Can the Axis be succesful in the Desert War

Kongzilla

Banned
Can the Germans capture the Vichy French fleet without them scuttling the ships and what effect could it have on the Mediterranean theater
 
No they can't. And even if they captured part of it, they have insufficient sailors to man it and those they do have would have to be retrained to use French equipment. The only way Germany is going to get help from the French fleet is if the French provide it. Which the events of November 1942 show to be very unlikely.
 
Even if they did capture the French fleet and was able to man it what would they use it for? The only possible use I can think of that would assist the land campaign is to take the fight right up the RN in Egypt when Rommel manages to gain forward positions like in his initial offensive and when we got to El Alamien. This would allow the Axis to make the best use of the forward ports and take a lot of the burden away from their overworked trucks.
 
Maybe you'd like to enlighten me here, what forward ports are you talking about? Tobruk is the last port of any real note before you hit Alexandria, anything between the two is basically going to be what the ships themselves can unload.
 

Kongzilla

Banned
Just say that they manage to do decent in the desert, can the poor performance of the Italians prompt the Germans to threaten them to get their shit together or else. So can the Germans send in Officers to train the Italians at their Officers school in Italy.
 
Maybe you'd like to enlighten me here, what forward ports are you talking about? Tobruk is the last port of any real note before you hit Alexandria, anything between the two is basically going to be what the ships themselves can unload.

Tobruk was not really utilised during the war because it was so close to British bases that ships were attacked on approach and in harbour, the RN inshore sqn even sent coastal 6" monitors into Tobruk harbour at least once. With more naval power perhaps the Axis can utilise Tob ruk to a much greater degree.

When the alternative is 2000km on a truck even little places like Mersa Matruh, Sidi Barrini and El Dabaa become useful ports on occasion. Not much mind you but, I bet commanders deep in Egypt would really appreciate a few hundred tons of stuff dumped at these little places once in a while.
 
Given the contingents of French ships in British ports including Alexandria any ship grab by Germany is likely to backfire badly.
 
When the alternative is 2000km on a truck even little places like Mersa Matruh, Sidi Barrini and El Dabaa become useful ports on occasion. Not much mind you but, I bet commanders deep in Egypt would really appreciate a few hundred tons of stuff dumped at these little places once in a while.
Again though, these places have piers, and pretty much nothing else, so the ships are going to have to unload themselves, so unless the ships have cranes you're getting nothing heavier than a man can carry.
 
Yes, they will be used as opportunity arises in order to get a few hundred tons of stuff shoved forward. They are by no means a solution to the problem, only a railway linking at least Tripoli and Benghazi is the solution, but a handy bonus when the supply lines are at their longest and most fragile. 200 tons at Mersa Matruh means 50 less truck journeys back to Tobruk or even Benghazi, that's a win, a small win but a win nonetheless.
 
Yes, the Axis could win in North Africa, but it would require a few things. Hitler to really lean on Fanco and get him to join the Axis and then take the Rock. Then an invasion of Malta. Followed by both German and Italian forces attacking in Egypt in the summer of 1940.
 

Kongzilla

Banned
I was reading somewhere something about the Battle of Kasserine Pass and that Rommel could have broken Eisenhowers entire army there prolonging the African campaign by months. Is this possible.
 
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