Transcript Mussolini`s New Roman Empire Marshal Rodolfo

•June 22 1940 France
signs armistice with
Germany and Italy
•Britain refuses peace with Germany
•July 16 1940 Hitler instructs
invasion of England:
Operation Sea Lion
•Objective: wipe out Royal Air Force, Britain’s first line of defense
•Luftwaffe commander in chief:
•Hermann Goring begins Battle of Britain
August 12
•13th Eagle Day was a big mistake of underestimation
•James Watson Watt radar gave good idea where
German attacks were headed and how strong they were
•RAF could keep planes on ground till needed
•Myth: reports on British planes
•Fact:
•Home advantage
•Radar warnings
•Ultra cryptographic system
• 2:1
•August 24 lost German bombers mistakenly
bomb London
•RAF bomb Berlin
•Shift to bombing British cities - RAF forgotten
•Winston Churchill:
•Responsible for RAF’s regrouping
(encouraged retaliation) during
German attacks on London
•Was very inspirational
•Overall unsuccessful battle
•Hitler cancels it
•August-October 1940
•Luftwaffe loses 1,733 aircraft
•RAF loses 915 fighters
•December 1940 Hitler starts Operation Barbarossa to
invade Soviet Union
•Had to reinforce Italian troops beforehand
•Britain (Churchill) forces overextension of German forces
Mediterranean Campaigns
•Italian poor leadership in Navy military-political
decisions made by Mussolini (ll Duce-the leader) and
Fascist followers affected military capabilities
•Naval leaders skeptical when Mussolini brought Italy
into war
•Navy lacked aircraft carriers
•The solution was the air force
•However the air force lacked training required for ship
recognition and over water ops
•Air force gave naval support low priority
•July 9 1940 Admiral Angelo Campioni, Italian
Commander in Chief attacked on board battleship
•Air force support gave to no avail
Battle of Cape Spada
•Mussolini’s New Roman Empire
•Marshal Rodolfo Graziani advancement on Egypt
•Invasion of Greece
•British send reinforcements
•No success in new Roman Empire
•Cunningham of British
Mediterranean Fleet Navy reduces
Italian fleet to 3 vessels
•Italian ships retreat to Naples
•Hitler needs Axis prestige restored and Mediterranean defenses
strong
•Bolsters up Italy by giving planes and Major Gerneral Erwin
Rommel to help North Africa campaign
•Luftwaffe mission: Protect Axis shipping to N. Africa, prevent
Brit convoys to pass through central Mediterranean, and
neutralize Malta by air attack
•German pilots very well trained
•British ship Illustrious damaged and two cruisers
•Battle of Cape Matapan
•British trying to reinforce Greece from Germans
•Cunningham chased by three Italian cruisers
•The strike back: Germany and air power arrive in Greece with
air power
•Greece surrenders, Royal Navy hurt
Italian U-boats and mines
The Desert War
•While British fighting for Greece against Italy and
Germany’s advances
•Border of Egypt attacked by General Rommel and
Afrika Korps
•Desert war in North Africa
•See saw affair:
•Whoever had supplies had upper hand
•Malta isle gave British air and sea support was an obstacle
for Axis
•British successes
•Ultra of Germany and Italy
•Conceal successes
•Give fake “discoveries”
•General Montgomery command of British Eighth army,
ground forces in Egypt
•Ultra enables entrapment and sinking of 3 refuel
tankers on the way to Rommel
•Attack called off September 2
U.S. Involvement
•Straining to remain neutral but
Roosevelt and Lend end up lease aid
•Atlantic Charter brought U.S.
and Britain goals and alliances
closer together