 Lieutenant Colonel A. H. L. Godfrey 's 2 / 6th Infantry Battalion was supposed to " stage a demonstration against the south west corner of the perimeter " , held by the 1st Battalion , Italian 158th Infantry Regiment and 3rd Battalion , Italian 157th Infantry Regiment . Instead , in what military historians consider one of the most " disastrous example of a CO seeking to make his mark " , Godfrey decided instead to launch an attack , in defiance of the clear instructions he had received , and against all basic military logic and common sense . Although poorly planned and executed , Godfrey 's attack managed to capture Post 7 and part of Post 9 , but Post 11 resisted stubbornly . 
