The Failure Of War In The Middle East

World War Two broke out in the Middle East soon after conflict arose in Europe during the Fall of 1939. The main theater of war in the Middle East was the Western Desert that buffered Italian Libya and British Egypt. Conflict also arose with rebellion in Iraq as consequence of growing western resentment, and in Syria and Lebanon after French defeat and capitulation to the Nazis. After Britain lost its longtime ally, France, they were left standing alone in the Middle East as the last defense against Nazi and Italian fascism, and struggled to prevent the takeover of the Suez Canal in Egypt and a loss of access to British India as a result.

Italy in Libya Since 1911, Italy had been in possession of Northern Libya, a place where the Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini desired to begin the establishment of an Italian Empire in the Middle East. Mussolini called the Mediterranean “Our Sea,” and desired to take control of it as well as the British controlled Suez Canal. The Italians attempted to invade …show more content…
The pro-Nazi coup banked on the assistance of the Germans to bolster their effort, but the rebellion failed in May of 1941 after the Germans failed to provide meaningful support. The main reason for this failure of assistance was that in May of 1941 the Nazi army was in the midst of planning their fatal offensive against the Soviet Union in Europe. So the British did not face a strong opposition in their bid to take back Iraq from the rebels. Following the quelled threat from inside Iraq, the British moved quickly to invade Syria and Lebanon in June of 1941. By the end of July 1941, the French army inside of Syria and Lebanon were defeated by the British. As a result of these two offensives, in Iraq and in Syria/Lebanon, they were able to firmly reestablish control from hostile pro-Nazi forces and strengthen their position in the Middle