Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II King George VI in early 1942. In late 1942 Operation Torch, the first large Allied combined operation, was launched. The British and Americans landed in force invading French North Africa, but far enough west that the Germans were able to invade Tunisia (owned by France) and make it their base of operations. Torch was followed by Operation Husky the invasion of Sicily, and Operation Avalanche, the invasion of southern Italy. Again the naval forces escorted the invasion fleet and heavy cover was provided against Italian interference. In the aftermath of Avalanche, the Italian surrender was announced and the British naval
World War II by country Queen of Tonga, Salote Tupou III, put her island country's resources at the disposal of Britain and was a loyal supporter of the Allied cause throughout the war. The Emirate of Transjordan was a British mandate territory, and the Transjordanian forces were under British command during the war. See Caribbean Islands. See North African Campaign. Turkey was neutral until several months before the end of the war, at which point it joined the Allied powers. Prior to the outbreak of war, Turkey signed a Mutual Aid Pact with France and Britain in 1939. After the German invasion of France, however,