Italian invasion of Egypt

The Italian invasion of Egypt, code named Operazione E, was an offensive of the Second World War launched in September 1940 from Italian Libya against British, Commonwealth and Free French forces in the then neutral Kingdom of Egypt. It was carried out by the Italian 10th Army and ended the skirmishing along the frontier, opening the Western Desert Campaign proper. The original Italian aim of pushing along the coast to the Suez Canal was cut back after repeated delays to an advance as far as Sidi Barrani. The army moved roughly 65 miles into Egypt against British screening forces of the 7th Support Group, halted on 16 September 1940 and dug in around Sidi Barrani to wait for a coast road to be built. British losses were about 40 killed and Italian losses about 120. On 8 December the British Western Desert Force began Operation Compass against the fortified Italian camps and drove the survivors out of Egypt.