 Some tanks of the group had been held back at Benghazi and work had begun on a defensive position at Sirte, westwards along coast.On 25 January, the 2/11th Australian Battalion near the coast engaged the 60th Infantry Division "Sabratha" and companies of the Babini Group at Derna airfield, making slow progress against determined resistance.Italian bombers and fighters flew sorties against the 2/11th Australian Battalion as it attacked the airfield and high ground at Siret el Chreiba.