The Italian Army in World War II (except for maybe the Alpine Corps that fought on the Russian Front), was relatively inexperienced, had antiquated weapons, had pompous and grandiose but otherwise incompetent officers – and at times were placed in exposed and harsh areas on the flanks of stronger German units. In the case of Operation Compass you need to put yourself in the mindset of the regular Italian soldier. You were most likely conscripted in to the Army. You are a lover, not a fighter. Usually living a simple life. And now you are sent to guard some outpost in the middle of nowhere in the hot tropical sun of the Western Desert. Your officers, particularly Company grade and higher up, are living luxurious lifestyles. They have the finest wines, and decent food, and are usually placed in houses, or at least decently ventilated command posts. Yet you are basically stuck in tents, or trenches in the middle of the desert. Your rations are meager, and you have to get your water from wells. You just don’t want to be there. Sure the British, and Commonwealth soldiers do not want to be in the middle of this wasteland either – but at least they have competent officers who lead by example. The British Commonwealth also has better equipment, and better tanks. Sure you may have numerical advantage in some areas, and have tanketts, but otherwise, are outgunned… but most of all your morale is utterly low. Most Italian soldiers, unlike say the Germans, were not as well trained, not as disciplined, and most probably had 0 interest in being at war. It also did not help that their Officer Class acted more like the Officer Class of the 1800s, than a more modern one. The officers kept their distance, and rarely built any relationships with their soldiers. The Italian soldier did his duty, but on extremely rare cases would he go above and beyond his duty, and usually at the first chance to surrender and get out of the war, he would take it.