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Archibald Wavell

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(11)

1940

September

16
- The Italians halt at Sidi BarraniOn 16 September 1940 the Italians took Sidi Barrani, some 95 km from the border, and stopped, building a chain of camps to wait for a road and water.

December

09
- Key eventOperation Compass beginsOn 9 December 1940 General O’Connor’s British and Indian troops struck the Italian camps around Sidi Barrani. In three days they took over 38,000 prisoners.

1941

March

31
- Rommel takes Mersa BregaOn 31 March 1941 the German 5th Light Division attacked at Mersa Brega. By evening it had broken through; the weak 2nd Armoured Division withdrew that night.

April

25
- Rommel takes the Halfaya PassOn 25–26 April 1941 Colonel von Herff's group drove the British from Sollum and the Halfaya Pass. Axis forces stood in Egypt but went no further.

May

June

1942

January

11
- The Japanese take Kuala LumpurOn 7 January 1942 Japanese tanks shattered the 11th Indian Division at the Slim River. Wavell gave up central Malaya; on 11 January Kuala Lumpur fell.
- The Japanese invasion of the Dutch East IndiesOn 11 January 1942 the Japanese landed on Tarakan and near Manado, where they first used paratroops. The fight for the oil of the Dutch East Indies began.

February

20
- The Sittang Bridge disasterOn 23 February 1942 the British blew the Sittang bridge with most of the 17th Indian Division still on the far bank. The road to Rangoon lay open.