Comments by "ODDBALL SOK" (@oddballsok) on "MALTA's Impact on the North African Campaign WW2... And More! TIK Q&A 5" video.

  1. regarding turkey: 1st you say it is an impossible country to invade by either soviets(!) or nazis or brits... logistically in dire straits in 1941, but also the terrain. But then you claim that if turkey had joined the axis after a succesful fall blau/Baku oil fields...then they would be "slaughtered"by the soviets ...after Stalingrad..."or the british". Ehmm ...HOW ? the terrain is still the same. And logistically the british, certainly the US and also the soviets would NOT want to spend stuff in the deep south if their PRIMARY OBJECTIVE is the heart of nazi germany. The ONLY bad outcome for the turks in that scenario is that it would be CUT OFF from world trade by sea and by land. Technically SUFFOCATING the turkish population within a year. And that is I believe the ONLY TRUE reason why turkey did not join the fantasies of Hitler.
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  2. so the reason the germans and italians did not stage a para assault on Malta (akin to Krete but lot smaller scale) when they could end 1940/ early 1941 when things were optimal for succes...was simply: they didnot think of it.They probably thought Malta is no threat. We can bypass Malta. Spies probably reported there were no planes and no navy (subs were not visible in the harbour: they harboured in caves inside the citadelle...), so no need to worry or waste resources for it.... Note: i know of the rocky grounds and rock fences between farmlands on Malta , and that those were sofar (ab)used to explain that a para landing (of course not the paragliders..but also the parachutes) would be "impossible"for the italian and german paras. But that is BS...once you KNOW Malta has no planes, and only a handful of light AA guns and no navy defenses...then a small force of say 3000 parachuted paras (and support bombers, strafing fighters and a follow up navy invasion of only 2 transport ships) would be able to take the harbours of the island, and thus take the island. No... the italians and germans (including rommel) simply thought nothing of Malta at the time. Not the 1st time the "supah"generals missed reading logistics in their strategic plans...
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