The Mediterranean's peacetime density collapsed once war allowed Britain and neutral commerce to reroute around Africa. The remaining high-value traffic consisted largely of warships and supply convoys supporting the opposing North African campaigns. Italian and British routes could cross in the confined sea, turning movement to and from North Africa and Malta into a direct convoy struggle. Against that target set, Italian submarines sank 21 merchant vessels and 13 warships in the theatre.
Chapter · 25:31-27:34
War emptied the Mediterranean of easy targets
Wartime rerouting stripped away normal commerce, leaving Italian submarines to hunt warships and heavily contested supply convoys.