01-27-2016, 12:08 AM
Simply stated, Germany lost because they didn't know when to stop.
There are many aspects I feel people overlook when listing German flaws in the war. Though I will put a few thoughts out there NONE of those over-ride that one simple point. Germany and Hitler didn't know when to stop. And yes, it is important to list both of those separately.
This directly goes to what I stated but other than that, this is over-valued because it goes into the whole Russia thing (see below).
Should actually be higher on the list. But a little more precise (and again tying into not knowing when to stop) the defensive tactics used by the Germans are the best examples of them being beaten by tactics over technology. But the biggest aspect is where they didn't utilize technology. The jets they designed would have given them air superiority which could have overcome the Allied tactics.
Though not quite a non-factor it is close to being one. Their reason for declaring war on the US was actually somewhat valid. The US was provoking both Germany and Japan. Japan even stated some of those tactics very directly in their declaration of war in form of support of China and cutting off supplies such as steel and fuel. And to tie both together covert involvement in the middle east.
The US would have eventual declared war on Germany to support Great Britain, the only question is when and why. Perhaps after eliminating Japan which would have happened faster if all the resources were directed at them. Think of the fact the US was winning in the Pacific even with most of their resources in Europe. In fact, perhaps the number 1 reason Germany lost (only when considering US involvement) is actually the Japanese declaration of war on the US.
What people tend to ignore when pointing this out is Germany attacked Russia six months before Pearl harbor. Even this points back to my original point of not knowing when to stop but for additional info people seem to frequently forget -
The so called alliance Germany had with Russia was actually a non-aggression pact.
Stalin believed Germany would have attacked them after they beat the UK.
Russia was at war with Japan before all of this started. Again, Russia signed a non-aggression pact with Japan.
Those last 2 mean even if Germany didn't attack Russia, it isn't as if Russia would have taken an offensive position against the US, or if they lasted long enough the UK. And the UK, I believe, would have lasted long enough for the US to finally get involved.
Add to all that, the US, the UK and Russia knew how important resources were to Germany. The US and the UK were actively working in the middle east and if Germany would have beat the UK, Russia already knew the value of fuel and laid the ground-work to cut off Germany. Add to that, I think the US was actually the oil kings at that time.
But yeah, that isn't a bad list overall, it just ignores or underplays a few points. Even if the Germans would have made all the right moves on that top 10 (except air superiority through technology) they would have eventually lost because....
They didn't know when to stop.
There are many aspects I feel people overlook when listing German flaws in the war. Though I will put a few thoughts out there NONE of those over-ride that one simple point. Germany and Hitler didn't know when to stop. And yes, it is important to list both of those separately.
Quote:9 The Not One Step Back policy
This directly goes to what I stated but other than that, this is over-valued because it goes into the whole Russia thing (see below).
Quote:8 The right technology used incorrectly
Should actually be higher on the list. But a little more precise (and again tying into not knowing when to stop) the defensive tactics used by the Germans are the best examples of them being beaten by tactics over technology. But the biggest aspect is where they didn't utilize technology. The jets they designed would have given them air superiority which could have overcome the Allied tactics.
Quote:7 Declaring War on the USA
Though not quite a non-factor it is close to being one. Their reason for declaring war on the US was actually somewhat valid. The US was provoking both Germany and Japan. Japan even stated some of those tactics very directly in their declaration of war in form of support of China and cutting off supplies such as steel and fuel. And to tie both together covert involvement in the middle east.
The US would have eventual declared war on Germany to support Great Britain, the only question is when and why. Perhaps after eliminating Japan which would have happened faster if all the resources were directed at them. Think of the fact the US was winning in the Pacific even with most of their resources in Europe. In fact, perhaps the number 1 reason Germany lost (only when considering US involvement) is actually the Japanese declaration of war on the US.
Quote:1. A two front war
What people tend to ignore when pointing this out is Germany attacked Russia six months before Pearl harbor. Even this points back to my original point of not knowing when to stop but for additional info people seem to frequently forget -
The so called alliance Germany had with Russia was actually a non-aggression pact.
Stalin believed Germany would have attacked them after they beat the UK.
Russia was at war with Japan before all of this started. Again, Russia signed a non-aggression pact with Japan.
Those last 2 mean even if Germany didn't attack Russia, it isn't as if Russia would have taken an offensive position against the US, or if they lasted long enough the UK. And the UK, I believe, would have lasted long enough for the US to finally get involved.
Add to all that, the US, the UK and Russia knew how important resources were to Germany. The US and the UK were actively working in the middle east and if Germany would have beat the UK, Russia already knew the value of fuel and laid the ground-work to cut off Germany. Add to that, I think the US was actually the oil kings at that time.
But yeah, that isn't a bad list overall, it just ignores or underplays a few points. Even if the Germans would have made all the right moves on that top 10 (except air superiority through technology) they would have eventually lost because....
They didn't know when to stop.
