intended to be a rapid blow against weak Axis front - line forces in the Sollum – Capuzzo – Bardia area of the border between Egypt and Libya . Although the operation got off to a promising start , throwing the Axis high command into confusion , most of its early gains were lost to local counterattacks , and with German reinforcements being rushed to the front the operation was called off after one day . Egypt had been invaded by Libyan - based Italian forces in September 1940 , but by February of the following year a British counter - offensive had advanced well into Libya , destroying the Italian 10th Army in the process . British attention then shifted to Greece , which was under the threat of Axis invasion ; while Allied divisions were being diverted from North Africa , the Italians were being reinforced with the German " Afrika Korps " under General Erwin Rommel . Rapidly taking the offensive against his distracted and over - stretched opponent , by April 1941 Rommel had driven the British and Commonwealth forces in Cyrenaica back across the Egyptian border . Although the battlefront now lay in the border area , the port city of Tobruk — inside Libya — had resisted the Axis advance , and its substantial Australian and British garrison constituted a significant threat to Rommel ' s lengthy supply chain . He therefore committed his main strength to besieging the city , leaving the front line only thinly held . Wavell defined Operation Brevity ' s main objectives as the acquisition of territory from which to launch a further planned offensive toward Tobruk , and the depletion of German and Italian forces in the region . With limited battle - ready units to draw on in the wake of Rommel ' s recent successes , on 15 May Brigadier William Gott attacked in three columns with a mixed infantry and armoured force . The strategically important Halfaya Pass was taken against stiff Italian opposition , and deeper inside Libya Fort Capuzzo was captured , but German counterattacks regained the fort during the afternoon causing heavy casualties amongst its defenders . Gott — concerned that his forces were in danger of being caught by German armour in open ground — conducted a staged withdrawal to the Halfaya Pass on 16 May , and Brevity was closed down . The importance of the Halfaya Pass as a safe supply route was highlighted to Rommel , and 11 days later it was recaptured by a German counterattack . Background . In early September 1940 , Italian forces based in Libya invaded Egypt , and three months later the British and Commonwealth troops of the Western Desert Force began a counter - offensive , codenamed Operation Compass . In two months , the Allies advanced , occupying the Italian province of Cyrenaica and destroying the Italian 10th Army , but the operation was halted in February 1941 to give priority to the Battle of Greece . Renamed XIII Corps and reorganised under HQ Cyrenaica Command , the troops of the former Western Desert Force adopted a defensive posture . Over the next few months , HQ Cyrenaica lost its commander , Lieutenant - General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson , and the New Zealand 2nd and Australian 6th infantry divisions when they were redeployed to Greece . The British 7th Armoured Division , with virtually no serviceable tanks left after Compass , was also withdrawn and sent to the Nile Delta for rest and refitting . In recompense , Wilson was replaced by Lieutenant - General Philip Neame and the British 2nd Armoured and Australian 9th Infantry Division s were deployed to Cyrenaica , but both formations were inexperienced , ill - equipped , and in the case of the 2nd Armoured , under strength . The Italians responded by despatching their " Ariete " and " Trento " Division s to North Africa , and beginning in February 1941 and continuing until early May , Operation Sonnenblume saw the German " Afrika Korps " arrive in Tripoli to reinforce their Italian allies . Commanded by General Erwin Rommel and consisting of the 5th Light and 15 . " Panzerdivision " s , the " Afrika Korps " mission was to block Allied attempts to drive the Italians out of the region . However , Rommel seized on the weakness of his opponents and , without waiting for his forces to fully assemble , rapidly went on the offensive . In March – April , he destroyed the 2nd Armoured Division and forced the British and Commonwealth forces into retreat . Adding to the Allied discomfiture , Neame and the General Officer Commanding British Troops Egypt — Lieutenant - General Richard O ' Connor — were captured , and the British and Commonwealth command structure had to be reorganised . HQ Cyrenaica was dissolved on 14 April , and its command functions taken over by the reactivated HQ Western Desert Force under Lieutenant - General Noel Beresford - Peirse . The Australian 9th Infantry Division fell back to the fortress port of Tobruk , and the remaining British and Commonwealth forces withdrew a further east to Sollum on the Libyan – Egyptian border . With Tobruk under siege from the main German - Italian force , a small battlegroup ( " Kampfgruppe " ) commanded by Maximilian von Herff continued to press eastward . Capturing Fort Capuzzo and Bardia in passing , it then advanced into Egypt , and by the end of April had taken Sollum and the tactically important Halfaya Pass . Rommel garrisoned these positions , reinforcing the battlegroup and ordering it onto the defensive . Tobruk ' s garrison — although isolated by land — continued to receive supplies and support from the Royal Navy , and Rommel was unable to take the port . This failure was significant ; his front line positions at Sollum were at the end of an extended supply chain that stretched back to Tripoli and was threatened by the Tobruk garrison , and the substantial commitment required to invest Tobruk prevented him from building up his forces at Sollum , making further advances into Egypt impractical . By maintaining possession of Tobruk , the Allies had regained the initiative . Prelude . General Archibald Wavell — the commander - in - chief of the British Middle East Command — conceived Operation Brevity as a rapid blow in the Sollum area . Wavell intended to create advantageous conditions from which to launch Operation Battleaxe , the main offensive that he was planning for June . Operation Brevity ' s primary objectives were to recapture the Halfaya Pass , to drive the enemy from the Sollum and Capuzzo areas , and to deplete Rommel ' s forces . A secondary objective was to advance toward Tobruk , although only as far as supplies would allow , and without risking the force committed to the operation . Allied force . Operation Brevity would be carried out by the 22nd Guards Brigade and elements of the 7th Armoured Division . Its armoured component consisted of 29 cruiser tank s of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment ( 2RTR ) and 24 infantry tank s of the 4th Royal Tank Regiment ( 4RTR ) . The Royal Air Force ( RAF ) allocated all available fighters and a small force of bombers to the operation . Brigadier William Gott — in command of all Allied front - line forces since the retreat — was to lead the operation in the field , and his plan was to advance in three parallel columns . On the desert flank to the south , the 7th Armoured Brigade group was to move from Bir el Khireigat to Sidi Azeiz destroying any opposition encountered en route . This group included three small mobile forces ( " Jock column s " ) of the 7th Support Group , the cruiser tanks of 2RTR , and the armoured car s of the 11th Hussars , whose task was to patrol the open desert on the left flank and monitor the Sidi Azeiz – Bardia road . In the centre , the 22nd Guards Brigade group was to clear the top of the Halfaya Pass , secure Bir Wair , Musaid , and Fort Capuzzo , and conduct a company - sized probe toward Bardia . The group included the infantry battalions of the 1st Durham Light Infantry and 2nd Scots Guards , and the infantry tanks of 4RTR . In the north , the " coast group " was to advance along the coast road , capturing the lower Halfaya Pass , Sollum barracks , and the town of Sollum . The group included elements of the 2nd Battalion The Rifle Brigade , and the 8th Field Regiment Royal Artillery . Axis force . The main Axis opposition was " Kampfgruppe " von Herff , positioned on the desert plateau . It included 30 – 50 tanks of the 2nd Battalion " Panzer " Regiment 5 , an Italian motorised infantry battalion of the Trento Division , and supporting arms . The frontline area around Halfaya Pass was defended by two companies of " Bersaglieri " — well trained Italian motorised infantry — with artillery support . On 9 May , the Germans intercepted a British weather report over the radio . The " Afrika Korps " war diary noted that " In the past , such reports had always been issued prior to the important enemy offensives to capture Sidi Barrani , Bardi , Tobruk , and the Gebel . " Rommel ' s response was to strengthen the eastern side of his cordon around Tobruk as a precaution against sorties from the garrison , and to order Kampfgruppe von Herff to adopt a more aggressive posture . On 13 May , Axis aircraft bombed British tank concentrations , and von Herff expected an imminent British attack . However , the following day aircraft were unable to locate the British , and it was reported that the " enemy intentions to attack were not known " . Battle . British advance . On 13 May , Wavell ' s infantry battalions began to concentrate at their start lines , followed by the tank regiments during the early hours of 15 May . At 06 : 00 , the three columns began their advance , supported overhead by a standing patrol of Hawker Hurricane fighters . Centre column . Reaching the top of the Halfaya Pass , the 22nd Guards Brigade group ran into heavy opposition from an Italian " Bersaglieri " infantry company with anti - tank gun support . At the cost of seven tanks , the position was quickly taken by C Squadron 4RTR and G Company 2nd Scots Guards , and the brigade group pushed on towards the Bir Wair - Musaid road . At around 08 : 00 , it received the surrender of a large German - Italian camp , and by 10 : 15 Bir Wair and Musaid had been taken in the face of limited opposition . A Squadron 4RTR and the 1st Durham Light Infantry ( 1DLI ) continued the advance toward Fort Capuzzo . Concealed in hull down positions behind a ridge near the fort were 20 – 30 German tanks , supported by anti tank guns . These engaged A Squadron , disabling five tanks , but were forced to withdraw as the squadron pressed its attack . On the final approach to Fort Capuzzo , contact was lost between 4RTR ' s tanks and 1DLI ' s leading C Company , and the attack on the fort began without armoured support . The fort was vigorously defended , and it was not until just before midday that C Company , reunited with A Squadron 4RTR and reinforced by A and B Companies 1DLI , eventually took the position . D Company 1DLI — which had been in reserve during the attack — then made a wide left hook to capture a small landing ground to the north of the fort . In the afternoon , one company of the 2nd Scots Guards probed toward Bardia , the infantry coming under heavy machine gun fire from three positions as they neared Sollum barracks . A group of Universal Carrier s — commanded by Sergeant F . Riley — charged the gun positions and quickly neutralised them , but one carrier was disabled when the group was subsequently engaged by anti - tank guns . Riley executed a second charge , silencing these too and taking their crews prisoner . His carrier was hit three times ; for his actions Riley was awarded the Military Medal , the battalion ' s first decoration of the war . Desert column . On the desert flank , 2RTR advanced with the 7th Armoured Brigade group . During the morning , reports were received of up to 30 German armoured vehicles operating nearby , and A Squadron 2RTR moved to investigate . Most of the German force had pulled back , but three tanks were located and brought under fire . One " Panzer IV was disabled and the other two driven off , for the loss of one British tank due to mechanical failure . A second force of 15 German tanks was engaged by two tanks of No 2 Troop , destroying a " Panzer " III and forcing the remainder to withdraw . By midday , the brigade group had reached a position west of Fort Capuzzo , and in the afternoon the nine remaining cruisers of A Squadron 2RTR began a reconnaissance patrol towards Sidi Azeiz . Coastal column . The advance along the coastal road — which lacked tank support — was held up all morning by determined Italian resistance at the bottom of Halfaya Pass . This objective was finally achieved toward evening when S Company 2nd Rifle Brigade — supported by Australian anti - tank gunners fighting as infantry — overran the Italian positions taking around 130 prisoners . Axis reactions . Although the German and Italian commands in North Africa knew that a British offensive was imminent , Operation Brevity nevertheless caught them unprepared , and Rommel recorded in his diary that the initial attacks had caused him considerable losses . By midday on 15 May , Axis command was showing signs of confusion . It was erroneously believed that the offensive involved more than 100 tanks , and repeated requests were made to both the " Luftwaffe " and the " Regia Aeronautica " for a concerted effort to defeat it . Forces around Tobruk were redeployed east of the besieged city , to block any attempt at relief and to prevent the garrison from breaking out to meet the British advance . Lieutenant - Colonel Hans Cramer was sent to reinforce " Kampfgruppe " von Herff with a tank battalion from " Panzer " Regiment 8 and a battery of " FlaK " gun s , and additional reinforcements under General von Esebeck were despatched the following day . The Germans concentrated their riposte against the central column . Von Herff — who had been prepared to fall back — instead launched a local counterattack toward Fort Capuzzo during the afternoon of 15 May with the 2nd Battalion " Panzer " Regiment 5 . At around 13 : 30 , D Company 1DLI at the landing ground was overrun , and with no anti - tank support more capable than the Boys anti - tank rifle , the remaining troops of 1DLI were forced to fall back toward Musaid . A fortuitous dust cloud aided their withdrawal , but by 14 : 45 " Panzer " Regiment 5 was reporting that it had recaptured Capuzzo , inflicting heavy casualties on the British and taking 70 prisoners . On the desert flank , A Squadron 2RTR ' s patrol toward Sidi Azeiz was being monitored by " Panzer " Regiment 5 , but the Germans misidentified the light cruiser tanks as heavily armoured Matilda infantry tanks , and reported that an attack was not possible . Col . von Herff — believing the British had two divisions operating in the area — had grown uneasy . A Squadron ' s patrol was interpreted as an attempt to concentrate south of Sidi Azeiz , in preparation for a thrust north the next day ; such a move threatened to sweep aside von Herff ' s force and completely unhinge the German front in the Sollum – Bardia area . In response , von Herff broke contact with the British ; his plan was to join up with Cramer ' s " Panzer " Regiment 8 to mount a concentrated counterattack the following morning . British withdrawal . Realising that the 22nd Guards Brigade group would be vulnerable to German armoured counterattacks in the open ground around Bir Wair and Mussaid , Brigadier Gott withdrew it during the early hours of the morning of 16 May . By 10 : 00 , the infantry had taken up new positions back at Halfaya Pass , although the 7th Armoured Brigade group was ordered to remain west of Fort Capuzzo for the time being . Cramer ' s reinforcements arrived in the Sidi Azeiz area at 03 : 00 and reached Fort Capuzzo at 06 : 30 . At around 08 : 00 , he made contact with " Kampfgruppe " von Herff , but by mid - morning both groups had run out of fuel . The German advance resumed at 16 : 00 before being stopped by around 17 tanks of 2RTR . The British reported one German tank set alight and another disabled , and that an advance of up to 50 tanks had been halted , while the Germans believed that they had repulsed a strong British tank attack . As nightfall approached , von Herff broke off the action and went on to the defensive . He intended to repair his damaged machines , reorganise , and resume offensive operations on 18 May . However , 2RTR pulled back to Bir el Khireigat , initially followed by two German tanks , one of which withdrew after the other was destroyed . The regiment arrived at Bir el Khireigat , from where it had set out two days previously , at around 02 : 30 on 17 May . Aftermath . Operation Brevity failed to achieve most of its objectives , ultimately succeeding only in retaking the Halfaya Pass . The British lost five tanks and at least 206 men killed , wounded , or captured . German casualties numbered three tanks and 258 men killed , wounded , or captured . Losses among the Italian forces are unknown , but Allied accounts record the capture of 347 men . On 5 August , Col . von Herff praised the Bersaglieri , who had defended Halfaya Pass . The British received plaudits from Winston Churchill , who sent a telegram to Wavell betraying his ignorance of events by stating : " Without using the Tiger cubs you have taken the offensive , advanced , captured Halfaya and Sollum , taken 500 German prisoners and inflicted heavy losses in men and tanks . For this twenty I tanks and 1000 or 1500 casualties do not seem too heavy a cost . " Churchill ended the message by asking Wavell " What are your dates for bringing Tiger cubs into action ? " , in reference to the reinforcements that had arrived at Alexandria on 12 May as part of a convoy code - named Operation Tiger . The 11th Hussar ' s regimental history notes that " it was clear that no further offensive action would be possible before 7 [ th ] Arm [ oured Division ] was fully prepared " . The Tiger convoy brought 238 tanks and made it possible to refit the 7th Armoured Division , which had been out of action since February as a result of the losses it sustained during Operation Compass . Preparations could now be made for Operation Battleaxe and the relief of Tobruk . In the system of British and Commonwealth battle honours , units that served in the Halfaya Pass area between 15 and 27 May were awarded the honour Halfaya 1941 in 1957 . Historian Thomas Jentz suggests that Brevity could have ended in victory for the British . While their tank forces were fighting ineffectively , the " gutsy " actions by 2RTR and their patrol toward Sidi Azeiz had convinced the Germans that the battle was lost by the evening of 15 May . Because of their failure to engage 2RTR late that day , several German commanders from Panzer Regiment 5 , including its commanding officer , were removed from their posts after the battle . Jentz notes that a feint by the 1st and 7th RTR out of Tobruk might have caused a realignment of the Axis forces , weakening their overall position and perhaps even forcing them to give up the Sollum area . Operation Brevity highlighted to Rommel the importance of the Halfaya Pass ; whichever side held it would have a " comparatively safe route for his supplies " during subsequent offensives in the area . On 27 May , he launched Operation Skorpion , during which von Herff recaptured the pass and reversed the last British territorial gain from Brevity .