| Action at Bir el Gubi (November 1941) | |||||||
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| Part ofOperation Crusader during theSecond World War | |||||||
 Italian M13/40 tanks in North Africa. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom |  Italy | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| John Scott-Cockburn | Mario Balotta | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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TheAction at Bir el Gubi (November 1941) (Arabic:بئر الغبي,romanized: Biʾr al-Ġubbiyy,lit. 'Well of the Depressed Terrain') orfirst battle of Bir el Gubi (prima battaglia di Bir el Gobi in Italian) took place on 19 November 1941 near Biʾr al-Ġubbiyy,Libya. It was one of the opening engagements ofOperation Crusader in North Africa and resulted in a success for the Italian armoured forces.
On 15 November 1941 GeneralClaude Auchinleck, commander of theEighth Army, launchedOperation Crusader, aimed at forcing the Axis army in Libya to lift thesiege of Tobruk and if possible, to force the Axis to retreat fromCyrenaica. The Eighth Army was composed of theXIII Corps, formed ofinfantry divisions, andXXX Corps, which included the7th Armoured Division, formerly belonging to theWestern Desert Force and one of the authors of the destruction of theTenth Army duringOperation Compass. The British plan was to circumvent the Italo-German positions on their southern side with the 7th Armoured Division, and then to attack the Axis forces besiegingTobruk.
Erwin Rommel was planning a new attack on Tobruk and had therefore gathered his forces on the north-west, between Tobruk and the Egyptian border, near the coast. TheAriete Division was given the task of facing the XIII Corps (on the eastern flank) and defending the road junction at Bir el Gubi, from where supplies headed forBir Hakeim,Giarabub, Sidi Omar, Tobruk andEl Adem were sent.
The Italian 132nd Armored Division "Ariete" (General Mario Balotta) included the132nd Tank Infantry Regiment with three battalions (VII, VIII, IX tank battalions M13/40) equipped withM13/40medium tanks, the32nd Tank Infantry Regiment with three tank battalions L (I, II, III) equipped with obsoleteL3/35tankettes, the8th Bersaglieri Regiment with two motorized Bersaglieri battalions (V and XII) and onesupport weapons battalion (III), the132nd Artillery Regiment "Ariete" with two75/27 mm gun groups, oneBlackshirt Artillery Militia (Milmart) Battery with three102/35gun trucks and one section of the 6th Milmart Battery with two 102/35 gun trucks.[5] As the 32nd Tank Regiment was deployed far away and would not take part in the battle with its L3 tankettes, the Italian forces involved in the battle would be about 130 M13/40 medium tanks.
The British force for the attack on Bir el Gubi consisted of the22nd Armoured Brigade (Brigadier John Scott-Cockburn) consisting of the 2ndRoyal Gloucestershire Hussars and the 3rd and 4thCounty of London Yeomanry, one motorised infantry company of the 1st BattalionKing's Royal Rifle Corps, one battery of the 4th RegimentRoyal Horse Artillery with eight25 pounder gun-howitzers, one anti-tank section with2-pounder anti-tank guns, one light anti-aircraft battery withBofors 40 mm guns, and the11th Hussars as a reconnaissance unit. The British had 150Crusader tanks and severalarmoured cars.
On 15 November the "Ariete" Division, facing the XXX Corps on the eastern flank, was re-deployed on the southern flank, as concentrations of British forces (the 7th Armoured Division) had been detected near Fort Maddalena. The defense was then re-organized in a line of strongholds held by Bersaglieri, directly supported by47/32 mm guns, 81 mmmortars and the indirect support of 75/27 mm batteries. Fortification work started at once and was continued until noon on 18 November. The 7th Armoured Division comprised the4th Armoured Brigade,7th Armoured Brigade and the 22nd Armoured Brigade (the latter having been detached from the1st Armoured Division). The 4th moved directly north from its bases, to support the advance of XXX Corps, while the 7th headed for the airfield at Sidi Rezegh and the 22nd (on the left flank of the 7th) headed for Bir el Gubi, to drive off the "Ariete" Division and then attack the21st Panzer Division from the rear. The 22nd Armoured Brigade was preceded by the armoured cars of the 11th Hussars Regiment, employed as a scouting force.
At 14:00 on 18 November the British armoured cars (B Squadron, 11th Hussars) were spotted about 6.2 mi (10 km) south east of Bir el Gubi by aplatoon of Italian M13/40 tanks, which closed in on them and opened fire. The armoured cars, having a higher speed, easily disengaged. The oncoming darkness prevented a section of Royal Horse Artillery from approaching to allow the armoured cars to carry on the reconnaissance. British aircraft bombed the bulk of the "Ariete" Division, wounding some men and destroying atractor of the 132nd Artillery Regiment. Upon learning of the British appearance, Balotta ordered his division to assume a defensive formation. The front line held by the Bersaglieri was shortened, and the five Milmart gun trucks were deployed just north of Bir el Gubi; the 132nd Tank Regiment was deployed 3.7 mi (6 km) north-west of Bir el Gubi, to repel potential counter-attacks and to cover the road to El Adem. The 3rd, 5th and 12th Bersaglieri Battalions held the defensive line.
In the morning of 19 November, the 22nd Armoured Brigade moved towards Bir el Gubi, again preceded by armoured cars of the 11th Hussars. The 3rd Company of the VII Tank Battalion (M13/40 tanks), supported by a section of 75/27 guns, counter-attacked and forced the armoured cars to retreat. The Italian tanks were uncovered on their right flank; 25-pdr fire from the Royal Horse Artillery prevented them from advancing, and they were circumvented and attacked from the rear by the Crusaders of H/2 Squadron, Royal Gloucestershire Hussars. The Italian tanks destroyed eight Crusader tanks, the Italians lost three M13/40s (and several men, including three officers) in the fight and then retreated to their lines, along with the artillery section.[6]
After this action, the armoured cars of the 11th Hussars returned to the front of the brigade and around 12:00, they sighted the Bersaglieri defensive line about 2.8 mi (4.5 km) south of Bir el Gubi. At 10:30 the 22nd Armoured Brigade, supported by Royal Horse Artillery fire, advanced with 2nd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars on the right and 4th County of London Yeomanry on the left, with the 3rd County of London Yeomanry in reserve. The first Italian unit to be engaged was the III Bersaglieri Infantry Support Gun Battalion; not having fully deployed yet, the battalion was overrun by the tanks of H/2 Squadron, Royal Gloucestershire Hussars. A platoon of M13/40 tanks of IX Battalion was sent to help the Bersaglieri, but was destroyed by the combined action of G and H Squadrons, 2nd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars, the Italian platoon commander being among the killed. F Squadron, 2nd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars instead faced the V Bersaglieri Battalion, which, being well-entrenched and supported by Milmart artillery, halted the British advance.
The British tanks regrouped and F and G Squadrons, 2nd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars managed to break through the line held by the III Infantry Gun Battalion, thus opening their way north. The 4th County of London Yeomanry headed towards the (not yet fortified) positions held by the XII Bersaglieri Battalion, but A Squadron, leading the attack, was stopped by Italian artillery fire. B Squadron attempted to overtake the Italian right flank, to outflank the Bersaglieri battalion. Several British tanks managed to break through the strongholds and they cut off the regimental command, which rejoined XII Battalion with difficulty.
The situation had become desperate for the Italian defenders. At 13:30, the 132nd Tank Regiment began a counter-attack; the 1st Company of the VII Tank Battalion, closely followed by the 2nd Company and by the entire VIII Battalion (60 Italian tanks), was sent south to attack the 2nd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars. The Italian tanks attacked the two British regiments, eventually outflanking them and forcing them to retreat. C Squadron, 4th County of London Yeomanry was sent to try to circumvent the Bersaglieri positions but the attempt was stopped by the fire of the Italian anti-tank guns and by the Milmart gun trucks, which inflicted many casualties on the British troops.
The 3rd County of London Yeomanry was moved to cover the right flank of 2nd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars and surprised the Italian tank platoon that had outflanked the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars on the right side; the British tanks quickly defeated the Italian tanks, then left B Squadron in defensive formation to keep contact with the other regiment while the British regimental command advanced. The British force ran into the Bersaglieri anti-tank defenses, which soon knocked out four tanks, including that of the regimental commander.
At 16:30, the 2nd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars were forced to retreat under pressure from Italian tanks and constantly kept under the fire of anti-tank guns and gun trucks. The 4th County of London Yeomanry also withdrew and the 3rd County of London Yeomanry, which had been less worn out by the previous fight, was ordered at 16:50 to regroup to try a new attack but the losses suffered induced a countermand at 17:50. The attack of 22nd Armoured Brigade had failed.
The Action at Bir el Gubi was a notable victory for the Italians. With their forces unexpectedly tied up with the Italians, only one full-strength British armored regiment reached Sidi Rezegh, where it was crushed by theAfrika Korps. The defeat marked the failure of the initial British move in Crusader, which later defeated the Italian−German forces in a battle of attrition and forced them to retreat. The British attacked with Crusader tanks with long-range artillery support but no infantry. The "Ariete" Division had adopted the German practice of tank–infantry coordination while training with the Panzer units of theAfrika Korps during the previous months and had put it to good use at Bir el Gubi.
The 132nd Tank Regiment lost 95 men killed and wounded, 82 missing, 12 guns, 34 tanks destroyed and 15 damaged[4] The 8th Bersaglieri Regiment suffered 9 killed, 18 wounded and 17 missing and the 132nd Artillery Regiment had six wounded and lost one gun and three vehicles.[3][a]
British tank losses are debated, the 2nd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars lost 30 tanks and 50 men (11 killed, 19 wounded and 20 missing), the 4th County of London Yeomanry lost eight tanks and 26 men (4 killed and 22 missing) and the 3rd County of London Yeomanry reported the loss of four tanks, six men killed and an unspecified number of wounded. Nearly all of the British missing were takenprisoner. Some sources claim that whereas British war diaries revealed accurate losses for the 2nd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars and the 4th County of London Yeomanry, the losses reportedly suffered by the 3rd County of London Yeomanry were incomplete, as they were all related to one squadron, while the war diaries contain no information about the other squadrons for several days.Correlli Barnett, inThe Desert Generals (1986 ed.) stated that British lost 52 tanks at Bir el Gubi.[7] After Bir el Gubi the brigade reported that it had lost 82 tanks, and another account stated that it had only 10 to 20 runners. The figures included battlefield losses and Crusaders out of action during the two days leading up to and including the battle due to mechanical defects.[citation needed]