Italy's defeat could leave Germany isolated

Italy's defeat could shorten the war by allowing the Allies to concentrate on Germany. Germany would lose its Mediterranean partner while Britain, Japan, and possibly the United States could focus on the remaining enemy. Hitler might still fight on or even declare war on the United States first, but an army coup becomes more plausible as Germany's strategic position collapses. Romania and Bulgaria could avoid deeper involvement, while Franco might reconsider Spanish neutrality if Allied forces advanced into France from Italian-held territory. Stalin's fear of exclusion from the settlement could also draw the Soviet Union into the coalition and close the eastern side of the encirclement. These political outcomes become increasingly uncertain as each depends on earlier changes in the scenario.