How could Germany had avoided losing World WarII?

1. 79

   Credence2posted 10 years ago

   How could Germany had avoided losing World WarII?
   
   If you had to identify three things that explain why Hitler and the Axis lost World War II, what would they be?

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2. 68

   Charles Jamesposted 10 years ago

   The basic mistake was to fight a war on two fronts. The Russians had no intention or plans to invade Germany, so there was no need to attack them in 1942. Apart from oil the Russians had nothing significant that the Germans needed.
   General Winter defeated Napoleon. The stubbornness and courage of the Russian people, and General Winter, defeated Hitler.
   If the Germans had been able to do a deal with Britain (because the USA did not join until Pearl Harbour), then Germany could have fought and beaten Russia, particularly if the attack was in spring.
   A secondary issue was codes. The British were reading virtually every signal the Germans sent to each other. This helped the Allies hugely.
   Pearl Harbour was a disaster for the Germans because it brought America fully into the war. The industrial might and the manpower of the USA tipped the balance. Otherwise Britain might well have lost.

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      Credence2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hi, Charles, if Hitler was anything, he was stubborn. Did he not have visions of Russia as 'living space' as an ultimate goal? He underestimated the industrial capacity of the U.S., a fatal blunder. You are quite the historian, thanks for your imput

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3. 90

   Thief12posted 10 years ago

   The obvious first answer was the invasion of the Soviet Union. Hitler underestimated this action, and ended up getting more than what he bargained for. And even then, he almost got to Moscow. But the combination of the weather and the counterattack of the Soviets was too much.
   
   On a related note, as Germany advanced towards Moscow, they refused to recruit Ukrainians and other locals, who weren't very fond of Stalin, taking them as POWs instead. The increase in manpower could've been a decisive factor.
   
   Also, the bombing of Great Britain didn't go as he planned. Not only because of the way he executed it, refusing to go for a ground invasion, but because the British, like the Soviets, held their own.
   
   Another possible reason could be that Germany never expected the American forces to arrive in Normandy. They thought they would arrive at Pais de Calais, which was farther north. Had they known they would arrive in Normandy, they would've been more prepared.

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   1. 79

      Credence2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting, Thief12, bringing up possibilities that I never really thought about. I was thinking about his failure to appreciate the possibilities of nuclear research or  Messerschmidt jets earlier in the war, which could have stopped Allied bombing

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4. 61

   tirelesstravelerposted 10 years ago

   Are you reading a book on Churchill?  I am and I have never heard of Hitlers idea of "living space" before today.  I agree with Charles about war on two fronts.  Hitler was an egocentric who had egocentrics working for him. They made plans and were so sure of them they couldn't be flexible when conditions weren't as they expected.

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   1. 79

      Credence2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Tireless, the concept was called lebensraum(Living space) it is found in Mein Kamph, Hitler' blueprint for the Third Reich. Followme here...
      
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)#German_ideology
      Table of contents: German ideology

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   2. 61

      tirelesstravelerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      The book on Churchill sited Mein Kamph.  Its late.

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5. 39

   Borsiaposted 10 years ago

   Something that historians, especially American historians, overlook is that Germany was loosing the war before the US got involved.
   The three reasons are pretty simple.
   First Hitler didn't let the generals run the military, he micromanaged ans screwed up at every turn.
   Second he started too soon. Germany had some incredible weapons and aircraft coming down the line but Hitler didn't wait. Germany just wasn't ready for war but they were very close.
   Finally he could have enlisted the help of almost all the Ukrainian and Slovak nations Germany invaded. They all hated Stalin and had they all been openly embraced there is a very good chance that a good number of Russians would have switched sides.
   A lot of the same could be said about the Japanese against the US.

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   1. 79

      Credence2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Borsia, hope that you are doing well. Historians say that Hitler should have made nice with Russia until he defeated the allies in the West.

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   2. 39

      Borsiaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Probably true but he didn't want Stalin to get any stronger. He still could have won if he hadn't been such an idiot. Scary but true.
      But you know what they say "madmen and fools"

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