The War in Africa and Italy

While the war in Europe was continuing, British forces were also fighting the Axis powers in North Africa and Italy.  North Africa was vital for the Allies because in controlling North Africa they could protect the Suez Canal, the major shipping route that linked the Mediterranean Sea with the oil fields in the Middle East that were vital to the allied war effort.  In the fall of 1940, Italian forces attacked the British in Egypt.  Although the attack was a failure, and the British reinforced their control over Egypt, Italian forces drove into Libya and threatened to gain control of North Africa.  Despite the fact that it was primarily Italian forces fighting in this region, Hitler was forced to send troops to aid the Italians in securing North Africa.  These German and Italian forces combined were called the Afrika Korps and were led by the German General Erwin Rommel, nicknamed the Desert Fox.  Although the Afrika Korps pushed the British back into Egypt, they had trouble resupplying their forces which caused issues regarding their effectiveness.  The Allies and Afrika Korps fought continually through 1941 and 1942.  From October 23 to November 3, 1942, a key battle at El Alamein in Egypt turned the tide of the war in Africa.  The Allies, under the command of General Bernard Montgomery, took advantage of the supply problems of the Afrika Korps.  The British won a large victory and the Axis power in North Africa was severely weakened. 

On November 8, 1942, Allied forces launched Operation Torch, the code name for their invasion of North Africa.  Carrying out an amphibious landing on the coast of present-day Morocco, the invasion encompassed in excess of 100,000 men and 600 ships.   Operation Torch was highly successful and enabled the Allies to take more than 1,000 miles of North African coastline.  Knowing the invasion by the Allied forces was eminent, the Axis forces began retreating into Tunisia, as the desert terrain was ideal for creating a defensive fortification.  It was in Tunisia that Rommel decided to make his stand against the Allies.  Despite the fact that Operation Torch landed forces in Africa on November 8, it was not until November 25, 1942 that the Allies began their offensive against the Axis in Tunisia.  This delay afforded the Axis powers the opportunity to airlift additional troops and equipment into Tunisia.  Therefore, by the time the Allies began their assault, the Germans and Italians gravely outnumbered them.  As a result of the delay, the Allied progress in Tunisia was extremely slow as the Axis powers fought tenaciously throughout the winter and into the spring of 1943.  Despite the protracted length of the battle, the Allies continued to make considerable gains against the Axis forces finally taking the city of Tunis on May 7 and capturing more than 200,000 POWs.  The war in Africa came to an end.

Following the defeat of the Axis in North Africa, the Allies pursued them to the island of Sicily. Operation Husky, the code name for the Allied invasion of Sicily began on July 10, 1943, with U.S. and British forces invading Sicily using troops deployed by gliders, parachutes, and boats. Due to the high winds the Allied troops had difficulty regrouping once they landed on the ground in Sicily and throughout the first few days, the Allies encountered significant resistance.  The resistance however was quickly overcome and on July 22, Palermo, the capital of Sicily, fell to the Allies.  Sicily was secure. 

Benito Mussolini, was overthrown by a peaceful coup the day after the fall of Sicily.  Italian officials approached the Allies about an armistice. However, prior to Mussolini’s expulsion, Allied forces had planned an invasion of the Italian mainland.  Despite the fact that Italy officially surrenders to the Allies on September 8, 1943, the Allied invasion of Italy proceeded as planned.  The decision to continue with the Allied invasion of the mainland was due to the large number of German forces stationed in the country. The main invasion began on September 9, the day after Italy’s surrender. German resistance was heavy and the Allies suffered great casualties. After nearly a three weeks of perilous fighting, the Allies captured Naples on October 1, fundamentally placing all of southern Italy firmly under Allied control.

Even though the Italian government had surrendered, the Germany was resolute in its vow to not allow the Allies to take Rome.  With their position firmly secured in Southern Italy, the Allies moved northward and the German forces dug in a formed a fortified entrenched line across Italy, just South of Rome.  This barricade was called the Winter Line and crossed the center of the country at the fortified monastery of Monte Cassino. The heavily defended Winter Line was an arduous obstacle for the Allied forces, who assaulted the German forces entrenched in the Winter Line continuously only to be repeatedly pushed back.   The stalemate that resulted lasted for more than six months until Monte Cassino fell to the Allies on May 18, 1944. On June 5, Rome was liberated from Axis control and the Germans retreated to the North of Italy and dug in again forming the Gothic Line which held out until the Spring of 1945.  

Italy’s participation in World War II was of little strategic benefit for Germany.  In actuality the decisions made by Italian leader Benito Mussolini fundamentally hindered the German war effort because valuable German resources and forces were diverted to assist the Italians.   Mussolini’s decisions were so erratic and costly that his own subordinates overthrew him and eventually surrendered to the Allies. Indeed, the battles that resulted from Italy’s aimless campaigns were devastating and potentially cost Germany the war.