to the same extent." Despite the M3's advantages and surprise appearance during the Battle of Gazala, it could not win the battle for the British. In particular, the high-velocity 88 mm Flak gun, adapted as an anti-tank gun, proved deadly if British tanks attacked without artillery support. Britain's Director of Armoured Fighting Vehicles nonetheless said before the M4 Sherman arrived that "The Grants and the Lees have proven to be the mainstay of the fighting forces in the Middle East; their great reliability, powerful armament and sound armor have endeared them to the troops." Grants and Lees served with British units in North Africa until the end of the campaign. Following Operation Torch (the invasion of French North Africa), the U.S. also fought in North Africa using the M3 Lee. The US 1st Armored Division had been issued new M4 Shermans, but had to give up one regiment's worth to the British Army prior to the Second Battle of El Alamein. Consequently, a regiment of the division was still using the M3 Lee in North Africa. The M3 was generally appreciated during the North African campaign for its mechanical reliability, good armor protection, and heavy firepower. In all three aspects, the M3 was capable of engaging German tanks and towed anti-tank guns. However, the high silhouette and low, hull-mounted 75 mm were tactical drawbacks since they prevented fighting from a hull-down firing position. In addition, the use of riveted hull superstructure armor on the early versions led to spalling, where the impact of enemy shells caused the rivets to break off and become projectiles inside the tank. Later models were built with all-welded armor to eliminate this problem. These lessons had already been applied to the design and production of the M4. The M3 was replaced in front-line roles by the M4 Sherman as soon as the M4 was available. However, several specialist vehicles based on the M3 were later employed in Europe, such as the M31 armored recovery vehicle and the Canal Defence Light. Eastern Europe—Soviet service Beginning from 1941, 1,386 M3 medium tanks were shipped from the US to the Soviet Union, with 417 lost during shipping (when they went down with their transporting vessels which were lost to German submarine, naval and aerial attacks en route). These were supplied through the American Lend-Lease program between 1942 and 1943. Like British Commonwealth units, Soviet Red Army personnel tended