Spain and Portugal had entered the war on the Axis side?

Spain was still licking it wounds and rebuilding itself after its Civil war, and in general you don't hear much about Portugal's military potential, but what do you think they were capable of and how would they have effected the Axis cause and the outcome of the War???
Would they have been relatively worthless and unknown Axis allies like Romania and Hungary, would they be like Italy and just be so badly prepared that they just start things they can't finish, or would they be helpful and change the course and outcome of the war?

 

Those two countries had very small economies and were especially unable to sustain a war effort, so either they went to war with a shoestring and a sardine can, being a burden to the German economy. That's what happened to the minor Axis allies, and we saw what happened.

Spain had just come out of a grievously wounding civil war, but the jury is still out on whether Franco in his Hendaye meeting with Hitler was sincere in entering or not, with his demands for extended North African territories at Vichy's France expense. That's what scared Hitler off. Was Franco bluffing or not? Was he finding an excuse using a preposterous claim or was he being sincere? We still don't know.

Portugal was hopeless (I'm Portuguese, in case you don't know). There were vast colonial territories in southern Africa and in India which would be immediately subject of invasion by the UK, ditto for the Atlantic islands. Entering the war on the axis side would be Russian roulette with six bullets in the drum. Besides economy (and a very rural and poor one at that, Romania without the oil) was very dependent on the British one, and during the war military supplies (except for Mauser rifles and a few artillery pieces) were ALL British origin. After Stalingrad all mineral shipments to Germany were drastically cut, that was the Portuguese government felt the wind was changing and it was time to take a hard look at foreign business.

Also both countries have very extensive shorelines. How's that for an extended Atlantic Wall?

I'm sorry, I think reality was much more reasonable than any fiction.

 

I doubt that Portugal would have entered on the Axis side. Portugal had/does have a long history of being Britains friend and had one of the oldest alliences with Britain. So if she had entered the war, it would have probably been on the Allied side. Though this wouldn't have done her any favours.

As for Spain, the one benefit to the Axis, and one that Hitler was keen on exploiting, would have been the effect on the Allies' war effort inthe Med. She would have been a serious threat to Gibraltor and the Straits, possibly closing the Med and direct access to Malta, Egypt and the Canel. Though the Allies ran a great risk whilst passing through the Straits, having Gib as a base was of great strategic benefit.

 

The most valued service these two countries would be able to provide would be sea and air bases. But, they were more valuable staying out of the conflict and be used as a supply base since they could have supplied Germany with needed materials such as food and raw materials. Question would then be, would the allies attack any shipping that went to either country?

 

They could and they did! One unconfirmed story was that Portugal used to load German cargo ships with mere rocks instead of ore, and the order an escort ship to provide assistance to "ship so and so, leaving Lisbon harbour at such date and hour" on open channel, in the hope that some Brit submarine would hear it and oblige with a torpedo or two, while the ore was saved up to ship to the UK

This is probably a tall story, but it was told to me in perfect good faith on ways 'we' used to practise a somewhat skewed neutrality

 

On 20-20 hindsight, if Spain and Portugal had joined the Germans then lost the war, they would have been able to get in on the Marshall Plan and perhaps get richer like Japan and Germany did. Just think what a country full of overachivers like Za could have done !

 

Lets not forget that Spain also provided about 45 thousand troops, to fight along side the Germans on the easter front.

 

Actually the Marshall Plan was offered to Portugal, but the Dictator-In-Charge back then refused it, as he flet the attached democracy strings were too much for his taste. So thank you very much for the state of retardedness we still are in, you bloody cretin!

That was Franco's way of getting rid of the more troublesome of his veterans from the Civil War. It's an old method, it already shows up in the Bible!