Bardia Defensive Perimeter

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Built by the Italians prior to the start of hostilities in WW2. Easily breached by the British during early 1941 as part of Operation Compass.

18-mile (29 km) perimeter which had an almost continuous antitank ditch, extensive barbed wire fence, and a double row of strong points. The strong points were situated approximately 800 yards (730 m) apart. Each had its own antitank ditch, concealed by thin boards. They were each armed with one or two 47 mm antitank guns and two to four machine guns. The weapons were fired from concrete sided pits connected by trenches to a deep underground concrete bunker which offered protection from artillery fire. However, the trenches had no fire steps and the weapons pits lacked overhead cover. Each post was occupied by a platoon or company. The inner row of posts were similar, except that they lacked the antitank ditches. The posts were numbered sequentially from south to north, with the outer posts bearing odd numbers and the inner ones even numbers. The actual numbers were known to the Australians from the markings on maps captured at Sidi Barrani and were also displayed on the posts themselves. In the southern corner was a third line of posts, known as the Switch Line.. There were six defensive minefields, and a scattering of mines in front of some other posts. The major tactical defect of this defensive system was that if the enemy broke through, the posts could be picked off individually from the front or rear.