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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: unclewest who wrote (19674)	2/23/2002 6:05:16 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Respond to of 281500

last time i looked madagascar was near the horn of africa off mozambique and egypt was on the mediterranean Because the Italian Navy and German Air Force effectively controlled the Mediterreanean Sea (minus Malta and Gibraltar which remained a thorn in the Axis side), the British were generally required to route their reinforcements around the Cape of Good Hope to Egypt. Had the Japanese successfully invaded Madagasgar (under Vichy control at the time and not something the Germans could do themselves, militarily or politically), it would have effectively cut off Britain not only from Egypt, but from their possessions in India and Australia. The result would likely have been that Rommel would have gained the upper hand in Egypt and conquered the Suez canal, and with it, control over the oil fields of the Persian Gulf. Strategically, it was probably one of the greatest blunders by ommission, of WWII (not counting Hitler delaying the capture of Moscow, and the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor).. Had the Japanese and Germans been more inclined to coordinate their attacks against the British holding in the Indian Ocean, they would have possessed enough oil for both sides to meet their wartime needs. One of the major "what if" scenarios that could have altered the course of the war. Hawk