| abstract | - Launched on 18 November 1941, Crusader was the first counter offensive by the newly formed British 8th Army, and pitted seven British divisions with 748 tanks against three German and seven supporting Italian divisions with 395 tanks of superior quality. (Many of the British tanks involved were so worn out that they had to be carried to the battle area on transporters) In June 1941, General Sir Claude Auchinleck was appointed Commander in Chief, Middle East Forces. At Churchill’s urging, Auchinleck began preparing Operation Crusader, to reconquer Cyrenaica and clear the Axis forces out of North Africa. In September the Western Desert Force was renamed the 8th Army, led by Lieutenant-General Sir Alan Cunningham.
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