Action at Bir el Gubi (December 1941)

Action at Bir el Gubi (December 1941)
Part of Operation Crusader during the Second World War
Members of the "Giovani Fascisti" Division operating a Mod. 35 (81 mm) mortar in North Africa.
Date 4–7 December 1941 Location Bir el Gubi, Italian Libya Result German–Italian victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Italy  Germany
Commanders and leaders
Willoughby Norrie Andrew Anderson	Ferdinando Tanucci (WIA) Ludwig Crüwell Walter Neumann (DOW)
Strength
XXX British Corps -11th Indian Brigade around 3,000 men[1] -7th Armoured Division 14,964 men[2] 22nd Guards Brigade around 3,000 men[3]	Battalion Group "Giovani Fascisti" 1,454 men 10 guns 2 tanks and 12 tankettes later reinforced by 3 armoured divisions
Casualties and losses
300 killed 250 wounded 71 prisoners 10 tanks	60 killed 117 wounded 31 missing and prisoners[4] 10 tankettes

The Action at Bir el Gubi (December 1941) was fought near Bir el Gubi, Libya, between 3 and 7 December 1941, between Italian (later reinforced by German troops) and Commonwealth forces. It followed the Action at Bir el Gubi (November 1941), a failed Allied attempt to capture Bir el Gubi two weeks prior. Bir el Gubi was a position whose fall would have allowed the Allies to outflank the German–Italian forces in Cyrenaica. The battle was part of Operation Crusader.