Fall of France - The pursuit after Dunkirk.

[Archibald]

A very interesting post.
The fact is, the only way the Germans have to size an island is their paratroopers (as shown in Crete)
I fear however that Italy and Sardinia are close enough from Corsica the German may try an amphibious assault using the Italian navy. That, plus the paratroopers, may be enough.
Plus they can mass airpower in Southern France, Sardinia and Italy.
So I don't think Corsica could really hold in the end.
In the end the FFO scenario of a retreat to Algiers (and not Bastia) sounds more realistic.
Yet that TL might be interesting to develop if only for the huge air, land and naval battles that would happen.

for the anecdote, in FFO the battle for Corsica (operation Merkur !) last for a month - mid-February to mid-March 1941 - and end on a German victory, at a very high cost however. Unsurpringly the Italian navy and German paratroopers pay a very high price (and four months later Crete hold if only because German apratroopers are already dead * in Corsica !)

 

[Magnum]

A very interesting post.
The fact is, the only way the Germans have to size an island is their paratroopers (as shown in Crete)
I fear however that Italy and Sardinia are close enough from Corsica the German may try an amphibious assault using the Italian navy. That, plus the paratroopers, may be enough.
Plus they can mass airpower in Southern France, Sardinia and Italy.
So I don't think Corsica could really hold in the end.
In the end the FFO scenario of a retreat to Algiers (and not Bastia) sounds more realistic.
Yet that TL might be interesting to develop if only for the huge air, land and naval battles that would happen.

for the anecdote, in FFO the battle for Corsica (operation Merkur !) last for a month - mid-February to mid-March 1941 - and end on a German victory, at a very high cost however. Unsurpringly the Italian navy and German paratroopers pay a very high price (and four months later Crete hold if only because German apratroopers are already dead * in Corsica !)

like I said, it's not unreasonable to assume Corsica might fall. however, as I said, the Germans have basically just one shot at it. If the amphibious landings fail (even at a high cost to the allied navies), than the Fallschirmjager HAVE to secure either a beach or an airfield. Looking at Crete, it's very possible that, even with overwhelming enemy air superiority, dug-in infantry can hold off the lightly armed paras if they stand their ground and don't reatreat (like the New zeelanders did in Crete)

 

[phx1138]

With France remaining as a active Allied nation Indochina will be much less 'low hanging fruit' & it is far less likely Japans imperialists would push through a higher risk invasion

Not an invasion: *Vichy IndoChina acting as friendly, allowing IJA passage to blockade ROC, if not actively joining the op. (That last IMO is a long shot, but not out of the question, either.)

US & Britain would not be organizing the trade embargos in the summer of 1941

Exactly: no Pac War. Or, at least, not on OTL schedule.

Embargos might come later, followed by a Pacific war

In aid of ROC, yes. Before Hitler does something stupid? Maybe not... Virtually certain Japan doesn't jump in to "aid" Germany.

Between a Allied French government controling the French empire from the start, and a indefinite delay in the start of a Pacific war the British/Allied economic situation changes significantly, as do Allied logistics globally. Just adding in the French cargo fleet & its navy to protect it after mid 1940 is a huge game changer.

If the government doesn't fragment, & have *Vichy colonies making it easier for the Germans & Japanese...

Absent that, not a good thing for Germany, for sure.

 

[John Farson]

Not an invasion: *Vichy IndoChina acting as friendly, allowing IJA passage to blockade ROC, if not actively joining the op. (That last IMO is a long shot, but not out of the question, either.)

Exactly: no Pac War. Or, at least, not on OTL schedule.

In aid of ROC, yes. Before Hitler does something stupid? Maybe not... Virtually certain Japan doesn't jump in to "aid" Germany.

If the government doesn't fragment, & have *Vichy colonies making it easier for the Germans & Japanese...

Absent that, not a good thing for Germany, for sure.

Not gonna happen if the government relocates to Algiers. The French military will follow their orders, not those of some traitors and collaborationists in Paris.