British Matilda II tanks knocked out at Halfaya Pass examined by Rommel and Bastico in 1941

Operation Battleaxe was a British Army offensive in June 1941 aimed at raising the Siege of Tobruk and recapturing eastern Cyrenaica from German and Italian forces. It was the first time during WWII that a significant German force fought on the defensive. The British lost over half of their tanks on the first day and only one of three attacks succeeded.

The British achieved mixed results on the second day, being pushed back on their western flank and repulsing a big German counter-attack in the center. On the third day, the British narrowly avoided disaster by withdrawing just ahead of a German encircling movement. The failure of Battleaxe led to the replacement of British General Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief Middle East, by Claude Auchinleck; Wavell took Auchinleck's position as Commander-in-Chief, India.

Italian commander-in-chief in North Africa Ettore Bastico is seen with General Erwin Rommel examining the aftermath of the engagement, these vehicles likely belonging to the 4th Royal Tank Regiment that was badly mauled by the 88mm guns of 1./Flak-Regt.33. The latter unit claimed no less than nine 4th RTR Matilda IIs knocked out on June 15th.

The Matilda II was heavily armored by contemporary standards when introduced but was no match for the 88mm Flak gun when deployed in the anti-tank role. The latter could penetrate the former's armor from any angle at ranges beyond 2000 meters. The two Axis commanders focus on Matilda II T.6814 that has taken a solid 88mm hit to the top edge of the hull. The armor at this point was around 70mm thick while when firing APCBC shells the Flak 18/36/37 could penetrate just over 80mm of armor at a range of two kilometers

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