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What if Italy didn't enter the war in 1940?

Discussion in 'What If - European Theater - Western Front & Atlan' started by TiredOldSoldier, Jan 4, 2010.

  1. Carronade

    Carronade Ace

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    If Italy stayed neutral the Germany would have to finish Britain no matter what or the Eastern campaign would have to be thrown out.

    How so? Of course the ideal for Germany would have been to resolve matters with Britain, either by peace or victory, before embarking on Barbarossa, but how does Italy being out of the war make that any more urgent?

    Once it became apparent that Britain was not going to quit and that Germany had no real way to defeat her, Hitler had to either give up on his fundamental goal of expansion to the east or go ahead and cope with whatever level of distraction Britain continued to impose. A neutral Mediterranean would remove some of Britain's options and reduce the total amount of force Germany had to take away from the primary offensive against Russia.
     

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