They assigned the M3 designation depending on what type of vehicle or weapon it was. So you got the M3 Stuart light tank, the M3 Grant medium tank, the M3 scout car, the M3 halftrack, the M3 Grease Gun...
The North African campaign ending early will have a lot of effects on the European theatre, that is for certain. At least the Italian commander made the right call and decided not to fight to the last man for what was essentially a nonsensical last stand.
For comparison's sake, how are the Soviets doing? If the Western Allies manage to break into the Ruhr and into Germany by the end of the year, that is going to be a launching pad for the Allies to start planning to storm Germany, I would think. The OTL crossing at Remagen really accelerated it...
At least the Brits have a lot of newly minted M13/40 wrecks they can examine, it seems.
But yeah, Italian tanks don't really have a good reputation for a good reason.
And the more proper usage of paratrooper forces as well. TTL's paras were actually used as holding points and it was better coordinated with the ground advance as well.
Are these the tropical Mark II versions? I know this is a diversion from the tankcentric nature of this TL, but it would be interesting if these were the 12 x .303 variant or the 4 x 20mm cannon variant.
It seems that TTL's Battleaxe has been a success and that the Brits managed to recover a good majority of their tanks. While the DAK didn't get the chance to recover any of them.
Wonder what's going to happen to those vehicles now.