 Meanwhile , the Italian garrisons in the north were surrendering to the 16th Infantry Brigade and the Support Group of the 7th Armoured Division outside the fortress ; the 2 / 8th Infantry Battalion had taken the area above Wadi Meriega ; and the 2 / 7th Infantry Battalion had captured Posts 10 , 12 and 15 . Colonel Godfrey was astonished to discover that the 2 / 11th Infantry Battalion had captured Post 8 . The carrier platoon of the 2 / 6th Infantry Battalion attacked and captured Post 13 while the 2 / 11th captured Post 6 . The only post still holding out was now Post 11 . The 2 / 6th Infantry Battalion renewed its attack , with the infantry attacking from the front and its carriers attacking from the rear . They were joined by Matildas from the vicinity of Post 6 . At this point the Italian post commander , who had been wounded in the battle , lowered his flag and raised a white one . Some 350 Italian soldiers surrendered at Post 11 . Inside , the Australians found two field guns , 6 antitank guns , 12 medium machine guns , 27 light machine guns , and two 3 inch mortars . Godfrey sought out the Italian post commander — who wore a British Military Cross earned in the First World War — and shook his hand . " On a battlefield where Italian troops won little honour " , Gavin Long later wrote , " the last to give in belonged to a garrison whose resolute fight would have done credit to any army . " 
