There were talks about the Soviets becoming the fourth member of the Axis, with each one (Soviet Union, Reich, Italy and Japan) having its own designated sphere of influence.
en.wikipedia.org
It's probably unrealistic for various reasons (such as Soviets wanting influence in Finland and the Balkans), but "how and why Soviet Union actually decides to join the Axis" is NOT the point of the thread.
The point is rather :
IF the Soviets join the war (in practice, they would likely open a new front for the British Empire, invading Iran, and possibly Turkey and Afghanistan, and threatening British India, Abadan and the oil fields of Iraq), how does it impact the course of the war for Italy ?
I can see two main obvious implications.
1) Britain has less manpower and equipment to devote to the Western Desert front
2) Suddenly, Italy might be able to buy (at relatively low cost) oil, coal, iron ore and other strategic materials, as well as food, from the Soviets, which would relieve the chronic resource shortage afflicting the Italian war industry, and allow Italy to mass produce their newer tank and aircraft designs, as well as use the Regia Marina more efficiently (without having to worry about oil shortage)
And if Germany never turns on Soviet Union, that would also mean that Germans can maintain their focus on Britain as the main enemy, and (like Italy) keep getting resource shipments from Russia, while avoiding the resource waste that was the Eastern Front (for example, the oil consumption or the tanks destroyed in the eastern campaigns, or the millions of dead soldiers).
With more manpower, iron ore and oil, the number of submarines produced might dramatically rise, which would force the Royal Navy to devote more ships to the Battle of Atlantic.
The specter of Sealion would (from the British point of view) look more realistic, even if it isn't really, forcing Britain to keep more British Army divisions at home.
Luftwaffe would be fully focused on the west, with more aircraft being produced and more oil to power them. Which again, would force the RAF to keep more aircraft at home.
German–Soviet Axis talks - Wikipedia
It's probably unrealistic for various reasons (such as Soviets wanting influence in Finland and the Balkans), but "how and why Soviet Union actually decides to join the Axis" is NOT the point of the thread.
The point is rather :
IF the Soviets join the war (in practice, they would likely open a new front for the British Empire, invading Iran, and possibly Turkey and Afghanistan, and threatening British India, Abadan and the oil fields of Iraq), how does it impact the course of the war for Italy ?
I can see two main obvious implications.
1) Britain has less manpower and equipment to devote to the Western Desert front
2) Suddenly, Italy might be able to buy (at relatively low cost) oil, coal, iron ore and other strategic materials, as well as food, from the Soviets, which would relieve the chronic resource shortage afflicting the Italian war industry, and allow Italy to mass produce their newer tank and aircraft designs, as well as use the Regia Marina more efficiently (without having to worry about oil shortage)
And if Germany never turns on Soviet Union, that would also mean that Germans can maintain their focus on Britain as the main enemy, and (like Italy) keep getting resource shipments from Russia, while avoiding the resource waste that was the Eastern Front (for example, the oil consumption or the tanks destroyed in the eastern campaigns, or the millions of dead soldiers).
With more manpower, iron ore and oil, the number of submarines produced might dramatically rise, which would force the Royal Navy to devote more ships to the Battle of Atlantic.
The specter of Sealion would (from the British point of view) look more realistic, even if it isn't really, forcing Britain to keep more British Army divisions at home.
Luftwaffe would be fully focused on the west, with more aircraft being produced and more oil to power them. Which again, would force the RAF to keep more aircraft at home.
