In July of 1930, the Vice Governor of Cirenaica, Generale Rudolfo Graziani was directed by the Governor of Tripolitania/Cirenaica, Generale Pietro Badoglio, who was under pressure himself from il Duce Benito Mussolini, to eliminate the last Senussi "Stronghold" at the Cufra oasis, and to humiliate the Senussi leadership by occupying the sacred site of El Taj.
The three columns; Colonna Maletti, Colonna Rolle, and Colonna Lorenzini, finally began their advance in December, 1930. The lumbering columns included eight Eritrean battalions, three armored car squadrons, two battalions of camel troops, four Sawari cavalry battalions, two batteries of artillery, two "Blackshirt" battalions, and four squadron of aircraft. This constituted over one half of the available manpower at Grazianis disposal.
At Cufra the 600 Libyan "freedom fighters" waited. They consisted mostly of survivors of the Sirtica conquest of 1929 and the resident Al-Zuwaya tribe. They hoped that the desert would protect them, and they were partially correct. Most of the Italian army did not reach Cufra until after the battle was over.
At 8:30 AM, January 19, 1931, Tenente Colonnello Pietro Maletti began his advance with his elite Raggruppamento Sahariano. This column consisted of 867 men, 6 machineguns, and two cannons, all mounted on camels. The Libyan "freedom fighters" attacked the column, which formed a 19th Century "square formation". The Senussi were attempting a flanking movement when, at 10:30 AM, the belated elements of Lorenzinis column reached the battlefield. By 12:30 PM, the Libyans were routed and the oasis captured. The field to the south, and the "Senussi Mecca" of El Taj, was open to Italian conquest.
