Battle of the Mediterranean The Battle of the Mediterranean was the name given to the naval campaign fought in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II , from 10 June 1940 to 2 May 1945 . For the most part , the campaign was fought between the Italian Royal Navy ( " Regia Marina " ) , supported by other Axis naval and air forces , and the British Royal Navy , supported by other Allied naval forces , such as Australia , the Netherlands , Poland and Greece . US naval and air units joined the Allied side in 1942 . Each side had three overall objectives in this battle . The first was to attack the supply lines of the other side . The second was to keep open the supply lines to their own armies in North Africa . The third was to destroy the ability of the opposing navy to wage war at sea . Outside of the Pacific theatre , the Mediterranean saw the largest conventional naval warfare actions during the conflict . In particular , Allied forces struggled to supply and retain the key naval and air base of Malta . Main Combatants . British Mediterranean Fleet . The Mediterranean was a traditional focus of British maritime power . Out - numbered by the forces of the " Regia Marina " , the British plan was to hold the three decisive strategic points of Gibraltar , Malta , and the Suez Canal . By holding these points , the Mediterranean Fleet held open vital supply routes . Malta was the lynch - pin of the whole system . It provided a needed stop for Allied convoys and a base from which to attack the Axis supply routes . Italian Royal Fleet . Italian dictator Benito Mussolini saw the control of the Mediterranean as an essential prerequisite for expanding his " New Roman Empire " into Nice , Corsica , Tunis and the Balkans . Italian naval building accelerated during his tenure . Mussolini described the Mediterranean Sea as " Mare Nostrum " " ( Our Sea ) " . The warships of the " Regia Marina " ( Italian Royal Fleet ) had a general reputation as well - designed . Italian small attack craft lived up to expectations and were responsible for many brave and successful actions in the Mediterranean . But some Italian cruiser classes were rather deficient in armour and all Italian warships lacked radar . Although its lack was partly offset by the fact that Italian warships were equipped with good rangefinder and fire - control systems for daylight combat . In addition , whereas Allied commanders at sea had discretion to act on their own initiatve , the actions of Italian commanders were closely and precisely governed by Italian Naval Headquarters ( " Supermarina " ) . The " Regia Marina " also lacked a proper fleet air arm . The aircraft carrier was never completed and most air support during the Battle of the Mediterranean was supplied by the land - based " Regia Aeronautica " ( Royal Air Force ) . Another major handicap for the Italians was the shortage of fuel . As early as March 1941 , the overall scarcity of fuel oil was critical . Coal , gasoline and lubricants were also locally hard to find . During the Italian war effort , 75 % of all the fuel oil available was used by destroyers and torpedo boats carrying out escort missions . However , the real problem for the Axis forces in North Africa was the limited capacity of the Libyan ports . Even under the best conditions , this restricted supplies . Tripoli was the largest port in Libya and it could accommodate a maximum of five large cargo vessels or four troop transports . On a monthly basis , Tripoli had an unloading capacity of . Tobruk added only another . Bardia and other smaller ports added a little more . In general , the Axis forces in North Africa exceeded the capacity of the ports to supply them . It has been calculated that the average Axis division required of supplies per month . If the Italians had a fault in respect of logistics during the Battle of the Mediterranean , it was that they failed to increase the capacity of Tripoli and the other ports before the war . French Fleet . In January 1937 , France began a programme of modernization and expansion . This soon elevated the French Fleet to the fourth - largest in the world . However , the French Navy ( formally the " National Navy " - " Marine Nationale " ) , was still considerably smaller than the navy of its ally , Britain . By agreement with the British Admiralty , the strongest concentration of French vessels was in the Mediterranean . Here , the Italian Fleet posed a threat to the vitally important French sea routes from metropolitan France to North Africa and to the British sea routes between Gibraltar and the Suez Canal . Vichy French Fleet . In 1940 , after France fell to the Germans , the " Marine Nationale " in the Mediterranean became the navy of the Vichy French government . As the Vichy French Navy , this force was considered a potentially grave threat to the Royal Navy . As such , it was imperative to the British that this threat be neutralised . As the opening phase of Operation " Catapult " , the French squadron at Alexandria in Egypt was dealt - with via negotiations . This proved possible primarily because the two commanders — Admirals René - Emile Godfroy and Andrew Cunningham — were on good personal terms . In contrast , a British ultimatum to place the bulk of the remainder of the French fleet out of German reach was refused . The fleet was located at Mers - el - Kebir in Algeria , so on 3 July 1940 it was largely destroyed by bombardment by the British " Force H " from Gibraltar ( Admiral James Somerville ) . The Vichy French government broke off all ties with the British as a result of this attack and the Vichy French Air Force ( " Armée de l ' Air de Vichy " ) even raided British installations at Gibraltar . In June and July 1941 , a small Vichy French naval force was involved during " Operation " Exporter " " . This was an Allied action launched against Vichy French forces based in Lebanon and Syria . French naval vessels had to be driven off before the Litani River could be crossed . In 1942 , as part of the occupation of Vichy France during " Case Anton " , the Germans intended to capture the French fleet at Toulon . This was thwarted by determined action by French commanders ; the bulk of the fleet was scuttled at anchor . German Navy . The Mediterranean U - boat Campaign lasted approximately from 21 September 1941 to May 1944 . The German Navy ( " Kriegsmarine " ) aimed at isolating Gibraltar , Malta , and the Suez Canal so as to break Britain ' s trade route to the far east . More than 60 U - boats were sent to disrupt shipping in the sea , although many were attacked in the Strait of Gibraltar , which was controlled by Britain ( nine boats were sunk while attempting the passage and ten more were damaged ) . The " Luftwaffe " also played a key part in the Battle of the Mediterranean , especially during 1941 . German war strategy , however , viewed the Mediterranean as a secondary theatre of operations . History . First actions . On 10 June 1940 , Italy declared war on Britain and France . On the following day , Italian bombers attacked Malta on what was to be the first of many raids . During this time , the " Marine Nationale " shelled a number of targets on the northwestern coast of Italy , in particular the port of Genoa . When France surrendered on 24 June , the Axis leaders allowed the new Vichy French regime to retain its naval forces . The first clash between the rival fleets — the Battle of Calabria — took place on 9 July , just four weeks after the start of hostilities . This was inconclusive , and was followed by a series of small surface actions during the summer , among them the battle of the " Espero " convoy and the battle of Cape Spada . In November , the British mounted an aerial attack on the Italian fleet in Taranto harbor , crippling three capital ships and changing the balance of power in the Mediterranean . Battle of Taranto . To reduce the threat posed by the Italian fleet based in the port of Taranto to convoys sailing to Malta , Admiral Cunningham organised an attack code - named Operation " Judgement " . Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber s from attacked the Italian fleet on 11 November 1940 while it was still at anchor . This was the first time in history that an attack such as this had been attempted . It was a great success ; British Fleet Air Arm aircraft badly damaged two Italian battleship s in the Battle of Taranto ; a third was sunk , it resulted in half of the " regia Marina " s major ships being put out of action for several months . This attack also forced the Italian fleet to move to Italian ports further north so as to be out of range of carrier - based aircraft . This reduced the threat of Italian sallies attacking Malta - bound convoys . Nevertheless , as early as 27 November , the Italian fleet was able to confront the Mediterranean fleet again in the indecisive battle of Spartivento . Battle of Cape Matapan . The Battle of Cape Matapan was a decisive Allied victory . It was fought off the coast of the Peloponnese in southern Greece from 27 – 29 March 1941 in which Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy forces — under the command of the British Admiral Andrew Cunningham — intercepted those of the Italian " Regia Marina " under Admiral Angelo Iachino . The Allies sank the heavy cruiser s , and and the destroyer s " Vittorio Alfieri " and " Giosue Carducci " , and damaged the battleship . The British lost one torpedo plane and suffered light damage to some cruisers from " Vittorio Veneto " s salvoes . The decisive factors in the Allied victory were the use of " Ultra " intercepts and the lack of radar on the Italian ships . Crete . The effort to prevent German troops from reaching Crete by sea , and subsequently the partial evacuation of Allied land forces after their defeat by German paratroops in the Battle of Crete during May 1941 , cost the Allied navies a number of ships . Attacks by German planes , mainly Junkers Ju 87 s and Ju 88 s , sank eight British warships : two light cruisers ( and ) and six destroyers ( , " Greyhound " , " Kashmir " , " Hereward " , " Imperial " and " Juno " ) . Seven other ships were damaged , including the battleships and and the light cruiser . Nearly 2 , 000 British sailors died . It was a significant victory for the " Luftwaffe " , as it proved that the Royal Navy could not operate in waters where the German Air Force had air supremacy without suffering severe losses . In the end , however , this had little strategic meaning , since the attention of the German Army ( the " Wehrmacht Heer " ) was directed toward Russia ( in Operation " Barbarossa " ) a few weeks later , and the Mediterranean was to play only a secondary role in German war planning over the following years . The action did , however , extend the Axis reach into the eastern Mediterranean , and prolong the threat to Allied convoys . Two attempts were carried out to transport German troops by sea in caïque s , but both of them were disrupted by Royal Navy intervention . The tiny Italian naval escorts , however , managed to save most of the vessels . Eventually , the Italians landed a force of their own near Sitia on 28 May , when the Allied withdrawal was already ongoing . During the evacuation , Cunningham was determined that the " Navy must not let the Army down " . When army generals stated their fears that he would lose too many ships , Cunningham said that " It takes three years to build a ship , it takes three centuries to build a tradition " . Despite advance warning through " Ultra " intercepts , the Battle of Crete resulted in a decisive defeat for the Allies , The invasion took a fearful toll of the German paratroops , who were dropped without their major weapons , which were deliverd separately in containers . So heavy were the losses that General Kurt Student , who commanded the German invasion , would later say ; " Crete was the grave of the German parachutists . " , referring to the German decision not to use parachutists in any future invasion attempts . Malta . Malta ' s position between Sicily and North Africa was perfect to interdict Axis supply convoys destined for North Africa . It could thus influence the campaign in North Africa and support Allied actions against Italy . The Axis recognised this and made great efforts to neutralise the island as a British base , either by air attacks or by starving it of its own supplies . For a time during the Siege of Malta , it looked as if the island would be starved into submission by the use of Axis aircraft and warships based in Sicily , Sardinia , Crete and North Africa . A number of Allied convoys were decimated . The turning point in the siege came in August 1942 , when the British sent a very heavily defended convoy under the codename Operation " Pedestal " . Malta ' s air defence was repeatedly reinforced by Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire fighters flown to the island from and other Allied aircraft carriers . The situation eased as Axis forces were forced away from their North African bases and eventually Malta could be resupplied and become an offensive base once again . The British re - established a credible air garrison and offensive naval base on the island . With the aid of " Ultra " , Malta ' s garrison was able to disrupt Axis supplies to North Africa immediately before the Second Battle of El Alamein . For the fortitude and courage of the Maltese people during the siege , the island was awarded the George Cross . Later actions . Following the battle of Crete in the summer of 1941 , the Royal Navy regained its ascendancy in the central Mediterranean in a series of successful convoy attacks , ( including the " Duisburg " convoy and Cap Bon ) , until that is , the events surrounding the First Battle of Sirte and the Raid on Alexandria in December swung the balance of power towards the Axis . The " Regia Marina " s most successful attack was when divers attached limpet mines on the hulls of British battleships during the Raid on Alexandria on 19 December 1941 . The battleships and were sunk at their berths , but they were both later raised and returned to active service . A series of hard fought convoy battles ( such as the Second Battle of Sirte in March , Operations " Harpoon " and " Vigorous " in June and Operation " Pedestal " in August ) , ensured Malta ' s survival until the Allies regained the advantage in November 1942 . In September 1943 , with the Italian collapse and the surrender of the Italian fleet , naval actions in the Mediterranean became restricted to operations against U - boats and by small craft in the Adriatic and Aegean seas . Italian armistice . On 25 July 1943 , the Grand Council of Fascism ousted Mussolini . A new Italian government , led by King Victor Emmanuel III and Marshal Pietro Badoglio , immediately began secret negotiations with the Allies to end the fighting and to come over to the Allied side . On 3 September , a secret armistice was signed with the Allies at Fairfield Camp in Sicily . The armistice was announced on 8 September . After the armistice , the Italian Navy was split in two . In southern Italy , the " Co - Belligerent Navy of the South " ( " Marina Cobelligerante del Sud " ) fought for the King and Badoglio . In the north , a much smaller portion of the " Regia Marina " joined the Republican National Navy ( " Marina Nazionale Repubblicana " ) of Mussolini ' s new Italian Social Republic ( " Repubblica Sociale Italiana " , or RSI ) and fought on for the Germans .