Deleted member 1487
What if during the initial Italian offensive into Egypt in 1940 they had stopped and fortified on Halfaya Pass until they could build up enough logistics to continue further in 1941 (building up the Benghazi-Tobruk rail road)? The OTL advance of the Italians bogged down due to supply issues and left the Italians stuck in the desert without a serious defensive line that the British exploited to smash their forces:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_invasion_of_Egypt#The_invasion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Compass
Had the Italians held on the only viable defensive position between Libya and Egypt, Halfaya Pass, it seems like their forces could have held easily and the British would have spent much of 1941 trying to bash their way through. Thoughts on how this would effect the Desert War?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_invasion_of_Egypt#The_invasion
On 16 September, the 3rd Coldstream Guards were almost cut off when a large group of Italian tanks moved inland from the coastal road in the region of Alam el Dab. A timely radio call to the 11th Hussars summoned assistance and kept the trap from closing. By the end of the same day, most of the covering forces had successfully withdrawn to the vicinity of Mersa Matruh.[26] By this time, the Italian advance had progressed about as far as it was going to go, the 1st Blackshirt Division had taken Sidi Barrani.[30]
The Italians advanced to Maktila, 10 mi (16 km) beyond Sidi Barrani; at that point, Graziani halted, citing supply problems. He laid out his troubles to Mussolini and Badoglio as thick as he dared. In doing so, he declared that the approach march to Mersa Matruh would take six days since his forces would all be on foot. Among other things, the list of items he required now included something new: 600 mules. It seems he had given up hope of receiving more transport vehicles.[2]
During the advance, the Italians captured a number of British airfields.[31]
Despite Mussolini urging him to continue the advance, Graziani dug in at Sidi Barrani. In addition, he established nine fortified camps at Maktila, Tummar (2), Nibeiwa and on top of the escarpment at Sofafi (4).[32] To his rear, he positioned Italian divisions at Buq Buq, Sidi Omar, and the Halfaya Pass.[33] Graziani was now about 80 mi (130 km) west of the main British defensive positions at Mersa Matruh.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Compass
Operation Compass was the first major Allied military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during World War II. British and Commonwealth forces attacked Italian forces in western Egypt and eastern Libya in December 1940 to February 1941. The operation was a complete success from the perspective of the Allies. Allied forces advanced from inside Egypt to central Libya suffering very few casualties and captured 115,000 Italian prisoners. The Italians lost hundreds of tanks and over a thousand each of artillery pieces and aircraft.[6]
Had the Italians held on the only viable defensive position between Libya and Egypt, Halfaya Pass, it seems like their forces could have held easily and the British would have spent much of 1941 trying to bash their way through. Thoughts on how this would effect the Desert War?