[colorado tanker]

A good case can be made that the second front wasn't necessary to defeat Germany and fascism because the Russians already had them on the ropes and were not going to stop until Hitler was dead. But, that's a "what if" that armchair quarterbacks living in peacetime can debate. At the time the American high command deemed it essential.

However, we also now know the second front was absolutely necessary to stop Stalin and the Sovs from dominating post-War Europe. By occupying Western and Southern Europe and most of Germany, the Allies saved those countries from Soviet occupation and communist rule.

[SunkenCiv]

Because Hitler was a dumbass who didn't understand strategy or tactics, and would always choose the wrong option when the stakes were highest, the Germans were probably inevitably intercoursed. Just before Kursk, Hitler pulled two divisions out of Op Zitadelle and put them into Italy. Brain dead. The Italian terrain was sufficient, and was some of the hardest fighting of the war. The USSR needed lend-lease and needed the second front, and demanded both from us, and got both.