Straits of Corfu Straits of Corfu The Straits of Corfu or Corfu Channel is the narrow body of water along the coasts of Albania and Greece to the east separating these two countries from the Greek island of Corfu on the west. The channel is a passage from the Adriatic Sea on the north to the Ionian Sea that is used by shipping local to Albania and Greece to the ports of Saranda, Albania, and Igoumenitsa, Greece, and by local and tourist traffic in Albania and from the Greek mainland to Corfu, in addition to some international traffic from the Adriatic. The Corfu
Battle of the Mediterranean 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 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