Rommel made a fighting withdrawal to defensive positions around El Agheila but a counterattack by him on 21 January 1942 led to the armies once more facing each other at the Gazala position by early February.
Although ordered to simply hold the line, Rommel launched an offensive from El Agheila in March 1941 which, with the exception of Tobruk, managed to press the Allies beyond Salum on the Egyptian border, effectively putting both sides back at their approximate pre-war positions.