| Frontier wire | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Western Desert Campaign | |
| Libya–Egypt and Libya–Sudan borders | |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:BattleaxeContestedArea.svg) Map showing the Frontier wire near Fort Capuzzo | |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:25th_meridian_Libya.png) | |
| Coordinates | 31°33′00″N 25°05′00″E / 31.55000°N 25.08333°E |
| Site history | |
| Fate | defunct |
| Battles/wars | Italian invasion of Egypt Operation Compass Operation Brevity Operation Skorpion Operation Battleaxe Operation Crusader |
The Frontier Wire was a 271 km (168 mi) obstacle in Italian Libya, along the length of the border of British-held Egypt, running from El Ramleh, in the Gulf of Sollum (between Bardia and Sollum) south to Jaghbub parallel to the 25th meridian east, the Libya–Egypt and Libya–Sudan borders. The frontier wire and its line of covering forts was built by the Italians during the Second Italo-Senussi War (1923–1931), as a defensive system to contain the Senussi population, who crossed from Egypt during their resistance against Italian colonisers.
From the Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940 until the conquest of Libya by the British in 1942, it was the scene of military engagements between Italian, British and German forces as the fighting ebbed and flowed across the frontier. While the installation was reasonably effective against the poorly equipped Senussi, it was ineffective against the well-equipped conventional army fielded by the British.