 Following the invasion of Egypt by the 10th Army and the advance to Sidi Barrani, Wavell ordered the commander of British Troops Egypt, Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, to plan a limited operation to push the Italians back.Operation Compass, for administrative reasons, was originally planned as a five-day raid but consideration was given to continuing the operation if it succeeded.On 28 November, Wavell wrote to Wilson that,

On 8 December, the British had begun the operation against the fortified Italian camps, which had been set up in a defensive line outside Sidi Barrani.