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The distances may be great, but it's better than leaving c. 20 divisions in Norway during the war. And in the likely event Murmansk is abandoned, the forces that were deployed under 20th Mountain Army would be made available for operations further south.

They can offload supplies there and use smaller ships and barges to move them to Vladivostok, as opposed to funneling all shipments through a single port.

Fair enough, but using it for transshipment could still be feasible; and this is without the possibility of American assistance in construction given the circumstances

We're dealing with an alternate timeline here where Murmansk is lost; I can't see the Soviets sparing effort if it means increasing the reception of Lend-Lease aid.

https://web.archive.org/web/20190131040036/http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/articles/paperno/index.htm "At the beginning of the war, the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky had a single wooden non-mechanized berth. Nevertheless, it processed the bulk of over 2 million tons of imported cargo...

Then any increases would have to wait for the double lining to be completed; perhaps this gives impetus to developing the capacity of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky sooner, although that still took 2 years to complete

You might actually see a more rapid development of the Persian and Vladivostok routes ITTL, esp. given the considerable losses suffered by the Murmansk Convoys in 42-43, as well as the Alaska-Siberia air ferry service. The White Sea ports might also see more shipping in the spring and summer...

Slim might even go a step further and try to cut off 15 Army's retreat before it could even reach the Leopold Canal; IIRC 15th Army was considering an attack on Dempsey's flank, and only elected to withdraw towards Breskens around Sept. 2nd-3rd. Gustav von Zangen stated in postwar interrogations...

There could be some interesting changes in how operations were conducted in NWE, as I could see Slim greenlighting the use of Kangaroo APCs by VIII Corps during Operation Goodwood as O'Connor had wanted. During the Rhineland battles I definitely see him authorizing Simonds' 'Wallstreet' plan to...

That was it's primary advantage; it's maximum range was just over 18km versus 14.4-16.6km for the BL 5.5 inch, but in light of the 155mm long toms and 8 inch guns and howitzers received through Lend-Lease that role was somewhat lessened. Otherwise, when it came to firing in support of the...

You are correct, it was issued to medium regiments, but that was alongside the 4.5 inch gun. If you take the 4.5 inch gun out of the equation, then you get a tandem of the 25 pounder and the 5.5 inch gun similar to the 105 and 155 howitzers in US service. No need for a third caliber, and Medium...

Call it clarification then; better heavy gun fire from the BL 5.5 inch as opposed to it in tandem with the 4.5 inch gun, will only help the the infantry in addition to the 25 pounder.

Except the creation of AGRAs enabled heavy artillery to be employed in just such missions, in suppressing enemy positions, while the field regiments would also be needed for observed fire against German counter-attacks when the infantry finally dug in. So having better heavy guns, and developing...

PIAT gets a bad wrap for being unwieldy, but it's warheads could penetrate the top and side armour of most German late war tanks, because no one is stupid enough to engage a tank head on even with a Panzerfaust or Panzerschreck, plus it has the added advantage of producing no backblast like the...

Thesis should be first priority; I've just finished a Master's dissertation, so I can only imagine what you've had to deal with. Looking forward to future updates nonetheless!

Duly noted; perhaps the C60X being a 3-ton as opposed to a 2.5-ton like the CCKW and the DUKW, could give the CMP variant increased cargo capacity as well?

Perhaps they have an effect on the Normandy landings? IOTL the US Army ended up using the beaches for discharge after Mulberry A was all but destroyed by the Channel Storm; DUKWs proved very useful in offloading supplies onto the beaches, so perhaps a large supply of 'Mallards' could lead to the...

Excellent idea for the name! With regards to the steering, according to the United States Army Ordnance Department's history Procurement and Supply, the driver could shift from conventional steering to using the rudder and propeller using controls in the cab. With regards to tooling-up...

This idea was inspired by David Fletcher's book British Military Transport, 1829-1956, and an interesting point he made regarding the British Army and the DUKW. According to Fletcher, in December 1942 the British Truck Mission in Washington DC gave the Ministry of Supply's requirement for...

I should also add that it'll be interesting to see the extent of the German withdrawal from Italy and by how much the lines there have been shortened. Regardless of whether it's the Adige river or the 'Alpine Line,' this would also shorten the Allies' lines, on top of opening road and rail...