Libya was an important theater of war in World War II. On 13 September 1940, Italian forces used the "Via Balbia" (Mussolini's highway in northern Libya) for the invasion of Egypt. British and allied Allied forces from Egypt, commanded by Wavell made a successful two-month campaign in (Tobruk, Bengasi, El Agheila). Counteroffensives under Rommel in 1940-43, also took place here. In November 1942, the Allied forces retook Cyrenaica; by February 1943, the last German and Italian soldiers were driven from Libya.