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End of World War 2

Germany’s weaknesses and miscalculations:

1. Ineffective command structure:

The German command structure was a confusing system of overlapping authority. Only Hitler
had the power to make decisions and had access to all information. Hitler insisted on making
decisions that should have been left to military experts, and often went against the advice
of experienced generals.

- As a result, Hitler made a number of tactical mistakes, which greatly affected the
effectiveness and hindered the success of German military campaigns. For example, in
the Battle of Britain, he shifted his focus from attacking Britain RAF to attacking
civilians in cities. This gave the British RAF time to recover, denying Germany a victory
over Britain.
- After gaining the upper hand in the Soviet invasion, Hitler disregarded advice of his
generals, shifting some of his military forces away from Moscow to attack other areas.
This shifting of troops cost Hitler the chance to end the war against Stalin decisively.
- In the Battle of Stalingrad: Hitler disregarded advice from his experienced generals and
issued a no retreat order. As a result, German troops suffered a devastating defeat at
Stalingrad and weakened German forces severely.
- Thus, Hitler’s mistake allowed Allies to survive and prevent German victories, leading to
defeat as the Allies were able to survive, weaken German forces and eventually
outnumber Hitler’s Germany

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 2. Fighting war on two fronts:

While still at war with Britain on the Western front, Hitler made a costly mistake by invading
USSR, opening up the Eastern Front. Having gained an upper hand against USSR, he
declared war on USA on Dec 11 1941, as he thought that USA would concentrate on the war
in the Pacific against Japan. Instead, USA concentrated their war efforts in Europe against
Germany with their Europe First Policy.

- Fighting a two-front war prevented Hitler from concentrating his resources on one
theatre of war. It also made it difficult for Germany to secure victories against Allies.
- As the German army was spread into 2, it was easier to defeat it.
- Germany’s invasion into USSR led to heavy military defeats such as the defeat at the
Battle of Stalingrad. USSR troops bore the brunt of German attacks and suffered 80%
of German attacks. They were able to withstand the attacks and weaken Germany,
allowing the Allies to open up the Eastern Front through D-Day landings in 1944.
- As a result, Germany suffered heavy defeats and could no longer replenish its losses. It
was unable to continue fighting, leading to Germany being invaded and surrendering in
1945.

3. Heavy reliance on petroleum:

Germany had very little natural petroleum reserves of its own. Since petroleum was the chief
resource to power its war machine, Germany invented synthetic oil plants and heavily relied on
it. However, from 1943, German synthetic oil plants and oilfields were heavily bombed by
Allies. Romania oil imports were put out of operation by Allies

- Germany’s over-reliance on synthetic oil and the disruption to its all suppliers meant that
Germany’s war machine almost came to halt. This affected Germany’s war efforts
and put Germany at a disadvantage against the Allies.
- Thus, this led to Germany’s defeat as they had no alternative supplies to sustain their
war efforts.

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 4. Inappropriate use of resources and military funds:

In the Battle of Britain, the German army invested in battleships and cruisers instead of the
more threatening U-Boats. This compromised the effectiveness of their military tactics and
allowed the British to buy time to develop anti-submarine forces to counter U-boats.

- Hitler focused on building different types of armament instead of focusing only on a

few types of proven weapons and equipment. Many spare parts were needed, wasting
valuable resources. Their lack of proven weapons reduced the success of German
military campaigns and weakened the German Army.
- Hitler failed to tap on women as labour in production while men were at war and
factories were staffed only by slave labour. Lack of personnel for arms production led to
them being unable to sustain a long drawn war as they were outnumbered and were
unable to continue fighting, leading to an eventual defeat as the Allies were able to
replenish losses faster than Hitler.

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US indirect involvement

1. Lend Lease Act:

USA provided aid to allies in the form of the Lend-Lease Act. This allowed the President
authority to supply weapons, food and equipment to any country whose defense the
President thought was vital to the natural security of USA. Payment could be deferred and
need not be made in cash. Recipients need not have to provide their own transport. 50 Billion
USD was spent on the Lend-Lease programme

- This allowed the USA to assist the Allies and allowed Britain and USSR to survive
Hitler’s attacks through supplementing war supplies.
- This allowed the USA to maintain the two nations as strategic allies in Europe to
conduct and war on two fronts, and gave allies an advantage against Hitler as they were
able to outnumber him.
- Thus, USA’s Lend-Lease Act led to Germany’s defeat

2. Arsenal of Democracy:

USA should be the ‘Arsenal of Democracy’. This means that USA should actively support
democratic nations in their fight against Axis Powers. After France fell in 1940, Britain was
the only major Allied country fighting Germany. Thus, Roosevelt pushed for USA to increase its
level of aid to Britain. The USA gave Britain 50 old destroyers in return for 8 naval bases in
Caribbean. Roosevelt also sought to expand and re-equip the US Army and Navy, and to step
up rearmament.

- The destroyers were critical to help Britain escort supplies into Great Britain. It thus
helped Britain to survive the attacks from German U-boats and eventually win the
Battle of Atlantic.
- Rearmament also helped US prepare for its entry into the war, thus allowing it to
effectively stop German attacks

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 3. Other forms of aid:

The USA helped the Allies through other forms of aid. In 1941, the US Navy was utilised to
provide escort roles for Allied convoys at sea. The USA also imposed economic sanctions on
Axis Powers, depriving them of resources needed for war.

- US escorts for Allied convoys relieved the strain on the British Navy. Sanctions on Axis
Powers also ensured that the Axis Powers found it more difficult to purchase war
materials for their war efforts. This led to the defeat of Germany.

USA’s direct involvement

1. Contribution of vast US resources and manpower:

In 1941, the USA was the largest producer of goods and hence was able to convert its factories
for military production at a faster rate than any Axis Powers. US involvement in WW2 led to USA
contributing large numbers of American military personnel to aid Allied military operations.

- The entry of USA was important in contributing manpower and resources to the
struggling Allied war efforts. American contributions solved the Allied problem of military
shortages. This was vital as Soviet industries were almost destroyed in the first few
months of German invasion and the British had limited resources. On the other hand,
Germany’s resources and manpower were limited and they eventually could not cope
with attacks by Allies and started losing key battles while Allies could replenish losses
quickly.
- Thus, this bolstered the Allied resources with manpower and equipment and provided
Allies with an advantage which eventually led to the defeat of Germany

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 2. Collaboration with Allies on military strategies:

The entry of USA allowed US to help the Allies with the planning of military strategies. For
example, in the Battle of Atlantic, USA contributed resources and technology for Britain to
fight German U-boats. By 1943, U-Boats were defeated. Entry also helped Allies control the air
by building up its air force. Using these air forces, USA targeted industries in Ruhr and
German synthetic oil plants. US involvement in D-Day landings to recapture Western
Europe was also important in contributing to Allies victory

- Control of Sea resulted in Germany's U-Boats being less effective and this hampered
Germany's war advances and allowed Britain to survive. Control of the air through
severe bombing contributed to severely draining Germany’s limited resources. Allied
bombings weakened Germany’s war efforts by disrupting industries and cutting off oil
supplies. Thus, Germany could not recover. D-Day meant that France was liberated
from German control, and this opened the second front to assert pressure on the
weakening German forces.
- Thus, this led to Germany being unable to win the war, allowing Allies to invade
Germany and forcing Germany to accept unconditional surrender as they were
outnumbered and could not continue fighting due to heavy military defeats and heavy
losses that could not be replenished. The D-Day overstretched German resources in
an attempt to fight the Allies.

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Allied resistance:

1. British resistance to German invasion:

Prime Minister Winston Churchill was able to rally the British to stand up against Germany.
Constant German bombings on Britain further strengthened the determination of the British
instead of weakening it. Germany’s tactical error in shifting attacks from the British RAF to
civilian areas gave the British RAF a break, enabling it to rebuild and eventually retaliate. As a
result, the Luffwaffe failed to achieve air supremacy. This prevented Germany from securing
a decisive victory over Britain and eventually led to Hitler shifting his focus to the USSR,
opening the second front.

- Thus, Britain’s resistance and its refusal to surrender allowed USA and USSR to enter
the war, which was crucial in resisting Hitler’s aggression and preventing German
victory. This allowed USA to conduct ‘Operation Overload’ via the Western Front to
liberate France and exert more pressure on the already weakening German forces.
- As a result, the Germans were overstretched and unable to replenish losses, resulting in
their defeat.

2. Resistance movements in Nazi-occupied territories:

Resistance against Nazi increased after 1941. Resistance movements occurred in Poland and
USSR conducted underground operations against Germany. They provided vital information and
support to the Allies and sabotaged German forces, such as by blowing up rail links. They also
spread propaganda to discredit Nazis.

- By preventing vital information and sabotaging German forces, this hindered the
effectiveness of German military offensives. They also drained Germany’s resources as
it tried to suppress such movements
- Thus, this contributed by helping to assert increasing pressure on the already weakening
German Army

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 3. Re-organisation of USSR:

Reorganisation of the Red-Army: Stalin reorganised the Red-Army. He delegated control

of the Red Army to competent generals. These generals knew the situation at the frontline
and hence were able to be more successful with their military campaigns. He also produced
effective new weapons in large quantities. This allowed the USSR to withstand German
attacks and eventually win significant battles such as the Battle of Stalingrad.

Reorganisation of Economy: Stalin also reorganised the Soviet economy. He shifted

production to areas out of reach of German fire in order to not disrupt production. This
ensured continuous replenishment of armaments and necessary war supplies for the Red
Army. There were also large amounts of resources provided by the USA through the
Lend-Lease programme.

- This led to the USSR being able to stand against German attacks and caused the
USSR to be preserved as a strategic ally to exert pressure on the German Army on the
Eastern Front. Germany could not focus war efforts on one theatre, which made it hard
for Germany.
- 80% of German attacks bore the brunt, and this weakened Germany as they were able
to withstand attacks

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