The Mediterranean and Middle East theatre, also known as the Mediterranean Theater of War, and described as Mediterranean, South-East Europe, and North Africa 1939–1941 in Germany military history, was a major theatre of operations during the Second World War. It saw interconnected land, naval, and air campaigns fight for control of the Mediterranean Sea, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and Southern Europe. Despite their disparate geographic locations and objectives, these operations were not seen as neatly separated from each other, but part of an extensive, contiguous theatre of war.
The Mediterranean theater had the longest duration of the Second World War. Combat started on 10 June 1940 with Italy's declaration of war against the United Kingdom and France and ended on 2 May 1945 when all Axis forces in Italy surrendered. Various post-war conflicts, such as the Greek Civil War and the first phase of the Palestine War, were rooted in events during the Mediterranean theater.
The Mediterranean theatre was initially driven by Italian aspirations to establish a new Roman Empire, while the Allies aimed to retain the status quo. Immediately following its declaration of war, Italy invaded France, bombed Malta, and attacked Allied ships. Italian forces invaded Greece in October 1940—with little initial success—requiring German intervention to conquer it by April 1941; Yugoslavia was invaded and occupied by Axis forces the same month. Allied and Axis forces fought across North Africa, while Axis interference in the Middle East caused fighting to spread as far as Palestine, Iraq, and Iran.
With confidence high from early gains, German forces planned to capture the Middle East with a view to possibly attacking the Soviet Union from the south. Devastating losses in Egypt and Tunisia stopped the Axis threat in North Africa by May 1943. The Allies then invaded Italy, resulting in an armistice and subsequent civil war. A prolonged battle for Italy commenced between Allied and Axis forces, supported by the Allied-aligned Kingdom of Italy in the south and Axis-aligned Italian Social Republic in the north, lasting until 2 May 1945 with the Surrender at Caserta.
The Mediterranean and Middle East theatre resulted in the destruction of the Italian Empire and the weakening of Germany's strategic position, as German forces had been diverted from the Western and Eastern fronts and suffered over two million losses (including those captured upon final surrender). Italy lost around 177,000 men, with a further several hundred thousand captured throughout the duration of the theatre. British losses amounted to 300,000 men killed, wounded, or captured, while total American losses were around 130,000.
Background
Italy
During the late 1920s, Benito Mussolini claimed that Italy needed an outlet for its "surplus population" and that it would be in other countries' best interests to aid in this expansion. The regime wanted "hegemony in the Mediterranean–Danubian–Balkan region" and the gaining of world power by the conquest "of an empire stretching from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Strait of Hormuz". The Fascists had designs on Albania, Dalmatia, large parts of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Greece and harked back to the Roman Empire. The regime also sought to establish protectorates with Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. Covert motives were for Italy to become the dominant power in the Mediterranean, capable of challenging France or Britain and gaining access to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
On 30 November 1938, Mussolini addressed the Fascist Grand Council on the goal of capturing Albania, Tunisia, Corsica, the Ticino canton of Switzerland, and "French territory east of the River Var (to include Nice, but not Savoy)". Mussolini alleged that Italy required uncontested access to the oceans and shipping lanes to ensure its national sovereignty. Italy was a "prisoner in the Mediterranean" and had to break the chains of British and French control. Corsica, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Malta, Suez and Tunisia would need to be taken and Egypt, France, Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom had to be challenged. Through armed conquest, the north and east African colonies would be linked and this 'prison' destroyed. Italy would be able to march "either to the Indian Ocean through the Sudan and Abyssinia, or to the Atlantic by way of French North Africa".
On 2 October 1935, the Second Italo–Ethiopian War began when Italian forces invaded Abyssinia. Mussolini lauded the conquest as a new source of raw materials and location for emigration and speculated that a native army could be raised there to "help conquer the Sudan. "Almost as soon as the Abyssinian campaign ended, Italian intervention in the Spanish Civil War" began. On 7 April 1939, Mussolini began the Italian invasion of Albania and within two days had occupied the country. In May 1939, Italy formally allied to Nazi Germany in the Pact of Steel.
Italian foreign policy went through two stages during the Fascist regime. Until 1934–35, Mussolini followed a "modest ... and responsible" course and following that date there was "ceaseless activity and aggression". "Prior to the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, Mussolini had made military agreements with the French and formed a coalition with the British and French to prevent German aggression in Europe." The Ethiopian War "exposed vulnerabilities and created opportunities that Mussolini seized to realise his imperial vision"
Britain
At the Nyon Conference of 1937, Italy and the United Kingdom "disclaimed any desire to modify or see modified the national sovereignty of any country in the Mediterranean area, and agreed to discourage any activities liable to impair mutual relations." Italian diplomatic and military moves did not reflect this agreement. In the aftermath of the Italian invasion of Abyssinia, British and Italian forces in North Africa were reinforced. Due to various Italian moves, in July 1937, the British decided "that Italy could not now be regarded as a reliable friend" and preparations began to bring "the defences of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea ports up-to-date". In 1938, a weak armoured division was established in Egypt and further army and air force reinforcements were dispatched from Britain.
With rising tension in Europe, in June 1939, the United Kingdom established Middle East Command (MEC) in Cairo to provide centralised command for British army units in the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre. All three branches of the British military were made equally responsible for the defence of the area. The authority of MEC included Aden, British Somaliland, Cyprus, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Greece, Libya, Palestine, Iraq, Sudan, Tanganyika, Transjordan, Uganda and the shores of the Persian Gulf. If necessary, command would be exerted as far away as the Caucasus and the Indian Ocean. The purpose of the command was to be "the western bastion of defence of India", keep British supply lines open to India and the Far East, and keep the Middle Eastern oilfields out of Axis hands.
Upon the establishment of MEC, it was ordered to co-ordinate with the French military in the Middle East and Africa as well as liaise with the Turkish General Staff and possibly the Greek General Staff. On 19 October 1939, the Treaty of Mutual Assistance was signed between the United Kingdom, France and Turkey and British military forces were authorised to begin discussions with the Turkish general staff; a further conference was held during March 1940. Within a week of the Italian occupation of Albania, France and the United Kingdom "announced they had promised to give all the help in their power if Greek and Romanian independence were threatened and if the Greek Government or Romanian Government considered it vital to resist."
British forces in the Middle East were ordered to avoid provocation. Following the defeat of Poland, the threat of an Axis attack from the Balkans against British positions in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean region increased. In late 1939, with the assumption that Britain would soon be at war with Italy, planning began for attacks to capture Bardia and Jaghbub (Giarabub) in Libya and arrangements began in Egypt, to accommodate a much larger force. Preparations to reinforce the Iraqi army were made and Palestinian security forces were to be reduced to the minimum. British forces in East Africa were to study operations to destroy the Italian forces and support local risings, all in support of the main Allied offensive, which was planned to be launched from French Somaliland. Troops in Sudan were also asked to consider launching operations against Kufra in southern Libya.
Initial military operations
On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on France and the United Kingdom and next day the British Commonwealth declared war on Italy. The fleets of Italy, France and the United Kingdom began the hostilities of the Battle of the Mediterranean. The siege of Malta soon began, with the first Italian air attack on 11 June. In the Western Desert, Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft attacked Italian positions inside Libya. On 11 June, the Western Desert Campaign began, as the British launched minor raids and conducted patrols along the Libyan–Egyptian border and on 17 June, Fort Capuzzo was captured. On 20 June, Mussolini began the Italian invasion of France, just before the end of the Battle of France. During June, the East African Campaign began with Italian attacks in East Africa, although ground combat did not start until July.
On 22 June, France signed an armistice at Compiegne with Germany and on 24 June, the Franco-Italian Armistice was signed. Italy gained a 50 kilometres (31 mi) demilitarised zone inside France (as well as similar zones where Italian and French colonies met). Italian occupation forces took over an 832 km2 (321 mi2) area of France, which included 28,500 people and the town of Menton. The Royal Navy attacked the French fleet in the North African port of Mers-el-Kébir on 3 July 1940, after it refused to sail to Britain or the French West Indies and demobilise, as part of a larger plan to stop the French fleet from falling into German or Italian hands.
When Italy entered the war, there were no plans for an invasion of Egypt while France was still able to resist. When France surrendered, Mussolini gave instructions for his generals to prepare an offensive. On 10 August, he instructed his forces to be prepared to attack in conjunction with the German invasion of the United Kingdom. While his generals did not believe they were prepared, they were ordered to push forward without any solid objectives.
On 9 September, Italian aircraft start preparation bombardments for the invasion of Egypt. Four days later, Italian forces invaded Egypt as far as Sidi Barrani before digging in, 80 mi (130 km) west of the main British position at Mersa Matruh. In East Africa, after some initial offensive actions, the Italian conquest of British Somaliland began in August and annexed the colony. After crossing the Albanian border, Italian forces began the Greco-Italian War by invading Greece on 28 October. The Greek army repulsed the Italian attack and commenced a counter-offensive on 14 November, which pushed Italian forces back into Albania.
The British and Italian fleets began a series of engagements on the Mediterranean, such as the Battle of Calabria, Espero Convoy, Cape Spada, and Cape Spartivento. The Royal Navy inflicted a major setback upon the Italian Royal Navy during the Battle of Taranto on the night of 12/13 November. After assembling enough forces the British launched a counter-attack upon the Italians in Egypt. Operation Compass drove the Italians out of Egypt and resulted in the destruction of the Italian 10th Army in February 1941. Following this success, British forces adopted a defensive position in North Africa and redeployed most troops to Greece in Operation Lustre, leaving a weak force garrisoning the gains made from Operation Compass. In March, the Battle of Kufra ended with the Italians losing the desert oasis of Kufra—a vital link between Italian east and north Africa—which was located in south-eastern Libya.
Axis success
North Africa
In North Africa, the Italians responded to the defeat of their Tenth Army by dispatching armour and motorised divisions. Germany dispatched the Afrika Korps in Operation Sonnenblume, to bolster the Italians with a mission to block further Allied attempts to drive the Italians out of the region. Its commander was General Erwin Rommel and Rommel himself was subordinated to the Italian command. But Rommel seized on the weakness of his opponents and without waiting for his forces to fully assemble, rapidly went on the offensive. In March–April 1941, the German and Italian forces defeated the British forces and forced the British and Commonwealth forces into retreat.
The Australian 9th Infantry Division fell back to the fortress port of Tobruk and the remaining British and Commonwealth forces withdrew a further 100 mi (160 km) east to Sollum on the Libyan–Egyptian border. The main Axis force began the Siege of Tobruk, and a small German force pressed eastwards, retaking all territory lost to Operation Compass, and advanced into Egypt. By the end of April, Sollum had fallen and the important Halfaya Pass captured.
East Africa
In East Africa, the British launched a counter-attack against the Italians from Kenya Colony and Sudan through Somaliland, Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1940 and early 1941. Landings were subsequently conducted in British Somaliland and Italian Ethiopia, while an expedition from the Sudan moved on Addis Ababa. The Italian Viceroy, Duke Amedeo d'Aosta, was forced to surrender by 18 May which effectively ended the campaign, allowing the Empire of Ethiopia to be re-established under Haile Selassie. A number of Italian garrisons continued to hold out, but the last of these, at Gondar, surrendered in November. Small groups of Italian troops carried out the Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia until October 1943.
Balkans
In the Balkans, the Greeks had been reluctant to allow British troops into the country, because Britain could not spare enough forces to guarantee victory. They had, however, accepted aid from the RAF in their war with the Italians in Albania. As it became likely Germany would attack Greece, four British divisions were switched from North Africa to reinforce Greek Army. The advanced guards of these troops began arriving in March 1941, triggering the entry of German forces into Bulgaria, which made clear the German intent to invade Greece.