"I think that honor is now reserved for the Americans," the Italian commander said.

In the end, the Italian commander of the unit called down concentrated artillery fire onto his own overrun positions and saved the day.

Thinking he faced superior numbers, the Italian commander agreed to surrender on 24 May.

Finally, after sensing that the attacks were becoming less frequent, the Italian commander counterattacked.

Haile Selassie decided to test this new Italian commander with an offensive of his own.

Considered a "glamorous" fighter, P-51s were even used as personal aircraft by several Italian commanders.

The situation looked as if it might turn ugly until the loaded deckgun was pointed at the Italian commander from a distance of about 13ft (4m).

After two hours of heavy fighting, the Italian commander called for support from the Americans.

From there, he decided to test this new Italian commander with an offensive of his own.

The Italian commander decided to take on Warspite, and started moving his two battleships into position.