Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini may have had dreams of building a new Roman Empire that would turn the Mediterranean into a Roman lake again, but it was a pipe dream. At the start of the Second World War, the British maintained control of the Straits of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal, while it had a powerful task force stationed at Malta.Īfter the Vichy French fleet was essentially destroyed and removed from the board by the Royal Navy at Mers-el-Kébir, and the German Kriegsmarine unable to aid by sending any surface ships, Italy was left to go it alone. In terms of more “traditional” engagements, these top the list of the largest naval battles of World War II:ĥ Largest Naval Battles of the World War II – Battle of Cape Matapan (March 27–29, 1941)Īrguably one of the largest naval exchanges ever in the Mediterranean, the Battle of Cape Matapan is also a largely overlooked engagement that involved the Kingdom of Italy’s Regia Marina against the UK’s Royal Navy, which was supported by the Royal Australian Navy. However, even as it has been described as the “ longest, largest, and most complex” naval engagement in history, some experts would argue that it was actually a series of battles that took place in diverse and distinct locations. This included the Battle of the Atlantic, which was the longest military campaign of the war, lasting five years and more than eight months from 1939 until the defeat of Nazi Germany. In fact, it is noted for having some of the largest naval battles in human history. Truly a global war, it was fought on land, in the air, and on the sea. It involved the majority of the world’s nations, including all of the great powers, and the total war directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 nations. World War II was the largest and most deadly conflict in human history.

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