The problems of resupplying North African, Germany, Italy and the British Commonwealth.
There has been a lot of discussion about the various problems in resupplying North Africa, and how this affects the campaigns. So starting with the new boys, Germany, who up until now haven’t been involved in the North African campaign. Germany prior to 1941 had no involvement in North Africa, even on a commercial scale. The three colonial powers, France, Italy and Britain would have done their best to keep German industry out of their play pen. And after Hitler and his gang of crooks got into power, the German policy of Autarky meant that those opportunities there were for trade, were reduced by the colonial powers. The Germans have now entered a very poorly developed area, with very limited infrastructure. Between Tripoli and Alexandria there isn’t a railway, or sealed road, nor is there a modern port, and Tripoli itself lacks many facilities. Thanks to under development by the colonial authority, there is little to no industry to draw on.
Virtually everything that the Germans require, other than limited food, and all water, has to be sent from Germany. This involves a train journey through the Alps and neutral Switzerland, to an Italian port, and then on an Italian ship to Tripoli, then by road to the German forces. And the only bit of this journey that is under German control is the very first bit. Once the train crosses the boarder, you will have to switch engines train crew, and it passes into the control of a different system. While you might have given it AAA priority, they will have their own demands and AAA could become BBB, overnight. Also everything you send has to fit on a train and though/under the various bridges/tunnels on route. You want to send three 20ton dockside cranes, that you have confiscated from Poland to improve the facilities at Tripoli. First dismantle the cranes into suitable loads to be transported by train, then move them to a port in Italy, negotiate Italian shipping to move them across the Mediterranean to Tripoli, then negotiate with the Italian port authority to build them in their port. Britain decides to borrow for the duration a 50ton floating crane from Haifa, Suez, Mombasa or Suez, to improve the facilities in Benghazi. An order is sent out and the equipment is impounded, an escort from the RN is arranged, the crane is moved to Benghazi, and put to work. Unfortunately for the Germans, they don’t control the ports in Italy or North Africa, they have to negotiate with the Italian authorities for everything they want to do.
Italy is in the worst position of the three, it is the weakest both militarily and industrially in comparison to Britain or Germany. It lacks the large industrial base that both Britain and Germany have, nor does it have access to the basic resources that are the bases of heavy industries, iron ore and coal. While it had built a fantastic electric power grid based on hydro power, this was essentially only in the North, and the South was in many ways feudal. Yes it did have a far better navy than the Germans, but one that was servile constricted in its ability to act, by its lack of oil to fuel its ships. Mussolini in his ambition to aper to have an army equal to that of others, Germany, France in particular, made a number of mistakes. He reduced the number of men in a division, so that it took three Italian devisions to equal two British devisions. He tried to integrate political devisions ( Black Shirt ), with the ordinary Army devisions, which wasn’t a great success. While the various Black Shirt devisions tended to be more enthusiastic, and the regular army had far more unenthusiastic conscripts, who were there because they were forced to be. Both types of devisions were in comparison to ether British or German, less effective, there kit, arms, armour, logistics, were generally inferior. Britain had been in control of Egypt since 1882, the Italians had had control of what is now Libya since 1912. And while the British had had the time and finances to build up Egypt, plus Egypt was a far wealthier country, with a higher and better educated population. The Italians were dealing with a much more primitive country, were lacking thanks to WWI, and the general poverty of Italy, the strong financial resources to develop their colonial possession. So from a poor industrial base, and with the added problem of supplying the Germans, and against British opposition, through inadequate ports, Italy is trying to fight one of the leading international powers in the world.
Britain and the British Commonwealth forces, have a number of problems, they are at the end of a very long supply line, and resent events in France and Norway, have made the Middle East less of a priority than it should be. But unlike ether the Germans or Italians, only the very first part of their supply chain is vulnerable to interdiction, and only to a limited extent on a small number of supplies. Let us look at two different convoys carrying supplies to North Africa, one British and one Italian, note the Germans would be extremely lucky to get even a single blockade runner from Hamburg to Tripoli, let alone a convoy. The Italian convoy assembles in Naples, which the British observe, and from when its in port to when it gets to Tripoli and after, it is liable to attack, from the air, surface, and under water. The British convoy assembles in Liverpool, first do the Germans observe this, and do they know where its going, and do they have any knowledge of the routing to be able to prepare a trap. The British convoy sails north about Ireland to stay out of range of the majority of German aircraft, and proceeds to Gibraltar, were it slips a few ships carrying supplies for the Rock and the RN units based there. It then sails south along the West African coast, slipping ships carrying supplies for the various British Colonies, which will pick up a backload for Britain, before sailing independently to Gibraltar to join a convoy for Britain. The ships that slipped for Gibraltar can ether pick up a load from Spain, mostly minerals, or dead head to West Africa for a return load. Once past Gibraltar there is a small risk from German U-Boats, or surface raiders. Once past Lagos, up until the Horn of Africa there is virtually no risk to the British ships. And the risk passing Italian East Africa is of basically been seen, not of being attacked.
And the convoy from Britain will only be carrying ‘ big ticket ‘ items, like artillery, armour, vehicles, and heavy artillery ammunition, electronic/electric items. Food, fuel, building supplies, even uniforms can be sourced from Britains colonial and commonwealth possessions/partners. And these items can be shipped at little or no risk, plus there is virtually no limit to availability. Take fuel, there is unlike no shortage of fuel, Britain can get all the fuel it needs from its owed and controlled oil fields/refineries in the Middle East. British ships can pull up to the end of a pipeline in Haifa, that stretches across Palestinian, Jordan to Iraqi, and fill its tanks, with sweet crude that can be used as boiler fuel. The problem that the British have with fuel, is not availability, it’s having the transport and containers to deliver it to were it is needed. But until Britain is forced by events in the Far East to divert supplies and attention to yet another major campaign, given resent events their position in North African will only get stronger and stronger day by day. In addition if they can “ liberate “ North Africa, before the change in the situation in the Far East, this will improve their ability to deal with the changed situation that arises.
RR.
