Editing Operation Compass (section)

===10th Army===

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-783-0107-27, Nordafrika, italienischer Panzer L3-33.jpg|thumb|{{centre|Italian [[L3/33]] tankettes in North Africa, April 1941.}}]]
When war was declared, the 5th Army (General [[Italo Gariboldi]]) was in [[Tripolitania]] the western Libyan province and the 10th Army (General [[Mario Berti]]) was in [[Cyrenaica]] to the east. Once the French in Tunisia no longer posed a threat to Tripolitania, units of the 5th Army were used to reinforce the 10th Army. When the Governor-General of Libya, [[Italo Balbo]], was killed by [[friendly fire]], Marshal [[Rodolfo Graziani]] took his place. Graziani expressed doubts about the ability of the large non-mechanised Italian force to defeat the British, who, though fewer in numbers, were motorised. After being reinforced from the 5th Army, the 10th Army controlled the equivalent of four corps with {{nowrap|150,000 infantry,}} {{nowrap|1,600 guns,}} {{nowrap|600 tankettes}} and tanks and {{nowrap|331 aircraft}}.{{sfn|Playfair|1957|p=266}} The XX Corps comprised the [[60th Infantry Division "Sabratha"]] and the XXI Corps was composed of the [[1st CC.NN. Division "23 Marzo"]], the [[2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre"]] and the [[63rd Infantry Division "Cirene"]]. XXII Corps had the [[61st Infantry Division "Sirte"]] and XXIII Corps had the [[4th CC.NN. Division "3 Gennaio"]] and the [[64th Infantry Division "Catanzaro"]].{{sfnm|1a1=Macksey|1y=1972|1pp=106, 121|2a1=Hunt|2y=1990|2p=51}}

The new Libyan Divisions Group ({{lang|it|Gruppo Divisioni Libiche}}) had the part-motorised and lightly armoured [[Maletti Group]] ([[General]] [[Pietro Maletti]]), the [[1st Libyan Division (Italy)|1st Libyan Division]] ([[Major-General]] [[Luigi Sibille]]) and the [[2nd Libyan Division (Italy)|2nd Libyan Division]] (Major-General [[Armando Pescatori]]).{{sfn|Hunt|1990|p=51}} The Maletti Group had been formed at Derna on 8 July 1940 comprising seven Libyan motorised infantry battalions, a company of [[Fiat M11/39]] tanks, a company of [[L3/33|L3/33 tankettes]], motorised artillery and supply units, as the main motorised unit of the 10th Army. On 29 August, as more tanks arrived from Italy, the (Libyan Tank Command [Colonel Valentini]) was formed with three groups: 1st Tank Group (Colonel Aresca) with the I Tank Battalion "M" and the XXI, LXI, and LXII Tank battalion "L", 2nd Tank Group (Colonel Antonio Trivioli), with the II Tank Battalion "M", less one company and the IX, XX, and LXI Tank Battalion "L"s and Maletti Group with one company from the LX Tank Battalion "L", one company from the II Tank Battalion "M", and three Libyan infantry battalions.{{sfn|Christie|1999|pp=32, 48}} {{lang|it|Raggruppamento Maletti}} became part of the {{lang|it|Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali della Libia}} (Royal Corps of Libyan Colonial Troops), with the 1st Libyan Division and the 2nd Libyan Division.{{sfn|Walker|2003|p=61}}