WWII -1940 1941 Operation Compass was the first major Allied military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during World War II. British and Commonwealth forces attacked Italian forces in western Egypt and eastern Libya in December 1940 to February 1941. The operation was a complete success. Allied forces advanced from inside Egypt to central Libya, captured 115,000 Italian prisoners, and destroyed thousands of tanks, artillery pieces, and aircraft, while suffering very few casualties.In January, the fortified towns of Bardia and Tobruk were captured.