Operation Compass succeeds

Pantelleria greatly improves British air power in the central Med, not to mention Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, all are far more important than the minor benefits of the Dodecanese, especially since only Churchill thought Turkey felt any need to attack Hitler.

Victory fever can be a concern but British military professionals will understand that action depends on what they have to land in an area and reinforce those landings.

One reason Hitler sent Rommel OTL was because if Libya fell he noted that the British would have a much improved situation and a dozen or so divisions freed for further use. Obviously he didn't think the British could invade France but was thinking of places like Sicily as easy prey to a force that size. Further, beyond just how shaky Italy would become if Sicily or Sardinia(or both!) fell, the advantage for RAF Bomber Command and easy use of the Med by the British would additional benefits.

I forget just how much merchant tonnage was freed up once the British could stop using the long route around South Africa but it was massive.
 

Hyperion

Banned
Pantelleria greatly improves British air power in the central Med, not to mention Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, all are far more important than the minor benefits of the Dodecanese, especially since only Churchill thought Turkey felt any need to attack Hitler.

Victory fever can be a concern but British military professionals will understand that action depends on what they have to land in an area and reinforce those landings.

One reason Hitler sent Rommel OTL was because if Libya fell he noted that the British would have a much improved situation and a dozen or so divisions freed for further use. Obviously he didn't think the British could invade France but was thinking of places like Sicily as easy prey to a force that size. Further, beyond just how shaky Italy would become if Sicily or Sardinia(or both!) fell, the advantage for RAF Bomber Command and easy use of the Med by the British would additional benefits.

I forget just how much merchant tonnage was freed up once the British could stop using the long route around South Africa but it was massive.

I think the main reason Condor had the British attacking the islands in the Aegean was because the US had just entered the war and a lot of equipment and army units that would be needed for a lot of major operations wasn't in place yet.

The Greeks wanted some territory back, and had a sizeable number of troops to offer up to help out. The British also decided to test out some of their doctrine on some less dangerous(relatively speaking) targets to get some practice for the big show. Remember Torch will not be needed, but some experience gained from that attack will have been lost.

The Italians also had a number of isolated garrisons in the Aegean, and the British decided to attempt to use Crete as a base to try and get the Greeks some territory back and destroy some Italian divisions piecemeal.

Essentially a sideshow, but at the time at least in the original version, there where not a lot of men and equipment to carry out anything much bigger, and it worked out fairly successfully.
 
Also, in December 1941-February 1942 of this timeline originally, Condor had the British and Greeks, operating from bases in Crete, invading and securing the Dodecanese. Condor had them garrisoned by a second rate Italian infantry division, and a first line division that was rushed to the region on short notice, but several small engagements by the British and Greek navies sunk a number of warships and supply convoys carrying equipment right up before the British and Greeks attacked.
This is the main reason, why this British Dodecanese adventure would turn out better than it did in OTL 2 years later.
By using Crete, the British can operate under air cover from Crete around the Dodecanese.
 
Great TL condor... tho I do have a few points;

1. I was under the impression that Eaden would have seceded Churchill as PM, after all Atlee was a political appointment (as the coalition needed a seniour Labour MP as deputy PM) and have read, I think in Andrew Roberts, Masters and Commanders that this would have been the case.

* This would still mean that the CIGS would run the war, but may mean less un-ease in the US, without a 'socialist' PM.

2. To those (Rannocols I think) who think that the British would have looked to intervene on the continent (Norway etc...) instead of re-enforcing SE Asia, I think they need to realise that Alan Brooke is effectively in charge of the war. He, and the rest of the British Military, were dead set against any such incursions, they blocked Churchill's plan to invade Norway and only 'green-lighted' operation Torch, because it effectively stopped the US insisting on an early Normandy landing (Operations Sledgehammer & Round-up)
 
IIRC, when Churchill first flew to Russia to meet Stalin (which was considered a risky trip at the time), he stated that if anything hapenned to him Atlee should be his successor
 
IIRC, when Churchill first flew to Russia to meet Stalin (which was considered a risky trip at the time), he stated that if anything hapenned to him Atlee should be his successor

Ok, so I desperatley skimming the afore mentioned book to look for a quote, but I did find this;

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-EdenRobertAnthony.html

...and when, in December 1940, he became foreign secretary with a seat in the war cabinet it was soon accepted that if anything happened to Churchill it would be Eden who would succeed him.

I know it's internet... and it would depend if Eden is Foreign sectary or not yet... but it would be interesting
 
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