Should Hitler have assisted Mussolini

I agree too. I think the whole thing could've been avoided if Italy never invaded egypt. Then the british and hitler won't be sending there troops there to fight.

 

Another issue stands.

Had Hitler devoted those four necessary and three tetriary divisions to North Africa, could those units have gone on to sieze the French North African territory?

Forget the British for a moment - I've some belief that the Italians, and perhaps one corps of German motorized infantry and tank units, might have held Sidi Barrani against investment.

But what of French territory in Togoland? The Germans, had they succeeded in victory over several French legions in the region - aided, of course, by others sympathetic to the Vichy cause -, might have siezed a very useful submarine and aircraft base in the South Atantic.

Then, shifting resources back to North Africa, Rommel could have siezed the Suez, compelled a British retreat, coerced a Turkish ally, gained a Balkan alliance by virtue of isolation, and held out with a neutral Soviet Union unit they could later face down America - by bolstering their Zollverein.

 

The British would have attacked the Italians if left alone. Left alone they would reinforce themselves. The terrain and difficulty of maintaining supply lines in Africa would require almost as many resources as the East Front. There are far fewer adversaries yes, but terrain and supply difficulty more than makeup for it. How do the Germans get to Togoland?

 

Germans in togoland I never heard of that.

 

Togoland used to be a German colony, near Ivory Coast.

 

How on earth did this get on to Togoland?

Without sea control the Germans were going nowhere near Togoland.

Should Hitler have helped Musso in 1941? Could Hitler have accepted the humiliation of his ally in North Africa and Albania? Possibly.

The Allies would have been ecstatic!Now all of the Mediterranean is open to invasion possiblities: Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily and Rhodes. Could Mussolini have survived the loss of N Africa and some islands politically? Remember this is early 1941, the choice between a couple of Divisions to the desert or divert lots to holding Italy on the eve of Barbarossa, not to mention the Balkans.

A difficult one, but oddly I think he made the right choice.

Jumbo

 

How on earth did this get on to Togoland?

Without sea control the Germans were going nowhere near Togoland.

Should Hitler have helped Musso in 1941? Could Hitler have accepted the humiliation of his ally in North Africa and Albania? Possibly.

The Allies would have been ecstatic!Now all of the Mediterranean is open to invasion possiblities: Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily and Rhodes. Could Mussolini have survived the loss of N Africa and some islands politically? Remember this is early 1941, the choice between a couple of Divisions to the desert or divert lots to holding Italy on the eve of Barbarossa, not to mention the Balkans.

A difficult one, but oddly I think he made the right choice.

Jumbo