(7/12)Battlefield I The Battle of North Africa Episode 5 (GDH)

SUBSCRIBE TO EXCELLENT WORLD WAR II VIDEOS UPDATED WEEKLY When Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared war on the Allies on June 10, 1940, he already had more than a million men in the Italian army based in Libya. In neighboring Egypt, the British Army had only 36000 men guarding the Suez Canal and the Arabian oil fields. Italian forces became a potential threat to Allied supply routes in the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. The early part of the North African Campaign was plagued by a lack of supplies on both sides. Sweeping battles took place that culminated with one side or the other's supply lines growing too long while the other's grew shorter. Major engagements of the campaign include the Battle of Gazala, First Battle of El Alamein, and the Second Battle of El Alamein. Most of the battles took place far to the east of the Italian bases and supply depots in Libya. By 1942, the Royal Navy had beaten the Italian fleet out of the Mediterranean, and allowed their own transports free movement. American forces landed in western North Africa in 1942. The Siege of Tobruk took place from April to August 1941. The Allied garrison, largely Australian, backed by British artillery and tanks, captured the fortress in the first Allied drive through Libya, and held it against great odds. The Western Desert Campaign, or Libya-Egypt Campaign, began on September 13, 1940, when Italian forces stationed in Libya launched a small invasion into British-held Egypt and set up defensive forts ...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1edNGocoIxY&hl=en