re: OT History Buffs, I have a ?

quote:

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If Erwin Rommel was considered one of the best tank commanders the Germans had and the eastern front was mainly a tank front, why wasn't he given a command on the eastern front?

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The simplest answer is that - the Italians were abject failures as allies for Nazi Germany - they failed to secure Greece, causing a delay in Barbarossa for six weeks and they got pasted by Monty in North Africa, requiring Hitler to sent Rommel and the Afrika Corps to North Africa.

Now - 2 panzer divisions might not have made much of a difference in the East, but the combined loss of 6 weeks of good weather, the resources (gasoline, food, planes, all the stuff necessary to support the operation across the Med), Rommel, and the diverted attention certainly didn't help Barbarossa (which may have been doomed anyway, but kicking off in late June meant it was really, really doomed - like extra doomed).

Really, if the Italians had been just adequate in North Africa and Greece, the war could have gone the other way - potentially.