Completed the following sentence: The Australian Army first saw action in Operation Compass, the successful Commonwealth offensive in North Africa which was conducted between December 1940 and February 1941. ️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk>
Action at Bardia. Although the fortress was manned by a larger force, the Australian infantry quickly penetrated the Italian defensive lines with the support of British tanks and artillery.<unk> Although the fortress was manned by a larger force, the Australian infantry quickly penetrated the Italian defensive lines with the support of British tanks and artillery. Most of the defenders surrendered on 5 January and the Australians took 40,000 prisoners. 6th Division followed this success by assaulting the fortress of Tobruk on 21 January, securing it the next day and taking 25,000 Italians prisoner. ️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️<unk>️ Later that month, the 6th Division was withdrawn for deployment to Greece and was replaced by the untested 9th Division, which took up garrison duties in Cyrenaica.