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Originally Posted by Gotthard Heinrici  Hitler declaring war on the US on December 8th 1941, the day the Allies won the war. |
Gotthard are you saying that the Axis had
NO chance to win the war after Pearl harbour? I've heard lots of Americans say this, it may be bravado, but I think
if the Axis had a solid plan they could have won, even against US industrial might. {I realize I'm kinda throwing down the gauntlet here, I'll have to start a new thread on this...
} But strategy is my passion so it might be interesting...
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Originally Posted by P51fan Germans failure to finish the British at Dunkirk. Hitler had a chance to force the British to sue for peace had they not allowed the Brits to escape. Why Hitler held back the Panzers is still a mystery.
The second part was "Operation Barbarossa" the day the Germans invaded the Soviet Union was really the beginning of the end for the Third Reich. |
It's not a mystery, P-51, the Panzers had taken some heavy casualties due to British anti-tank {remember these are light Pz I's & Pz II's in battle, not the 1943 Tigers} The Panzer thrust to the south of the BEF was very short on infantry, because there were only a couple of SS motorized divisions with the Panzers. The terrain around dunkirk is very poor for tanks, being rather wet & with many canals. The Germans continued to push against the British from the north, where the bulk of the army was. At this time Hitler still expected the remainder of the French army to put up a stiff fight, he needed the Panzers intact for the forthcoming battle, not heavily damaged. The germans also did not think that it was an urgent matter, as at the time neither the German OKW or the Royal Navy thought that the British could evacuate more that about 50,000 of the 350,000 men trapped. When the total rescued was over 330,000 it was a big surprise to both sides.
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The Japanese mistake was the attack on Pearl Harbor and their inability to find the US Carriers. The entire West Coast of the US would have been wide open for invasion.
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Originally Posted by BulgarianSoldier Well Hitler made many mistakes because of his desire for attacks and offencive.He made a terrible mistake attacking the Russians they could be a great ally Stalin didnt hate Hitler befor the war.The other mistake that Hitler make is that he take control of the U-boats. |
Hitler really had no choice. If he hadn't attacked in 1941 Stalin planned to double-cross & attack Germany in 1942. Stalin & Hitler both realized there could only be 1 "master of Europe", it was inevitable that there would be war between them.