When Sir Archibald Wavell assumed command of the British forces in North Africa, he had no choice but to keep Egypt from falling to the Axis. A defeat would give Hitler access to the Red Sea, and with it access to the oil-rich Persian Gulf and even to India. Because of Wavell's limited resources, he decided attack was the best form of defense. Wavell's brilliant campaign was carried out by his field commander, General Richard O'Connor, who routed Marshal Rodolfo Graziani's Italian forces, took thousands of prisoners, and pushed the Italians back hundreds of miles. The exhilarating and essential victory was short-lived, lasting only a few months until Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps entered the conflict in early 1941.