I have to agree with texdav. I doubt that there was ever a chance that Mussolini would not support his puppet then mentor. The Wehrmacht would have invaded, and made quick work of any of the populace that dared to oppose their aims.
Originally Posted by Sman. Originally Posted by Dd Too, the territorial aims of Mussolini were made abundantly clear in NE Africa prior to the outbreak of hostilities in Europe.
The guy wanted to cement Italy's hegemony over the continent prior to the aggression of Hitler. At that point, the only forces left were the Belgium, British, and French. He saw it as a strategic move Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U. Posting Quick Reply - Please Wait. User Name. Remember Me. View detailed profile Advanced or search site with. Search Forums Advanced. The Triple Entente countries saw a way of weakening the Central Powers by opening up a new front and thus splitting them still further with a Western, Eastern and now Southern Front. The success of this depended on Italy making military progress into Austro-Hungary in the south, but this did not transpire.
Italy had only become a unified nation in , and so, like Russia, was not yet a fully industrialized power and was still largely an agricultural country, with a weak economy. It lacked both the large military and industrial base of her enemies and was certainly not prepared for large-scale warfare. The new front was along Italy's northern border which was miles long, mostly in the mountainous Italian Alps and along the Isonzo river.
Despite being numerically superior, the Italian army were poorly equipped, lacked strategic leadership and were unable to move equipment and supply lines quickly. In addition to which, the Austrians owned the higher ground and so consequently, after several quick Italian successes on the Isonzo front, combat settled into stalemate. As in the Western Front, it became trench warfare with the Italian army repeatedly attacking Austria, making little or no progress and suffering heavy losses.
However, unlike the Western Front, the main difference was the fact that the trenches had to be dug in the Alpine rocks and glaciers instead of in the mud and often up to 3, m of altitude. Read more about: Hitler 5 technological innovations from WW1.
Between and , Italian troops only advanced 10 miles inside Austrian territory, having launched eleven offences in Isonzo with heavy losses on both sides. The frequency of offensives for which the Italian soldiers partook, one every three months, was higher than demanded by the armies on the Western Front and had a significant effect on morale.
During this stalement, in the Austro-Hungarian army counter-attacked in the Battle of Asiago in Trentino, which also failed. In late October , Germany intervened to help Austro-Hungary, by moving seven divisions from the Eastern Front when Russia withdrew from the war.
This resulted in a victory over the Italians in the Battle of Caporetto otherwise known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo. When the battle had run its course, 11, Italians were dead, more than a quarter-million had been taken prisoner and Italy had retreated well behind their original lines. The Germans keep the 11th army with them. The Battles of Voronezh and Rostov becomes bloodier. They reach Stalingrad 4 weeks later than otl. The fighting is slightly less bloodier.
August to January Germans launch an attack into the Caucasus as per otl. They are slightly more successful and take Grozny, but couldn't reach Baku, the key centre of oil. July to October No offensive launched by the Soviets against captured Leningrad. The complete encirclement occurs on 25 November when the Soviets link up at Kalach.
December : Operation Mars fails as per otl. The Germans relieve Stalingrad, but break out to avoid being cut off in January They later take Archangel. For the Germans, the Northern Front has been neutralized. The Sixth Army is trapped again, but the relief column stays until 15 January when threatened with encirclement, they withdraw.
The extra resistance of a German army replacing a Hungarian one [used to take over the duties of the otl Italian army on the Eastern Front] delays the inevitable by 15 days. On 2 March , the Sixth Army surrenders in Stalingrad despite a counterattack by Mainstein on 18 February because it can't reach the city on time.
Pacific 7 December The Japanese attack Pearl harbour as per otl, but with dive bombers instead of torpedo planes. Losses are about the same as per otl. Other events not sure because of butterflies. I read that Pearl might still happen even without Taranto [or a failed one] but with dive bombers instead.
Or, the Pacific War scenario might be without Pearl Harbour [more likely]. It seems that the Germans are putting a lot of wear-and-tear in on their equipment, but not seeing a lot of failure for it. Likewise with their men. All I can see is the Allies not having to spend invading and occupying Italy and can accelerate plans for D-Day. They can also have greater access to Italian ports and air fields to make the operations necessary against Germany.
All in all it may shorten the war by six months or so, not much else. The cherry on the cake is that the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor on 7 December there should be a smilie for a double facepalm, just is not enough. Compared with the above, positing that the Germans can break the Alpine front in days of fighting is just ludicrous, and does not rate more than a.
Mind, I am quite sure that tanks would not climb mountains very easily.
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