On 3 August 1940, the Italians invaded with two colonial brigades, four cavalry squadrons, tanks and L3/35 tankettes, several armoured cars, batteries, pack artillery and air support. The British had a garrison of two companies of the Sudan Defence Force, two motor machine-gun companies and a mounted infantry company. Kassala was bombed and then attacked, the British retiring slowly. On 4 August, the Italians advanced with a western column towards Zeila, a central column (Lieutenant-General Carlo De Simone) towards Hargeisa and an eastern column towards Odweina in the south. The SCC skirmished with the advancing Italians as the main British force slowly retired. On 5 August, the towns of Zeila and Hargeisa were captured, cutting off the British from French Somaliland. Odweina fell the following day and the Italian central and eastern columns joined. On 11 August, Major-General Alfred Reade Godwin-Austen was diverted to Berbera, en route to Kenya to take command as reinforcements increased the British garrison to five battalions. (From 5 to 19 August, RAF squadrons based at Aden flew 184 sorties, dropped of bombs, lost seven aircraft destroyed and ten damaged.)