the artillery of the 27th Infantry Division "Brescia" and 102nd Motorised Division "Trento", which along with the 90th Light Division represented the main force invested in the stronghold and after some time of infantry fighting and failed break-out attempts, the stronghold sought to capitulate. On June 29, the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment entered the stronghold and accepted the surrender of 6,000 Allied troops while capturing a great deal of supplies and equipment. The 90th Light Division was allowed no time to rest, but was quickly sent down the coast road after the retreating Eighth Army. An entry in the 90th Light War Diary rued "After all our days of hard fighting, we did not get a chance to rest or bathe in the ocean". The 21st Panzer Division intercepted some British columns near Fuka and took another 1,600 prisoners. Rommel diverted the inland some to try to cut off more of the Eighth Army. Small columns from both sides raced across the broken ground of the desert toward El Alamein. Units became intermingled and disorganised and opposing columns ran parallel to each other, with German columns sometimes running in front of the retreating British. The columns sometimes exchanged fire and as about 85 per cent of the transport was captured British or American equipment, it was often difficult to distinguish friend from foe. Aftermath The fight at Matruh took its character from the disposition of the Eighth Army forces, Rommel's misunderstanding of them, and the chronic lack of co-ordination between British infantry and armoured units. After the war Field Marshal Henry Maitland Wilson said "The XIII Corps just disappeared and left X Corps up the pole". Holmes estimated that only 60 per cent of X Corps got back to El Alamein. Friedrich von Mellenthin, Rommel's intelligence officer during the battle, commented "As a result of Auchinleck’s hesitation, the British not only lost a great opportunity of destroying the but suffered a serious defeat, which might easily have turned into an irretrievable disaster. I stress this point, for to the student of generalship there are few battles so instructive as Mersa Matruh". Following its escape from Matruh the surviving units of X Corps were scattered and badly disorganised. It was withdrawn to the Nile as "Delta Force" and was unable to participate in the early phases of the First Battle of El Alamein. The 2nd New Zealand Division did not regroup at