The Baggush Box was a
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
field fortification built in the
Western Desert near
Maaten Baggush, east of
Mersa Matruh during the
Western Desert Campaign
The Western Desert campaign (Desert War) took place in the Sahara Desert, deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main Theater (warfare), theatre in the North African campaign of the Second World War. Military operations began in June 1940 with ...
of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Background
The box was built by men of the
Western Desert Force (Lieutenant-General
Richard O'Connor) as a tented camp, with offices, said to be bomb-proof dug under sand dunes, as a temporary billet for troops taking part in operations against the
Italian invasion of Egypt in 1940 by the Italian
10th Army. O'Connor opened his headquarters on 8 June. An airfield was a short distance inland and served as the headquarters of the
Desert Air Force (Air Commodore
Raymond Collishaw).
Prelude
On 28 June,
Marshal of the Air Force ()
Italo Balbo,
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
of
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
and
Commander-in-Chief of
Italian North Africa ( ASI), flew a reconnaissance sortie over Sidi Barrani and Maaten Baggush. Balbo's aircraft was shot down by the cruiser
''San Giorgio'' in Tobruk harbour and the occupants killed while coming in to land; Balbo was replaced by Marshal
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli ( , ; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was an Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's Royal Italian Army, Royal Army, primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and during World Wa ...
.
On 26 November, O'Connor held a meeting at the Baggush Box after the completion of "Training Exercise No. 1", a rehearsal for
Operation Compass
Operation Compass (also ) was the first large British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) during the Second World War. British metropolitan, Imperial and Commonwealth forces attacked the Italian and Libyan forces of ...
, in which attacks on fortified positions had been practised, the troops not being told that the positions were replicas of the Italian camps at Nibeiwa and the Tummars. The officers with O'Connor reported that the method laid down in ''The Division in Attack'' was too slow and sacrificed surprise, leaving the attackers vulnerable to air attack. The
Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Air Marshal
Arthur Longmore, was being pressured from London to send formations to Greece and to provide air cover for Operation Compass, he stripped the air defences of Egypt of two squadrons and a flight, which he placed at O'Connor's disposal.
Before the offensive began O'Connor vacated the Baggush Box for a forward headquarters and Lieutenant-General
Henry Maitland Wilson the
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the
British Troops in Egypt took over the headquarters.
Footnotes
References
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Further reading
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External links
Australia in the War of 1939–1945: To BenghaziThe Sheep Dog Remembers
Military installations of the United Kingdom in other countries
Mersa Matruh
Western Desert campaign
{{Egypt-hist-stub