Italy and the Second World War

Easily overshadowed by the war against Germany and the intensively studied campaign in Normandy, the Anglo-Italian war and its consequences are among the least explored and understood dimensions of World War II.

This volume analyzes the major military and political features of a war which began in emnity and ended in co-belligerence.

The book covers the point of view of each side. The military history of the war is explored in essays dealing with the outbreak of war, the fighting in the Western Desert and on the mainland of Italy, with the attacks on and defence of Malta, and with the British and Italian air wars.

The difficulties of constructing an armistice and the mainfold problems of co-belligerence are explained and contrasted as the basis of studies of the role and contribution of partisan welfare, british and Italian attitudes towards the peace treaties and the troubled issues of the future of Trieste and the Balkans.