It is. But it is less so. For one thing if needed it can pull back in the Black sea ports. From Marmaris if needed it would go where? Up the Aegean which at least at the moment is a Greek lake? East into Antalya or Mersin under direct threat of the RN Mediterranean fleet? Golcuk will be vulnerable to air attack of course but it is far less vulnerable to the Greeks or worse yet the combined Greeks and British showing up with 1-2- half a dozen battleships and doing a Copenhagen, which with the Dodecanese gone is a definite danger for Marmaris at the moment...
Of lost monkeys and broken vehicles
- Thread starter Lascaris
- Start date
I sincerely hope the Greeks, Armenians and Circassians of Asiatic have started vacating to Fortress Smyrna and the east Aegean islands.
Speaking of Fortress Smyrna, I think the moment a general european war started, if there was a cement factory, it would have started working around the clock with 3 shifts. I guess the fortified zone needs every heavy artillery piece it can get. But where such artillery pieces can be found without going to non-plausible territory? In OTL the Alies had promised Turkey to deliver to them the following artillery pieces:
15'' : 2
13,5" : 10
6'' : 14
4'' : 6
240mm: 24
The 15'' and 13,5'' were never delivered. The rest had been delivered by autumn 1940. Now, I) think that the 15'' would be a tricky issue since the Admiralty may want them for an atl-Vanguard. But Greece being more closer to the British compared to OTL Turkey, I could see the 13,5'' being delivered. The Smyrna Fortified Zone could have become much stronger.
Speaking of Fortress Smyrna, I think the moment a general european war started, if there was a cement factory, it would have started working around the clock with 3 shifts. I guess the fortified zone needs every heavy artillery piece it can get. But where such artillery pieces can be found without going to non-plausible territory? In OTL the Alies had promised Turkey to deliver to them the following artillery pieces:
15'' : 2
13,5" : 10
6'' : 14
4'' : 6
240mm: 24
The 15'' and 13,5'' were never delivered. The rest had been delivered by autumn 1940. Now, I) think that the 15'' would be a tricky issue since the Admiralty may want them for an atl-Vanguard. But Greece being more closer to the British compared to OTL Turkey, I could see the 13,5'' being delivered. The Smyrna Fortified Zone could have become much stronger.
May I ask where exactly where exactly is the Fortified Zone located?
They can perhaps be delivered but battleship sized guns are of questionable value in land defences.
That said what is available to the Greeks in general?
1. OTL coastal defences
4x12in
4x210mm
4x8in
10x7in
4x150mm
8x4in
16x3in
2. Available in OTL for utilization (remaining artillery of Kilkis and Lemnos)
4x12in
12x8in
6x7in
8x3in
3. Additional heavy artillery available in TTL (listed in Turkish staff history as retaken in Smyrna in 1922)
7x240mm
8x150mm
4x120mm
Very roughly something like this. The fortified line as planned in 1920 was supposed to be 130km long covering an area of 600 square km.
At this time OTL, a lot of Spanish rightists were seriously annoyed with Germany over the Hitler-Stalin Pact. Playing footsie with the hated Reds, and betraying Poles and others cancelled much of the credit earned in the SCW. And those who weren't "ardent spirits" thought Spain had had enough of war.
A pro-German coup could easily fail. Spain cannot join the Allies, but unless Hitler is prepared to invade, Spain would be pro-Allied thereafter.
A pro-German coup could easily fail. Spain cannot join the Allies, but unless Hitler is prepared to invade, Spain would be pro-Allied thereafter.
Could easily fail because of the Canaris factor too. Given how well he undermined or sabotaged the Nazis efforts at times, he might well arrange things so the conspiracy fails.
Spanish 1940's politics aren't exactly my area of expertise so this could be borderline ASB especially given the country's state, but could Spain fall back into Civil War under the circumstances? And could that force the Germans to come in and occupy Spain to prevent there being a possibly pro-Allied state right next to their holdings, with obvious drawbacks for Germans?
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Excellent information, much appreciated!
Well, to be fair, if the guns from a 1880s ironclad are to be utilized, much more modern 13,5'' guns from BCs would be an improvement.
But I get the issue with battleship-sized guns. My main thesis is that Britain can provide a lot of old heavy artillery for Smyrna in the 1939-1940 period and it will be the kind of equipment that the British will give up more happily, because they need it the least -compared to almost anything else. Therefore, it seems plausible to me that instead of 13,5'' guns (if they are deemed cumbersome and not worth it), they can provide a significantly greater number of 6'' guns. Perhaps also other types of heavy artillery that by WW2 can be used only in static defences. E.g. on March 1940, 266 american BL 8'' howitzers were to be sold to Britain. Other potential guns are the 9,2'' howitzers and 9,2'' railway guns. These are also calibers that Britain has the machine tools to make HE ammo for.
If one forgets they come in twin turrets 610 metric tons each. 274mm is relatively easier to handle. Of course if Pangalos was not writing in his memoirs that the plan was to utilize in the fortifications old naval artillery...
Britain and France for that matter could pass over quite a bit of material... for a price even if that price was getting paid by their own loans.
So, if I counted right, we have about 8 divisions, at least, from Smyrna and E army corps, plus the cavalry, to man the Smyrna defensive perimeter, or a division every 16 km or so. And I guess that, since they moved out their navy beyond the Dardanelles, the Turks would also have to defend a little bit of coastline, as I have the feeling the Greeks might be tempted with amphibious sorties to raid Turkish communication lines, eg up the Meander river to Aydin, right?
I've read above about the reasons the Turks moved their fleet to Golcuk, but what do the Greeks have in the vicinity to oppose them?
It looks to me as if the greatest danger is not so much the Turks establishing some supremacy, but acting quickly enough to protect a crossing of the straits to Constantinople and secure a beachhead there before the Greek navy can counter attack.
I've read above about the reasons the Turks moved their fleet to Golcuk, but what do the Greeks have in the vicinity to oppose them?
It looks to me as if the greatest danger is not so much the Turks establishing some supremacy, but acting quickly enough to protect a crossing of the straits to Constantinople and secure a beachhead there before the Greek navy can counter attack.
Appendix Greek army arms inventory November 1940
- Heavy artillery
- 24 Skoda M1928 150mm guns. Bought early 1930s 1 battalion each with Army of Macedonia and Asia Minor Army
- 36 Schneider Mle1936 105mm guns. Locally produced in Greece 1 gun per month average
- 108 Schneider Mle1925 105mm guns. 96 bought in 1920s another 12 delivered by France 1939/40
- 148 Schneider Mle1919 155mm howitzers. 100 bought in 1920s another 48 delivered by France 1939/40
- 36 6in 26cwt howitzers. British military aid 1921
- 8 sFH 13 150mm howitzers. Captured from Turkish army 1919-21
- 24 Skoda K1 150mm howitzers. Bought from Czechoslovakia before her dismantlement.
- 12 Skoda M14 150mm howitzers. Captured from Turkish army 1919-21
- 24 De Bange Mle1878 120mm guns. French WW1 military aid. Static artillery in Smyrna line
- Field artillery
- 60 QF 4.5in howitzers. 48 British military aid 1921, another 12 delivered 1939/40
- 264 Skoda vz30 105mm howitzers. Initial bought 1930. Locally produced in Greece 3/month.
- 36 Skoda M1916 100mm mountain guns. Captured from Turkish army 1919-21 with an additional 4 bought from Czech stocks
- 192 Mle1919 105mm mountain guns. Bought 1920s. Standard divisional artillery, 12 guns per division
- 336 Mle1919 75mm mountain guns. Bought 1920s. Standard divisional artillery, 24 guns per division
- 64 Skoda M1915 75mm mountain guns. Captured from Turkish army 1919-21
- 88 Schneider-Danglis 75mm mountain guns. Pre 1914 purchases
- 168 Schneider Mle1904/06/07 field guns. Pre 1914 purchases ex Bulgarian and Serb guns included.
- 168 Krupp M1904 field guns. Captured from Turkish and Bulgarian army 1912-21.
- 16 Krupp 75mm mountain guns. Captured from Turkish army 1912-21
- 36 Schneider Mle1906 mountain guns. French WW1 military aid. Another 100 sold to Spain, China and Ethiopia before 1939
- Anti-tank weapons
- Anti-aircraft weapons
- 96 Bofors M1929 75mm
- 288 Bofors 40mm. Locally produced in Greece 7/month
- Mortars
- 1,042 Brandt M1931 81mm. Locally produced in Greece 12/month. 200 delivered by France 1939-40
- 152 Stokes 3in (81mm). British military aid 1921
- Machine guns
- 3,704 Hotchkiss M1922 7mm machine guns. Standard Greek medium machine gun, 48 per regiment.
- 1,250 Vickers MMG. Delivered by Britain 1939-40
- 400 Hotchkiss M1914 8mm. Dielvered by France 1949-40
- 2300 Saint Etienne M1907 8mm. French WW1 military aid
- 170 Maxim MG08. Captured from Turkish and Bulgarian army 1912-21
- 380 Swartzloze M1907/12. Pre-1914 purchases.
- 11,860 ZB vz.26 LMG. Standard Greek LMG 36 per battalion
- 5200 Hotchkiss M1922 LMG 7.92mm. Delivered by France 1939/40
- Rifles & small arms
- 8,976 T-40 7mm semi-automatic rifles. FN design supposed to replace T-25 as standard army rifle
- 4,184 AT-40 7mm automatic carbines. Locally designed.
- 342,431 Mannlicher-Filippidis T-25 7mm rifles. The so called Philippidis gun finally adopted in 7x51 in 1924.
- 143,800 Mannlicher-Schoenauer M1903/25 7mm rifles. Surviving Mannlicher-Schoenauer converted to 7x51 in the 1920-30s
- 100,000 Enfield P14 7.7mm rifles. British military aid 1921
- 84,200 Mauser 7mm rifles. Captured from Turkish and Bulgarian army 1912-21 converted to 7x51 in mid 1930s
- 45,800 Mauser 7.65mm rifles. Captured from Turkish and Bulgarian army 1912-21
- 109,000 Berthier/Lebel 8mm rifles. French military aid 1916-21, a further 25,000 delivered 1939/40
- 24,730 pistols and revolvers of all types. 20,130 FN Browning M1910/22 9mm (locally produced), 1150 Colt special .38 (bought 1924), 550 Nagant 1898 (bought 1912), 2,900 Ruby-Martin 7.65mm (French WW1 aid)
Again, amazing research, incredible detail, well thought developments. A gem of a timeline.
A few comments:
The specialized mountain infantry (Euzones organized in the same manner as Alpins Chasseurs) will be able to punch above their weight: they are elite mountain infantry that in TTL are amply supplied with automatic and semi-automatic guns and with a fair number of mortars. I expect the author to prepape something special for the 2/39 Euzone Regiment.
In general, the Greek Army is well supplied for an army of a 1940 Minor Power. More and better artillery, more mortars, more and better automatic guns. In mountain terrain I think it can be touch to deal with even for the Germans. In plains and flattish terrain it will be a different thing.
One thing Britain can do, is to help expanding the greek Bofors production. They use the gun as well, so pooled procurement of machine tools from the USA could be plausible. The greek production rate of 7 a month may sound low, but I think the greek factory may be comparable to the OTL norwegian one. Quoting 'The Bofors Gun":
A few comments:
The specialized mountain infantry (Euzones organized in the same manner as Alpins Chasseurs) will be able to punch above their weight: they are elite mountain infantry that in TTL are amply supplied with automatic and semi-automatic guns and with a fair number of mortars. I expect the author to prepape something special for the 2/39 Euzone Regiment.
In general, the Greek Army is well supplied for an army of a 1940 Minor Power. More and better artillery, more mortars, more and better automatic guns. In mountain terrain I think it can be touch to deal with even for the Germans. In plains and flattish terrain it will be a different thing.
One thing Britain can do, is to help expanding the greek Bofors production. They use the gun as well, so pooled procurement of machine tools from the USA could be plausible. The greek production rate of 7 a month may sound low, but I think the greek factory may be comparable to the OTL norwegian one. Quoting 'The Bofors Gun":
If the Greeks manage to increase the production rate to 12 guns per month, that would be a huge help: Britain managed to produce 1,233 guns in 1940, so any greek production would be helpful.
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Appendix Historical exchange rates 1914-1938
OTl Greek statistical service data from 1939
And the TTL exchange rates.
And the TTL exchange rates.
| Year | Drachma to pound exchange rate |
|---|---|
1910 | 25,0 |
1911 | 25,0 |
1912 | 25,0 |
1913 | 25,0 |
1914 | 25,2 |
1915 | 25,0 |
1916 | 24,6 |
1917 | 24,6 |
1918 | 24,8 |
1919 | 24,3 |
1920 | 34,1 |
1921 | 48,4 |
1922 | 86,6 |
1923 | 161,4 |
1924 | 181,8 |
1925 | 196,9 |
1926 | 226,3 |
1927 | 259,9 |
1928 | 261,8 |
1929 | 242,8 |
1930 | 218,4 |
1931 | 214,9 |
1932 | 251,8 |
1933 | 275,1 |
1934 | 279,6 |
1935 | 272,9 |
1936 | 290,4 |
1937 | 300,0 |
1938 | 292,2 |
1939 | 283,6 |
If I'm reading right, the drachma ITTL is worth about twice as much as it is in OTL (assuming similar values for the pound in both timelines) - quite significant, coupled with the overall expansion of the country's economy and significant mitigation of the refugee crisis. How does the Turkish lira stack up compared to its OTL paralogue?
Minus one division currently in the Dodecanese but it shouldn't change much things. The army of Asia Minor currently stands at a bit over 206,000 men. If it makes it into fortress Smyrna in one piece or something resembling one piece it would be a bitch to break. Which of course is known to the Turkish side as well.
The Meander is the Greek-Turkish border TTL but it is not navigable.
Nothing. Putting ships into the sea of Marmara has certain risks from the Greek point of view. Like the Turkish army marching to the straits and cutting them off there.
If Turkey joins the war as things currently stand Constantinople is likely undefendable.
It's about as well supplied as the Yugoslavs and Romanians in OTL and better supplied than the Bulgarians. Which makes sense IMO. After all at 1938 exchange rates Greek nominal GDP TTL is $1,463.58 million when OTL Bulgarian GDP was $643 million, Yugoslav $1,149 million and Turkish 1,506.7
Then one can always remember the British shenanigans with the 30 P-40 FDR promised to sell the Greeks and how it ended in delivery delayed to the fall of Greece, by which point the aircraft had become F4F .
The Norwegian example is a reasonable one... i for no other reason to make certain we are not carried over in assuming too high a production rate.
More or less. In OTL the Greeks removed half the gold cover of the currency in 1922 and a quarter more in 1926. The exchange rate going up was inevitably particularly after the British start their return to the gold standard with pre-war exchange rates but just removing the forced loans means the the gold corresponding to the currency in circulation TTL is 2.67 times more than OTL by 1925. Which keeps Greek nominal GDP in pounds closer to actual growth, in OTL Greek GDP in constant 1914 drachmas it was 1236 million in 1914 and 2589 million in 1938. The latter would had normally corresponded to 190.5 million poinds in 1938 prices... instead it was 101 million.
Worse presumidly. Haven't gone to exchange rate details, but come 1938 GDP stands at 71,4% of OTL, so call it a roughly 40% worse exchange rate from OTL, where the lira to $ rate was 0,81 in OTL it is 0.58 TTL...
A misphrasing on my part. I was thinking to the flat ground the Meander valley made up from the sea to Aydin, seeing that some of the Turkish communication lines, if there is a siege, will likely run through it over the hills along the current path of the E87.
If i remember correctly you said that greece produces about 1500 small arms of all types per months..how about ammunition?is greece producing enough ammunition to be somewhat self sufficient?
Small arms ammunition definitely is not an issue, Greece was a net exporter at the time, at the time the war start there were outstanding orders for 50 million rounds to Britain and the majority of it was actually delivered while simultaneously keeping in supply the army in the Albanian front. Artillery ammunition EEPK was producing about every single type of munition in use by the army but in varying quantities, more for the light calibers significantly less for the heavier ones. TTL Greek industry is quite a bit more advanced... of course on the other hand it also has to supply a larger army with roughly twice the artillery it had in OTL.
Part 66
Ravna Gora, November 24th, 1940
Draza Mihilovic had escaped the destruction of Yugoslav forces in Bosnia at the head of a few dozen men. Over the past month his small force, by now reduced to 7 officers and two dozen men had reached the mountains of central Serbia, but were now faced with a dilemma. Surrender to the Italians, rather the Hungarians occupying the area? March on to try slipping through the frontlines and join the Serb army still fighting to the south? Fight on against the occupation army? Surrendering or disbanding was out of the question. Joining the regular Serb army which Mihailovic would have preferred by inclination, impractical. And thus the "Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland" was born.
Kos, November 26th, 1940
The Italian 10th infantry regiment defending the island surrendered to the Greeks. By now only Leros stood. But it was already under attack and mostly occupied by naval personnel with only a single army battalion in the island.
Prilep, November 27th, 1940
The Italian army entered the town. Over the past three weeks the Italians, Bulgarians and Hungarians had managed to push the Yugoslavs and the Greeks that come to their aid south. And yet Theodore Pangalos, turned allied commander of the Balkan front by the simple expedient of commanding the largest allied army left standing had reasons to be content. In three weeks the Axis armies had suffered nearly as many casualties as in the rest of the campaign and the remnants of the Yugoslav army had managed to retreat in one piece and even catch their breath as allied armies pulled back towards a line that could actually be held.
Cape Spartivento, November 27th, 1940
Ten days earlier the Regia Marina had failed to intercept the British reinforcing Malta with aircraft but had at least managed to disrupt the operation. Now the British were back in force, with admiral Somerville in command of HMS Ark Royal, Resolution, Ramillies, heavy cruiser HMS York, 4 light cruisers and 11 destroyers, covering a new convoy to Malta. His Italian counterpart Inigo Campioni in command of Littorio, Vittorio Veneto, 6 heavy cruisers and 14 destroyers had been given orders to seek battle if facing comparable or inferior forces, after the fiascos at Taranto and the Dodecanese it was imperative for the navy to show it was active both for the shake of its own morale and to maintain its political position... and budget. Even if reluctant Campioni engaged. The two hours engagement that would follow would see honours split about even. HMS Resolution would be severely damaged by 16in fire, HMS York sunk and HMS Manchester moderately damaged but the Italians would also lose heavy cruiser Trieste and the destroyer Dardo, while Ark Royal's Swordfish despite heavy casualties from anti-aircraft fire would manage to torpedo Littorio. At that point Somerville retired his squadron only for Campioni to fail to press home his advantage and retire as well, fearing the damage suffered by Littorio. The battle would be still hailed, not without reason, as a victory in Italy, Teleuda would be given as a ship name post-war. Someriville on Churchill's insistence, would go through a board of inquiry for retreating only to be fully exonerated and remain in command.
Southampton, November 30th, 1940
Luftwaffe bombers hit the city. They would be back the next day. But for all the casualties they were inflicting on the British civilian population and the damage dealt on infrastructure it was a losing contest for the Luftwaffe. German aircraft numbers were actually lower than they were back in August and while in October the Luftwaffe had flown 8,200 bomber sorties against Britain losing 96 aircraft, in November it had managed only 7,000 losing 113. From the start of the battle the Germans had lost 1977 aircraft to 1675 RAF machines. [1]
Ohrid-Doiran line, December 3rd, 1940
The Axis advance south had first slowed to a crawl. Now it had been stopped cold. The allies had had to shift two Greek infantry divisions from Thrace, in addition to the Polish and Free French divisions from Constantinople but it was the result that mattered. And the result was that the Italians and their allies had been stopped all along the front after suffering over 49,000 casualties for about 31,000 allied casualties, while a Yugoslav army of slightly over 225,000 men had escaped to fight on. Prospects for the future as long as neither the Turks nor the Germans intervened looked good...
Leros, December 4th, 1940.
The Dodecanese campaign were over. Out of 34,000 men, 73 aircraft and 7 destroyers and large torpedo boats, the only ones not lost had been the ones that had managed to escape to Turkey. There the ships and aircraft had been "sold" to Turkey. So had Goeben in August 1914...
Sidi Barrani, December 9th, 1940
The Western Desert force, with 36,000 men and 275 tanks supported by 142 aircraft under general Richard O'Connor begun what was supposed to be a raid against Italian positions in Egypt. Decisive results were not likely after all the Italians had available 7 infantry divisions with 150,000 men. The anticipated results would quickly prove wildly pessimistic...
Berlin, December 13th, 1940
Germany had been reluctant over expanding the war to Yugoslavia and the Greece, although given the pro-allied stance of both had not raised any objections over the Italians dealing with them. Yugoslavia had indeed been dealt with in reasonable fashion. Greece was proving a bigger issue and king Boris III of Bulgaria hadn't lost any time asking for German military aid to break through Greek fortifications. War Directive 20 confirmed the decision to intervene. The details of intervening would be trickier. The Belgrade-Thessaloniki railroad was already being used to capacity to keep the Italians in supply, part of the Italian supply needs were covered by way of the Bulgarian railroads. Adding the needs of the Bulgarian army over two thirds of Bulgarian rail capacity was already in use. What remained barely sufficed to supply 3 to 5 divisions. Of course the Hungarians were getting increasingly cold feet over keeping their army in the frontline...
[1] Which means that overall the British have 174 aircraft surplus to OTL
Draza Mihilovic had escaped the destruction of Yugoslav forces in Bosnia at the head of a few dozen men. Over the past month his small force, by now reduced to 7 officers and two dozen men had reached the mountains of central Serbia, but were now faced with a dilemma. Surrender to the Italians, rather the Hungarians occupying the area? March on to try slipping through the frontlines and join the Serb army still fighting to the south? Fight on against the occupation army? Surrendering or disbanding was out of the question. Joining the regular Serb army which Mihailovic would have preferred by inclination, impractical. And thus the "Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland" was born.
Kos, November 26th, 1940
The Italian 10th infantry regiment defending the island surrendered to the Greeks. By now only Leros stood. But it was already under attack and mostly occupied by naval personnel with only a single army battalion in the island.
Prilep, November 27th, 1940
The Italian army entered the town. Over the past three weeks the Italians, Bulgarians and Hungarians had managed to push the Yugoslavs and the Greeks that come to their aid south. And yet Theodore Pangalos, turned allied commander of the Balkan front by the simple expedient of commanding the largest allied army left standing had reasons to be content. In three weeks the Axis armies had suffered nearly as many casualties as in the rest of the campaign and the remnants of the Yugoslav army had managed to retreat in one piece and even catch their breath as allied armies pulled back towards a line that could actually be held.
Cape Spartivento, November 27th, 1940
Ten days earlier the Regia Marina had failed to intercept the British reinforcing Malta with aircraft but had at least managed to disrupt the operation. Now the British were back in force, with admiral Somerville in command of HMS Ark Royal, Resolution, Ramillies, heavy cruiser HMS York, 4 light cruisers and 11 destroyers, covering a new convoy to Malta. His Italian counterpart Inigo Campioni in command of Littorio, Vittorio Veneto, 6 heavy cruisers and 14 destroyers had been given orders to seek battle if facing comparable or inferior forces, after the fiascos at Taranto and the Dodecanese it was imperative for the navy to show it was active both for the shake of its own morale and to maintain its political position... and budget. Even if reluctant Campioni engaged. The two hours engagement that would follow would see honours split about even. HMS Resolution would be severely damaged by 16in fire, HMS York sunk and HMS Manchester moderately damaged but the Italians would also lose heavy cruiser Trieste and the destroyer Dardo, while Ark Royal's Swordfish despite heavy casualties from anti-aircraft fire would manage to torpedo Littorio. At that point Somerville retired his squadron only for Campioni to fail to press home his advantage and retire as well, fearing the damage suffered by Littorio. The battle would be still hailed, not without reason, as a victory in Italy, Teleuda would be given as a ship name post-war. Someriville on Churchill's insistence, would go through a board of inquiry for retreating only to be fully exonerated and remain in command.
Southampton, November 30th, 1940
Luftwaffe bombers hit the city. They would be back the next day. But for all the casualties they were inflicting on the British civilian population and the damage dealt on infrastructure it was a losing contest for the Luftwaffe. German aircraft numbers were actually lower than they were back in August and while in October the Luftwaffe had flown 8,200 bomber sorties against Britain losing 96 aircraft, in November it had managed only 7,000 losing 113. From the start of the battle the Germans had lost 1977 aircraft to 1675 RAF machines. [1]
Ohrid-Doiran line, December 3rd, 1940
The Axis advance south had first slowed to a crawl. Now it had been stopped cold. The allies had had to shift two Greek infantry divisions from Thrace, in addition to the Polish and Free French divisions from Constantinople but it was the result that mattered. And the result was that the Italians and their allies had been stopped all along the front after suffering over 49,000 casualties for about 31,000 allied casualties, while a Yugoslav army of slightly over 225,000 men had escaped to fight on. Prospects for the future as long as neither the Turks nor the Germans intervened looked good...
Leros, December 4th, 1940.
The Dodecanese campaign were over. Out of 34,000 men, 73 aircraft and 7 destroyers and large torpedo boats, the only ones not lost had been the ones that had managed to escape to Turkey. There the ships and aircraft had been "sold" to Turkey. So had Goeben in August 1914...
Sidi Barrani, December 9th, 1940
The Western Desert force, with 36,000 men and 275 tanks supported by 142 aircraft under general Richard O'Connor begun what was supposed to be a raid against Italian positions in Egypt. Decisive results were not likely after all the Italians had available 7 infantry divisions with 150,000 men. The anticipated results would quickly prove wildly pessimistic...
Berlin, December 13th, 1940
Germany had been reluctant over expanding the war to Yugoslavia and the Greece, although given the pro-allied stance of both had not raised any objections over the Italians dealing with them. Yugoslavia had indeed been dealt with in reasonable fashion. Greece was proving a bigger issue and king Boris III of Bulgaria hadn't lost any time asking for German military aid to break through Greek fortifications. War Directive 20 confirmed the decision to intervene. The details of intervening would be trickier. The Belgrade-Thessaloniki railroad was already being used to capacity to keep the Italians in supply, part of the Italian supply needs were covered by way of the Bulgarian railroads. Adding the needs of the Bulgarian army over two thirds of Bulgarian rail capacity was already in use. What remained barely sufficed to supply 3 to 5 divisions. Of course the Hungarians were getting increasingly cold feet over keeping their army in the frontline...
[1] Which means that overall the British have 174 aircraft surplus to OTL
Since Constantinople is undefendable, is there any sort of contingency to keep a hold in the straits, perhaps some kind of reduit around the Dardanelles and Gallipoli? It looks on the map as if it's more defendable and could be supported from the sea, while keeping the Turkish navy bottled up in the Marmara and Black seas.
Nice update as usual. The butterflies to Operation Compass seem quite interesting. Italy is being forced to commit significantly more resources towards the invasion of Greece than OTL, while Britain has more men to spare than OTL. And given the Luftwaffe's weaker position and Germany being forced to spend more resources in the Balkans, it's quite possible the DAK won't be formed. All of that combined could mean Britain is able to plow through and occupy much of Libya, essentially ending the North African front before it really began. Which opens up a whole new set of Butterflies.