The Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of the Second World War covered the fighting around the Mediterranean Sea, in North Africa, southern Europe and the Middle East. It began when Italy entered the war in June 1940, and included the desert war in Libya and Egypt, the battles for Greece and Crete, the siege of Malta, the campaigns in East Africa, Syria and Iraq and the occupation of Iran. After the Allied victory at El Alamein and the landings in French North Africa, the Allies invaded Sicily and Italy in 1943. Control of the Suez Canal and the oil of the Middle East were major aims, and the theatre ended with the German surrender in Italy in 1945.
Before and after
- 20 May 1940Construction of Auschwitz
- 24 May 1940Birth of Joseph Brodsky
- from 26 May 1940 to 4 June 1940Dunkirk evacuation
- from 10 June 1940 to 16 May 1943North African campaign
- from 10 June 1940 to 2 May 1945Mediterranean and Middle East Theater of World War II
- 22 June 1940Armistice of 22 June 1940
- from 22 June 1940 to 4 October 1943German military administration in occupied France during World War II
- from 28 June 1940 to 3 July 1940Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina
- 28 June 1940Birth of Muhammad Yunus
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- 23 August 1939Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
The era
This moment belongs to the Modern era (1914 CE to 1945 CE), world wars and a changing world. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.