I have been reading this post for some time and I think it has been a pretty good post despite many derailing (Very good points by many people). I decided to post my 2 cents on why I think Germany lost the 2nd World War (Please keep in mind that I am going to use a shotgun approach, so feel free to skip over my incoherent ramblings).
1). Germany started the war too soon. Hitler should have listened to his general’s opinion about postponing the war until 1950. This is in my opinion the biggest reason for defeat as they were not completely ready in 1939 (i.e using training tanks as their armor ect…). Hitler took one too many gambles thinking the allies would balk again and was wrong when he attacked Poland. The benefits with this decision outweigh the drawbacks.
-Think of the weaponry the Germans would have developed. Probably jet fighters, long range aircraft (see Jets), super subs in a large quantity, radar, fantastic bombs (possibly the a-bomb) ect… (Yes some they did develop and some they didn’t, but I made the point I was aiming at).
-They would have had the time to train their allies in modern warfare. Think of the Italians as decent fighting force that doesn’t get their arse handed to them by blank ß (enter random country) militia/army every single time.
-The Germans would possibly have a decent intelligence network (Let's face it, it wasn’t one of their strong suits and it cost them dearly countless times).
-Germany could have come up with a real strategy in time, not a fly by the seat of your pants approach.
Now I know that the allies wouldn’t just sit back while Germany was building an arsenal, they would build one too. However, I am a firm believer that Germany would have seriously outpaced the allies in technology and production. Remember that most of the countries in the world at the time were isolationists and wanted to avoid war at all costs with the exception of Russia who wanted expansion. I also know that Germany would probably be in war earlier than 1950, but every year it was postponed I think would have benefited them more than the allies. I also know that many will argue that Russia would have been ready for war if not initiating it with Germany. I’m not so sure.
-I think with that much time, Russia probably could have made more mistakes (like attacking Poland first). Enter Germany on the side of the allies’ stage right (a farfetched idea maybe).
-Russia was also reeling from the purging they took from the psychopath Stalin. They had real organizational problems and although they would be building an arsenal it probably would have been of post WW1 equipment. What made Russia strong was not what they did pre-war, but what they had to do while facing annihilation. They say the “mother of all inventions is necessity” and facing extinction from a foreign power will get all your ducks in a row, so to speak.
-Also, it is said that Stalin would have done anything to avoid war with Germany. The direct quote I think is “Stalin would give Hitler the shirt on his back”, just to avoid war.
They didn’t wait and the rest is history. Germany attacks Poland and the allies declare war. Fast forward to Germany wiping out the French.
2). After the allies declared war, Germany should have declared total mobilization (Total War). Put women to work in factories (I know taboo in Germany at the time), draft every able man and strong child and gear the total economy around war. For example, all able men between the ages of 35 to 40 could be organized into supply mules (Mobilization Corp) for mobilization because they would be inferior to twenty something's for fighting.
3). Take out Dunkirk and fight the BOB right. Finish the job!!! Push the 300,000 troops into the ocean at Dunkirk, but mainly use it to destroy evacuating ships with planes and u-boats. Next, bomb ports and ships (any ships) and again and again. Don’t bomb cities, for crying out loud you’re just pissing the Brits off and making them determined to fight till the end, plus your getting aircraft shot down for no reason. Once you take objective 3 (the Suez canal), Britain would essentially dry up on the vine (although they would never give up), with little offensive capabilities for years in Europe.
4). Take the Suez Canal and the Middle East. This was key to the Axis victory, I repeat key. The Generals knew it, everyone knew it. Instead of throwing a small army down there to play patty-cake with the British, bring the heat and do it in force. This would effectively refuel Germany throughout the rest of the war as well as cut off the British (They would have to go around the Cape and get all their fuel from North America, even though the European Brits did anyway). Imagine German panzers fully fueled instead of sitting idle or forcing officers to cannibalize panzer divisions to stay on the offensive in Russia. Operation Barbarossa, here comes Rommel with Army Group Super South, with more oil than he can carry, into the soft underbelly of the Russian Empire (through syria, iraq and take everything up to the Don and Volga Rivers around Stalingrad).
5). Nazi ideology/propaganda cost Germany a lot especially in Eastern Europe. Germany should have pushed the idea to Eastern Europe that they were there to free the people from the Bolsheviks. Remember at the beginning of the war most of east hated Russia/Stalin with a passion and were terribly afraid of him (He already did much to these people). A lot of them were sympathizers with Germany at best and indifferent at worst (except Poland). Funny how getting attacked, pillaged, raped then sent to slave camps at best and exterminated at worst does to a person's viewpoint. People might have shown up in droves to help the Germans defeat the Russians (I once heard like 300,000 Romanians willfully tried to join the German army, but were sent to slave camps instead because they were Slavic, what a waste. Can someone collaborate this story for me? And yes I know the Romanians added a lot of the troops to the Axis). They could have added something like "Fight for Germany and your family goes free, don't and well it's to the pits with you", for all conquered territories. The enemy of my enemy is my enemy, huh?
6). Nazi ideology/propaganda cost Germany a lot part 2, in Germany. Countless Jewish doctors, engineers, scientists ect... wasted. Well not wasted, the allies put them to good use. Germany was good at wasting the most valuable resource around, people.
Still after all this the German's still were winning the war handily.
7). Russian winter and spring, bad logistics and scorched earth. Russian winter, well yeah I don't think I need to say more (can't avoid, but can plan for it). However, spring was just as bad and I don't think it was mentioned on the forums. Most of the Wehrmacht was stuck in the mud for most of the spring in 42'. Bad logistics, actually the Germans were pretty good at supply for being the first modern mechanized army that need great logistics, but they could have been better (see total war). Scorched Earth was well played by the Reds. A little more planning would have went a long way, see number 8.
8). Operation Barbarossa should have been stretched out over 2 years (and planned as such), as no things go according to plan especially in the army. An Example and maybe a bad one at that. Year 1: North Army your goal is Novgorod and Demyansk (close everything from lake Lagoda to the top of the Volga). Army Center your goal is Kalinn (link up with north army), Mozhaisk, Tula, Kursk, and Voronezh (Link up south Amy). South Army take Rostov and everything to the Donets River. Call it quits when the snow comes in and resume next year (punish any offense the Russians come up with). Year 2: South Army take it to the Don River. Push Moscow for total annihilation with hardly depleted armies and if that prevails take everything to the Volga.
*note: I don't mean literally take just the city and sit there and defend, but the land around it and the armies in the open field (It was more important to take the field armies around it than slug it out for the city. aka avoid Stalingrads and Leningrads).
9). Go with the girl that brought you there. Germany quit using the tactics that were working. In the boxing sense, they were a knockout fighter and in no way an endurance fighter like Russia. Only hit Russia when it could get crushed. I totally agree with Doppleganger when he said to use an elastic defense (Germany's static or rigid defense of everything was painful). Germany must punish Russia every time it's on the offense and when the Reds go on the offensive fade, give ground, and punch the hard with a counter. Let's face it the Russians couldn't mount a real offense until after the winter of 42-43'. However the Germans wasted themselves by pushing too hard to fast into dug in defenses.
In a nutshell, numbers 7,8, and 9. Take Russia to the brink in 41' and destroy them in 42'.
10). Hitler butt out and let the Generals run the tea party (He got rid of awesome generals after the battle for moscow went south).
If you are going to post how bad my reasons are, please no name calling as this is only my 2 cents.
