The Darkest hour of the Russian Empire 2
Chapter Four: 1939-1941
Part XXII: Southern battles
United Kingdom was winning the North African campaign - Italian generals were busy protecting Eastern Libya, when...The British, using Malta as naval base, invaded unsecured Western Libya! By 10 of June Tripoli (the capital of Italian colonial administration) was under English occupation. Mussolini was becoming very unpopular because of these disasters.
British operation in Western Libya
British tankers in Northern Africa
But in Spain Rommel showed that enemies of the Reich have no chances to survive - ruthless Wehrmacht was taking Spanish cities every day. Republican government was going to flee from the country, because Spanish army couldn't secure the territory. Day by day German tanks were conquering Spanish soil. Imprisoned general Franco started hoping that he would be appointed as new leader of the Spanish state (by Hitler, of course)...
German campaign in Spain - without any problems they'll rush onto Madrid
On 25 of July Italian minister of aviation Italo Balbo (not only high-rank air commander but the most probable successor of Mussolini) tragically died - official newspapers said that his airplane was destroyed by friendly fire of Italian AA guns, but nobody believed in it...
Fascists' second in command is dead
Italo Balbo in Air Force uniforms
Second World War made Western Europe the Nazi war camp - only a few states (UK, fighting Spain and neutral Petain's France and Switzerland) weren't involved into Axis. In the Eastern Europe the situation was better - no Nazi regimes and a brave Greece which defeated the Italian army.
Two blocs of Europe by 6 of July - Axis is red, Allies are green
Spain stood only five days - after that the government left the country, and Germans annexed former Republican Spain. Hitler didn't have a clear idea what to do with Spain - keep her under direct German control or to create a puppet Francist state. Anyway, general Franco was free.
The fall of Spain
German soldiers inspecting destroyed Spanish tank
Rommel became a national hero after these victories, official propaganda called him "The German God of war", his soldiers were singing "Rommel, lead us to victory", women were calling their children Erwin. Hitler said that Rommel was his favorite German commander and he promoted him to Field Marshal. It was real a triumph.
Erwin Rommel with field marshal's baton in his hand
With annexed Spain the road to Gibraltar was free - Germans decided to storm the mountain. The British were defending desperately, and the German HQ had to stop the offensive and started the siege...
One of the English ships sinking in the bay of Gibraltar
While the Germans were celebrating their victory and Rommel was drinking champaign, British army continued the domination in Africa - together with successes in Northern Africa they launched a massive offensive in Eastern Africa - very soon most of Ethiopia was in British hands.
British actions in the Eastern Africa
In the North Englishmen were doing well too - by 3 of August Italian armies were attacked from two sides and weren't able to advance...
African campaign, August of 1940
British tanks on march
The USA made their step on 11 of August - American marines (without any war declarations or anything) occupied former Danish Iceland and Greenland. German military analysts called these islands a perfect base for future invasion in Europe, but Hitler didn't believe them - he was sure that Franklin Roosevelt would never get himself involved into the World War, for Hitler FDR was a isolationist. So, nobody was worried about US troops, was it right or not.
Interesting step of Roosevelt
Unofficial American support encouraged the British - field marshal Montgomery made "a great desert rush" - a large-scale offensive operation in Libya, which destroyed main forces of Italians and two fronts were going to join very soon. British tanks were advancing everywhere, Italian army was in agony. Mussolini understood that his war would be lost if he didn't call Hitler to help him...
The Great Desert Rush of Montgomery.
Monty in his legendary black tank beret
In September Eastern Europe became a dangerous place. Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria decided to connect their policy with Axis and Nazi Germany. The Germans were happy to get new allies in strategic region (they finally got opportunity to beat Greece). Otherwise, there were some problems with disputed territories, but Hitler decided to solve them without any logic - he just gave Transylvania to Hungary and Dobrich to Bulgaria. Romania wasn't happy, but she wanted to join Axis too, so there were no way. Bucharest agreed and became a Nazi satellite together with Budapest and Sofia.
Diplomatic boom in Eastern Europe
Bulgarian claims in the Balkans - she already got Dobrich
Greece now was in great danger - Romanian and Bulgarian forces were ready to invade the country. One of the most successful Allied states was going to defend itself one more time.
Antonescu, one of the main pro-Axis leaders in the Balkans. He knows what to do with Greece and...Russian Bessarabia.
To be continued
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Next update: February, 3