glenn239 wrote: ↑09 Dec 2019, 19:36
Any other reasons why the Axis can't form fleets in Iberia assuming that Germany's strategy was competent and Gibraltar was taken care of in 1940/1941 in order to shut down the whole West Med front before it could even get rolling?
What "fleet"? A conglomeration of a few Italian and German assets hardly count as a "fleet".
Littorio isn't available until March 1941.
Caio Duilio isn't available until June 1941.
Conte di Cavour is never available.
That leaves
Giulio Cesare,
Andrea Doria, and
Littorio as the sole modern Italian capital ships, until Roma is completed in June 1942. And a pretty mixed bag they were and all especially vulnerable to torpedo attack.
They do have six heavy cruisers...assuming Matapan doesn't happen, but all have extremely short legs, under 5,000 NM (in comparison, a contemporary, the American
Portland class, had an endurance of 10,000 NM). In fact, ALL the Italian vessels have short legs; they were designed for the Med after all. The
Vittorio Venento class was just 4,100 NM compared to the American
Washington class at 17,450. Just getting to, say Brest, to join with the German "fleet" will burn half their bunker load...assuming they can maintain an economical 14 knots the entire time.
The Germans have
Bismarck,
Gneisenau, and
Scharnhorst. And their four heavy cruisers. A mighty host indeed.
The Italians though are in Naples and the Germans are in Wilhelmshaven...the first trick will be getting them together.