The Western Desert Force, during World War II, was a British Commonwealth Army unit stationed in Egypt. At the start of the war, the Force consisted of the 7th Armoured Division and the Indian 4th Infantry Division. The unit was commanded by Major-General Richard O'Connor and, at the time of the 1940 Italian invasion consisted of ~30,000 soldiers and 65 tanks. Jump to: navigation, search World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as The Commonwealth, is an association of independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. ... Jump to: navigation, search The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Jump to: navigation, search The 7th Armoured Division (known as the Desert Rats) of the British Army was the most famous unit of its type in British service during World War II. It was a regular division in the Middle East, designated the Mobile Division at first, renamed the Armoured... Jump to: navigation, search The 4th Indian Division, of the Indian Army, is an infantry division dating back to before independence. ... Sir Richard Nugent OConnor (1889 - 1981) was a British Army General who commanded the Western Desert Force in the first years of World War II. The Italian Offensive OConnors plan to defend Egypt was to use a screen of light tanks and armored cars, supported by artillery... Jump to: navigation, search 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... A Norwegian soldier (a Corporal, armed with an MP-5) A soldier is a person who has enlisted with, or has been conscripted into, the armed forces of a sovereign country and has undergone training and received equipment to defend that country or its interests. ...

The exploits of this unit earned a parody of Winston Churchill's famous quote, "Never has so much been owed by so many, to so few." So many Italians were captured by the Western Desert Force that it was said, "Never has so much been surrendered by so many, to so few." Jump to: navigation, search The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, FRS, PC (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ...

It was retitled XIII Corps on January 1, 1941. XIII Corps later became the nucleus of the famous 8th Army, which was formed in September 1941. Jump to: navigation, search January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations in World War II, fighting in the campaigns in North Africa and Italy. ...