notorious_eagle
PDF THINK TANK: CONSULTANT
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2008
- Messages
- 4,666
- Reaction score
- 34
- Country
- Location
The war was lost on the Eastern Front. Moscow was a key battle, and after Stalingrad, all hope was lost. The U-boat warfare, the Afrika Korps etc., were just side-shows. Soviet Union had help from Lend-lease etc., but ultimately the credit goes to them for the bulk of the fighting. There are several theories on the possible scenarios for German victory in WWII. But, I think the vastness of the Soviet Union, the help from "General Winter", and the resilience of the Soviets all helped.
As they say; World War 2 was won by the blood of the Soviets, determination of the British and treasure of the US.
No. IMHO, the loss in Battle Of Britain was the point where the Third Reich started crumbling and many mistakes were made. Had the Nazis won the skies over Britain, UK would have been easily invaded (that was the follow up plan no?), there would have been no Normandy or D-Day! The allies got a solid base in the European Theater and with Rommel's mistakes gained the valuable foothold in France on D-Day! That loss prompted Hitler and his Generals to look for glory on the eastern front, which again as history teaches us, was in vain.
I forgot the name of the book but i read that Hitler hated the Soviets and especially the communists with vengeance, he wanted to destroy them and thus came the term 'Lebensraum'. There are several accounts that he longed for invasion to the East and create the living space he so desperately desired enabling the Reich to grow. Hitler still could have beat back the forces in Normandy if he was allowed to concentrate all his forces in the West. But since the bulk of all Nazi Forces were concentrated on the East, it allowed the Allies to exploit this weakness in the West. The bulk of casualties and attrition suffered by Nazi Germany was on her Eastern Front, thus i would argue that 'Battle of Stalingrad' led to Hitler's downfall.