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World War II in the Mediterranean and Middle East

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  1. Introduction
  2.  
  3. Although often considered to be a “side show” during the Second World War, the campaign in the Mediterranean and Middle East was one of the most complex, interrelated, extensive, and certainly most enduring theatres of that conflict. The Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, initiated hostilities in the region in June 1940, which did not end until the final surrender of Axis forces in northern Italy on 2 April 1945. Fighting took place over an extensive area, including Italy, Greece and the Balkans, Libya and Egypt, and French North Africa as well as shorter, distinct campaigns in Syria, Iraq, and Ethiopia. As Britain’s major theatre of war from 1940 until 1943, the campaign is given considerable emphasis in British and Commonwealth histories of the war. This includes many controversies concerning Britain’s direction of the wider Dominion war effort, command controversies and changes, and later disagreements with the United States over the relative importance of the theatre. The role and importance of the Italian armed forces in the theatre has often been overshadowed by the more dramatic German interventions into a theatre that Hitler never considered more than a distraction, but, more recently, a number of histories have begun to redress that balance.
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  5. General Overviews
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  7. There have been many books published on almost every aspect of the Mediterranean war, and, with a campaign of such complexity, it can be difficult to encompass every aspect of the conflict in one volume. However, there are some useful overviews, including D’Este 1990, of which Porch 2004 is without doubt the best. This volume can provide a sure introduction to the complexities and scope of the campaign. While the Mediterranean theatre was vital to British interests, as outlined in Churchill 1948–1954 and Reynolds 2004, and indeed to Italian ambitions as described in Knox 1986, the same was not true for Germany, which is explained in Ansel 1972. Knox 2000 explores why Mussolini’s ambitions were doomed to failure while Terraine 1985 is a useful reminder of the importance of airpower to the entire campaign. Howard 1968 concisely explains why the theatre became the subject of so much controversy between the British and Americans in the later stages of the war.
  8.  
  9. Ansel, Walter. Hitler and the Middle Sea. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1972.
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  11. Although somewhat dated, Ansel’s book explains Hitler’s ambivalent relationship with the Mediterranean campaign very well. Hitler never saw the campaign as anything other than a distraction from the real war against the Soviet Union and, in so doing, missed many opportunities to achieve a more decisive result.
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  13. Churchill, Winston S. The Second World War. 6 vols. London: Cassell, 1948–1954.
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  15. As Britain’s war leader, Churchill was intimately connected with the Mediterranean theatre. Indeed, Churchill shaped much of the course of the campaign, from Britain’s intervention in Greece in 1941 to the design of Operation Shingle in 1944, and, as such, his six-volume history remains essential reading to understand the interplay of events in the Mediterranean with the wider war.
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  17. D’Este, Carlo. World War II in the Mediterranean: 1942–1945. New York: Algonquin, 1990.
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  19. A broad but useful overview of the entire campaign.
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  21. Howard, Michael. The Mediterranean Strategy in the Second World War: The Lees-Knowles Lectures at Trinity College, Cambridge 1966. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1968.
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  23. An elegantly argued and concise essay that explores the importance of the theatre through British eyes. Howard then outlines and analyzes the subsequent arguments with the Americans over its importance in Allied strategy.
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  25. Knox, MacGregor. Mussolini Unleashed, 1939–1941. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
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  27. An important book which analyses Mussolini’s decision in going to war and the underlying reasons for the disastrous course of the war for the Italian Armed Forces during 1940.
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  29. Knox, MacGregor. Hitler’s Italian Allies: Royal Armed Forces, Fascist Regime, and the War of 1940–43. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  30. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511613487Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  31. A well-balanced survey of the role of the Italian armed forces during the war and their complicated relationship with the competing demands of Italian politics.
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  33. Porch, Douglas. Hitler’s Mediterranean Gamble: The North African and the Mediterranean Campaigns in World War II. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2004.
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  35. The best modern overall account, which covers the entire course of the war in the Mediterranean from Mussolini’s declaration of war to the final surrender of German forces in Italy in 1945. Porch argues that, although the United States did not wish to become entangled in the Mediterranean, the subsequent development of the campaign was an essential precursor for Allied victory.
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  37. Reynolds, David. In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War. London: Allen Lane, 2004.
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  39. If Churchill 1948–1954 remains essential reading, then Reynolds’ In Command of History forms a vital commentary and corrective on Churchill’s work.
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  41. Terraine, John. The Right of the Line. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1985.
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  43. Terraine’s narrative draws heavily on the unpublished Royal Air Force draft narratives of the war. As such, it provides one of the best overall accounts of the development of Royal Air Force methods during the desert war and the important air contribution to the battles in the Mediterranean.
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  45. Official Histories
  46.  
  47. While there have been many books published on almost every aspect of the Mediterranean campaign, the starting point for an overall perspective on these campaigns remains with the official histories published by the many participating nations. Although they do contain national bias, and often a narrow focus on the details of the fighting, these nonetheless provide a level of coverage and detail that is hard to match. Some, particularly the Australian and New Zealand Official Histories, remain as impressive works of history in their own right. Indeed, the Australian and New Zealand histories are too extensive to list individually here but, happily, all are now available online. The Australian War Memorial and New Zealand Electronic Text Centre remain impressive works of history in their own right. The scale and scope of these histories is impressive and too extensive to list individually here but, happily, all are now available online. Official dispatches can be considered an important official source and are now available at London Gazette. Hyperwar is not an official website but enables access to many of these sources.
  48.  
  49. Australian War Memorial.
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  51. The Australian War Memorial website includes access to many primary source documents, including unit war diaries, from the period and online copies of the entire series of the Australian Official History of the Second World War. This covers the Australian contribution to the Mediterranean campaign in great detail.
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  53. Hyperwar.
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  55. The Hyperwar website provides online access to many US, British, and Commonwealth official histories and other official materials of the Second World War. Although by no means complete, it is an easy and useful way of accessing many of the official histories listed here, as well as many others.
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  57. London Gazette.
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  59. The London Gazette contains online copies in PDF format of all the official dispatches of British commanders-in-chief during the war. This is a very useful resource for gaining the official perspective and edited versions of the planning assumptions made during the campaigns.
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  61. New Zealand Electronic Text Centre.
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  63. The New Zealand Electronic Text Centre contains online copies of the entire New Zealand Official History of the Second World War. The Official History series deals with the highly significant New Zealand contribution to the Mediterranean war in great detail, ranging from accounts of the various campaigns and battles to detailed histories of individual battalions war service.
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  65. Italian
  66.  
  67. The extensive Italian official histories for the war in the Mediterranean provide a useful corrective to the dominant British perspective and provide a more balanced view of Italian military capability. Cocchia 1962 deals with the naval aspects of the intense convoy battles between Italy and Libya while Fioravanzo 1960 discusses the importance of airpower. Mariano 1960 explores the Italian effort to neutralize Malta, including the abortive plans to seize the island. Montanari 1985 deals with the operations of 1941, which were focused around Tobruk. D’Avossa 1951 assesses the period of greatest Axis success while D’Avossa 1961 discusses the final period at El Alamein.
  68.  
  69. Cocchia, Aldo. La Marina Italiana nella seconda Guerra mondiale—La Guerra nel Mediterraneo: La difesa del traffico con l’Africa settentrionale dal 1’ottobre 1941 al 30 settembre 1942. Rome: Stato Maggiore della Marina, Ufficio Storico, 1962.
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  71. This volume provides the official Italian perspective on the intense naval operations that were necessary to keep Rommel’s army in Africa supplied. British interdiction of the sea lines of communication fluctuated but placed immense strain on the resources of the Italian navy.
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  73. D’Avossa, Giovanni. La Seconda controffensiva italo-tedesca in A.S., da El Algheila a El Alamein. Rome: Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Ufficio Storico, 1951.
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  75. This volume covers the period of greatest Axis success and examines the rapid restoration of Axis fortunes in January 1942 and the Axis victory in the battle of Gazala and seizure of Tobruk in May–June 1942.
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  77. D’Avossa, Giovanni. La Terza offensive Britannica in A.S. Rome: Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Ufficio Storico, 1961.
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  79. This work covers the later stages of the desert war with the final British offensive at El Alamein. The tenacious defense mounted by Italian forces is described here as is the abandonment of the Italian infantry to capture at the end of the battle.
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  81. Fioravanzo, Guiseppe. La Marina Italiana nella Seconda Guerra mondiale – le Azioni navali dal 1˚ Aprile 1941 all’ 8 Settembre 1943. Rome: Stato Maggiore della Marina, Ufficio Storico, 1960.
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  83. The Italian Navy and Italian Air Force had a difficult institutional relationship, which made joint operations difficult. However, airpower was vital, not only to the suppression of Malta but to the protection of Italian convoys and the interdiction of British ones, as described in this volume.
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  85. Mariano, Gabriele. Operazione C3: Malta. Rome: Stato Maggiore della Marina, Ufficio Storico, 1960.
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  87. It took Axis commanders some time to appreciate the importance of Malta to the course of the Mediterranean war. This volume covers that strategic appreciation but also the military operations involved in the suppression of Malta and also the abortive plan in the summer of 1942, which was designed to seize the island.
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  89. Montanari, Mario. Le operazioni in Africa settentrionale. Vol. II, Tobruk. Rome: Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Ufficio Storico, 1985.
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  91. Once Rommel arrived in Africa, Italian forces found themselves subordinated to a German commander in their own theatre. There were frequent disagreements over objectives and methods as explained in this volume. The stalemate that developed around Tobruk in 1941 also placed great pressure on Axis relations.
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  93. German
  94.  
  95. Schreiber, et al. 1995 is an important work that provides both an official German account but also a vital insight into German strategic thinking during the early part of the war.
  96.  
  97. Schreiber, Gerhard, Bernd Stegemann, and Detlef Vogel. Germany and the Second World War. Vol. III, The Mediterranean, South-East Europe and North Africa 1939–1941. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
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  99. This is the relevant volume of the modern German official history that provides a detailed and comprehensive view of the evolution of German involvement in the theatre.
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  101. British
  102.  
  103. Playfair 1954, Playfair 1956, Playfair 1960, Playfair 1966, Molony 1973, Jackson 1984, Jackson 1987, and Jackson 1988 are the volumes from the impressive series of British Official Histories that are directly relevant to the campaign in the Mediterranean, but there are other volumes from the Grand Strategy, War at Sea, and British Intelligence in the Second World War series that are also of importance. The title of each volume is self-explanatory and describes which period of the war is covered within its pages. Each volume considers operations on land, sea, and air. Although these volumes do suffer from many of the defects of any official history, for example in passing discretely over some of the more obvious failings of British generalship or the real nature of some of the more important controversies of the campaigns, they do nonetheless also provide clear and detailed information that remains difficult to find from any other source.
  104.  
  105. Jackson, William. The Mediterranean and Middle East. Vol. VI, Part I: Victory in the Mediterranean: 1 April to 4 June 1944. London: H.M.S.O., 1984.
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  107. This volume covers the planning, preparation, and execution of Operation Diadem, which finally broke the deadlock at Monte Cassino and opened the way to Rome.
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  109. Jackson, William. The Mediterranean and Middle East. Vol. VI, Part 2: June to October 1944. London: H.M.S.O., 1987.
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  111. After the success of Operation Diadem, the Allied pursuit was rapid until the Germans fell back onto the Gothic line. Denuded of troops for Operation Dragoon, the Allied forces penetrated the Gothic line but were unable to breakthrough into northern Italy.
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  113. Jackson, William. The Mediterranean and Middle East. Vol. VI, Part 3: November 1944 to May 1945. London: H.M.S.O., 1988.
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  115. The war in Italy thus dragged on into 1945 yet ended with a stunning but often overlooked decisive victory in the last few days of the war.
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  117. Molony, C. J. C. The Mediterranean and Middle East. Vol. V, The Campaign in Sicily, 1943 and the Campaign in Italy, 3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944. London: H.M.S.O., 1973.
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  119. The Allies eventually settled on Sicily as the target for their first invasion of Axis territory. This covers the heated strategic debates as well as the actual operations on the island. The Allies then carried the war into Italy itself and soon found conditions on the Italian mainland very difficult. The disastrous Dodecanese campaign of late 1943 is also discussed.
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  121. Playfair, I. S. O. The Mediterranean and Middle East. Vol. I, The Early Successes Against Italy, to May 1941. London: H.M.S.O., 1954.
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  123. This volume covers the early period of the war when British resources were stretched to their limit. Nonetheless, Operation Compass in December 1940 brought unlooked for success and altered the balance of the war for a period.
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  125. Playfair, I. S. O. The Mediterranean and Middle East. Vol. II, The Germans Come to the Help of Their Ally, 1941. London: H.M.S.O., 1956.
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  127. German intervention into the Mediterranean had an immediate effect both through the provision of airpower and Rommel’s Afrika Korps. This volume deals with the desperate fighting in the desert around Tobruk and the bloody attritional fighting of Operation Crusader in November 1941.
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  129. Playfair, I. S. O. The Mediterranean and Middle East. Vol. III, British Fortunes Reach Their Lowest Ebb. London: H.M.S.O., 1960.
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  131. The Battle of Gazala, which opened on 27 May 1942, very nearly resulted in a complete British victory; however, the ultimate result was disastrous and included the defeat of the Eighth Army and the loss of Tobruk. This volume details but cannot quite explain this turn of events.
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  133. Playfair, I. S. O. The Mediterranean and Middle East. Vol. IV, The Destruction of the Axis Forces in Africa. London: H.M.S.O., 1966.
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  135. This volume takes the story from the victory of El Alamein through to the eventual end of the hard-fought Tunisian campaign, which saw the ejection of Axis forces from Africa.
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  137. United States
  138.  
  139. Although these volumes only cover the US Army perspective (which includes ground and air forces), they are highly useful and well written. In some cases, they provide a corrective to British views and highlight the importance of the US contribution to the Allied effort in the Mediterranean. Howe 1957 covers the planning and execution of the highly improvised Allied campaign in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. Garland and Smyth 1993 focuses on the campaign for the island of Sicily and the concurrent negotiations for Italian surrender. Blumenson 1969 covers the better-known aspects of the Italian campaign, while Fisher 1989 continues the story from the capture of Rome in June 1944 to the end of the war.
  140.  
  141. Blumenson, Martin. U.S. Army in World War II: Mediterranean Theater of Operations: Salerno to Cassino. Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of Military History, 1969.
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  143. Mark Clark’s US Fifth Army landed at Salerno in September 1943 and soon faced one of the most dangerous situations of the war. This volume details the crisis at Salerno and the subsequent slow, difficult advance through mountainous terrain toward Monte Cassino.
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  145. Fisher, Ernest F., Jr. U.S. Army in World War II: Mediterranean Theater of Operations: Cassino to the Alps. Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of Military History, 1989.
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  147. Many American troops were committed to the battles around Monte Cassino, often under unfavorable conditions. These controversies are well known, but the efforts and contributions of American troops to the later stages of the war in Italy are much less well known. This volume also covers the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, which fought under American command in 1944–1945.
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  149. Garland, Albert N., and Howard McGaw Smyth. U.S. Army in World War II, Mediterranean Theater of Operations Sicily and the Surrender of Italy. Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of Military History, 1993.
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  151. The invasion of Sicily saw Patton’s Seventh Army win a spectacular reputation for speed in difficult terrain and conditions.
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  153. Howe, George F. U.S. Army in World War II, Mediterranean Theater of Operations, North West Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West. Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of Military History, 1957.
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  155. Operation Torch saw the first major commitment of American troops to the Mediterranean theatre. US commanders and troops learned much from the campaign, particularly in the aftermath of the Kasserine battles.
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  157. The East African Campaign, 1940–1941
  158.  
  159. The East African campaign, fought over the territories that now comprise Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia, was of relatively brief duration but of considerable significance. Italy had conquered Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia) in 1936, and the Italian Empire posed a considerable threat to British communications as discussed in Mockler 1984. In a lightning campaign in 1940–1941, Ethiopia was liberated and the Italian East African Empire liquidated. Del Boca 1986 provides an Italian perspective on the end of empire.
  160.  
  161. Del Boca, Angelo. Italiani in Africa Orientale: La caduta dell’Impero. Rome: Laterza, 1986.
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  163. A sound Italian account of the end of their Ethiopian empire.
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  165. Mockler, Anthony. Haile Selassie’s War: The Italian-Ethiopian Campaign, 1935–1941. New York: Random House, 1984.
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  167. A solid general account of the wars in Ethiopia that covers both the Italian conquest in 1935–1936 and the British liberation 1940–1941.
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  169. Greece and Crete, 1941
  170.  
  171. Italy declared war on Greece in October 1940, a decision that soon proved disastrous, as outlined in Cervi 1972. The Greek Army initially achieved considerable success against the Italian invasion, and in the spring of 1941 a British expeditionary force was sent to Greece to bolster their resistance, as discussed in Buckley 1952. When the German Army intervened, the Greek Army was quickly destroyed and the British forced to evacuate. This led to a further German airborne invasion of the island of Crete, assessed in Beevor 1994 and MacDonald 1993, which resulted in another British defeat. Yet British involvement in Greece remained significant, particularly through resistance activities and later involvement in the Greek civil war following the German evacuation in 1944, as is emphasized in Smith 1988.
  172.  
  173. Beevor, Antony. Crete: The Battle and the Resistance. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1994.
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  175. One of the best and most readable accounts of the series of disasters experienced by the British and Commonwealth forces during the battle for Crete but that also explores the cost suffered by the local people.
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  177. Buckley, C. Greece and Crete 1941. London: H.M.S.O., 1952.
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  179. A good “official” overview of this disastrous campaign. Even the decision to send an expeditionary force to Greece was controversial at the time. Unfortunately, the force that was sent was large enough to force a German reaction but too small to cope against a German offensive.
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  181. Cervi, Mario. The Hollow Legions: Mussolini’s Blunder in Greece 1940–1941. London: Chatto & Windus, 1972.
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  183. Cervi’s book explores the Italian perspective of the Greek campaign and reveals the numerous lamentable failures of decision making, which quickly exposed the shortcomings of the Italian army.
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  185. MacDonald, C. The Lost Battle: Crete 1941. New York: Free Press, 1993.
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  187. A sound, standard account of the battle for Crete that takes into account the importance of the Enigma intelligence.
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  189. Smith, E. D. Victory of a Sort: The British in Greece 1941–46. London: Robert Hale, 1988.
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  191. This book examines the British involvement in Greece during and after the 1941 campaign. As such, it provides a wider perspective of the impact on the Greek people as well as the British intervention in the Greek Civil War from 1944 to 1946.
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  193. Iraq and Syria, 1941
  194.  
  195. The British position in the Mediterranean and Middle East during 1941 was particularly precarious. Not only were the British confronted with Rommel’s offensive in Libya and the ruinous campaigns in Greece and Crete, but trouble soon boiled up in Iraq and Syria. Warner 1974 places these campaigns within their wider context, while Mockler 1976 reinforces the point that the British invasion of Syria to deny airbases to the Germans led to an undeclared Anglo-French war. Dudgeon 2000 and McKenzie 1951 both offer broad accounts of the war in the Iraq as well as personal testimony of this unexpected conflict.
  196.  
  197. Dudgeon, A. G. Hidden Victory: The Battle of Habbaniya, May 1941. Stroud, UK: Tempus, 2000.
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  199. This book contains both a history of the British forces in Iraq during the revolt and an autobiographical account of the battle of Habbaniya. As such, it sheds real light on this often obscure aspect of the war.
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  201. McKenzie, Compton. Eastern Epic. London: Chatto & Windus, 1951.
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  203. An early and entertaining account of the march of the British relief force to Iraq.
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  205. Mockler, Anthony. Our Enemies the French: Being an Account of the War Fought Between the French and the British, Syria 1941. London: Leo Cooper, 1976.
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  207. This book examines the Syrian campaign but also sets it within the context of Anglo-French relations during the Second World War.
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  209. Warner, Geoffrey. Iraq and Syria 1941. London: Davis-Poynter, 1974.
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  211. A sound general account of these two overlooked campaigns.
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  213. Malta and the Naval War in the Mediterranean, 1940–1943
  214.  
  215. The naval struggle for control of the Mediterranean resulted in one of the most intense theatres of air and naval operations during the war. From the outset of the war both the Royal Navy and the Italian Regia Marina were intimately involved, being joined later by the US Navy and German U-Boats, respectively. Broad coverage of the war is offered by Greene and Massignani 1998 and Bragadin 1957. The Royal Navy’s attack on Taranto became the model for Pearl Harbor, while the intensity of air attacks on warships during the evacuation of Crete was not surpassed until 1944. Much of the British naval effort surrounded the convoys necessary to supply the island of Malta. The travails and experience of the Maltese population during the siege are powerfully rendered in Bradford 1985 and Holland 2003. The naval activities are well covered in the British official histories, Roskill 1954–1961, while Sadkovich 1994, quite rightly, attempts to rehabilitate the reputation of the Italian Navy. Wingate 1991 covers British submarine operations, which proved vital in many operations. There are some useful online sources, most notably Regia Marina Italiana, which covers the Italian Navy, and Naval History, which focuses on the Royal Navy; Fleet Air Arm Archive discusses airpower at sea, and U-Boat deals with the contribution of the German U-Boats in the Mediterranean.
  216.  
  217. Bradford, Ernle. Malta 1940–43. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1985.
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  219. A popular but useful account of the siege that provides a convincing portrait of the endurance and suffering of the Maltese people.
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  221. Bragadin, Marc Antonio. The Italian Navy in World War II. Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute, 1957.
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  223. A useful, if somewhat dated, overview of the Italian Navy.
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  225. Fleet Air Arm Archive.
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  227. This website provides a useful archive of material concerning the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm.
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  229. Greene, Jack, and Alessandro Massignani. Naval War in the Mediterranean 1940–1943. London: Chatham, 1998.
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  231. A sound, if somewhat uneven, survey of naval operations.
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  233. Holland, James. Fortress Malta: An Island under Siege 1940–43. London: Orion, 2003.
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  235. Perhaps the best modern account of Malta’s central importance in the Mediterranean war. One of Holland’s strengths is his ability to incorporate a great deal of telling personal testimony.
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  237. Naval History.
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  239. The focus of this website is the Royal Navy throughout the twentieth century but also provides useful accounts of actions in the Mediterranean during the Second World War.
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  241. Regia Marina Italiana.
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  243. This website is both useful and comprehensive, covering the history of the Italian Navy (Regia Marina Italiana) during the Second World War.
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  245. Roskill, S. W. The War at Sea 1939–1945. Vols. 1–3. London: H.M.S.O, 1954–1961.
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  247. Roskill’s official history of the Royal Navy during the Second World War remains one of the most impressive and detailed official histories while also providing a clear and understandable narrative of the complex and vital operations undertaken by the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean and beyond.
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  249. Sadkovich, James J. The Italian Navy in World War II. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1994.
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  251. An important book that seeks to rehabilitate the reputation of the Italian Navy. Emphasizes the often-overlooked role of the Italian fleet in convoying supplies to North Africa.
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  253. U-Boat.
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  255. Similarly, this website covers the entire German U-boat campaign of the Second World War and thus also contains much of interest on the German U-boats that served in the Mediterranean theatre.
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  257. Wingate, John. The Fighting Tenth: The Tenth Submarine Flotilla and the Siege of Malta. London: Pen & Sword. 1991.
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  259. Provides an important view of the activities of British submarines and their relative importance in attacking Italian shipping.
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  261. The War in the Desert, 1940–1943
  262.  
  263. The campaign fought in the deserts of Libya and Egypt from 1940 to 1943 is one of the most famous of the Second World War. This is due not only to the fame of some of the generals involved, most notably Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, but also to the fact that this was the mainland theatre of the British Empire for over two years. This period saw the conduct of high-intensity armored and mechanized warfare fought in a barren desert landscape in which supply was a critical aspect. The early period of the war is discussed in Stockings 2009, while thereafter, the fortunes of war swung dramatically between the Axis and British forces until the final, conclusive British victory at El Alamein and the subsequent pursuit of the Axis forces into Tunisia. The long-running siege of Tobruk is assessed in Harrison 1996, while many of the important individual battles are covered in Lucas Phillips 1962, Barr 2004, and Carver 1986. Johnson and Stanley 2002 provides a uniquely Australian view of the fighting at El Alamein. Both at the time, and ever since, these battles have caught the imagination of journalists and historians, which has generated a voluminous literature with many important strands. Pitt 1986 provides one of the best overall coverages of the campaign as a whole. There has been an understandable focus on the perceived excellence of the German forces, known as the Afrika Korps, and their undoubtedly charismatic commander, Erwin Rommel. Kitchen 2009 provides a balanced and authoritative assessment of Rommel and his forces. However, the importance of the Italian contribution is often overlooked or downplayed, as Walker 2003 explains. Meanwhile, there have been numerous British studies of this campaign, which have sought to explain the many perceived weaknesses in the British forces, as well as the many controversies over command of the British forces, which evolved over the period.
  264.  
  265. Barr, Niall. Pendulum of War: The Three Battles of El Alamein. London: Jonathan Cape, 2004.
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  267. This book assesses the Alamein campaign as a whole and seeks to analyze the way in which this critical campaign shaped the fighting methods of the British Eighth Army.
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  269. Bickers, Richard Townshend. The Desert Air War 1939–1945. London: Leo Cooper, 1991.
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  271. A useful survey of a critical aspect of the desert war, this book also traces the development of British air–ground cooperation that was so vital to their eventual success.
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  273. Carver, Michael. Dilemmas of the Desert War: A New Look at the Libyan Campaign 1940–1942. London: Batsford, 1986.
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  275. Michael Carver served in the British Army during the desert war and later rose to high rank. He continued to study and write on the desert war throughout his life and produced a number of fine accounts of the campaign. This was his last that considered many of the difficulties under which the British forces labored, as well as a sympathetic portrait and defense of General Neil Ritchie who commanded Eighth Army during its most catastrophic defeat at Gazala in May 1942.
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  277. Harrison, Frank. Tobruk: The Great Siege Reassessed. London: Arms & Armour, 1996.
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  279. Although a somewhat uneven work, Harrison’s account of the siege of Tobruk is the best modern book on the subject.
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  281. Johnson, Mark, and Peter Stanley. Alamein: The Australian Story. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
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  283. A superb evocation of the highly significant Australian contribution to the entire Alamein campaign.
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  285. Kitchen, Martin. Rommel’s Desert War. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
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  287. There have been many studies on Rommel’s command and the impact of the German Afrika Korps in the desert war. Kitchen’s careful assessment is the best modern work that highlights both Rommel’s tactical ability but also his limitations as an operational commander and thus provides a full and convincing picture of the Axis forces in Africa.
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  289. Lucas Phillips, C. E. Alamein. London: William Heinemann, 1962.
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  291. Although the account really focuses upon the final battle at Alamein, Lucas Phillips really captures the atmosphere of this decisive desert battle from the British perspective.
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  293. Pitt, Barrie. The Crucible of War. 3 vols. London: Papermac, 1986.
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  295. Pitt’s three-volume study of the campaigns in the desert is firmly written from a British perspective but provides much essential detail and a useful overall account of the shifting fortunes of war.
  296. Find this resource:
  297. Stockings, Craig. Bardia: Myth, Reality and the Heirs of Anzac. Sydney: University of New South Wales, 2009.
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  299. Although this covers only one early action of the Australian Expeditionary Force, the book provides an intimately detailed account while also engaging with the wider debate concerning the relative performance of Italian and Commonwealth troops during the campaign.
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  301. Walker, Ian W. Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts: Mussolini’s Elite Armoured Divisions in North Africa. Marlborough, UK: Crowood, 2003.
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  303. An excellent corrective to the received opinion of Italian failure in the desert. This book explores and explains the many flaws of the Italian armored corps but also reveals its often courageous and bold action under difficult circumstances.
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  305. The Tunisian Campaign, 1942–1943
  306.  
  307. The Tunisian campaign was hugely significant for the Anglo-American alliance. This was the first theatre where US forces clashed with the Germans and also where many US commanders first earned their laurels. The best modern account that focuses on the American contribution is Atkinson 2002, while Blaxland 1977 and Macksey 1969 provide a British perspective. The ultimate failure of the Axis forces during the campaign is covered in Watson 2007. Although somewhat overshadowed by the later events of the war, the Tunisian campaign was actually a highly improvised operation that saw much desperate fighting, a fact that is emphasized in Rolf 2001.
  308.  
  309. Atkinson, Rick. An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942–1943. New York: Henry Holt, 2002.
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  311. A vivid and well-paced narrative of the Tunisian campaign that covers many of the important aspects in considerable detail.
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  313. Blaxland, Gregory. The Plain Cook and the Great Showman: The First and Eighth Armies in North Africa. London: Kimber, 1977.
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  315. This book concentrates on the perceived clash between the two British armies in North Africa: The Eighth Army had gained fame during the desert war while the First Army was seen as new and untested in Tunisia. This provides an insight into the rivalry and competition that sometimes bedeviled British operations during the war.
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  317. Macksey, Kenneth. Crucible of Power: The Fight for Tunisia 1942–1943. London: Hutchinson, 1969.
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  319. A good standard account that provides a British perspective on the campaign.
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  321. Rolf, David. The Bloody Road to Tunis: Destruction of the Axis Forces in North Africa: November 1942–May 1943. London: Greenhill, 2001.
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  323. A well-focused narrative that concentrates on the Allies slow advance in Tunisia.
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  325. Watson, Bruce Allen. Exit Rommel: The Tunisian Campaign, 1942–43. Stackpole Military History Series. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 2007.
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  327. Watson’s book provides a well-judged and illuminating view of the Tunisian campaign from a mainly Axis perspective. The book also concentrates on Rommel’s final offensive in Africa at Kasserine Pass, which gave the US Army its first real shock in combat against the Germans.
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  329. Command and Leadership
  330.  
  331. In popular memory, the complexity of the desert war is often reduced to a focus on the personality and talents of just two men: Erwin Rommel and Bernard Montgomery. While this is indeed an inaccurate picture, there is also no question that command and leadership powerfully influenced the fighting in the desert, in the Mediterranean and later in Italy. Fraser 1993 and Liddell Hart 1953 provide an important perspective on Rommel’s ability as a commander, while Montgomery receives similar treatment from Hamilton 1981–1986 and Brooks 1991. Barnett 1960 remains iconoclastic and essential reading. Mead 2007 offers a briefer but also more comprehensive view of British generalship during the war. D’Este 2002, D’Este 1995, and Blumenson 1985 introduce and assess the importance of America’s generals during the Tunisian, Sicilian, and Italian campaigns.
  332.  
  333. Barnett, Correlli. The Desert Generals. London: William Kimber, 1960.
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  335. Barnett’s book was ground-breaking when first published as it dared to challenge the orthodoxy that had grown up around the generalship of Bernard Montgomery. Based on extensive interviews, it remains essential reading today for an insight into the British commanders in the desert, as well as their failings and successes.
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  337. Blumenson, Martin. Mark Clark, London: Jonathan Cape, 1985.
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  339. Mark Clark was the controversial American commander of the US Fifth Army in Italy. Blumenson’s account may be somewhat partisan, but it does provide real insight into Clark’s decisions and attitudes.
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  341. Brooks, Stephen. Montgomery and the Eighth Army: A Selection from the Diaries, Correspondence and Other Papers of Field Marshal the Viscount Montgomery of Alamein August 1942 to December 1943. London: Bodley Head for the Army Records Society, 1991.
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  343. Brooks’s careful editing of the Montgomery papers provides a detailed view of Montgomery’s style of command but also highlights his meticulous professionalism, which was one of his trademarks.
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  345. D’Este, Carlo. A Genius for War: A Life of General George S Patton. London: HarperCollins, 1995.
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  347. No account of the Tunisian or Sicilian campaigns would be complete without an understanding of the famous American General George S. Patton. D’Este’s biography is the most complete and nuanced view of this complex character.
  348. Find this resource:
  349. D’Este, Carlo. Eisenhower: Allied Supreme Commander. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2002.
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  351. Dwight D. Eisenhower rose from obscurity to Allied Supreme Command in just a few short years, yet his unshakable belief in Allied unity and determination to weld the British and American forces into one team became vital to Allied success both in the Mediterranean theatre and beyond.
  352. Find this resource:
  353. Fraser, David. Knight’s Cross: A Life of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
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  355. While there are many biographies of Rommel, Fraser presents a balanced and detailed assessment of Rommel as a commander.
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  357. Hamilton, Nigel. Monty. 3 vols. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1981–1986.
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  359. Hamilton’s official three-volume biography of Field Marshal Montgomery provides a sympathetic portrait of this sometimes awkward and abrasive general. It also provides a highly detailed perspective on Montgomery and the British Army.
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  361. Liddell Hart, Basil H. The Rommel Papers. London: Collins, 1953.
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  363. These papers were collected by Rommel’s widow and son after the war. They remain essential reading and give real insight into the mind of one of Germany’s great commanders of the Second World War.
  364. Find this resource:
  365. Mead, Richard. Churchill’s Lions: A Biographical Guide to the Key British Generals of World War II. Stroud, UK: Spellmount, 2007.
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  367. Mead’s biographical compendium spans the entire war, but his lively pen pictures of the key British military figures of the Mediterranean war provides an accessible and interesting entry into the subject.
  368. Find this resource:
  369. Reuth, Ralf Georg. Rommel: The End of a Legend. London: Haus, 2008.
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  371. Reuth provides an important revisionist view of Rommel that provides a critical view not only of Rommel as a commander but also the way in which he was used as a propaganda icon by the Nazi state.
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  373. The Italian Campaign, 1943–1945
  374.  
  375. While the United States viewed the Italian campaign as a distraction from main effort, the British actively promoted the campaign as a means of stretching and eroding German strength. The American perspective on this campaign is well covered in Atkinson 2007 and Hoyt 2002, while Bidwell and Graham 1986 provides a more operational perspective. Meanwhile, the German forces, under the command of Field Marshal Kesselring, adopted a strategy of delay and fought for almost every yard of ground. As Gooderson 2008 highlights, the Allies’ strategic disagreement meant that their forces in Italy were always limited and had to fight against a determined opponent in some of the worst terrain and weather of the entire European theatre. In fact, the opening action of the campaign took place on Sicily, an often overlooked battle that is well detailed in D’Este 1988. The memory of the Italian campaign remains dominated by the bloody battles for Monte Cassino that absorbed the efforts of the Allies for the first six months of 1944; these are discussed in detail in Ellis 1984. D’Este 1991 deals with the desperate fighting at Anzio, which began as an amphibious operation to break the deadlock at Cassino. Holland 2008 covers the bitter fighting of the last year of the war but also discusses the plight of the Italian people, which is thrown into sharp focus in Lamb 1993. Muhm 1993 gives an Italian perspective on the fighting. In some senses at least, the arguments over the utility of the Italian campaign have never been satisfactorily settled.
  376.  
  377. Atkinson, Rick. The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy 1943–1944. New York: Henry Holt, 2007.
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  379. An elegant and penetrating narrative of the entire Italian campaign. Probably the best modern book to start developing an understanding of the campaign.
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  381. Bidwell, Shelford, and Dominick Graham. Tug of War: The Battle for Italy 1943–45. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1986.
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  383. Bidwell and Graham’s book does not provide a standard narrative but contains much well considered analysis and thus remains essential for a fuller understanding of the Italian campaign.
  384. Find this resource:
  385. D’Este, Carlo. Bitter Victory: The Battle for Sicily, 1943. New York: Dutton, 1988.
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  387. D’Este’s account of the invasion of Sicily remains the best single work on this controversial campaign. The book outlines with real clarity the course of the fighting but also explains how the rivalries between Allied generals—most notably Montgomery and Patton—pulled the Allied plan out of shape.
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  389. D’Este, Carlo. Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome. New York: HarperCollins, 1991.
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  391. The landings at Anzio were meant to break the deadlock at Monte Cassino. Instead, the Germans were able to seal off the beachhead for a number of months. D’Este handles the controversy surrounding the planning and desperate nature of the fighting at Anzio with real skill.
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  393. Ellis, John. Cassino: The Hollow Victory: The Battle for Rome, January–June 1944. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984.
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  395. Ellis’s account of the three battles of Monte Cassino remains the best overall account. His narrative of the fighting gives a very real insight into the grim nature of the battle for the ancient Italian monastery.
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  397. Gooderson, Ian. A Hard Way to Make a War: The Allied Campaign in Italy in the Second World War. London: Conway, 2008.
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  399. Gooderson’s focus is on the higher operational level of the campaign and, as such, provides a sound overall account of the campaign.
  400. Find this resource:
  401. Holland, James. Italy’s Sorrow: A Year of War, 1944–1945. London: HarperCollins, 2008.
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  403. Holland manages to weave an intelligent and comprehensive account of the military maneuvers with moving personal testimony drawn from both sides of the conflict into a convincing and dramatic picture of the last year of war in Italy.
  404. Find this resource:
  405. Hoyt, Edwin P. Backwater War: The Allied Campaign in Italy, 1943–1945. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002.
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  407. This is a useful and sound general account that considers the events and controversies of the campaign from a balanced American perspective.
  408. Find this resource:
  409. Lamb, Richard. War in Italy, 1943–1945: A Brutal Story. New York: St. Martin’s, 1993.
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  411. Lamb’s book is not concerned with the progress of the Allied campaign but rather looks at the reality of German occupation for the Italian people as well. He also explores the confused Italian political situation and the resultant virtual civil war that developed between competing ideological factions.
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  413. Muhm, Gerhard. La tattica tedesca nella campagna d‘Italia, in Linea gotica avamposto dei Balcani, a cura di Amedeo Montemaggi. Rome: Edizioni Civitas, 1993.
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  415. A useful Italian account of the later stages of the Italian campaign, from the fighting for the Gothic Line in September 1944 until the end of the war.
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  417. Intelligence and Deception
  418.  
  419. The hidden war of intelligence and code-breaking played a vital part in many theatres of the Second World War but rarely with as profound effects as in the Mediterranean theatre. Both sides achieved a number of intelligence successes, which had direct effects on the campaign on land and at sea. The intelligence war was considered so vital and secret that it took many years for the facts concerning its true importance to emerge. Hinsley and Simkins 1979–1990 provides the official British view of the importance of Enigma intelligence and others sources to the conduct of the war. However, some of the claims made for intelligence also have to be tempered against the reality of the fighting and the constant difficulty of making timely use of fragmentary intelligence, a fact emphasized by Bennett 1989. Behrendt 1985 provides an important Axis view, particularly of Rommel’s intelligence service. Deception and camouflage were also an integral part of the fighting in the desert, as discussed in Brown 1976 and Holt 2004, which reached particular heights with Operation Bertram, prior to the final British offensive at El Alamein.
  420.  
  421. Behrendt, Hans Otto. Rommel’s Intelligence in the Desert Campaign. London: William Kimber, 1985.
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  423. Behrendt’s semiautobiography provides real insight into the workings and methods of Rommel’s intelligence and emphasizes the importance of the remarkable Axis intelligence successes of the period.
  424. Find this resource:
  425. Bennett, Ralph. Ultra and Mediterranean Strategy 1941–1945. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1989.
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  427. The decryption of German radio traffic by the code-breakers at Bletchley Park, codenamed Ultra, gave Britain a vital advantage during the Second World War. Bennett analyzes the importance of, and sometimes the difficulty in, utilizing Ultra intelligence throughout the Mediterranean campaign.
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  429. Brown, Anthony Cave. Bodyguard of Lies. New York: Bantam, 1976.
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  431. An important book that outlines the importance of deception and camouflage during the campaign. While photographic reconnaissance was widely used by both sides, it could through skill and preparation be foiled and intelligence officers misled as to the timing and location of offensives.
  432. Find this resource:
  433. Hinsley, F. H., and C. A. G. Simkins. British Intelligence in the Second World War: Its Influence on Strategy and Operations. 4 vols. London: H.M.S.O, 1979–1990.
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  435. Hinsley’s four volumes opened the official window onto the Ultra secret, but the importance of these volumes lies in the fact that they discuss all forms of intelligence and intelligence gathering, from electronic to human sources.
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  437. Holt, Thaddeus. The Deceivers: Allied Military Deception in the Second World War. London: Weidenfield & Nicolson, 2004.
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  439. This covers the whole period of the war but covers many of the operations in the Mediterranean such as the famous “man who never was,” which helped to deceive German intelligence before the Sicily landings.
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  441. Literature
  442.  
  443. Although the war in the Mediterranean has produced only a limited number of important works of literature, these do span from a superb autobiography (Douglas 1946) to Manning 1981 and a very personal chef d’oeuvre (Manning 1987). Waugh 1952–1961 can be seen as a semiautobiographical novel, while Joly 1955 is much closer to a memoir. While Montserrat 1973 places the people of Malta in center stage, Durrell 1957–1960 evokes wartime Alexandria. All of these works provide convincing and intimate portraits of the experience of the Mediterranean war. While poetry from the Second World War is much less well known than that of the First, the collections produced by Eighth Army Staff 1944 and Selwyn, et al. 1983 prove that, in addition to Douglas, soldiers in the desert did find a powerful poetic voice to describe their experiences.
  444.  
  445. Douglas, Keith. Alamein to Zem Zem. London: Editions Poetry, 1946.
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  447. Douglas was the greatest British soldier-poet of the war who was killed in Normandy. This memoir is a vivid and authentic account of his experiences during the desert war. It remains one of the greatest personal accounts of war.
  448. Find this resource:
  449. Durrell, Lawrence. The Alexandria Quartet. London: Faber & Faber, 1957–1960.
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  451. The first three books of Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet, Justine (1957), Balthazar (1958), and Mountolive (1958), provide differing perspectives on the same events that occur in the Egyptian city of Alexandria before, during, and after the war. The fourth book, Clea (1960), is set six years later on the island of Corfu. As such, Durrell’s work provides the most detailed, convincing, and sympathetic portrait of the cosmopolitan city of Alexandria, which almost becomes a character in itself.
  452. Find this resource:
  453. Eighth Army Staff. Poems from the Desert. London: George Harrap, 1944.
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  455. This collection of twenty-seven poems was selected by competition from the Christmas 1942 edition of the Eighth Army’s newspaper, The Crusader. While few have any great literary merit, they do provide a sense of immediacy and experience.
  456. Find this resource:
  457. Joly, Cyril. Take These Men. London: Constable, 1955.
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  459. This is a lightly fictionalized account of the author’s experience as a tank commander. Although relatively little known, this is one of the best accounts of what it was like to fight in the desert war.
  460. Find this resource:
  461. Manning, Olivia. Fortunes of War: The Balkan trilogy. Middlesex, UK: Penguin, 1981.
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  463. Olivia Manning’s Fortunes of War series is divided into The Balkan Trilogy and The Levant Trilogy (see Manning 1987). The Balkan trilogy, composed of The Great Fortune, (1960), The Spoilt City (1962), and Friends and Heroes (1965), introduces Guy and Harriet Pringle as a young couple, recently married, and their heady experiences in the Balkans in the early stages of the war.
  464. Find this resource:
  465. Manning, Olivia. Fortunes of War: The Levant Trilogy. London: Penguin, 1987.
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  467. The second trilogy of the Fortunes of War series, composed of The Danger Tree (1977), The Battle Lost and Won (1978), and The Sum of Things (1980), follows the disintegration of their relationship in the ebb and flow of the desert war. Although the books have received criticism for their unconvincing portrayal of the fighting in the desert, they provide an intimate portrait of the effects of war on two main characters.
  468. Find this resource:
  469. Montserrat, Nicholas. The Kappillan of Malta. London: Cassell, 1973.
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  471. Montserrat’s novel provides a moving and graphic portrayal of ordinary people as they endure the second great siege of Malta.
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  473. Selwyn, Victor, Dan Davin, Erik de Mauny, and Ian Fletcher. From Oasis into Italy: War Poems and Diaries from Africa and Italy 1940–1946. London: Shepheard-Walwyn, 1983.
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  475. A postwar collection of Eighth Army poetry that continues the thread of Poems from the Desert into the Italian campaign and beyond.
  476. Find this resource:
  477. Waugh, Evelyn. The Sword of Honour Trilogy. London: Chapman & Hall, 1952–1961.
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  479. Although written at different periods of his life, these three books, Men at Arms (1952), Officers and Gentlemen (1955), and Unconditional Surrender (1961), are now recognized as The Sword of Honour Trilogy. Taken together, they form a fascinating semiautobiographical account of Waugh’s wartime experience in the Royal Marine Commandos during the Mediterranean campaign
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