History - BattleVault

A Squadron,
2nd Battalion, Royal Tank Regiment
7th (The Queen‘s Own) Hussars
7th Armoured Division
Beda Fomm, 5-7 February, 1941
Led by Major-General Sir Michael O'Moore Creagh, MBE, MC, from 4 December, 1939 to 3
September, 1941, the British 7th Armored Division, the Desert Rats, was one of the most famous divisions of
the Second World War. As part of the Western Desert Force, the 7th Armored Division was instrumental in
capturing the majority of the Italian 10th Army in late 1940 and early 1941. During Operation Compass it was
Creagh who would 2000 men of his division under command of Lt Colonel John Combe as a blocking force to
hold the road the Italian 10th Army was using to retreat towards Libya. If “CombeForce” could hold the road
long enough for the Cruiser tanks of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Tank Regiment and the Queens Own (7th) Hussars’
Light tanks to catch the Italians in the flank, the entire Italian 10th Army could be destroyed.
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At Beda Fomm, the CombeForce found itself in the path of an entire army in retreat. It was now that 7th
Hussars, supported by 'A' Squadron, 2nd RTR, which had 6 of the faster A13 tanks, were ordered by Brigadier
Caunter to attack the Italians on the road nearer to Beda Fomm. The Hussars destroyed a transport column and
'A' Squadron, 2nd RTR joined the action just before 1800 hrs when they attacked an Italian Infantry column.
During this action a Trooper from 2nd RTR captured two Italian M-13's on foot, by jumping on each and, after
opening the hatch, forced the crews to surrender at pistol point. On 6th February the rest of 4th Armoured
Brigade arrived and struck the Italians in their left flank at Beda Fomm further north. With this the Italian rout
was complete.
However, there was no quick collapse and the Italians continued to press home their attacks, with
tenacity and increasing desperation, especially as they had advantage of numbers and a large supply of
ammunition. Seven miles north of the roadblock were the only landmarks in the area, which were a white
Mosque and two windmills, on a low ridge known as the Pimple. It was north of the Pimple that the Light
Tanks from 3rd (Queen’s Own) Hussars were harassing the flanks of the Italian column and engaging much of
the Italian artillery.
But it was 2nd RTR with its 19 Cruisers that did the most damage. The 3rd Hussars put 8 Light Tanks
around the Pimple and broke up wave after wave of Italian tanks, which were coming down the road in batches
of thirty, only to encounter cruisers tanks of 2nd RTR which were in hull down positions. The tanks of 2nd RTR
probably accounted for 100 tanks in total in the three day battle, but the Italian artillery managed to knock out
four of the Cruiser tanks in return. One of 2nd RTR’s tanks fired 112 rounds of 2-pdr ammunition and knocked
out at least 10 M-13's in the process. At one time the ammunition actually ran out, and when the supply lorries
arrived at 1300 hrs, the 7th Hussars and 2nd RTR were down to ten operational cruisers.
At 14:20 the British attacked an Italian column and about an hour later it was reported that Italian tanks
were trying to escape to the Northeast. During the afternoon the British had no more tank reserves and were
greatly outnumbered by the Italians. But 7th Hussars had found the rear of the Italian column and were working
their way down it with no one behind them, while at the other end 2nd RTR, with just seven Cruisers operational
(including two from RHQ), were facing a force of over twenty Italian tanks with another thirty further back,
supported by artillery. The three remaining tanks for 3rd Hussars were trying to maintain contact with the
broken Italian attempting to retreat to the northwest. With the Italian column shattered, white flags began to
appear all along it. The 10th Italian Army had ceased to exist. In total over 25,000 prisoners, 100 tanks, 216
guns, and 1,500 other vehicles were captured. For the next three days the British rounded up prisoners and
captured transport, much of which had become stuck in soft sand while trying to avoid the fighting.
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The majority of British tanks used by the 7th Armored were light tanks, more than adequate to fight the
Italians during the early days in the Western Desert. Lightly armored and armed only with Vickers .5 caliber
machine guns, the Mk VI B was a fast and fairly reliable vehicle. These little machines served in many British
armored formations in the early part of the war and were phased out as better tanks became available.
The A-9s were built to satisfy the interwar British requirement for a fast cruiser tank. The 2 pdr gun was
a fast and accurate weapon easily capable of destroying any Italian tank at the time. The very light armor was a
liability which limited the ability of the A9 supporting infantry operations. The A-9CS was an A-9 with a 3.7
inch howitzer mounted as a main gun to provide better infantry support.
The A-10 was an up-armored version of the A-9 but the chassis was overloaded and the speed was much
reduced. The A-10CS also had the 3.7 inch howitzer mounted for infantry support.
The A-13 Mark IV was the next development in the cruiser tank line. The superior Christie suspension
greatly increased the speed and mobility of this tank over earlier cruiser tanks. The reliable 2 pdr gun was still
the A13’s main armament. Until the advent of the Crusader tank in 1941 and the US built M4 Sherman in
1942, the A13 Mark IV was the best British Cruiser tank available.
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Photo Captions:
1: Map of the Battle of Beda Fomm, near the end of Operation Compass.
2: Sir Michael O'Moore Creagh, Commander 7th Armored Division.
3: Lt Colonel John Combe.
4: British Cruiser Tank A10.
5: A9 Cruiser tank, note the 2 MG Deck Turrets
6: The best of the early Cruiser tanks, the A13 MkIVA, shown here in the Western Desert Force, 1940.
7: One of the outmatched workhorses of the Western Desert Force, the Vickers Light, Mark VIB.
8: Captured Italian L3 tankettes, 1940, Bardia Harbor, the L3 on the left mounts a 20mm Solothurn AT
rifle.
9: The aftermath of the Battle for the Pimple, Beda Fomm.
References:
Most reference material was accessed via the Internet and World Wide Web. There are also numerous
excellent books covering the subject.
1. Latimer, Jon (2000). Operation Compass 1940: Wavell's Whirlwind Offensive. Oxford: Osprey.
2. The History of the British 7th Armoured Division. Great site for all things related to the Desert Rats.
Provides photos, unit histories and losses and lists sub-nits that served with the 7th Armored as well as lots
equipment history. Site link: http://www.ian.a.paterson.btinternet.co.uk/main.htm
3. Wavell, Archibald (1946). Operations in the Middle East from 7th February to 15th July 1941. Wavell's
Official Dispatches. Published in the London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37638. pp. 3423–3444. 2 July 1946.
4. Jentz, Thomas L. (1998). Tank Combat in North Africa: The Opening Rounds, Operations Sonnenblume,
Brevity, Skorpion and Battleaxe, February 1941 - June 1941. Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
5. Military Images.net. Nice site with an excellent collection of photos and lists of historical battles. Site link:
http://www.militaryimages.net/
6. Axis History Factbook: Excellent site for information on the Axis Powers. Covers units, individuals,
equipment and various campaigns and battles. This is a superior site, well worth a visit. Highly recommended.
Site link: http://www.axishistory.com/
8. Wikipedia.com. Online internet encyclopedia. A good place to start research but be wary of using Wikipedia
as a primary source. Good search function and usually provides links to quality site and published works. Site
link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page