Hitler's Mediterranean Gamble

For many years, historians have argued that the war in the Mediterranean was merely a sideshow to the big events that took place in Russia and Northern Europe during the Second World War. This new and extremely accessible study of the conflict turns that argument on its head. For Douglas Porch, the Mediterranean theatre was absolutely central to the success of the Allies. It was the only place where Britain could showcase its refusal to accept German domination of Europe. It helped draw the Americans into the war, distracted Hitler from his true strategic objectives in the north, and provided a perfect training ground for the Allied troops who would fight in Normandy. Without the Mediterranean, the Allies would never have learned the skills they needed to win the war; indeed, the Alliance itself might not have lasted beyond 1943. This book covers every aspect of the Mediterranean conflict, from the Italian attack on Greece in 1940 right through to the advance on the Gothic Line in northern Italy towards the end of the war.