during the [[phoney war]] wavell became reluctant for british forces to come under french command, unless the withdrawal plan to djibouti was implemented, which gave chater more discretion, provided that he still co-operated with the french. chater wanted to garrison hargeisa and burao to fight delaying actions and then retire towards the hill country. the main road into somaliland from djibouti was commanded by hills with six passes good enough for wheeled vehicles; both sides agreed that they must be garrisoned to deny them to the italians and provide a base for debouching when an allied counter-offensive began. on december 1939, the british had another change of mind, ordering that an invasion must be resisted and that berbera must be held for as long as possible as a matter of imperial prestige. the commitments entered into with the french, had led to them to go to the trouble and expense of fortifying their colony; because of dissension between legentilhomme and paris and within the british and french alliance, the passes at [[jidhi|jirreh]] and [[asha addo|dobo]], parallel to the border, were left unfortified, despite having permission to base defences in the british colony.