The Italians had 291 175 troops in East Africa (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somaliland), of which 74 055 were regulars, 199 173 were native levies (Askaris), and 17 148 were carabinieri and frontier guards. They had 325 mostly outdated aircraft, 189 tanks of which only 24 were medium tanks, as well as 5300 motor vehicles, and most of their artillery were obsolete 65mm pieces. British control of the surrounding region and the Suez Canal meant these forces were cut off, and ultimately faced British and Commonwealth forces 254 000 strong from February 1941 onwards, by which point almost all Italian vehicles were immobilized by lack of spare parts, and only 71 aircraft remained. The British arrayed one South African, two Indian and two East African divisions against the Italians, as well as other units such as Orde Wingate's Gideon Force of irregulars that attacked the Italians from the rear. Despite limited numerical advantage, being cut off, and surrounded on all sides, the Italians and their native troops fought tenaciously, taking 28 000 and 34 000 casualties during the campaign respectively. In the most famous battle, at Keren, Italian and native forces fought on until they ran out of ammo in many cases, despite being attacked by two Indian divisions and having been bombarded with over 100 000 artillery shells. While the British were ultimately victorious, the forces they devoted there were unable to intervene in Libya, where Rommel and the Italians erased the gains made by the British in 1940-early 1941.