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bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany > The MTO > MTO Overview, © 2026 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 30 Dec 2025

This webpage includes an outline of Mediterranean Theater ground operations beginning in November 1942.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Scope of Big Pigeon's WWII Germany > The MTO Subpages :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Preliminary MTO webpages provide contextual material: Allied forces expelled Axis forces from North Africa: (November 1942–May 1943) ​Allied attention turned to Italy, first the island of Sicily and then mainland Italy: (July–October 1943) ​Then ensued the eight-month campaign to liberate Rome: (October 1943–June 1944)   ​The eleven-month post-Rome campaigns north into central and then northern Italy: (June 1944–May 1945) Concluding MTO webpages: About the above list of WWII Germany > The MTO Subpages:​​
  • Numbers after major webpages correspond with the following Official List of United States Army MTO Campaigns.
  • The one-month Southern France campaign, which began with the Allies' Operation Dragoon in August 1944, was conducted from the Mediterranean Theater but took place in the European Theater.
  • WWII Hub lists all subpages in the middle column.
  • Some webpages are incomplete.
:::::::::::::::::::::::: Official List of United States Army MTO Campaigns with Dates and Snyopses :::::::::::::::::::::::
  1. Algeria–French Morocco Campaign, 8 November 1942–11 November 1942 - Allied victory over Vichy French.
  2. Tunisia Campaign, 17 November 1942–13 May 1943 - Allied victory; Axis forces surrender.
  3. Sicily Campaign, 9 July–17 August 1943 - Allied victory; Axis forces retreat into mainland Italy.
  4. Naples–Foggia Campaign, 9 September 1943–21 January 1944 - Axis forces conduct a fighting withdrawal to the Gustav Line.
  5. Anzio Campaign, 22 January–24 May 1944 - stalemate at first as Allies fail to capture Rome and Germans fail to destroy Allied beachhead;  Allies break out from the beachhead in late May.
  6. Rome–Arno Campaign, 22 January–9 September 1944, Allied victory; Axis forces withdraw to the Gothic Line.
  7. North Apennines Campaign,10 September 1944–4 April 1945 - limited Allied advances and then a stalemate.
  8. Po Valley Campaign, 5 April–2 May 1945 - Allied victory; Axis forces in Italy surrender.
About Official US Army Campaigns:
  • A MTO veteran was eligible for a campaign ribbon for each of the six above official campaigns in which he participated.
  • There were official campaigns and unofficial campaigns. For instance, the  Italian Campaign included most official campaigns on the above list.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Outline of Mediterranean Area WWII Major Land Activity ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
​Before the November 1942 involvement of U.S. ground forces: ​Click here for background
  • The loss of the Balkans to the Axis, 1939–1941.
  • Securing Syria and Lebanon by British Empire Troops, 1941.
  • Combat in Libya and Egypt between British Empire and Axis troops, late 1940–early 1943.
By the Western Allies within the Mediterranean Theater:
  • Invasion of Morocco and Algeria, November 1943.
  • Combat in Tunisia, November 1942–May 1943.
  • Invasion and conquest of the Italian island of Sicily, July–August 1943.
  • Invasion and campaigns northward on the Italian peninsula, September 1943–May 1945.
By Great Britain and the Soviet Union acting independently:
  • The liberation of the Balkans, 1944–1945.
    :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: WWII Mediterranean Land Combat by the Western Allies ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

​    ............................................. The War in Morocco and Algeria - November 1942 ........................................... 
United States ground involvement in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) began with Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of the Vichy French controlled Morocco and Algeria on 8 November 1942. French troops resisted for three days before surrendering. ​
Operation Torch Landings
Operation Torch Landings, 8 Nov 1942
Scalable Map & Slide Show
    ........................................................... The War in Tunisia - 1942–1943 ........................................................... 
  • In November 1942, Allied forces moved east from Algeria into Tunisia while the Axis rushed troops to Tunisia by ship and by air.
  • Germany won this race, and the Tunisian Campaign lasted until May 1943.
  • In February 1943, Axis forces in Tunisia were joined by Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps, pursued west across Libya by Bernard Montgomery's British Eighth Army.
  • Axis forces were gradually confined into extreme northern Tunisia around Bizerte and Tunis.
  • Axis forces surrendered in mid-May. An estimated 250,000 Italian and German military were taken prisoner.
NW Africe in WW II
Northwest Africa in WWII
    ................................................................... The War in Sicily - 1943 ................................................................. 
  • Sicily, 1943 - Operation Husky landings on the south coast by British and American forces began on 9 July.
  • The Sicily campaign ended on 17 August with a successful Axis withdrawal from Messina across the straits to the Italian mainland.
The Sicily Campaign, Jul–Aug 1943
The Sicily Campaign, July–August 1943
    ...................................................... The Allies Invade the Italian Peninsula ...................................................... 
​Midway through the Allied campaign on Sicily, Italy's leader Benito Mussolini was overthrown. Subsequently, Italy surrendered to the Allies.

British and American troops landed in three locations in southern Italy in early September, 1943.
  • British Eighth Army landings, at Reggio de Calabria on the Italian toe and Taranto on the Italian boot, met little opposition.
  • The US Fifth Army landing at Salerno, with both British and American troops, encountered fierce opposition from recently-arrived German troops.
The Allied Invasion of Mainland Italy
The Allied Invasion of Mainland Italy, September 1943
Scalable Map & Slide Show
    ................................................. The War on the Italian Peninsula, 1943–1945 .................................................. 
After securing the Salerno area, Allied forces soon began their long eighteen-month slog northward up the Italian peninsula, with the US Fifth Army on the left and the British Eighth Army on the right. ​Combat in northern Italy continued until the Axis surrender on 2 May 1945.

The port city of Naples and the complex of airfields near Foggia fell before Germany opposition stiffened.

The Allied advance stalled for lengthy periods of time on three occasions:
  • at the Gustav Line in the mountains behind Cassino during the winter and early spring of 1943-44.
  • at the Anzio Beachhead south of Rome in early 1944.
  • near the Gothic Line in the Northern Apennine Mountains in the fall and winter of 1944–45. 

The August 1944 Operation Dragoon landing in Southern France used troops drawn from the Italian campaign. These troops moved northward into northeastern France and after a month became part of ETO.
The Italian Campaigns
The Italian Campaign, 1943–45
Allied Progress in Italy - July 1943 to May 1945
Allied Progess in Italy - July 1943 to May 1945
    ........................................................... The Balkans Liberated, 1944–1945 ...................................................... 
(United States ground forces were not involved in these operations.)
  1. In August 1944, Soviet troops entered Romania from the east.
  2. After a coup in Romania, the Romanian Army switched sides, from the Axis to the Soviet Union.
  3. The combined Soviet and Romanian forces moved west into Bulgaria and Yugoslavia.
  4. To avoid being trapped, the German Army in Greece withdrew to the north. 
  5. British troops entered Greece from the south and followed the retreating Germans.
  6. The Germany Army, under pressure from Yugoslav partisans and the approaching armies, withdrew from Yugoslavia.
Civil War in Greece and continued atrocities in Yugoslavia followed their liberation.
The Balkans Today
The Balkans Today
Long after WWII ended, Yugoslavia split into today's seven nations, reaching from Slovenia in the north to the Republic of Macedonia as shown on the above map.
  • Portions of Yugoslavia were wracked by civil wars from 1991 to 2001.
  • Serbia does not view Kosovo as fully independent.
  • Macedonia is now known as North Macedonia.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: US Army Divisions in the Mediterranean Theater Campaigns :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Operation Torch planners were unsure whether Spain would remain neutral. Thus, I Armored Corps commanded by General George Patton was kept in Morocco for several months after the November 1942 invasion. After the Soviet victory over Germany at Stalingrad in early 1943, Spain no longer had interest in joining the Axis.

In mid-1944, seven American and French divisions were removed from combat in Italy to prepare for the August 1944 invasion of southern France.
Mediterranean Theater Campaign by Divisions
US Army Divisions in the Mediterranean Theater Campaigns
::::::::::::::::::::::::::  Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII Germany > The MTO > MTO Overview webpage ::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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