The Battle
for Italy and North Africa
1943 – 1944
·
The leader of Italy
– Benito Mussolini was attempting to conquer North Africa
- Italy’s army was weak and needed help from Germany
- Both Germany and Italy
were interested in capturing Egypt
and the Suez Canal
- Italy and Germany
also had a plan to capture the Persian Gulf
region to control oil supplies
- By
November 1942, the British army and an American army have combined forces
to defeat the Italian-German forces in the deserts of North
Africa
- Hitler
sends one of his best generals, Erin Rommel – nicknamed the Desert Fox to defeat the allied
forces with his powerful tank division
- All of
the fighting in North Africa will involve fierce tank battles in the hot
desert sands of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia
- The
Desert Fox will fight with great skill against a much larger force of
British and Americans
- Hitler
will not be able to re-supply his troops in North
Africa with enough fuel and ammunition to keep Rommel’s tanks
operating
- Before
long Rommel will escape back to Germany, leaving his tanks and
soldiers behind
- The
British and Americans will secure the Suez Canal and the Persian Gulf
oil supplies
- The
American army, under General Montgomery will concentrate on the take over
of Italy
- Between
July 1943 – January 1944, the Italian forces will be defeated in one town
after another with guerilla warfare style fighting
- Mussolini,
along with his girlfriend, will be caught by resistance fighters trying to
escape to Switzerland
- They
are shot without trial
- With
the surrender of Italy,
Hitler and Germany are
on their own to defend themselves in Europe
- Japan
fights on in the Pacific Ocean