NORTH AFRICA Initially neutral, Italy joined the war on the side of Germany in June 1940 but in the final month of that year suffered a spectacular reverse in Libya at the hands of the British. From the German viewpoint, her ally was strategically vital inasmuch as the Italian Fleet and Air Force could, in theory, deny the British passage through the Mediterranean. If the Italians were unceremoniously bundled out of North Africa, this would no longer be the case. In this event, there could be no guarantee that Italy would not make a separate peace, or, even worse, change sides (as, indeed, was to happen later). The Germans’ presence in North Africa was at first little more than a move to keep their southern partner in the war. From there the logical next step was to conquer Egypt, thus sealing the Mediterranean at its eastern end while opening the way to the Middle East oilfields. But as Axis ambitions increased, so did their logistics problems. This inevitably highlighted Malta.
