Correli Barnett said that tthe British were commanded by a committee at the Gazala Battle with predictable results

The result of the British command at Gazala, in 1942, was that decisions were not being made in a timely fashion. Forces were committed piecemeal and action was not being taken, generally. Even General Frank Messervy, who was sometimes doing questionable things, complained about the command setup: "They put us--an absurd thing, a static fortress under an armoured commander. Bir Hacheim fell because [General] Ritchie had not really made up his mine what his main plan was going to be: There was a token advance towards Bir Hacheim, but it was too far away." (quoted by Correlli Barnett in The Desert Generals, page 156)