By the time Benito Mussolini declared war against the Allies in June 1940, the Second World War looked like it would soon be over. Nazi Germany had already swept through most of Western Europe, France was teetering and once it fell Britain, isolated and alone, would surely capitulate too. Keen to exploit the situation by grabbing French and British possessions in North and East Africa, including the Suez Canal, Mussolini sent his armies across the Mediterranean to start a conflict that they were in no fit state to fight.
The Great Depression and decades of financial mismanagement under Mussolini had left Italy industrially and economically weak. His fascist crusades in East Africa and Spain, meanwhile, had burned through vast amounts of military materiel. As a result, his armed forces were ill-equipped, under-resourced and poorly trained. The shortcomings of his war machine were particularly evident when it came to Italy’s armoured army.
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Bu hikaye History of War dergisinin Issue 122 sayısından alınmıştır.
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THE OTHER OPERATION OVERLORD D-DAY'S GHOST ARMY
Historian Taylor Downing discusses the cunning use of intrigue and deception during Operation Fortitude
D-DAY LANDING CRAFT
Over 4,000 Allied landing craft took part in the Normandy Landings with a huge range of designs created for specific roles and capabilities
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Spearheading the invasion of occupied France in 1944 were a small number of Special Forces soldiers dropped deep into enemy territory. Among them was a young Londoner, fresh from training here he reveals how he survived guerrilla warfare in France and beyond as part of the fledgling Special Air Service
JIMMIE MONTEITH
In the crucible of battle at Omaha Beach on D-Day, this officer of the famed 1st Infantry Division earned his nation’s highest honour at the cost of his life
KLEINKAMPFVERBÄNDE - GERMANY'S COUNTER-ATTACKS
As Allied forces crossed the Channel and stormed into Normandy, Hitler's navy fought back using a deadly new breed of maritime weaponry
STORMING GOLD BEACH
War veteran Ron Peet helped assault Gold Beach on D-Day Here he shares his experiences
UNDERGROUND WREN
Deep in the bowels of Fort Southwick, radio operator Marie Scott was one of the first to hear reports as Operation Overlord got underway, passing critical communications between the men on the beaches and high command
MINESWEEPER OFF NORMANDY
After helping clear the path to France, Royal Navy veteran Claude Sealey and his crewmates experienced a deadly encounter with their own countrymen
THE RECCE RIDER OF RANVILLE
After fencing behind enemy lines in Normandy, William Bill’ Gladden conducted us reconnaissance on his motorcycle
SWORD BEACH
The easternmost sector of the 6 June Normandy Landings was a mostly British affair, and Saw some of the biggest territorial gains of the first day of the Allied invasion