Combat Mission: Afrika Korps

Italy joined the Second World War in June of 1940. It was in that same month that France surrendered to Germany, and the "Vichy French" government was set up to administer both the population at home and the African and overseas possessions of France. Before Italy's entry into the Second World War, however, Italian soldiers had seen fighting for much of the 40 years previous.

By 1939, Italy had gained an African empire consisting of Libya, Eritrea (since 1896), Italian Somaliland (1925) and Abyssinia (1936) - the latter three sometimes referred to as Italian East Africa, and all these territories were known to the Italians as Africa Orientale Italiana (AOI). Somaliland would later become Somalia, and Abysinnia is often referred to as Ethiopia. Both the British and French had already firmly established control of much of northern Africa, with the British controlling the only water access to the Mediterranean - Gibraltar in the west, and the Suez Canal/Red Sea in the east. Limited sources of oil throughout the world made the oilfields in Persia particularly significant to the combatants of the Second World War. Benito Mussolini, fascist leader of Italy from the early 1930s onward, considered the Mediterranean to be "Mare Nostrum" - "our sea" - and felt that while the empire of Hitler's Germany would be rightfully carved out of northern and eastern Europe, it was the destiny of the Italians to forge a southern European and African empire. By June of 1940, the French were turned into allies of the Axis cause, and a final showdown with the British forces in the theatre was planned. The capture of Egypt and the Suez Canal was seen as a priority (the Germans were simultaneously planning an assault on Gibraltar), limiting contacts between Britain and the Far East, with the second phase an advance through the Middle East to capture the vital oilfields there (the summer of 1942 saw German offensives also aimed through the Caucasus with the eventual goal, one assumes, of reaching the same oilfields, testament to their importance).
Mussolini also felt that control of Southern Europe was important; Albania fell to the Italians in the 1930s, and while Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria were satellite allies of the Axis, Italian eyes turned to Yugoslavia and Greece. Several important nations remained neutral at the start of the Second World War; the USSR signed a non-aggression pact with Germany shortly before the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and remained passive once Poland was partitioned; Spain and Turkey who were mildly pro-Axis remained official neutrality at the start of hostilities. Pro-Axis governments also presided over and Persia (today called Iran).
June 1940 The prewar territorial control of Africa and the Mediterranean remained unchanged until June 1940; this month was significant in that France was defeated, and control of the homeland and overseas possessions shifted to a pro-Axis ("Vichy") government. Italy also declared war on France and Britain at this time. The timing was opportunistic for the Italians; the French and British armies had been largely smashed by Germany during the six-week conquest of France that was completed just as Italian troops began to bumble across the frontier between the two nations. War on the Outposts - July 1940 The first tentative moves made against the British in Africa came in the Sudan, which was largely undefended. On 4 July 1940, 8000 Italians took the Sudanese town of Kassala (at the cost of about 500 casualties). Smaller posts in the Sudan and Kenya were also wrested from British control - but the Italians advanced no further and lost an opportunity to gain a southern route to the Suez Canal. Losses in Libya at the time, as well as a poor appreciation of British strength in the area, caused an abandonment of further operations in this area.
Italian Success - Somaliland - August 1940 One of but a few Italian success stories in the Second World War was the invasion of British Somaliland in August 1940. Some 30,000 Italian colonial troops, bolstered by 4800 "Metropolitan" (European) troops overwhelmed the tiny Commonwealth garrison the majority of whom were evacuated safely - and cost 2,052 killed, wounded or missing Italian troops, as compared to British losses of some 250 men. The fall of France had been disastrous for British defensive plans in North Africa. Italian forces in Libya and East Africa numbered 415,000 troops, against only 118,000 British soldiers scattered throughout Egypt, Aden, Palestine and Somaliland.
Greece and Yugoslavia - 1941 As the Italians moved to further their Imperial aims, they found their forces not equal to the task. Greece was attacked in October 1940, but the invaders were pushed back. British reinforcements were sent to bolster the Greeks - though very little could be spared from the fighting in Libya and Egypt. On 6 April 1941, German troops invaded both Greece, and Yugoslavia where an anti-Axis government had recently taken power. The token Commonwealth force of 57000 men was forced to withdraw, with 43000 men actually being evacuated. In May 1941, the British-occupied Greek island of Crete was taken by the largest, and last, sizeable German parachute and glider assault. Yugoslavia would remain the site of very bitter and bloody partisan warfare throughout the war (and beyond) between the varying ethnic groups in the country, some pro-Axis, some pro-Allied, and some whose only impetus was their own nationalism/racism. Syria/Lebanon 1941 In Iraq, the pro-Allied government was overthrown by a pro-Axis movement in April 1941; open fighting during the month of May 1941 resulted in the pro-Allied government returning to power. British forces then moved to seize control in Syria and Lebanon; Damascus, capital of Syria, fell in June 1941 and in July a cease fire was ordered. Of 38000 Vichy troops in the country, 5700 chose to join the Free French (the others were repatriated). Some 2400 Allied casualties had been inflicted in the fighting, against 3350 Vichy.
Allied Fortunes On 22 Jun 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union, who instantly became an ally of Britain. The two nations co-operated with regards to Persia, which was invaded by the British on flimsy pretext on 25 August 1941. Not only did Persia have valuable oil resources, but physical occupation of the country allowed precious war materiel to be shipped to the Soviet Union via this route.

As noted above, the British only had 118,000 troops throughout Africa and the Middle East in which to counter Italian aggressive moves. As Somaliland was abandoned, harrassing patrols were launched on the Libyan frontier. Initial Italian successes were limited only by their unwillingness to advance; in September 1940 the Italians advanced as far as Sidi Barrani, then stopped. British offensives in December pushed the Italians back across the frontier, capturing Bardia. German troops began arriving to bolster the Italians in February 1941, and went on the attack in March. The British were again pressed backwards, and the port of Tobruk surrounded. In June 1941, British counter-attacks failed to gain desired success. In November 1941, further attacks pushed the Germans back further into Libya. For the better part of a year and a half, the war in North Africa was waged between Italian, German and British troops back and forth across the Libya-Egypt frontier.