Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II

Mediterranean and Middle East theatre
Part of The Second World War
Mediterranean in 1941
Date 10 June 1940 - 8 May 1945 Location Mediterranean and Middle East Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Main Allies Soviet Union United States United Kingdom	Main Axis Germany Italy
Commanders and leaders
Main Allied Leaders Joseph Stalin Franklin D. Roosevelt Winston Churchill Allied Generals Georgy Zhukov Dwight D. Eisenhower Bernard Montgomery	Main Axis Leaders Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Axis Generals Erwin Rommel Prince Umberto

The Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre was a major theatre of operations during the Second World War.

Other Belligerents

See the main article: World War II by country

Map of all the countries in World War II. Green countries are the Allies, (light green countries are the allies that entered after the Bombing of pearl harbour), blue countries are the Axis, and grey countries are the neutral countries.

Allies

Note: NOT including main allies, colonies, former Axis Powers or resistance groups.

Poland (1940 - 1945)

France (1940 - 1945)

Czechoslovakia (1940/1941 - 1945)

Belgium (1940 - 1945)

Ethiopia (1941 - 1945)

Canada (1943 - 1945)

South Africa (1940 - 1945)

Greece (1940 - 1945)

Yugoslavia (6 - 17 April 1941/1941 - 1945)

Brazil (1944 - 1945)

Australia (1940/1942 - 1945)

Turkey (1945)

Egypt (1945)

Saudi Arabia (1945)

Axis

Note: NOT including main axis, puppet states, collaborators or co-belligerents.

Hungary (1940 - 1945)

Romania (1940 - 1944)

Bulgaria (1941 - 1944)

Yugoslavia (25 - 27 March 1941)

1940 - 1941

On the 10th of June 1940, Benito Mussolini (the dictator of italy), declared war on France who at that time was at war with Germany, but France would surrender to the axis powers and a German puppet known as Vichy France was established.

Map of the occupation of France

In exile, Charles de Gaulle proclaimed Free France, an allied government-in-exile apart of the allied powers against Germany,

The British empire in 1921 (at it’s greatest extent)

Mussolini decided to invade British Somaliland, and succeeded. He then invaded Egypt, and it did not succeed. After this, Mussolini attempted to invade Greece, but it failed. When 1941 began, British and commonwealth forces invaded Italian East Africa, and that would succeed.

Map of the axis invasion of yugoslavia. (Note that the Yugoslav-Bulgarian border is missing)

Meanwhile Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria joined the axis, Yugoslavia joined to, but a coup had overthrown the government, so Germany, Italy, and Hungary invaded Yugoslavia, and in 10&emdash;20 days, Yugoslavia and Greece surrendered. There was resistance all over Yugoslavia and Greece, the British had sent more troops from Egypt and Greece, so axis forces moved deeper into Egyptian territory, but an Australian force at Tobruk, prevented supplies from reaching the army’s.

Iraq set up an axis government, so British and commonwealth forces invaded Iraq, they also invaded Vichy french-controlled Syria and Lebanon.

The red army’s advance into Iran

On the 22nd of June 1941, Germany invaded the USSR, in what was known as Operation Barbarossa. The British made a supply line to the eastern front, but Iran (a country in the supply line) supported the axis, so Anglo-Soviet forces invaded Iran.

On the 7th of December 1941, Japan bombed pearl harbour, which would bring the United States in to the war.

1942 - 1943

Map of Italy during World War II

The Italian Social Republic in 1943

In Egypt, the axis forces were pushed back, then the allied forces were pushed back, then after a battle at El Alamein, allied forces and new American forces pushed the axis forces out of africa,

On the 9th of July 1943, allied forces invaded sicily, they would reach the main land in September, meanwhile, Mussolini was ousted from power and Italy surrendered on the 8th of September, and German forces in Italy occupied Italy and established the German puppet state the Italian Social Republic, and the italian civil war began.

1944 - 1945

On 30 April 1945, Hitler shot himself to avoid capture by the Soviets

On the 17th of January 1944, the battle of Monte Cassino began, and it would last for 4 months with Rome liberated in June, the allies would march up the Italian mainland, in august, allied forces landed in southern france, meanwhile, Romania changed sides on the 24 of august as well as Bulgaria on the 8th of September.

on the 30th soviet soldiers would cross the border, helping the partisans liberating yugoslavia, in October, the British landed in shorthorn Greece to liberate the country from occupation.

Allied advance into Italy

In April 1945, Allied forces advanced into Italian territory, Mussolini tried to escape to Switzerland, but he was caught by Italian partisans and was executed on the 28th, two days later, Hitler commented suicide to prevent being caught by the soviet army surrounding berlin, on the 2nd of may, axis forces in Italy surrendered, and on the 8th, Germany would surrender, ending World War II in Europe.