WW2: Liberate Norway instead of France?

What if instead of Operation Overlord, could the allies have liberated Norway slightly earlier in the war, possibly without wasting time in Italy. Once they had Norway could an alternate Operation Overlord be launched onto Denmark or directly onto Germany?
 
Ah the old Axis and Allies strategy. Funny thing is if the Soviets hadn't been so brutal and distrusting of the Allies, they could well have had a LOT of troops fighting in the East.

I think you'd need an Allied Sweden to make this work though, which makes Norway being captured by the Nazis in the first place dodgy.
 

FBKampfer

Banned
I think it could work well enough, if the Allies can commit another army (doesn't even have to be fully mechanized or anything).

Liberate Norway and go for an end run down to the Swiss border. Everything west of the Allies is cut off and resupply is infeasible.

A slightly stronger Dragoon clears France (while everything Germany has tries to punch through the Allied lines), and then sit in place while you "organize your supply lines" and the reds bleed themselves white, and stroll on up to the Elbe.


Bingo bango, Western Europe liberated pretty cheap and easy.
 
I think it could work well enough, if the Allies can commit another army (doesn't even have to be fully mechanized or anything).

Liberate Norway and go for an end run down to the Swiss border. Everything west of the Allies is cut off and resupply is infeasible.

A slightly stronger Dragoon clears France (while everything Germany has tries to punch through the Allied lines), and then sit in place while you "organize your supply lines" and the reds bleed themselves white, and stroll on up to the Elbe.


Bingo bango, Western Europe liberated pretty cheap and easy.

Theres not a chance in hell for any of that working for any number of reasons
 
I think it could work well enough, if the Allies can commit another army (doesn't even have to be fully mechanized or anything).

Liberate Norway and go for an end run down to the Swiss border. Everything west of the Allies is cut off and resupply is infeasible.

A slightly stronger Dragoon clears France (while everything Germany has tries to punch through the Allied lines), and then sit in place while you "organize your supply lines" and the reds bleed themselves white, and stroll on up to the Elbe.


Bingo bango, Western Europe liberated pretty cheap and easy.

Wonder who else caught the joke?
 
Holts 'The Deceivers' describes the Allied deception operations aimed at Norway/Scandinavia. These played on actual fears of German leaders the Allies would do exactly this. Deceptions ops, of which FORTITUDE NORTH was the largest, were run to convince Hitler & Co. a Allied army was ready to descend on Norway. By mid 1944 Germany field army of 100,000 men, and another 200,000 naval & air force personnel occupied Norway, mostly on defense missions there. This included some 300 aircraft at a time the Germans were desperately short of operational machines. In that sense this fake offensive was successful, diverting yet more strength from the future battle of France.
 
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