If you were Mussolini?

kenmac

Banned
If you were Mussolini in 1940 and you had to declare war at the same time as OTL how would you fight the war differently?
 

kenmac

Banned
Here is what I would do.

War economy

I would nationalise the entire armaments industry.
Production and would be streamlined and standardised to one type of weapon for each specification.

Production of L6/40 tank halted.
Production M11/39 tank halted.
Production to be replaced by Semovente assault guns.

Tanks already in service to be upgraded to Semovente assault guns when possible.

Mk 4 German tank to be licensed as soon as possible and to become the main Italian tank.

Full mobilisation from day one.
Merchant marine withdrawn from foreign waters before declaration of war.


Military

Divisions to return to normal size and new divisions not created till current ones can be equipped.
Send all three Italian armoured divisions to Libya and the bulk of the air force.
Send Italy’s best fighter aircraft to Libya.

On the declaration of war begin a major invasion of Egypt using Blitzkrieg tactics.
Follow this up with the invasion of Malta.
Begin minor border skirmishes with French Tunisia and French Alpine territory.

After the French armistice demand Tunisia, Corsica, Nice, Savoy and French Somaliland.

In August capture British Somaliland.

Hopefully if all goes well Egypt will be captured and with Tunisia and Malta in Italian hands the Italian air force and navy will have a much better chance of shooting the East Med off from the Western entry of the Royal Navy while the Army closes the Suez Canal.

After this all efforts should be made to secure German units and to bring Greece and Spain in on the Italian side.

The next major offensives could be planned for 1941 into Palestine and the Sudan.
 
Maybe sell Franco a bit better. Apparently, Mussolini was sent to persuade Franco to join in the war. Franco asked Mussolini if he would have joined... Mussolini's campaigns were going like crap at this time and he was definitely showing out as Hitler's junior partner. So Mussolini threw up his hands and said something like "I wish."

A more earnestly persuasive Mussolini might have brought Franco in. Franco might have been key to closing Gibraltar, which might have kept Britain out of the Med... who knows.

Avoid war altogether, of course, was Mussolini's best option.
 
If you were Mussolini in 1940 and you had to declare war at the same time as OTL how would you fight the war differently?

Well For one After The Fall of France I would declare the War over and spend my time ordering new race cars .:rolleyes:
 
best option for M would have to organize Munich Treaty II, persuade H to limit to danzig and maybe minor frontier correction (Wartegau?) but leave a formally independent reduced polish state.
then try to bargain some sort of peace or at least de-facto-non-war with the west (such as west front was until '40).
he would have:
1) risked nothing
2) gained an enormous prestige (hey! this guy seved the peace in erurope twice in 3 years!)

was it a possible option?
maybe.
before '40 H respected M very much and felt he owed him a big debt of gratitude for the Anschluss affaire
 
Assuming I allready declared war and am allied to the Germans.

I beg Hitler for technical licenses and engineers to help me produce the stugg assault gun and the panzer 4. I also beg him (or threaten to make a seperate peace) for German aircraft engine technology to upgrade my fighters and bombers.

Upon my DOW I immediately lauch the Folgore and San Marco's on Malta and try to capture it by surprise and give myself a secure supply corridor.

Aquilla carrier starts right away and is given round the clock priority. I actually station some fighters to guard Taranto

Human torpedo attacks against Gibraltar and Alexandria. Concentrate all my subs outside Alexandria so and order them to go after warships.

Use my battlewagons, covered by my aircraft to support my drive into Egypt (the British aircraft component in the middle east was crap till '42

After France falls I don't turn down Hitler's first offer of aircraft and a panzer division... although I specifically request officers who worked in spain and have experience cooperating with my army (thoma and richtoffen would be best). I let Thoma have tactical command of the armies and do everything possible to make sure his troops have fuel and ammo
 
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