the Italians began their campaign with the invasion of Egypt by the 100,000 men of the 10th army, confident they had deployed an overwhelming force to defeat the 36,000 men of the British garrison. Their defeat was a significant embarrassment, and has often been emphasised by the British army as the success of the pre-war regular army. British Success was based upon

1. A good logistical base- good tradition of overseas deployment, an attack was expected and Alexandra was converted into a significant logistical base early on due to excellent staffwork. This was combined with the extension of the railway to mersa metruh
2. Well trained Soldiers- the Commonwealth force was made up of professional, pre-war soldiers well trained in solid fire and manoeuvre tactics
3. Massive firepower- British infantry weapons such as the Lee-enfield, Bren LMG, Vickers MMG and 2 and 3 inch mortars were superior to the enemy equivalents. Their artillery in the form of 25 pounder guns was highly mobile, and threw a heavier shell then their enemies. British Infantry support tanks in the form of the Matilda II were heavily armoured, British cruiser tanks were fast and both tanks housed their main guns in fully revolving turrets. The British high velocity 2 pounder Anti-tank/ tank gun was considered the best in the world at that time.
4. A charismatic and thoroughly competent commander- Gen. O'Connor was an aggressive, charismatic and highly professional officer with considerable experience and noted personal bravery.
5. Well trained in mobile warfare- british pre-war doctrine had stressed the utilisation of mobility to avoid stalemate, and their army was 100% mechanised. they also deployed the mobile division, which would later become 7th armoured division. this division had considerable pre-war experience in desert and mobile operations
6. High Morale- Combination of O'Connor, Logistics, pre-war training, high professionalism and the embodiment of an aggressive fighting spirit to act with aggression in the face of apparent overwhelming odds
7. Thorough Preparation for the offensive- the slow moving Italian assault allowed O'Connor to thorough prepare a defensive battle, which he then rejected for a thoroughly prepared offensive battle.
8. Signals intelligence- Italian communications had been compromised at nearly every level by British intelligence and SIGINT efforts.

The Italian defeat was caused by

1. A lack of firepower- unreliable infantry weapons, poorly designed tanks and a lack of artillery.

2. Poor training- conscript infantry with limited service and experience, a poor level of professionalism in their NCOs and commissioned officers. Their tactics emphasised firepower at the expense of manoeuvre, and did little to encourage aggressive patrolling or counter attacks.

3. Logistical difficulties-the Royal Navy operating from Malta severely affected logistical preparations, a lack of mechanisation hampered resupply. It may have been that the Italians over-emphasised their logistical difficulties due to an unwillingness to undertake this campaign. They were however, desperately short of water throughout this campaign.

4. A timid and cautious commander- Graziana had a poor grasp of mobile operations, supply issues and his own concept of the enemy as a weak, demoralised and badly outnumbered force led him to underestimate the possibily of the enemy seizing the initiative.