After the signing of the Franco-Italian Armistice on 24 June 1940 the Brescia returned to its base and took up coastal defense duties to the west of Tripoli.

The "Sirte" division and the 55th Artillery Regiment "Brescia" were overrun and destroyed on 21-22 January 1941 during the British capture of Tobruk.

During the night of 30 April 1941 an Italo-German force attacked the Tobruk defenses and the 132nd Armored Division "Ariete" and the Brescia captured seven strong points (R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7 and R8).

[10] During the night of 3 May the Australians counterattacked, but the Italian 102nd Motorized Division "Trento" and 17th Infantry Division "Pavia" and German panzergrenadiers repelled the attack[11][12] On the night of 16 May the Brescia retaliated with the help of two platoons of the XXXII Sappers Battalion and breached the defensive perimeter of the Australian 2/9th and 2/10th Battalions.

[13] The Australians fought back and the commanding officer of the XXXII Mixed Engineer Battalion Colonel Emilio Caizzo was killed during a satchel attack and awarded posthumously Italy's highest military honor the Gold Medal of Military Valor.

[15] On 24 May the Brescia, which had taken over the western front of Tobruk, repelled an attacking Australian infantry force, which was supported by tanks.

[16] The Brescia's last action at Tobruk was a fight with the British 70th Division and Polish Carpathian Rifle Brigade for control of the White Knoll position.

During the brief siege of Mersa Matruh in June 1942 Axis forces captured 6,000 British troops and large quantities of supplies.

[20] Later, during the defense of Ruweisat Ridge, the 19th Infantry Regiment of the Brescia put up a tenacious defense, losing a battalion and three company commanders in this night action,[21] before being partly overrun at dawn on 15 July, delaying the Allied advance long enough for German armored forces to launch a devastating counterattack.

[22][dubious – discuss] Between 21 and 27 July 1942 British counter-attacks were so ferocious that the Brescia was forced end its advance to the south of El Alamein.

During the Second Battle of El Alamein the Brescia held its positions against British armored attacks from 24 October to 4 November 1942.

[1] The following units were attached to the division during the Western Desert Campaign:[1] For their conduct during the Western Desert campaign the President of Italy awarded on 7 December 1951 to the division's two infantry regiments and the 1st Fast Artillery Regiment "Eugenio di Savoia" Italy's highest military honor, the Gold Medal of Military Valor.