By February 1941, his Western Desert Force under Lieutenant General Richard O'Connor had defeated the Italian Tenth Army at Beda Fomm taking 130,000 prisoners and appeared to be on the verge of overrunning the last Italian forces in Libya, which would have ended all direct Axis control in North Africa.
I februar 1941, havde hans styrker i den vestlige ørken under Richard O'Connor besejret den 10. italienske armé ved Beda Fomm, taget 130.000 fanger og lod til at være ved at overløbe de sidste italienske styrker i Libyen, hvilket ville have afsluttet Aksemagternes direkte tilstedeværelse i Nordafrika.