The Thin Red Line - The Matrix Games version of West Front

SW of Beda Fomm, 100km S of Benghazi Libya: [Best played as Allied] Following the capture of Tobruk, a very successful end to phase one of Operation Compass, British General O'Connor continued to drive his formations west. While the 6th Australian Division pursued the retreating Italian 10th Army along the coast, elements of the 7th Armoured raced through the inland desert of Cyrenaica to cut the Italians off along the Gulf of Sirte. On 5 February the British advance guard, Combeforce, reached the coast southwest of Beda Fomm south of Benghazi, blocking the Italian retreat to Tripoli. Over the long afternoon Combeforce, thanks to the timely arrival of the 4th Armoured Brigade, managed to beat back the first attempts to break through. But early on the 6th the outnumbered thin red line of British troopers faced a determined attack by the Italian 63rd Infantry Division and tanks from Armored Brigade Babini. It was the beginning of the end for the Italian 10th Army and the first British offensive in North Africa.