9781422279052

THE ALLIED POWERS FIGHT BACK

THE ALLIED POWERS FIGHT BACK

MASON CREST

Mason Crest 450 Parkway Drive, Suite D Broomall, PA 19008 www.masoncrest.com

© 2018 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holder. Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file with the Library of Congress.

Printed and bound in the United States of America. First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN: 978-1-4222-3895-0 Series ISBN: 978-1-4222-3893-6 ebook ISBN: 978-1-4222-7905-2 ebook series ISBN: 978-1-4222-7903-8 Produced by Regency House Publishing Limited The Manor House

PAGE 2: A resource always in short supply on a U-boat was fresh water, and things that went by the board were often washing and shaving on more than an occasional basis, as revealed by these U-boat men . PAGE 3 : The Vickers Wellington was by far the best of the British twin-engined medium bombers, and developed into a very capable maritime patrol warplane later on in its career. RIGHT : The most celebrated commander of the British 8th Army was General B.L. (soon Sir Bernard) Montgomery, who became a field- marshal later in the war and received a peerage after it.

High Street Buntingford Hertfordshire SG9 9AB United Kingdom www.regencyhousepublishing.com Text copyright © 2018 Regency House Publishing Limited/Christopher Chant.

PAGE 6 : London during the Blitz. The aftermath of a German bombing raid.

TITLES IN THE WORLD WAR II SERIES: The Start of World War II: The Flood of the German Tide The Allied Powers Fight Back Japanese Aggression in the Pacific The Defeat of the Nazis: The Allied Victory in Europe The End of World War II: The Japanese Surrender

National World War II Memorial 10 Chapter One The War in East Africa and the Middle East 12 Chapter Two Naval War in the Mediterranean 18 Chapter Three The Agony of Stalingrad 26 Chapter Four The British Victory at El Alamein And the Mediterranean War 38 Chapter Five The Axis Forces are Eliminated from North Africa 54 Chapter Six The War Against the U-Boat, January 1942 – May 1943 60 Chapter Seven The Bomber Offensive 1940 – 1942 66 Time Line of World War II 72 Series Glossary of Key Terms 74 Further Reading and Internet Resources 75 Index 76 Further Information 80 CONTENTS

KEY ICONS TO LOOK FOR:

Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text, while building vocabulary skills. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic sports moments, and much more! Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented here. Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains terminology used throughout the series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend high-level books and articles in this field.

OPPOSITE : German troops street fighting in Stalingard.

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National World War II Memorial

The National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., is dedicated to the 16 million people who served in the American armed forces during World War II. The memorial also honors the 400,000 who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Those who supported the war effort at home are honored too. The memorial symbolizes World War II as the defining event of the 20th century. The memorial is situated on a 7.4-acre (3-hectare) site. It was created by designer and architect Friedrich St. Florian who won a national open competition for its design. The construction of memorial took place between 2001 and 2004 and then opened to the public on April 29, 2004; its official dedication took place a month later, on May 29. It was commission by President Clinton in 1993 who authorized the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to establish a World War II memorial in the Washington, D.C. area. The memorial is an elliptical shaped plaza built around a splendid fountain and pool, with water jets in its center. Built in a semi-classical style, there are 56 granite columns forming a semi-circle around the perimeter. Each one is designed to symbolize the unity of the states, federal territories, and District of Columbia. The entry walkway is flanked by ornate balustrades decorated with 24 bronze bas-reliefs. At the mid point of the plaza there are two pavillions decorated with bronzes, featuring Baldachins, American Eagles, and World War II Victory Medals. The pavillions represent the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. At the western end of the memorial is a curved Freedom Wall bearing a field of 4,048 golden stars, each of which stands for 100 American military deaths in the war. Before it lies a granite curb inscribed “Here we mark the price of freedom.” Throughout the memorial are inscribed quotations from eminent military and political figures, including Gen. (later Pres.) Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, Col. Oveta Culp Hobby, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, Gen. George C. Marshall, and Gen. Douglas MacArthur. The National World War II Memorial is located at the east end of the Reflecting Pool on the Mall, opposite the Lincoln Memorial and west of the Washington Monument. The memorial is maintained by the U.S. National Park Service, and receives almost 5 million visitors each year. It is open 24 hours a day and is free to all visitors.

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Chapter One THE WAR IN EAST AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

I n addition to Libya, the Italian empire in Africa included Eritrea, Italian Somaliland, and Abyssinia (Ethiopia). In the last, under the command of the Italian viceroy, the Duke of Aosta, were 250,000 troops, of whom 90,000 were metropolitan Italians. But these forces had only 24 medium and 39 light tanks, and the Italian air force’s component in this theater was only 34 Fiat CR.42 biplane fighters, which were outclassed by the Royal Air Force’s Gloster Gladiator biplane and Hawker Hurricane monoplane fighters. The Italians were also short of artillery, ammunition, fuel, and basic foodstuffs. General Sir Archibald Wavell, the British commander in the Middle East, considered the Italian forces to be a threat to the British in Kenya to the south and in Sudan to the west, the Italians having taken Kassala, Gallabat and Kurmak in Sudan, and the Moyale salient in Kenya in July 1940. Wavell also

Words to Understand Armistice: A temporary suspension of hostilities in warfare. Mutiny: A rebellion against authority. Sortie: An armed attack or combat mission made by one aircraft.

believed the Italians could be defeated by an internal revolution of Abyssinian patriots, with the help of Allied forces, and that the deposed Emperor Haile Selassie might be restored to his throne. Major Orde Wingate, in Khartoum, in his capacity as commander of Haile Selassie’s forces and the emperor’s military adviser, had been entrusted with the task of organizing, as irregular forces,

the thousands of Abyssinian refugees in Kenya and Sudan. Meanwhile, the British and commonwealth forces in Kenya and Sudan were adopting an aggressive defensive posture, although the Indian 5th Division failed to retake Gallabat in Sudan during November 1940. Wavell organized the forces available to him into two commands, excluding those of Wingate. An expeditionary force comprising the Indian 4th and 5th Divisions was to attack from Sudan toward Eritrea under the command of Lieutenant-General William Platt, while

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The Allied Powers Fight Back

Lieutenant-General Alan Cunningham’s force in Kenya comprised the 11th and 12th African Divisions, plus the South African 1st Division. The Duke of Aosta appreciated that his forces faced a triple British and commonwealth attack, disposing his forces accordingly: Lieutenant-General Luigi Frusci defended Eritrea with three colonial divisions and three brigades; Lieutenant- General Guglielmo Nasi was to stop Wingate with four colonial brigades; and Major-General Carlo de Simone had the task of defending southern Abyssinia and Italian Somaliland with ten colonial brigades. In addition, each general had a variable number of irregular native forces, and two Italian formations, the Savoia and Africa Divisions, which were held in general reserve. On January 18 the Italians abandoned their forward positions at Kassala and Gallabat, and fell back to Agordat and Barentu in Eritrea, and to Chilga in Abyssinia. Platt committed his offensive from Sudan on January 19 1941. The German defeat at Sidi Barrani had demoralized the Italians, and the Indian forces were able to make some headway. The Italians retreated from the Sudanese-Abyssinian frontier, where they considered the ground too flat to resist a British mechanized attack. Platt advanced quickly, reaching the Italian positions on January 25. After five days of hard fighting, the Italians withdrew yet again, this time to the formidable Keren escarpment, where they re-formed OPPOSITE LEFT: Italian soldiers bid farewell to their families before embarking for the sea voyage to East Africa before Italy entered the war in June 1940 and, as it turned out, a wholly uncertain future. OPPOSITE RIGHT: Italian and native troops welcome a party of German volunteers in East Africa during 1940.

on February 1. Here, the Italians made a vigorous stand, and the 1st Battle of Keren was an Italian victory. Platt then mounted a full-scale offensive, backed by bomber and ground-attack aircraft in the 2nd Battle of Keren. Although the Italians employed their reserve divisions, Keren fell on March 27 and the British

were able to reach Asmara, in Eritrea, on April 1, before pushing on to Massawa on the southern coast of the Red Sea by April 8. Cunningham, meanwhile, launched Operation Canvas, which achieved its objective, the port of Kismayu in Italian Somaliland, on February 14. The next

ABOVE: Bersaglieri (fast-marching light infantry) of the Italian army in North Africa.

RIGHT: Italian and native troops in East Africa.

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The War in East Africa and the Middle East obstacle was the Juba river, and here Cunningham found a weak spot in de Simone’s defenses, pushing his forces across in two places as de Simone’s forces began to disintegrate. On February 22 Jelib was cleared and the southern door to Abyssinia was open. Cunningham’s forces drove on, reaching Mogadishu, the capital of Italian Somaliland, on February 25, and entering Addis Ababa on April 6 after a triumphant drive. Cunningham continued north to meet Platt, on his way down from Asmara. Wingate’s Gideon Force came east from Khartoum, making for Jebel Belaia, its supply train including 15,000 camels. Haile Selassie accompanied Wingate, and many local chiefs joined their emperor as they marched. The Italians thought the Gideon Force was larger than it was, and withdrew to Burye and Debra Markos on the road to Addis Ababa. The Gideon Force advanced to Burye, where a force of 7,000 under Colonel Natale fell to Wingate’s 450. Supported by the Royal Air Force, Wingate’s raids combined audacity, endurance, and deception. Now demoralized, the Italians withdrew, losing another 2,000 men in the process, to Debra Markos, where Nasi was in command. Wingate continued his well planned raids, and Abyssinian deserters joined the Gideon Force at the rate of over 100 per day. On April 1 the Italians

surrendered with 7,000 men on May 16. Longer resistance was put up by Nasi, who eventually surrendered in the Gondar area on November 27. Other British forces had crossed from Aden on March 16 to retake Berbera, the capital of British Somaliland, which had earlier been taken by the Italians. These forces cleared the Italians out of British Somaliland before linking with Cunningham’s forces. At the end of March 1941 the pro- British regent of Iraq was toppled by the Axis-supported prime minister, Rashid Ali, backed by an army mutiny . British- Iraqi relations deteriorated rapidly and when the British sent elements of the Indian 10th Division to Iraq, Rashid Ali decided to challenge the British, choosing to attack the RAF training school at Habbaniyah, on the Euphrates river west of Baghdad, and Iraqi troops moved to positions overlooking the airfield on April 29. The British were worried as they had important oil interests in the area, and feared that the rebels might sever the oil pipeline between the Kirkuk oilfields and Haifa on the coast of Palestine. On April 30 the Iraqis demanded the end of flying operations from Habbaniyah and that the British personnel should be restricted to the base. The RAF commander, Air Vice-

withdrew up the valley of the Blue Nile to join other forces at Dessie. Italian rule in Abyssinia had now collapsed. The Duke of Aosta left Addis Ababa to Haile Selassie and sought refuge in the Amba Alagi heights. Platt and Cunningham arrived in the foothills and, caught between these forces, Aosta had little chance as his forces were also short of water and ammunition and subject to heavy air bombardment. He

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