Did Italy prevent a German defeat sooner than 1945?

[Alpini Arditi]

Some revisionist historians have argued that Italy, far from being a large contributing factor to the German defeat, actually helped Germany keep on fighting for as long as it did. Consider that Italy and her colonies were, geographically, a large buffer zone in the south, and that it utilised the Mediterranean as a theatre of war. It was the primary Axis power in both Africa and the Balkans, and that vast amounts of Anglo-American material and hundreds of thousands of men that could have been used against Germany, instead were devoted to fighting Italy. Italian assistance held up the Western Powers, and allowed Germany to concentrate the majority of it's strength on the Eastern Front. When Italy surrendered, the Germans had to re-deploy significant forces to cover the areas once occupied by the Italian Army, thus weakening it's position in the East. Additionally, Allied troops previously held down in North Africa were re-directed to Operation Overlord. So, there's definitely a case to argue that Italy helped Germany avoid collapse earlier than it did.

Italy and Colonies 1940

Italian_empire_1940.png (3.16 KiB) Viewed 6444 times

[daveshoup2MD]

Some revisionist historians have argued that Italy, far from being a large contributing factor to the German defeat, actually helped Germany keep on fighting for as long as it did. Consider that Italy and her colonies were, geographically, a large buffer zone in the south, and that it utilised the Mediterranean as a theatre of war. It was the primary Axis power in both Africa and the Balkans, and that vast amounts of Anglo-American material and hundreds of thousands of men that could have been used against Germany, instead were devoted to fighting Italy. Italian assistance held up the Western Powers, and allowed Germany to concentrate the majority of it's strength on the Eastern Front. When Italy surrendered, the Germans had to re-deploy significant forces to cover the areas once occupied by the Italian Army, thus weakening it's position in the East. Additionally, Allied troops previously held down in North Africa were re-directed to Operation Overlord. So, there's definitely a case to argue that Italy helped Germany avoid collapse earlier than it did.
Italian_empire_1940.png

Arguably, yes ... but that was not the goal of Italy's entry into the war in 1940, of course.

[Cantankerous]

Some revisionist historians have argued that Italy, far from being a large contributing factor to the German defeat, actually helped Germany keep on fighting for as long as it did. Consider that Italy and her colonies were, geographically, a large buffer zone in the south, and that it utilised the Mediterranean as a theatre of war. It was the primary Axis power in both Africa and the Balkans, and that vast amounts of Anglo-American material and hundreds of thousands of men that could have been used against Germany, instead were devoted to fighting Italy. Italian assistance held up the Western Powers, and allowed Germany to concentrate the majority of it's strength on the Eastern Front. When Italy surrendered, the Germans had to re-deploy significant forces to cover the areas once occupied by the Italian Army, thus weakening it's position in the East. Additionally, Allied troops previously held down in North Africa were re-directed to Operation Overlord. So, there's definitely a case to argue that Italy helped Germany avoid collapse earlier than it did.
Italian_empire_1940.png

Arguably, yes ... but that was not the goal of Italy's entry into the war in 1940, of course.

Benito Mussolini's plans for a modern-day Roman Empire, despite being grandiose, met with pushback from partisan resistance by the Greeks, Albanians, and Yugoslavs, as well as Allied forces. When France fell to Hitler, the British stepped up their naval presence in the Mediterranean fearing that Mussolini would undermine British maritime influence in North Africa, and the Royal Navy's devastating attack on the Regia Marina at Taranto in September 1940 was a setback for Mussolini because it severely sapped away Italy's ability to treat the Mediterranean Sea as its domain in World War II. That Italy was the first Axis power to surrender is a reminder of weaknesses faced by the Italian military during and prior to World War II, because Mussolini had always agreed with the Roman emperors that the Mediterranean Sea was the domain of the Italian nation.