 Much depended on the Western Desert Force 's ability to move fuel , water and supplies forward . The 6th Division 's Assistant Adjutant General and Quartermaster General ( AA & QMG ) , Colonel George Alan Vasey declared : " This is a Q war . " Captured Italian vehicles and fuel were used to haul supplies where possible . On 12 December , a Reserve Mechanical Transport company took over 80 Italian 5- and 6 @-@ ton diesel trucks that had been captured at Sidi Barrani . They were joined on 15 December by 50 7 ½ -ton trucks that arrived from Palestine . However , the British were unfamiliar with diesel engines , and a lack of spare parts , indifferent maintenance , and hard use under desert conditions soon took their toll , leading to many breakdowns . By the end of December the Western Desert Force 's vehicle fleet was only 40 % of its establishment strength . 
