Things did not go well for the Italians in North Africa almost from the start. Within a week of Italy's declaration of war on June 10, 1940, the British 11th Hussars had seized Fort Capuzzo in Libya.
Nesten helt fra begynnelsen, gikk ting dårlig for italienerne i Nord-Afrika. Under 1 uke etter Italias krigserklæring, 10.06.1940, hadde de britiske 11. Husarene erobret fortet Capuzzo i Libya.