were destroyed. The M13 also fought in Greece, in difficult terrain and in April 1941, M13s of the 132nd Armoured Division Ariete took part in the Siege of Tobruk, with little success against British Matilda II tanks. Ariete had more success with the M13 in the action at Bir el Gubi against the Crusader tanks of the British 22nd Armoured Brigade. Later use in the desert war In April 1941, at the time of the arrival of the Afrika Korps, the Italians had around 240 M13 and M14 tanks in first-line service. In 1942, as the Allies began deploying M3 Lee/Grant medium tanks and Crusader Mk IIIs, along with towed 6-pounder (57 mm) anti-tank guns in their infantry units, the weaknesses of the M13 were exposed. In an attempt to improve protection, many crews piled sandbags or extra track links on the outside of their tanks, but this made the already-underpowered vehicles even slower and increased maintenance requirements; such practice, while popular, was discouraged by the commanders for the same reason. The Italians equipped at least one company in each tank battalion with more heavily armed Semovente 75/18 assault guns. The Second Battle of El Alamein saw the first appearance of the M4 Sherman, while some 230 M13s were still in front line service. In several days of battle, the Ariete and Littorio divisions were used to cover the Axis retreat. The Centauro Division was virtually destroyed fighting in Tunisia. By then, the M13/40 and the M14/41 were completely surpassed, and their armament was all but useless against the enemy's M3 Lee and M4 Sherman medium tanks at all but point-blank range, while both could easily destroy an M13/40 from a distance; they resorted to firing at the suspensions and the tracks, and to rely on fire support by the Semoventi and artillery. Postwar use During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, two or three M13/40s which were left behind in North Africa were incorporated into the Egyptian armed forces. These were used during the Battles of Negba, where one was knocked out and subsequently captured by Israeli troops. For a few years after the war, the tank remained in the Negba kibbutz as a monument to the battle. Strengths and weaknesses The M13/40 was a conventional light tank of the early war period, similar in capability to other Vickers-derived designs such as the Polish 7TP and Soviet T-26. While being virtually