38 The Canadian response was that "they saw little point in trying to conceal their positions from the enemy, who certainly knew where every rifle pit and crawl trench was—as the Canadians in fact knew of the Chinese positions".39 Bercuson observed that "the magnificent effort of the [Canadian] troops was undermined by an improperly prepared divisional front and poor defence doctrine."
C’est là en effet que, pour la première fois, l’infanterie australienne et l’artillerie britannique réussirent à bloquer l’avance de l’infanterie blindée allemande. À Tobrouk, les Australiens firent de la domination du no man’s land et de l’inspection méticuleuse du terrain leur spécialité36.