✦ History

Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II

June 10, 1940 – May 2, 1945

Result Allied victory

Axis and Allied forces fought land, sea and air campaigns for the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and southern Europe. The Allies prevailed, knocking Italy out of the war and clearing the Axis from Africa.

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Battles 12

April 1939 – May 1945
Adriatic campaign of World War II Allied victory Adriatic Sea Enver Hoxha, Alexandros Papagos, Archibald Wavell
June 10, 1940 – May 16, 1943
North African campaign Allied victory Kingdom of Egypt Dwight D. Eisenhower, Archibald Wavell, Bernard Montgomery
June 10, 1940 – May 2, 1945
Battle of the Mediterranean Allied victory Mediterranean Sea Albert Kesselring, Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, Alberto da Zara
June 11, 1940 – November 20, 1942
Siege of Malta (World War II) Allied victory Crown Colony of Malta Albert Kesselring, Keith Park, Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope
October 19, 1940
Bombing of Bahrain in World War II Italian victory Hamad I of Bahrain, Ibn Saud
May 2–31, 1941
Anglo-Iraqi War Allied victory Kingdom of Iraq William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim, Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, Archibald Wavell
June 8 – July 14, 1941
Syria–Lebanon campaign Allied victory Syria William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim, Alfred Naqqache, Khalid al-Azm
August 25 – September 17, 1941
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran Anglo-Soviet victory Pahlavi dynasty Joseph Stalin, William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim, Reza Shah
December 19, 1941
Raid on Alexandria (1941) Italian victory Alexandria
June 15–29, 1943
Operation Mammoth Operation failure Iraqi Kurdistan
July 9, 1943 – May 2, 1945
Italian campaign Allied victory Dwight D. Eisenhower, Benito Mussolini, Albert Kesselring
September 8 – November 22, 1943
Dodecanese campaign German victory Dodecanese

Key commanders

Allies 17

Dwight D. Eisenhower military commander Harold Alexander military commander Mark W. Clark military commander Henry Maitland Wilson, 1st Baron Wilson military commander Keith Park military commander Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope military commander Franklin D. Roosevelt belligerent leader Joseph Stalin military commander Harry S. Truman military commander Winston Churchill belligerent leader Charles de Gaulle military commander Dušan Simović military commander Enver Hoxha belligerent leader Alexandros Papagos military commander Archibald Wavell military commander Josip Broz Tito military commander Claude Auchinleck military commander

Axis 11

Benito Mussolini belligerent leader Albert Kesselring military commander Rodolfo Graziani military commander Vittorio Ambrosio military commander Heinrich von Vietinghoff military commander Adolf Hitler belligerent leader Bogdan Filov belligerent leader Ion Antonescu military commander Philippe Pétain military commander Miklós Horthy military commander Alexander Löhr military commander

Soviet Union 3

Joseph Stalin military commander William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim military commander Dmitry Timofeyevich Kozlov military commander

Pahlavi Iran 1

Reza Shah military commander

United Kingdom 9

William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim military commander Archibald Wavell military commander Claude Auchinleck belligerent leader Paul Legentilhomme military commander Henry Maitland Wilson, 1st Baron Wilson military commander Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope military commander Henry Kent Hewitt military commander Edward Neville Syfret military commander James Somerville military commander

Iraq 4

Rashid Ali al-Gaylani belligerent leader Fawzi al-Qawuqji military commander Mohammed Amin al-Husseini military commander Werner Junck military commander

Allies of World War II 7

Dwight D. Eisenhower military commander Archibald Wavell military commander Bernard Montgomery military commander Harold Alexander military commander Claude Auchinleck military commander Alan Cunningham military commander Neil Ritchie military commander

Axis powers 12

Erwin Rommel military commander Albert Kesselring military commander Rodolfo Graziani military commander Hans-Jürgen von Arnim military commander Giovanni Messe military commander Georg Stumme military commander François Darlan military commander Italo Balbo military commander Ugo Cavallero military commander Vittorio Ambrosio military commander Italo Gariboldi military commander Ettore Bastico military commander

Vichy France 4

Alfred Naqqache belligerent leader Khalid al-Azm belligerent leader Henri Dentz military commander Werner Junck military commander

Kingdom of Italy 2

Albert Kesselring military commander Alberto da Zara military commander

United Kingdom and allies 2

Hamad I of Bahrain military commander Ibn Saud military commander