This book examines how the Second World War was fought in the Mediterranean, discussing how the Allies developed experience in coordinating air, ground, and naval forces.

Includes chronology. Includes glossary.

Background to war : Italian imperialism - Warring sides : Italian propaganda, German professionalism, and Allied industrialization - Outbreak : a parallel war - The fighting : in all directions at once - Portrait of a soldier : a modest hero - The world around war : politics and war - Portrait of a civilian : a child in the siege of annihilation : Malta 1940-43 - How the war ended : not necessarily in peace - Conclusions and consequences : the end of empire.