At 6:15 a.m. on 1 December, the 15th Panzer Division attacked again towards Belhamed, supported by a massed artillery bombardment, to drive the New Zealanders back from the Tobruk perimeter. The 4th New Zealand Brigade was eventually forced back and the 20th Battalion was overrun, cutting the division in two. During the morning, the 7th Armoured Division had been ordered to advance and "counter-attack the enemy's tanks at all costs" and the 4th Armoured Brigade Group arrived north of Sidi Rezegh and at the positions of the 6th New Zealand Brigade at around 9:00 a.m., outnumbering the c. 40 German tanks attacking the position.