The bulk of the forces in North Africa were Italians under better military leadership. You do know that, right? Under good officers, they performed admirably. The Italian military was a mess though. Officers were generally promoted based on connections rather than merit. There was a great divide between the common soldiers (largely poor working class southerners) and officers (primarily from wealthy or upper middle class Northern fanilies). They lacked motivation, weren't properly equipped their operations were poorly planned and ill timed. The Italians lacked the industrial base to adapt to the change and unlike Japan (not much better off than Italy), they weren't prepared for it. The Italian Navy was decent, but held back due to a lack of fuel (oil was found in Libya in 1938, but they lacked the infrastructure and tech to profit from it and plans for Libyan oil were put off when the war started). The fact that Pietro Badoglio kept his position, in spite of his role in the biggest Italian military disaster of World War 1 says it all.
