Fighting had swirled around the edges of the South Africans for several days, almost always involving other formations. When war came to the South Africans, it made up for all the previous days with compound interest. Three Axis armored divisions bore down on the South African brigade position from its "open" southern flank. Even when one of them veered off to the left, disaster still loomed. "Your South African brigade seems stuck down with gum," Maj. Gen. W.H.E. "Strafer" Gott of 7th Armoured Division told the commander of a South African armored car regiment. "They won't move and they won't turn their artillery round and they are not dug in - I am sorry for them."

Gott's assessment overlooked the minor detail that the brigade had passed under his command and so he bore responsibility for its poor deployment. His subordinates — particularly Brigadier J.C. "Jock" Campbell of the division's Support Group — almost made good for his incompetence. The timely arrival of British tanks from either flank seemed to presage a major Allied victory; the German tanks began to mill about aimlessly while their infantry suffered under close-range artillery fire. But once the Germans advanced into the South African brigade area, things fell apart quickly. The entire brigade broke apart and small groups wandered about to be rounded up later by the Germans. The suicidal bravery of the British tank crews would be to no avail.