FOUND! The lost Panzer Division and the wreck of “Marburg” full of German tanks and guns

Besides the two sunk German transports for the record, a few points can be summed up:
1) Coordination between German and Italian troops was poor due to sour diplomatic relation.
2) Going to Soviet Union is easier from sea route and rail than on ground land: in this case, sailing to Italy and on rail to the SU.
3) British had enough intelligence about Axis shipping in the Med. to conduct mine-laying ahead of time.
4) Italian did not attack or coordinate attacks on their own despite they were aware British had been mine laying.

 

My guess is that the Germans sacrificed those men. Had the route been open and without too many risks then others would have followed, but the trial proved to be a failure. One or two ships and their suplies would not have made a difference anyway. The Italian aspecti s imortant indeed. Had Mussolini not lost time in Greece the Germans wouldn't have had to worry about the British thwarting their plans in Patras. The result of loosing precious months condemned this route.