Subject: What if we ignored N. Africa and the MTO?
From: (Drazen Kramaric)
Date: 12/6/03 12:07 PM Pacific Standard Time
Message-id:

and aircraft were simply not available

Allies had in ETO and MTO at least twice as much aircraft (without
counting strategic bombers) than Luftwaffe had in total. Throughout
1943, Luftwaffe was incapable of preventing Allied air, naval and
ground operations in the Mediterranean. In case of 1943 invasion,
Allied assets that couldn't have been used in the Mediterranean (Air
Defense of Great Britain) would have been utilised.

Some 5000 ships and landing craft, 600,000 tons of supplies and 200,000
vehicles had to be assembled

These were the forces needed to arrive to German border within three
months of D-day, but such requirement would not be necessary condition
for the success of 1943 invasion.

in addition to the armies and then there's the little matter of winning air
superiority
over the landing beaches. Without the decimation of the Luftwaffe in late
1943 and
early 1944 and lacking long range escort fighters any attempted invasion
would have been exceptionally risky.

Luftwaffe was incapable of defeating Allied air forces in the
Mediterranean. By mid 1943, Allies had twice as much fighters
available as Luftwaffe had. Allied did not need long range escorts for
air superiority over La Manche and bridgehead.


As for the MTO it was simply not possible to isolate the German and
Italian armies and ignore them.

Operation Torch was not necessary. If it was skipped, Allies would
have had the resources to establish a second front in north-western
France in 1943.


And Monte's entire 8th Army would have been in England and could have been
used in an invasion along with the supporting RAF aircraft The invasion a year
earlier was very possible had the MTO and African campaigns not taken place..

Regards,


Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer