Skip to content
Curated category

Battles of World War II involving Italy

  • Battle of Alam el HalfaThe Axis supply position was precarious because the main supply ports of Benghazi and Tobruk were 1,000 miles and 650 miles from the front respectively.
  • Battle of GazalaIn January 1942, the Axis forces in Libya received a steady stream of supplies and reinforcements that continued until May.
  • Operation CrusaderIn August 1941, a German signals unit known as FAK 621 began reading British tactical codes with startling accuracy. This intelligence stream continued…
  • Operation CompassOperation Compass began on the night of the 9th of December 1940 with a force of about 31,000 soldiers, 120 guns, 275 tanks, and sixty armoured cars…
  • Second Battle of El AlameinOn the 23rd of October 1942, a calm and clear evening under the bright sky of a full moon marked the start of a thirteen-day battle near the Egyptian railway…
  • Italian invasion of EgyptIn June 1940, Italy declared war on France and Britain from the coast of Libya. The Italian 10th Army stood ready to cross into neutral Egypt.
  • Spring 1945 offensive in ItalyField Marshal Sir John Dill died on the 5th of November, triggering a cascade of leadership changes that reshaped the Allied high command.
  • Italian invasion of British SomalilandOn the 9th of May 1936, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini proclaimed the foundation of Italian East Africa. This new colony combined Italian Eritrea, Italian…
  • Battle of FranceOn the 10th of May 1940, the Wehrmacht armies invaded Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and parts of France. This campaign marked the end of a period…
  • Allied invasion of ItalyBritish Prime Minister Winston Churchill called Italy the soft underbelly of the axis in November 1942. He argued that invading would remove Italy from the…
  • First Battle of El AlameinIn June 1942, the British Eighth Army collapsed after their defeat at the Battle of Gazala in Eastern Libya. Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie ordered a…
  • German invasion of GreeceIn the early hours of the 28th of October 1940, Italian Ambassador Emanuele Grazzi presented Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas with a three-hour ultimatum.
  • Battle of StalingradOn the 28th of June 1942, the German Army Group South began its attack into southern Russia. This offensive, code-named Case Blue, aimed to capture vital…
  • Battle of BritainWinston Churchill spoke to the House of Commons on the 18th of June, 1940. He declared that the Battle of France was over and that the Battle of Britain was…
  • Invasion of YugoslaviaOn the morning of the 27th of March 1941, a group of Yugoslav military officers executed a coup d'état in Belgrade. They forced Regent Prince Paul to resign…
  • Greco-Italian WarOn the 4th of February 1939, Benito Mussolini addressed the Fascist Grand Council and declared Greece to be a vital enemy of Italy.
  • Operation AchseOn the 9th of May 1943, two days after the fall of Tunis to Allied forces, the German High Command informed the Italian Supreme Command that three new units…
  • Second Battle of KharkovOn the 7th of November 1941, Joseph Stalin declared that German forces would collapse by spring or summer. This speech set a dangerous tone for Soviet…