The late spring and early summer of 1941 was a busy time for British forces in the Middle East theatre
The late spring and early summer of 1941 was a busy time for British forces in the Middle East theatre. Of the various campaigns underway, the conflict in North Africa was paramount. On a secondary note, East Africa still required considerable attention as the British mopped up sizable Italian forces in the interior of Abyssinia. Likewise, there was the continuing struggle in the Mediterranean where the British sought to retain Malta, support their forces in North Africa and interdict Axis supply traffic. This was no easy task and was made more difficult by the fleet’s recent heavy losses off Crete. Finally, in addition to these major campaigns, the British had to wage secondary operations to secure areas not directly involved in the conflict. Of these latter operations, none was more draining on limited British resources than the fight to secure Syria. This action was prompted by recent Vichy collaboration in allowing the Germans access to local Syrian airfields and supplyi...