A much heavier Taranto strike could prevent the resupply needed to sustain Axis armies in North Africa. British operations would aim to wear down their fuel and ammunition stocks before launching a decisive attack. With replacement supplies cut off, the resulting campaign could appear startlingly rapid. Losing North Africa after the fleet had been devastated might alter Italy's commitment to the war even without an invasion of Sicily in 1942. That political outcome remains a possibility within the counterfactual, rather than an assured result.
Notable Point · 1:07:53-1:09:05
Exhausting Axis supplies before a North African offensive
A devastated Italian fleet could let Britain time its offensive for the exhaustion of Axis fuel and ammunition, with wider consequences for Italy's war effort.