 Italy 's position in the centre of the Mediterranean made it unacceptably hazardous to send ships from Britain to Egypt via that route , so British reinforcements and supplies for the area had to travel around the Cape of Good Hope . For this reason , it was more convenient to reinforce General Sir Archibald Wavell 's Middle East Command with troops from Australia , New Zealand and India . Nonetheless , even when Britain was threatened with invasion after the Battle of France and equipment was urgently required to re @-@ equip the British Expeditionary Force after its losses in the Dunkirk evacuation , troops and supplies were still despatched to the Middle East Command . A convoy that departed the United Kingdom in August 1940 brought guns , stores , ammunition , and three armoured regiments , including the 7th Royal Tank Regiment , equipped with Matilda II tanks . 
