The attack on Bardia progressed successfully in the first day and the Halfaya detachment was not only able to carry out its Arty-R commitments but also kept a close watch on the ground situation. Large groups of prisoners were being collected together and by the end of the first day it appeared that two thirds of Bardia was occupied by our own forces.
The following day the fighting continued 
with Lysanders carrying out Arty-R continuously for six hours with very satisfactory results. Furthermore the close support Lysander tactical reconnaissances produced valuable information concerning the dispositions of both our own forward troops and those of the enemy. Early on the third day our artillery heavily engaged the remaining enemy sector which was still holding out, and successful Arty-R shoots early on contributed to the eventual defeat of the Bardia garrison by midday.
The following is an extract of information received from General Argentino, who commanded the Bardia division, after the battle: “The General was filled with admiration for the close co-operation of Air, Land and Sea which resulted in the capture of Bardia. He attached little importance to Air bombing, whether from material damage or morale point of view, but stressed the great importance of Air-Co-operation with the Army for spotting, reconnaissance and directing advances. In our advance on Bardia he said our mechanised units were so well directed by the low flying aircraft that they appeared to be “connected to each other by a string.” He admitted that no such co-operation had been arrived at in the Italian forces, and considered they were a long way behind on the art of modern warfare. He also expressed admiration for our aircraft directing artillery fire when doing a shoot, and said these were the real uses of Air Forces whereas bombing and aerial combat were only for news bulletins and did not affect military issue”.
On the fall of Bardia the whole Squadron was moved to Gambut where the Hurricanes continued to carry out both photographic and tactical reconnaissance flights over Bomba, Tobruk and Mechili. The attack on Tobruk commenced on 21st January, led once again by the 6th Australian Division supported as before by tanks and artillery. The Squadron’s role was similar to that of the Bardia offensive however despite the lack of air opposition the Tobruk anti-aircraft defences were
