Editing Operation Compass (section)

==Aftermath==
===Analysis===
{|class="wikitable" align=right style="margin:0 0 1em 1em"
|+Approximate numbers of [[PoW]] and equipment captured,<br>Western Desert and Cyrenaica<br>(9 December 1940&nbsp;– 8 February 1941){{sfn|Harding|1941}}
|-
! Place
! PoW
! Tanks
! Guns
|-
|Sidi<br />Barrani||align="right"|38,289||align="right"|73||align="right"|297
|-
|Sidi Omar||align="right"|900||align="right"|0||align="right"|8
|-
|Bardia||align="right"|42,000||align="right"|130||align="right"|275
|-
|Tobruk||align="right"|25,000||align="right"|87||align="right"|208
|-
|Mechili||align="right"|100||align="right"|13||align="right"|0
|-
|Derna<br>Benghazi||align="right"|2,000||align="right"|10||align="right"|24
|-
|Benghazi<br>Agedabia||align="right"|25,000||align="right"|107||align="right"|93
|-
|'''Total'''||align="right"|'''133,298'''||align="right"|'''420'''||align="right"|'''845'''
|}
The success of the 7th Armoured Division encouraged a belief in the [[Royal Tank Regiment]] that manoeuvre could win battles; the engagement with the [[Babini Group]] on 24 January, led to a conclusion that armoured divisions needed more artillery. No integration of tanks with infantry or the use of anti-tank guns offensively was considered necessary. The lack of cover in the desert encouraged dispersion to avoid air attack but this reduced firepower at the decisive point. Due to the lack of supplies and the shortage of transport, conservation during lulls also encouraged the use of "[[jock column]]s" (a small mobile force formed of a motorised infantry company, a field-gun battery and several armoured cars). The success of such columns against the Italians led to exaggerated expectations, which were confounded when German aircraft and better-equipped and -armed troops arrived in Libya. The 7th Armoured Division concluded that the defensive mentality of the Italians had justified the British taking of exceptional risks, which would be unjustified against German troops.{{sfn|French|2001|pp=215–216}}

===Casualties===
The WDF suffered casualties of {{nowrap|500 killed,}} {{nowrap|55 missing,}} and {{nowrap|1,373 wounded.}}{{sfn|Wavell|1946|pp=3, 268}} The RAF lost {{nowrap|26 aircraft,}} comprising six Hurricane and five Gladiator fighters, three Wellington bombers, a [[Vickers Type 264 Valentia|Vickers Valentia]] bomber/transport and eleven Blenheim light bombers. A far larger number of aircraft became non-operational due to damage, which could not be repaired quickly for lack of spare parts, a problem made worse by the increased use of explosive bullets by the Italians. (On 14 December, a raid on Bardia by nine Blenheims cost one aircraft shot down and seven damaged by explosive bullets.){{sfn|Terraine|1997|p=318}} The Italian 10th Army lost at least {{nowrap|5,500 men}} killed, about {{nowrap|10,000 wounded,}} {{nowrap|133,298 men}} taken prisoner and losses of {{nowrap|420 tanks}} and {{nowrap|845 guns.}}{{sfn|Harding|1941}}

===Subsequent operations===

{{Main|Battle of Greece}}
[[file:Italian soldiers taken prisoner during Operation Compass.jpg|thumb|{{center|Italian and Libyan troops going into captivity}}]]
A week after the Italian surrender at Beda Fomm, the Defence Committee in London ordered Cyrenaica to be held with the minimum of forces and the surplus sent to Greece. In XIII Corps (formerly the WDF) the 6th Australian Division was fully equipped and had few losses to replace. The 7th Armoured Division had been operating for eight months, wearing out its mechanical equipment and was withdrawn to refit. Two regiments of the [[2nd Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|2nd Armoured Division]] were also worn out, leaving the division with only four tank regiments. The 6th Australian Division went to Greece in March, with a brigade group of the 2nd Armoured Division containing the best equipment. The remainder of the division and the new 9th Australian Division, minus two of its three brigades and most of its transport, sent to Greece, had two under-equipped brigades of the [[7th Australian Division]] attached. The division took over in Cyrenaica, on the assumption that the Italians could not begin a counter-offensive until May, even with German reinforcements.{{sfn|Playfair|1956|pp=2–3}}

The 3rd Armoured Brigade of the 2nd Armoured Division was left in Cyrenaica comprising an under-strength light tank regiment, a second regiment using captured Italian tanks and from mid-March a cruiser tank regiment, also equipped with worn-out tanks. The 2nd Support Group had only one motor battalion, a field artillery regiment, one anti-tank battery and a machine-gun company; most of the divisional transport had been sent to Greece.{{sfn|Playfair|1956|pp=2–3}} A few thousand men of the 10th Army escaped the disaster in Cyrenaica but the [[Fifth Army (Italy)|5th Army]] in Tripolitania had four divisions. The Sirte, Tmed Hassan and Buerat strongholds were reinforced from Italy, which brought the Italian armies up to about {{nowrap|150,000 men.}} German reinforcements were sent to Libya to form a blocking detachment ({{lang|de|Sperrverband}}) under [[List of Adolf Hitler's directives|Directive 22]] (11 January), these being the first units of the {{lang|de|[[Afrika Korps]]}} ({{lang|de|Generalleutnant}} [[Erwin Rommel]]). On 25 March 1941, Graziani was replaced by Gariboldi.{{sfn|Playfair|1957|pp=359–362}}