Did Italy and Britain ever fight in wwii
Certainly.
Italy having joined the war in June with the German invasion of France made her first major engagements against Britain of the war at sea with the Battle of Calabria.
Soon after the Italians launched attacks on the British colonies of Somaliland and Sudan from their own colonies of Ethiopia and Eritrea. The attack in June of Sudan would begin a campaign that lasted until January 1941 with the Italians being beaten back. The attack on the lightly defended British Somaliland resulted in the occupation of the colony in August 1940.
In September the Italians launched an invasion of the British protectorate of Egypt from their own colony of Libya. While in the first few months they were reasonably successful in the western desert region of the protectorate by December British reinforcements had arrived and during Operation Compass Britain launched a major counter attack against the Italians which despite the Italian significant numerical superiority was a massive success. The Italians were forced into full retreat which continued into 1941 with another major victory for Britain at the battle of Beda Fomm.
Back in November one of the most significant naval engagements of the Mediterranean war was fought with the battle of Taranto which is sometimes called the Italian Pearl Harbour. In a raid by British forces against the Italian surface fleet where it was docked in Taranto harbour spear headed with 21 Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers that successfully sunk an Italian Battleship and damaged two others in a daring assault.
In the Mediterranean the Axis forces, with the Italians beginning the campaign attempted to bomb and starve the British territory of Malta to death. This would continue into 1942 with the Maltese holding out with such valour that the entire island would be awarded the George Cross by his majesty for their bravery and determination, the symbol of which remains on the country's flag.
In march another major naval battle took place with the Italians against British and Australian merchant convoy resulting in an allied victory that left three Italian heavy cruisers and two destroyers on the sea floor and one Italian battleship severally damaged.
It was in January of 1941 that Britain launched an attack on the Italian colony of Eritrea with a major victory at Agordat.
So in early 1941 it was becoming clear that the Italians as they retreated back into their own colony were going to collapse as the entire Italian 10th army was forced to surrender. This prompted the Germans to organise the Afrika Korps to be sent to Libya in order to stop the British advance.
The Italians would fight alongside the Germans during operation Operation Sonnenblume and the follow up Siege of Tobruk that started in April. The British along side other commonwealth forces would be surrounded there but the axis forces failed to destroy the force and they would be able to break out again in November and pull back in good order.
From February to April Britain continued its invasion of Eritrea and alongside Indian and French troops beat the Italians at Keren. Soon after the Homebase of the Italian Red Sea Flotilla was captured at Massawa. It was over the course of April and March that Britain launcher their invasion of British Somaliland to recapture it from the Italians which they did successfully. In the south commonwealth forces invaded Ethiopia from the south the support of native Ethiopian rebels. Although Italian forces would continue to wage a guerrilla war until 1943 the last major strong hold would be defeated at the Battle of Gondar in November.
In early 1942 Italian and German forces would launch a new successful offensive in north africa wiht the battle of Gazala which put British and other allied forces on the retreat, continuing wiht the battle of Mersa.
In July one of the most famous battles of the North African Front occured with the First Battle of El Alamein. Here the advancing Axis forces were stopped in their tracks with niether side being able to make ground and not loose it against until the Second Battle of El Alamein in autum that was the begining of the end for Italian and German forces in North Africa. Over the course of the rest of the year and until their eventual defeat in May of 1943 Italian and German forces were being forced back, by this time from both sides as Italian and Free French forces along side more British ones landed in the west in Tunisia.
British forces continued to take part as the Italians were forced to fight on their homesoil that involved British, other Commonwealth, French and American forces. This was of course successful with Italian and German forces being beaten by August.
British troops were again present with the invasion of mainland Italy with British forces being a part of all three of the major landings and British forces dominating Operation Slapstick. By september offically the Italian government had made peace with the allies however Italian Fascists supported by the Germans would continue to fight as the allies, British included would continue their way up the length of the country.
This advanced continued with American forces focusing on the western coast of italy and british ones on the east with the British 8th army simultaneously breaking through and flanking by sea the Volturno Line and again British and American forces both forced the enemy back on their parts of the Barbara Line in November and the Bernhardt Line over winter however the British progress was slowed by flooding and casualties.
By this point there were fewer and fewer Italians actually fighting for the axis side with a significant portion of Italian Fascists having either been killed, surrendered or deserted.
THere were still some however with the gothic offensive and the 1945 spring offensive as axis forces were streadily driven back till the Germans in Italy surrended in May and the remaining Italian fascists quickly dissolved.