On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on France and the United Kingdom and next day the British Commonwealth declared war on Italy. The fleets of Italy, France and the United Kingdom began the hostilities of the Battle of the Mediterranean. The siege of Malta soon began, with first Italian air attack on 11 June. In the Western Desert, Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft attacked Italian positions inside Libya. On 11 June, the Western Desert Campaign began, as the British launched minor raids and conducted patrols along the Libyan–Egyptian border and on 17 June, Fort Capuzzo was captured. On 20 June, Mussolini began the Italian invasion of France, just before the end of the Battle of France. During June, the East African Campaign began with Italian attacks in East Africa, although ground combat did not start until July.