![]() ![]() Richard Nugent O’Connor, consisted of only 30,000 men, against an opposing force of 80,000, but it had 275 tanks against 120 Italian tanks. #FRONT MISSION 2 SURRENDER CONDITIONS SERIES#Instead of remaining passive, Wavell used part of his one incomplete armoured division as an offensive covering force, keeping up a continual series of raids over the frontier to harass the Italian posts. The foremost British position was at Mersa Matruh ( Marsā Maṭrūḥ), roughly 120 miles (190 km) inside the frontier and about 200 miles (320 km) west of the Nile River delta. The Western Desert, inside the Egyptian frontier, separated the two sides on that front. On the North African front a still larger force in Cyrenaica under Marshal Rodolfo Graziani faced the 36,000 British, New Zealand, and Indian troops guarding Egypt. ![]() On the southerly fronts, the Italian forces in Eritrea and Ethiopia mustered more than 200,000 men. Barely 50,000 British troops faced a total of 500,000 Italian and Italian colonial troops. Archibald Wavell, who had been appointed to the newly created post of commander in chief for the Middle East in July 1939, when the first steps were taken to strengthen the forces guarding the Suez Canal. When Benito Mussolini took Italy into the war, the Italian forces in North and East Africa were overwhelmingly superior in numbers to the scanty British forces opposing them. Egypt and Cyrenaica (June 1940–June 1941)Īrchibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell Although the issue in France had already been virtually settled, Italy’s entry into the war meant chiefly that the threat of naval conflict in the Mediterranean had now-not unexpectedly-become a reality. It was not until June 10, 1940-just four days before the Germans entered Paris-that Italy declared war on Britain and France. On October 25, 1936, the Rome-Berlin Axis was proclaimed, but Italy, its strength depleted by the Ethiopian campaign and by its support for Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War, was in no condition to support Germany during the first nine months of World War II. ![]() In fact, just the opposite happened: fascist Italy turned its back to the democratic West and took to the road of alliance with Nazi Germany. The Hoare-Laval Pact was crafted in the hopes of preserving the Stresa Front, an April 1935 alliance that had pledged Britain, France, and Italy to jointly oppose German rearmament and expansion. Track the League of Nations' continual failure to check via diplomacy the Axis powers' pre-World War II rise See all videos for this articleĪfter the invasion of Ethiopia by Italian troops in October 1935, the British and French proposed a secret agreement that would have ceded the bulk of Ethiopian territory to Italy in exchange for a truce. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians. #FRONT MISSION 2 SURRENDER CONDITIONS HOW TO#COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |