What was the greater error that cost Germany victory in WW2?

Question

Adolf Hitler sending 2 million troops to invade Russia just to die in harsh weather conditions.

Not killing the enemy troops at Dunkirk. (Why didn't they just kill them anyways?? It never made any sense to me.)

Answer 1

mistake 1. not finishing GB off before invading Russia.

2. making a alliace with Italy all they did was lose. and Germany wasted miltary men backing them

3. they strong of prepared for the US stepping in like ww1

Answer 2

There are a couple of possibilities. Hitler 's invasion of Russia in the dead of winter was a huge mistake -it took longer than anticipated and the resistance was fierce. Napolean also made the same mistake, so Hitler should have known better. Germany sustained tremendous losses and the psychological effect was : The Nazis are NOT INVINCIBLE. Most history books agree on this.



Another possibility is that Hitler often failed to listen to his generals and used them poorly.Hitler felt his knowledge was superior to his generals and if a general disagreed with him- it was at his own PERIL.

The Battle of Britain was a tremendous defeat for Hitler and the British pilots and the British population although terribly bombed, just made their resolve more fierce. Winston Churchill stated "never in the history of mankind has so many owed so much to so few." refering to the successful British pilots.



By the last year of the war, Allied bombing day and night was destroying 60% of Germany's warmaking potential and ability. This is according to testimony by Albert Speer.

Answer 3

Both were serious mistakes, especially delaying the invasion of the Soviet Union until after clearing out partisans in Yugoslavia.



Hitler and the Nazis were the biggest mistake. The Holocaust killed millions and led to scientists fleeing to the West. The Poles and the Ukrainians and actually many Russians would have gladly fought the Soviet Union if it weren't for Germany's stupid eugenics policies.



An anti-Versailles treaty leader would probably have emerged in Germany in the 1930s, but one that was less hateful bigoted would have been better for all of humanity.

Answer 4

The greatest error the Nazi's made was that they attacked the Soviet Union after being defeated in the Battle of Britain. This meant they had to keep large armies back to defend their western European territories against a possible British counter attack as well as fight in a whole other theatre in the East. Their troops also had to fight the harsh weather conditions that the Russian soldiers were used to, and so most of them died in the snowinstead of in battle.



If Germany had been patient and kept up the assualt on the UK instead of turning their attention to Russia, they may have defeated Britain and so could have turned their full might against the Soviet Union.

Answer 5

Delaying the attack on Russia until June 22.

If they had invaded Russia in April, they probably would of captured Moscow and Leningrad before winter set in.



Regarding Dunkirk, Goering promised Hitler that the Luftwaffe could destroy the British trapped at Dunkirk. Hitler wanted to rest and refit his infantry and tanks after the long march across France and decided to accepted Goering's plan. By the time Hitler realized the Luftwaffe couldn't do the job and sent his infantry and tanks forward Dunkirk, it was too late, over 300,000 had already escaped.

Answer 6

The invasion of the Soviet Union. It ate up most of their effort for the rest of the war, and weakened them so much that they could not push the Allies back to the sea after D-Day and Western European campaigns. The reason they didn't utterly destroy the Allied forces operating in Western Europe was because of the fact that most of the highly experienced and better equipped troops were fighting the difficult battle of keeping the Soviets from reaching Berlin, thus leaving the bulk of the fighting in the west to the garrison troops that had merely been keeping order in the occupied territories.



Those coming in a close second and third would be the Battle of Britain and allying with the Italians...

Answer 7

There are many errors that caused Germany to lose the war.

The first error was underestimating the British resolve to fight for European democracy causing the Germans to fight on 2 fronts, the defeat over the battle of Britain being regarded by many, including the Great Field Marshal Runstedt. (much to the annoyance of assembled Communist journalists!) as being the first, real deep lasting setback.

The staggeringly brutal treatment of civilians east of Berlin was also a massive factor in Russian fighting resolve that can't be under estimated. In Russia they met an Army that had as little regard for life as themselves (from the very top downwards) Such brutality forced the hand of many Russians in to supporting the very unpopular Stalin. They rallied & fought for him as that's all they had, strengthening him & his 'Government'. In the same way that fear of Stalin's Communists was the driving factor behind support for Hitler in the last 2-3 years of the war.

The power Hitler had over the whole military campaign was surly the biggest error of all. He made countless tactical mistakes, ignored the realities of simple things like logistics & the Russian winter & generally became detached from real life. War made Stalin a realist & Hitler a Fantasist as the saying goes & its very true. Stalin listened to & gave power to his most able generals who had learnt (bitterly) how to fight a mobile, modern European style war. while Hitler believed himself to simply be a military genius who could ignore harsh facts as if he was beyond the laws of physics themselves. If Hitler had listened to his generals at various stages of the war the world could be a different place. Moscow would have no doubt fallen at some point, Stalingrad would have faced bigger German forces & they wouldn't have bothered to occupy the place having already destroyed anything of military value. The huge number of men (of various quality) occupying the south of France, Holland, Denmark, Norway Etc. could have been put to better use following D-Day. Hitler even insisted on fighting within range of the Royal Navy guns! He was very big on other people making symbolic gestures with their lives including 'fighting to the last bullet' for the already destroyed Cherbourg, an order politely ignored as being insane & pointless & of course the capture of the 6th Army in Stalingrad. Hitler tried to manage everything bringing strategic disaster everywhere. It was only the skill of his Generals & fighting prowess of his armies that managed to hide this fact from being so obvious.

Answer 8

After the British escaped at Dunkirk, because of his own "stop order" to his armoured units not to advance into the undefended city, Hitler told Martin Bormann he had purposely spared the British army so as not to create "an irreparable breach between the British and ourselves."

"The blood of every single Englishman is too valuable to be shed, our two people belong together racially and traditionally - this has always been my aim even if our Generals can't grasp it."

Page 326 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Churchill-Hitler-Unnecessary-War-Britain/dp/030740515X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287603972&sr=8-1-catcorr

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Allies would have lost Second World War had Hitler used deadly nerve gas



New York, May 15 (ANI): As the D-Day anniversary approaches, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, Frank J. Dinan, has revealed what could have happened if Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler had used the deadly nerve gas Tabun.



According to Professor Dinan, had Hitler used Tabun, the Allies could have been forced back into the sea with enormous casualties.

http://news.oneindia.in/2010/05/15/allieswould-lost-second-world-war-had-hitler-used-deadlyn.html

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"I quite agree that it may be several weeks or even months before I shall ask you to drench Germany with poison gas, and if we do it, let us do it one hundred per cent."

Winston Churchill - July 6, 1944

http://www.fpp.co.uk/bookchapters/WSC/gaswar.html



"You must understand that this war is not against Hitler or National Socialism, but against the strength of the German people, which is to be smashed once and for all, regardless of whether it is in the hands of Hitler or a Jesuit priest."

Winston Churchill - 1940

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VBkkFXpaG0MC&lpg=PA15&ots=OmtkxQiXrS&dq=%22You%20must%20understand%20that%20this%20war%20is%20not%20against%20Hitler%20or%20National%20Socialism%2C%20but%20against%20the%20strength%20of%20the%20German%20people%2C%20which%20is%20to%20be%20smashed%20once%20and%20for%20all%2C%20regardless%20of%20whether%20it%20is%20in%20the%20hands%20of%20Hitler%20or%20a%20Jesuit%20priest.%22&pg=PA15#v=onepage&q=%22You%20must%20understand%20that%20this%20war%20is%20not%20against%20Hitler%20or%20National%20Socialism,%20but%20against%20the%20strength%20of%20the%20German%20people,%20which%20is%20to%20be%20smashed%20once%20and%20for%20all,%20regardless%20of%20whether%20it%20is%20in%20the%20hands%20of%20Hitler%20or%20a%20Jesuit%20priest.%22&f=false

Answer 9

fail to recognize the d day landings as the real invasion and react to slowly