Short and simple. The Battle of El Alamein is a smashing Nazi victory and the British Army is routed. Rommel's troops take Cairo, Alexandria, and the Suez Canal. What now?
Short and simple. The Battle of El Alamein is a smashing Nazi victory and the British Army is routed. Rommel's troops take Cairo, Alexandria, and the Suez Canal. What now?
Short and simple. The Battle of El Alamein is a smashing Nazi victory and the British Army is routed. Rommel's troops take Cairo, Alexandria, and the Suez Canal. What now?
Hopefuly this would lead to the axis stupidly throwing more divisions into some grand counquest of the Middle East which would drain their resources.
Was the Suez Canal a particulary important target during that period of the war. Apart from its symbolic importance to the British Empire and Commonwealth that is. I imagine all the shipping that went through the canal pre war went round the Cape as soon as Italy declared war.
The canal was the main supply route for the British forces in Egypt. In other words, capturing the canal would help Rommel in his attempt to conquer Egypt rather than being an end in itself.
It what exact manner was it the "main supply route"? Did freighters in the canal off load their cargo while there? Did tankers in the canal off load their fuel while there? Did transports in the canal off-load their troops while there?
Sure vessels which had steamed around the Cape to avoid the dangers of the Med could pass through the canal to off-load in Alexandria, but they could off-load at smaller port of Suez too.
I don't see how parking a panzer on the banks of the canal somehow magically cuts the supply lines of British troops still able to use Egypt's Mediterranean and Red Sea ports.