How an Allied Norway could reshape the wider war

How might Allied control of Norway, alongside better outcomes in Crete and North Africa, have changed the wider Second World War?

It could have opened bombing and Baltic-interdiction routes against Germany while freeing British naval strength for the Mediterranean and Far East, creating a much shorter European war in the most favorable version of the scenario.

In this counterfactual, Norway becomes a base that could expose German industry and Baltic supply routes rather than an isolated campaign prize. Combined with an Allied Crete and a stronger Mediterranean position, it could support attacks on southeastern European oil while sea control improved British logistics in North Africa. Earlier success there would release ships and troops for Malaya and the Indian Ocean, potentially presenting Japan with a much stronger British fleet. The scenario remains a chain of favorable assumptions rather than a prediction, but it shows how maritime geography connected Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, and the Far East.