 Complete the following phrase:  In December 1940, after the threat of invasion of the United Kingdom had diminished, the decision was made to transfer the Australian units based there to the Middle East and subsequently the battalion was dispatched to Egypt, sailing aboard the transport Empress of Canada. Sailing via South Africa to avoid the more dangerous waters of the Mediterranean, they disembarked at Alexandria on 31 December and then made camp at Ikingi Maryut. In March, the battalions medium machine gun section and anti-aircraft platoon provided support to the a href29th20Battalion2028Australia2929th Battaliona during its attack on the Italian garrison at Giarabub. The battalion as a whole subsequently saw action at 