The Italians cost Nazi Germany World War 2.

1R1NRC: On Rommel's Worth in Russia Firstly, I do not deny that Rommel was a military genius (the opponent has strawman my arguments so badly that I must state here that I take offense from him understanding that I think Rommel was a careless commander); but he was able to do his duty effectively ONLY because of several factors which can be attributed to North Africa only. Rommel had three factors working towards him; (1) he was a brilliant tactician in the fields of Clausewitz, but not perhaps in the field of Sun-Tzu and modern Soviet-type warfare, (2) he had territorial advantages due to the front he fought in, and (3) he had the benefits of Hitler barely caring about his front. These benefits were to be almost completely destroyed in Russia; the first and second factors have already been shown false in the previous round, and the opponent accepts this; the third benefit must also be shown false in order for this argument to be fully understood. 1. Hitler cared more about the Eastern Front than the Western Front 1.1 This is due to the fact the Slavs were seen as "subhumans" to the Nazi Ideology. Mein Kampf, Chapter XIV deals with the Russian question accordingly. "If we speak of soil [to be conquered for German settlement] in Europe today, we can primarily have in mind only Russia and her vassal border states." [1] 1.2 Rommel's plan was successful only due to the fact that Hitler and his high command often left them unhindered; this was due to the fact that Hitler barely cared about North Africa. 1.21 There were many instances when Rommel defied Hitler; accordingly to the Commando Order, all Commando captured by the Nazis were to be executed; Rommel went on to have tea with him 1.3 According to proposition 1.2, Rommel was always a rebel to Hitler's order; he was also in no mood to be commanded. He was a man who always enjoyed sacking people who did not follow his orders exactly; he was a well-educated "Hitler" per se. [2] 1.4 Accordingly to proposition 1 and 1.1, Hitler cared about Russia immensely; henceforth, he interfered with a lot of factors in the Eastern Front Campaigns. 1.5 Rommel did not like "higher" interference; he understood war better than Hitler. [2] 1.6 But accordingly to proposition 1.4, Hitler would always be breathing on Rommel's neck, directing every of his action. Rommel had no freedom of control, and henceforth, his corps would have become a useless korps to the Eastern Front, and Rommel's tactical genius would have not helped him. 1R2NRC: On Italy's Armed Forces During the French Campaign The opponent's comments upon the French are disgusting; the French Armed Forces deserves some respect. These men were not just soldiers who simply threw their weapons away; there was some serious resistance from the French. A German soldier even once stated that "apart from us, the French are the best soldiers in Europe" With this said, one must understand that Italy was indeed very militarily weak. This fact is a truism; but to compare Italy with France is like to compare North Korea with the United States. Italian troops weren't weak; the officers were. Italian troops indeed had high morale; but the Italian incompetency was due to the fact that their officers were incompetent. And even this was falsifiable; it would come to a conclusion that Italian equipment of obsolete and incompetent. Through thorough analysis of the Alps Campaign, one can see two factors; (1) that the French were well prepared, and (2) the Italians weren't well prepared. France had created the "Maginot Lines of the Alps" to counter the Italian threat, and they had indeed 800 platoons of elite mountain troopers. Italy only had regular soldiers. The Italian Army, however, was a very competent force; the Italian Expeditionary Force in Russia was an example of this. During the Battle of Nikolevyka, the demoralized Italian Alpinis Corps withdrew, heroically, from the Russian encirclement; the Soviet War bulletin N.630 honored the Italians by saying that "the only that can only be concluded to not have lost a single battle was the Italian Alpini Corps" [3][4] 1R3NRC: Defending Franquist Spain The rest of the opponent's arguments only seem to prove my point; he proves that if Germany didn't help Italy out, Germany would have fallen by 1943. This proves my contention that Italy helped delay the German defeat, and indeed did not cost Germany WW2. HOWEVER, I am unable to accept his comments made upon the Spanish Armed Forces during the Franquist Era. A brief amount of characters shall go into defending the Franquist Armed Forces. The Franquist Armed Forces had an immense amount of experience, due to fighting in the Spanish Civil War. During World War II, the Spanish Army had 300,000 men, trained for defensive action. To call the Franquist Armed Forces puny is a great insult to the heroic actions of the Blue Division; 47,000 Spanish soldiers fought with their German Comrades, and in one instance, held a line against a Soviet Force, supported by tanks and infantry which were 7 times the size of their own. A quick victory against Spain is all but a dream; the Spanish people will surely oppose this attempt to usurp the power of Spain, not to mention that Spain was not an Axis Nation. [5][6] 1R4NRC: Italy's Heroic and Beneficial Involvement in Russia Hitler’s alliance with Mussolini was beneficial. If this alliance were non-existent, Mussolini would have released his armed forces onto Germany, taking the parts of the Alps that used to be part of Austria. Nevertheless, this contention will be based upon the fact that Italy's involvement in Russia was the only reason why the Nazis did not suffer the entire collapse of the Eastern Front. Italian and Romanian troops were deployed into Russia as "rearguards" (that is, they guarded the rear of the German formation). The Italian troops here were often unprepared to face the cold winds of Russia, but they had the same fighting spirit as their German counterparts. The Alpinis were deployed to fight the Russians at the Don River; as a result of this, troops trained for mountain combat were used to defend plains. The Alpinis were often confused; they were not trained, and were not equipped for mechanized warfare. Mountain warfare was their expertise. This fact is often ignored, unjustly. NEVERTHELESS, the held out until January 1943. Italian troops were often faced with overwhelming odds; the Italian Eigth Army experienced non-stop attacks from the Soviets. Facing overwhelming forces during Operation Little Saturn, the forces at the Italian Center fought a battle of annihilation. Before this, in 1942, Italian riflemen had done well to defend the German rear; at the Don River, the Italian Alpini Divisions annihilated a Russian division and held their lines against initial Soviet attacks for months until Little Saturn. After Operation Little Saturn, the Italian forces were faced with another attack, and were encircled. However, the Alpini Regiment fought a battle of life and death with the Soviets at Nikolaievka, and broke through. [7] [8] If the Italians did not guard the rear for the Germans, then it would be likely that the Germans would not have any success in Russia; Italian involvement is often looked down upon. These soldiers were heroic soldiers, who fought for their fatherland and their king, and successfully defended their grounds against all odds. Citations: [1] http://en.wikipedia.org... [2] http://en.wikipedia.org... [3] http://en.wikipedia.org... [4] http://en.wikipedia.org... [5]http://en.wikipedia.org... [6]http://en.wikipedia.org... [7]http://en.wikipedia.org...; [8] http://en.wikipedia.org...