Enter Rommel

In April 1941, Hitler decided that the Italians needed German help. General Rommel and four German divisions were sent to assist the crumbling Italian army against the British, who had now been joined by Australian and New Zealand forces. Rommel combined his troops with the Italians to form an effective force which at first won some stunning victories.

It was not until November 1942 that the British, under General Montgomery, were able to fight back with the necessary force. Montgomery assembled a force of 200,000 men and 1000 tanks which outnumbered the German-Italian army of 100,000 and 500 tanks by two to one. The British offensive at El Alamein gave Churchill his first real victory on land against Germany and made sure that the Axis powers would not get their hands on the vital oil supplies in the Middle East.

The German-Italian army was driven all the way into Tunisia where they were trapped and forced to surrender in May 1943. The war in North Africa was over. An invasion of Italy itself could now be planned.

Neil Demarco: The era of the Second World War; Oxford University Press, 1993/2000, page 35