Short answers, pulled from the story.
Operation Compass was the first major British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign, launched in December 1940. Originally planned as a five-day raid, it grew into a two-month offensive that destroyed the Italian 10th Army in western Egypt and Cyrenaica.
The Western Desert Force had about 31,000 soldiers, 120 guns, 275 tanks, and sixty armoured cars. The Italian 10th Army in Egypt consisted of roughly 80,000 troops, 250 guns, and 125 tanks, giving the Italians a significant numerical advantage.
Lieutenant-General Richard O'Connor commanded the Western Desert Force. Marshal Rodolfo Graziani served as Supreme Commander of Italian Forces in North Africa, with the 10th Army under General Italo Gariboldi and later General Giuseppe Tellera, who was killed in action on the 7th of February 1941.
The Italian camps around Sidi Barrani were not mutually supporting, leaving gaps between them. British Matilda II tanks could not be penetrated by Italian anti-tank or field guns. Security failures meant warning of the attack at Nibeiwa never reached General Maletti before the assault on the 9th of December.
At Beda Fomm in early February 1941, Combe Force set up roadblocks near Sidi Saleh just thirty minutes before the retreating 10th Army arrived. This cut off the main Italian force attempting to escape to Tripolitania, resulting in the surrender of the remaining 10th Army and over 25,000 more prisoners.
The Western Desert Force could not continue beyond El Agheila because its vehicles were worn out after months of continuous operations. In March 1941, the best-equipped units were diverted to Greece under Operation Lustre, leaving an under-strength and poorly equipped force in Cyrenaica just as German reinforcements arrived under Erwin Rommel.