Mackay before Tobruk — the assault

After the fall of Bardia, Operation Compass moves on to Tobruk, a deep-water port in Cyrenaica. Its capture is a major objective: a forward port would spare the British the need to supply their offensive over a land route of nearly 700 km from Alexandria. The place is held by an Italian garrison of some 25,000 men under General Pitassi Manella, behind a fortified perimeter still more extensive than at Bardia.

Mackay's 6th Australian Division, already victorious at Bardia, leads the assault, again supported by a handful of Matilda tanks and by artillery. The challenge is the same, on a larger scale: cross the anti-tank ditch and the wire, neutralize the enemy artillery, then exploit. The Australians also want to seize the port and its installations intact, so that they can immediately serve the logistics of what follows.

Mackay must decide on the tempo and priority objective: launch a swift assault to capitalize on momentum and Italian disarray; take time for methodical preparation at the risk of letting the enemy recover; or focus the effort on capturing the port installations intact.