Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to defend British interests in the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean region. During the Second World War, Middle East Command supervised military operations in and around the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East. Following the defeat of the Axis forces in the Western Desert at the Battle of El Alamein and the landing of additional Anglo-American forces during Operation Torch, it transferred control of land forces to the newly created Allied Forces Headquarters. Role of Middle East Command Middle East Command was established in Cairo, during June 1939, due to the rising tensions in Europe. Its purpose was to provide a centralised command structure in times of war for the three separate army commands based within the Mediterranean and Middle East areas: Egypt, Sudan and Palestine/Transjordan. During periods of peace the command exerted authority over land forces based within Egypt, the Sudan, Palestine, Transjordan, and Cyprus. However, if war broke out, the Command's area of responsibility would be extended to include British Somaliland, Aden, Iraq and the shores of the Persian Gulf. As the war progressed, Middle East Command authority was extended over further areas including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Libya and Greece. Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Wavell, commanding officer of Southern Command in the United Kingdom, was chosen as the first General Officer Commanding in Chief, a position he took up in July 1939, and was given the acting rank of General. The Committee of Imperial Defence, when establishing the post of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Middle East Command, made the decision that all three services should be responsible for the defence of the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. As Middle East Command wielded authority only over land forces, a triumvirate was established to form the High Command. The two other members of this arrangement were the Naval Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, RAF Middle East Command, Air Chief Marshal Arthur Longmore. The Naval Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station would stand in for the Naval Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, in the latter's absence. Wavell had suggested that due to the complex and uncertain situation in the Middle East region, following the collapse of France, that a committee, under a Cabinet Minister,