of September it had 256 light tanks and 54 cruisers. By October, the threat of a German invasion had receded. The British could now spare additional forces for the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre, including the 2nd Armoured Division. Prior to being dispatched, the 22nd Armoured Brigade was exchanged for the 3rd Armoured Brigade of the 1st Armoured Division. The 3rd Armoured Brigade consisted of only one regiment, the 5th Royal Tank Regiment (5RTR). The division departed Liverpool in late October, on Convoy W.S. 4a. Overseas service Arrival in the Middle East The convoy sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and arrived at Suez at the end of December. The division arrived in Egypt with just three armoured regiments: the 4H, the 3RTR, and the 5RTR. The KDG, which had previously been equipped with light tanks, had been made the division's armoured-car regiment. This had been intended as a stop-gap measure while the 1st The Royal Dragoons, based in Palestine, was mechanised to take on the role. In January 1941, after the division's arrival in Egypt, the KDG were outfitted with Marmon-Herrington Armoured Cars. On arrival, Tilly reported to General Archibald Wavell (in command of Middle East Command and all British land forces in the Middle East) that "the mechanical state of his two Cruiser regiments" was in question, with "the tracks ... practically worn out" and "engines [that] had already done a considerable mileage" without overhaul before being transported. The intention had been to replace the tracks once the tanks arrived in Egypt, but the available spare parts were found to be useless. On 5 January, Tilly died following an air crash. He was replaced by Major-General Michael Gambier-Parry on 12 February 1941. Gambier-Parry had served in the infantry during the First World War, transferred to the Royal Tank Corps in the 1920s, and commanded an infantry brigade in the 1930s. Prior to his appointment as GOC, he was part of a diplomatic mission to Greece. While the division was en route to Egypt, Operation Compass had been launched. This was a counter-attack against the Italian invasion of Egypt. The initial objective was limited: to destroy forward Italian forces and advance as far as Sollum, near the Libyan border, if the situation allowed. By the time the division had arrived, Compass was on the verge of defeating the Italian 10th Army. By February, the offensive had captured the