![In this graphic painting by war artist Ivor Hele, Australian troops storm an Italian position during the attack on Bardia on January 3, 1941. Commonwealth forces thoroughly routed the Italian Tenth Army during Operation Compass, which was intended as a five-day raid but lasted several weeks.](https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/W-Compass-LEAD-Jan12-760x419.jpg)
Early Winter 2012
WWII History
Operation Compass: Masterstroke in the Desert
By John DiamondEstablished in the summer of 1939, Field Marshal Sir Archibald Wavell’s Middle East Command encompassed nine countries and parts of two continents, an area of 1,700 miles by 2,000 miles. Read more