Background

The origin of this information is WO216/15, which contains a number of minutes addressed to Churchill in relation to Operation CRUSADER. It is a treasure trove of information. The table maybe dated from mid- to late October, although the document in which it was contained was sent to Churchill on 16 November, and the numbers are reflective of what the Empire forces went into battle with on 18 November 1941. 

What the document does show however is the substantial reserve of tanks that was available to the Empire forces, both in the form of an immediate reserve, but also of tanks held in the Delta region of Egypt for a variety of purposes. It was this reserve that allowed the Empire forces to stay in the battle despite rapidly mounting heavy tank losses in the first days of the battle.

An A13 Cruiser Mk. IV tank named ‘Amy’ of 1 Royal Tank Regiment at Tobruk, 8 October 1941. By CRUSADER, these tanks were no longer the mainstay of the Empire tank forces and only represented small numbers in 7 Armoured Brigade and 32 Army Tank Brigade. AWM

Table 1: Cruiser and I-tank numbers in the Western Desert and Egypt, November 1941

Notes

• ‘I’ tanks are Matilda II and Valentine tanks.
  
• British cruisers are containing all marks of cruisers, with a large number of the latest model, the Crusader.
  
• US light cruisers (this is the text in the document) are M3 ‘Honey’ tanks.
  
• Light tanks are probably Vickers Mk. VI.
• Light reconnaissance vehicles are primarily Marmon Herrington Mk. II and Mk. III armored cars. Armoured cars as in the table are probably Fordson armoured cars of the Armoured Car Companies of the Royal Air Force and maybe early arrivals of Humber Armoured Cars.