MALTA
January 14 - On this day alone, Malta receives 14 air raid alerts in 19 hours. A total of 262 air raids
are sounded in Malta this month.
LIBYA
January 21 - From his base in El Agheila, Rommels Axis forces take Agedabia and Beda Fomm.
| January 23 - Italian intelligence begin giving Rommel daily British Order of Battle. Italians give the
Marcks Group more power by presenting the self propelled Semovente 75/18.
January 29 - Rommel's Axis forces enter Benghazi and acquire 1,300 trucks.
February 6 - The British are pushed back to Gazala. The British Commonwealth forces lose 40 tanks,
40 field guns and 1,400 troops. This was a disaster for the Allies in more ways than one. Now
the Allied convoys to Malta must pass between Axis occupied Crete and Axis airfields in Benghazi.
|
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel |
MALTA
February 7 - Malta had 17 air raid alerts in a span of 24 hours. By February 25, a span of 80 days had
accumulated in which the island has been on continuous alerts. A total of 236 air raids were sounded in Malta
this month. Force K, the British naval unit assigned to Malta, had been reduced to the Penelope and
3 destroyers. With this limited protection, Italian convoys were able to supply Rommels Axis forces in Africa.
On occasion, these convoys were escorted by the Italian battle fleet, but usually by Italian heavy cruisers.
February 13 - Italian torpedo boat Circe sinks British submarine HMS Tempest off Taranto.
February 15 - Ugo Cavallero and most Italian military personnel become worried that Rommel may compromise
the planned invasion of Malta. Rommel flies home to Germany to convince Hitler to overrule restraining orders set
on him by Ugo Cavallero and Kesselring.
February 25 - British submarine P38 is sunk off the coast of Tunisia by Italian destroyers.
SECOND BATTLE OF SIRTE
March 22 - Admiral Iachino sets sail in his flagship, the Vittorio Veneto, along with 2 heavy cruisers,
the Gorizia and Trento, light cruiser Bande Nere and four destroyers to intercept a convoy.
The convoy were protected by 3 fast frigates, along with the Clan Campbell, the Pampas the Norwegian
Talabot, the Breconshire , the Carlisle and 6 destroyers were then joined by the Penelope
and the destroyer Legion.
At 9:30 A.M., Italian torpedo bombers began the attack on the convoy and it's escorts, causing no damage. The
Luftwaffe then appeared and again no damage to the convoy. At 1:30 P.M., most of the Italian and Allied ships made
sight of each other. The Allied fleet immediately began making smoke to prevent accurate range finding by the Italian
vessels. The Italian heavy cruisers opened fire and began to turn away once the Carlisle and a destroyer began
to fire back. The British assumed they were retreating. It was, however, a trick to attempt to get the Allied ships
within range of the still unseen Battleship Littorio's 15" guns. The Allies did not fall for it.
At 4:30 P.M., the opposing fleets again made sight of each other. The Euryalus and the Cleopatra were
both peppered by Italian shells. The winds began to increase to gail force strength and coupled with the smoke screen,
it became difficult for the Italian ships to get into position to fire. Once the Vittorio Veneto found a
clearing, it badly damaged two Allied destroyers (one had reduced speed, the other temporary crippled in the water).
With the worsening of conditions, and slight damage to the Vittorio Veneto, Admiral Iachino disengaged the
attack.
The Lanciere and Scirocco sink from the gail off Sicily.
MARETH
March - Italian forces inflict heavy loses on British 56th division.
MALTA
There were 275 air raids in Malta for the month of March. Ninety of them at night.
MEDITERRANEAN
April - 283 air raids occurred in Malta this month and the island absorbed 6,728 tons of bombs. Thanks to
limestone houses and the ability of the British to defend Malta, the Maltese continued to handle the attacks well.
April 1 - Italian cruiser Giovanni Delle Bande Nere is sunk near Stromboli by British submarine
HMS Urge.
April 14 - The most respected British submarine HMS Upholder is sunk by Italian Torpedo Boat
Pegaso off the coast of Tripoli, Libya.
April 28 - British submarine HMS Urge is sunk by Italian Torpedo Boat Pegaso off the coast
of Libya
ENFIDAVILLE
April 29 - Italian forces inflict considerable losses on the British 56th Division as soon as it reached the
battlefield.
Regia Aeronautica OOB in North Africa
LIBYA
May 5 - The Italian Comando Supremo ( head of all Axis forces in Africa), orders Rommel to stop his advance
in Egypt in order to concentrate all Italo-German forces on Operation Hercules. After heavy arguments between
Italian and German command officials, Comando Supremo reluctantly postpones
Operation Hercules.
May 26 - Trieste makes its way through British minefields and the Ariete destroy the III Indian Motor
Brigade and hold the IV Armoured Brigade because the German 90th Light proved to weak to both attack and guard
the Axis flank.
BATTLE OF GAZALA
26 May to 21 June - One of the high points of Rommel's African military tactics in which Auchinleck
and Ritchie could not take advantage of the situation and as a result, the British 8th army was beat back.
| May 27 - Italian troops attack Bir Hacheim. Rommels Axis forces reach 10 miles behind the
Gazala line. Italian engineers open a supply line in the west to Rommels forces.
May 28 - DAK runs out of fuel. The Ariete and Trieste divisions overrun British positions to assist the
DAK. On the 28th and 29th of May, the Italian X Corps open up supply lines through the British minefields. |
Bersaglieri Motorcyclists in Egypt |
May 29 - Italian destroyer Emanuelle Pessagno is sunk off the coast of Libya by British submarine HMS
Turbulent.
LIBYA
May 31 - Italian guns inflict heavy losses on the British near Sidra Ridge. The Ariete pound the II and XXII
Armoured Brigade. Bastico reports "The Italian XX Corps fought well, the DAK, not so well. The 90th Light was in retreat."
June 1 - Rommels Axis forces break through the Gazala line, destroying 100 British tanks and taking 3,000
British POW's.
June 5 - 6 - British Commonwealth forces mount a major counteroffensive code named "Aberdeen". The Italian X
Corps holds them up in the North and the Trieste and 90th Light contain the French at Bir Hacheim. The Ariete joins
the 15th and 21st Panzer to battle the 42nd and 7th Royal Tank Regiments, including the II, IV and XXII Armoured, IX
and X Indian and the CCI Guards brigades. The Ariete and Italian artillery repulse the British at Sidra and Aslagh
ridges. Italian forces account for 60 to 168 cruiser and 60 'I" tanks lost by the Commonwealth forces between
June 5 and 6.
June 7 - Italian forces rescue the German XV Brigade near Gazala.
MEDITERRANEAN
June 8 - Italian submarine smg. Alagi sinks the Italian destroyer Antonio Usodemare by tragic
mistake.
LIBYA
June 9- Axis forces in Africa are low on ammunition and over 50% of their artillery and armor are destroyed.
Italian forces strip the Littorio diivision to make the Ariete battle-ready.
June 11 - Bir Hacheim falls to an attack by the Trieste and the 12th Ariete pepper the XXII Armoured and CCI
Guard brigades. After a decisive victory, the Ariete attack the IV Armoured Brigade with the 21st Panzer.
June - The british launch operation harpoon to supply Malta from Gibraltar under the command of Vice-Admiral A.T.B.
Curteis in the flag ship Kenya.
The British force consisted of 2 aircraft carriers, 3 cruisers, eight destroyers, 5 freighters,1 minelayer (Welshman) and 1 tanker.
June 14 - The Regia Marina sends the Italian 7th cruiser division (cruisers, submarines and torpedo bombers) under Admiral da Zara in the flagship Eugenio di Savoia
from Palermo, Sicily to intercept. In the following battle the Regia Marina's direct attack sank the British destroyer Bedouin and
forced an altered and delaying route on the British, allowing the Axis air forces to reduce the convoy from 6 to 2 transports.
Only 2 merchant ships, the Orari and Troilus, along with the Welshman, were able to make it
to Malta.
June 15 - Italian cruiser Trento is sunk off Malta by British Submarine HMS Umbra.
Mid June - Operation Vigorous, which included 11 merchant ships, seven cruisers and 28 destroyers was
the largest convoy to set sail for Malta. The convoy had to turn back around and return home to Alexandria, Egypt once
it was noted that the Italian Battleships Littorio and Vittorio Veneto, along with 2 heavy cruisers,
2 light cruisers and 12 destroyers were dispatched to intercept them.
Total Allied damage included 8 merchant ships sunk, 3 damaged, 5 cruisers damaged, 4 destroyers sunk, 1 destroyer
damaged, 2 corvettes damaged and one torpedo boat sunk. Only 1 Italian heavy cruiser was lost, scuttled by the
Italians due to severe damage.
These two operations were major Italian naval victories, but the downfall was that the oil shortages became so great
for the Italian military machine, that such large Italian naval operations were rarely seen again.
LIBYA
June 20 - The Africa Corp and Italian XX Corp begin pounding Tobruk, eventually resorting to hand to
hand combat with the British who are under the command of Klopper. Italian Caproni's, German Junkers 88's and Stukas
bomb Tobruk to mercy. See Battle Map..
June 21 - Klopper surrenders Tobruk to the Afrika Korps. The spoils include 33,000 POW's, roughly 2,000 vehicles,
30 tanks, 400 guns and much needed fuel. Italian destroyer Strale runs aground off Tunisia and is scuttled. Rommel
pursuades Hitler to approve and advance to Egypt. Cavallero, Kesselring and Mussolini do not agree with his actions.
| June - Benito Mussolini receives word that Rommel's Axis forces are on the verge of capturing
Alexandria and Cairo in Egypt, however, the Ariete are reduced to 10 tanks, 24 guns and 1,500 infantry. The Littorio
has 30 tanks, 11 guns and 1,000 Bersaglieri, the X Corps (Brescia and Pavia) only 2,000 men and 90 guns, the XXI
Corps (Trento and Sabratha) only 3,000 men and 100 guns. DAK added another 90 tanks, a few infantry and a handful of
guns.
June 28 - 29 - Afrika Korps captures Marsa Matruh. Axis supply lines in Africa are stretched 400 miles beyond
Sollum and 800 miles from Benghazi.
June 29 - Mussolini flies to Tripoli to observe the conquest of Egypt. Rommels forces become deadlocked
with the Allies in El Alamein, Egypt.
|
Mussolini lands in Tobruk in preparation for Egyptian surrender |
SOVIET UNION
July - The Italian army in the Soviet Union is upgraded to a 200,000 man army under
General Giovanni Messe.
AFRIKA KORPS
July 3 - The Ariete are mauled by the I and VII Armoured Brigades and the New Zealand Division (2 days after
the 90th Light panicked and withdrew.)
MALTA
July 10 - Planned date of Operation Hercules, the invasion of Malta.
LIBYA
July 11 - The British overrun the 382nd German regiment as well as part of the Trieste and Sabratha.
Middle of July - The Folgore Parachute Division under the name of 185th "Cacciatori d'Africa" (Hunters of Africa
) are sent to the North African front occupying the extreme southern end of the Italo-German deployment, an area
between Deir el Munassib and Qaret el Himeimat heights.
| July 19 - Mussolini writes to Cavallero understanding the exhaustion of Axis forces in Africa and that
they were too weak to overrun the British at El Alamein earlier in the month. Mussolini orders that a future attack
should be prepared by assembling all Axis artillery in Africa and made available to Rommel, with as many "Semoventi"
to adjust for the obsolete M14's. The Bologna, Giovani Fascisti, Folgore, Pistoia and Brennero divisions shall be sent
to the front. The ports of Tobruk, Sollum and Marsa Matruh |
General Gariboldi conversing with Rommel |
as well as the Sidi Rezegh-Marsa Matruh railroad to
suppliment Axis trucking. Mussolini also ordered the Headquarters to be placed closer to the front to boost morale.
July 21 - Mussolini flies back to Italy, never to witness the conquest of Egypt. His health failing, many begin
to fear of the collapse of the Fascist state in Italy.
Italian forces advance to Siwa. Rommel noted that "If the Italians needed the German before, by mid July, the German
formations [were] much too weak to stand alone." Rommel considers a retreat, only to be pressed on by Cavallero and
Bastico, who are enjoying the latest in Italian successes.
July 22 - Trento, Brescia and Ariete capture 1,400 British POW's and destroy 146 tanks in a unsuccessful
British strike.
July 27 - The Axis supply crisis ends and the Trento artillery destroy 27 tanks, 30 vehicles and capture
1,000 POW's during an Axis counterattack after the 9th Australian and I Armoured Brigades overran the Trento 61st
Battalion and the German 361st Regiment. The British are now just as exhausted and the Italian XX Corps maul the
New Zealanders, thanks mostly to Italian artillery and mines which destroy 86 of the XXII Armoured Brigade's 97
Valentines and 120 New Zealand anti-tank guns.
End of July - The British try to break through the Folgore Parachute Division at Deir el Munassib, but
Folgore's strong defense repell the attack and cause the British substantial losses in men and vehicles.
RUSSIA
August - Russians near Serafimovich launch a counterattack against the Italians holding the Don River in the
hope of holding back the advances to Stalingrad. The Italians were outnumbered yet told to stand their ground and
fight to the end. They eventually beat back the Russian tanks with Molotov cocktails. The battle in Serafimovich
cost the Italians 1,700 men, but capture 1,600 Russian POW's and many small arms.
MEDITERRANEAN
August 6 - Italian Torpedo Boat Pegaso sinks British submarine HMS Thorn off Tobruk, Libya.
(Note: Pegaso sinks 3 British submarines in 4 months.)
August 2 - The most important convoy to set sail to Malta, Operation Pedestal
is underway. A 14 ship convoy that is desperately needed to keep Malta alive.
August 13 - Operation Pedestal concludes with the arrival of 4 merchant ships in Malta. Malta is saved.
EGYPT
August 13 - General Bernard Law Montgomery assumes command of the British Commonwealth forces Eighth Army.
MEDITERRANEAN
August 22 - Italian torpedo boat Antonio Cantore sinks after hitting a mine.
SOVIET UNION
| August 24 - With the victory in Serafimovich, the Italian Savoia Cavalry made up of 600 men
mounted a counter attack on the Isbuschenski steppe. The Russian's comprised of 2,000 men with mortar and artillery
support. One squadron attacked head on, while the other came behind the enemy lines on horseback and possessing only
sabers. They completely catch the Soviets by surprise and overrun the Russian position. |
Italian calvary gearing for an attack in Soviet Union |
This was one of the last calvary attacks of
World War II and resulted in the destruction of 2 Soviet battalions, another battalion forced to withdraw and the
netting of 500 POW's, 4 large artillery pieces, 10 Mortars, and 50 machine guns.
EGYPT
August 30 - Rommel loses 49 tanks in Alam el Halfa Ridge to the British.
A large Italian supply effort delivers Rommel 67 infantry battalions (39 being Italian), 536 guns (336 Italian),
515 tanks (281 Italian), 119 armored cars (72 Italian) and 777 aircraft (427 Italian). Since the 26th of May, Italian
casualties amount to 9,568 and German casualties are 12, 430.
September 3 - Rommel recieves another 2,450 casualties, lost 50 guns and 400 AFV's. 10,000 tons of fuel has
also been used up. Cavallero sees disaster around the corner. Rommel uses up all his fuel and reinforcements and adopts
Marshall Graziani's "Capisaldi" (strong points) used in 1940 for the very same reasons; too weak to attack, no
resources for a mobile defense and an order not to retreat. A final stand is set for El Alamein.
MEDITERRANEAN
September 4 - Italian torpedo boat Polluce is sunk off Tobruk by British bombers.
ITALY
October 11 - Heinrich Himmler flies to Rome to visit Mussolini. The German government is very worried about
the health of Mussolini. Himmler's visit was to assess Mussolini's health and the state of Fascism in Italy.
Himmler later reports back to Hitler that if Mussolini remains alive, then so will the Fascist state.
MEDITERRANEAN
October 19 - Italian destroyer Giovanni Da Verazzano is sunk off Tripoli by British submarine HMS
Unbending.
EGYPT (EL ALAMEIN )
October 23 - British 8th Army under command of General Montgomery attacks El Alamein. The 12 Italian and German
divisions amounted to 80,000 men (53,000 of which were Italian). The Commonwealth forces amounted to 230,000 men divided
among 10 divisions. The following table shows the superiority of the Allies in numbers. As far as the tanks are
concerned, only the German Panzer IV (35 total) were equal to the Commonwealth's American Sherman (252 total )and Grant
(170 total) tanks.
