@CWO:
@ABWorsham:
Lets remember, had the Germans not invaded Greece then Rommel’s adventure in Africa is much different. His role would have been to save Tripoli, instead of counter-attacking and driving to Egypt.
I’m not sure Greece was the cause. As I recall, when Hitler originally sent Rommel to Africa he basically gave him orders to simply dig in and hold the line. If that was indeed Hitler’s intention, then he made a serious mistake in his choice of generals because Rommel was definitely not a dig-in-and-hold-the-line kind of commander. Rommel was even prepared to interpret his orders in creative ways which technically adhered to their letter but not to their spirit: for purposes of paperwork, for example, he described first major offensive in North Africa as simply a "reconnaissance in force." He ended up routing the British and driving them practically back to Egypt – and with those kinds of results, of course, Hitler was happy to overlook the fact that Rommel hadn’t done what Hitler had wanted him to do.
All true.
Had the 6th Australian, 2nd New Zealand and British 1st Armored been in North Africa instead of Greece, Rommel may have been forced to ‘obey orders’ with his 5th Light Division.
