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Factors contributing to the Defeat of Germany - Coggle Diagram
Factors contributing to the Defeat of Germany
USA (Isolationism)
Indirect
Cash and Carry
Allowed B&F to purchase arms from USA provided they paid in cash immediately and have their own transport
Allowed USA to remain neutral as they did not have to deliver the goods themselves and provide B&F with the weapons they urgently needed
Lend-Lease Act
France fell to Germany in 1940
Britain was fighting alone and was approaching bankruptcy and could not afford to pay for the military supplies it needed to fight Germany
Roosevelt called for the US congress to approve of the Lend-Lease Act.
Gave the President power to send military and non-military goods to any country he deemed important to USA's interests and national security
Payment can be deferred and they do not have to be responsible for the transportation of the goods
Allowed Roosevelt to send materials to Britain
Roosevelt held secret talks with Churchill to discuss how USA could best help Britain
USA exchanged 50 Naval Destroyers for 8 British Naval Bases
When German submarines emerged a threat, USA ordered the US navy to provide escort service to all allied ships
Direct (Pearl Harbor Attack: 7 Dec 1941)
Contribution of Manpower and Resources
USA was the biggest industrial power at that time
Converted all its industries to military production quickly
USA's production > Axis' production
USA sent not only military and non-military goods, but also military personnel, soldiers and strategists, to Britain
Allied manpower was strengthened significantly with the arrival of US soldiers
Alliance on Military Strategies
USA collaborated with other Allied powers to work out effective military strategies to defeat Germany
Planned and executed Allied military strategies that enabled control of vital air and sea space
This prevented essential resources from reaching Germany
Gave the Allies greater opportunities and success at bombing German cities and Axis military sites
Control of Air
June 1942 - April 1945
US aircraft took off from British air bases to carry out regular bombing of German Cities, vital industries, rail links and synthetic oil plants
By 1944, as many as 1000 bombers were attacking Germany daily, escorted by around 800 fighter planes
The German Waffles tried to shoot them down, but lost aircraft in the process. German air bases were also bombed.
This resulted in the waffles not being able to recover.
Control of the Sea
US took over escort duties from Britain
This made sure that Allied Ships could cross the Mid-Atlantic.
American-occupied Greenland and Iceland gave Britain vital bases over the Mid-Atlantic
Mass production of warships from USA
Production of Vital Equipment
Better Submarine Weaponry
Better Radio Comms and Radar against German U-Boats
This rendered the much feared German U-Boats less effective in destroying British convoys
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Successful bomb attacks on German Cities and military sites prevented important resources from reaching Germany
USA played a key role in Operation Overlord
Campaign to open up mainland Europe with the goal of not only liberating Nazi-occupied Western Europe, unseat Hitler and end WW2 in Europe
D-Day Landings on the coast of Normandy, France, June 1944
Although Allied suffered many casualties, they managed to gain a foothold in mainland Europe
Conclusion: USA initially pursued a policy of isolationism to avoid being drawn into the war. However, in the end, staying out of the war was impossible. The USA became directly involved in the war and played a significant role in defeating Germany
Germany´s Weaknesses and Mistakes
Poor Military Decisions
German Military was poorly constructed
Led to Confusing with Conflicting Commands
Hitler viewed himself as a brilliant military strategist and made all the final decisions
His refusal to listen to trained and more experienced military generals cause him to make many wrong military decisions
Shifted his focus to British cities rather than British Military targets as suggested by his military generals
Gave the British RAF time to strengthen themselves and prevent Germany from defeating Britain
Overstretched the German although his primary concern was to capture Moscow
Allowed the Soviet Union to eventually beat the German Army
Misuse of Resources
There was no cooperation but competition for resource to strengthen themselves in the three Military Sectors (Army, Navy, Luftwaffe)
Suffered labor shortages by placing their men at the frontlines of the war while the women stayed at home and did not contribute to the war.
German Labor Force consisted of slave laborers from Nazi-Occupied countries who were often worked to death
Allies, on the other hand, made sure that their women worked in Military Industries to keep production going.
Germany believed in using a large range of weaponry and often resulted in weaponry becoming useless in the battlefield and spare parts were hard to come by
Allies, on the other hand, focused on fewer but a more decisive range of weaponry, which ensured the availability of spare parts.
Hitler was obsessed with technologically-advanced weapons and this resulted in the Germans mass producing them before they were properly tested for their suitability on the battlefield.
Allies, on the other hand, were more focused on the suitability of the weapons they produced.
Oil
The Germans failed to ensured the continuous supply of oil, which is essential to their mechanized army
They did not have their own oil fields and it depended on the oil it gained from the occupied countries and the synthetic fuel it produced from its local industries.
When the Allies bombed the oil fields as well as the synthetic oil producing industries, the German army began to suffer from severe oil shortages.
This brought the mighty German War Machine to a virtual halt.
Two-Front War
Hitler committed a huge mistake by Involving Germany in wars on both the West and the East
Before he could defeat Britain on its Western Front, Hitler began his war with the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front.
Then, he declared war on the USA before conquering the soviet Union
This allowed USA to send war equipment to the Soviet Union to fight Germany
Hitler wrongly assumed that an isolated Britain would not be a threat on his Western Front and the USA would only commit their troops to fight the Japanese in the Asia Pacific region.
The two-front war was divided and overstretched the German Army, causing its defeat. The German Army did not have sufficient resources to fight both fronts simultaneously.
Hitler was a fanatic nationalist and militarist who wanted Germany to conquer and rule in Europe. His refusal to listen to his generals and his idealistic military strategies eventually led to the defeat of Germany.
Allied Resistance
Reorganization of the Soviet Union (TB153)
To Stalin's disbelief, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, ignoring the Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Pact. The Soviet Union then allied itself with Britain to defeat Germany
The Soviet Union was not prepared for German Invasion and suffered heavy casualties. Initially, it seemed as if the German would have an easy victory, just as they did in Western Europe.
However, the Soviet Union benefitted from tactical errors made by the Germans, as well as the cold Russian winters that the German troops were unprepared for. They used that time to regain their strength by reorganizing their military structure and rebuilding their military production.
The Soviets also benefitted from the military equipment which Britain and the USA has sent to fight the Germans
The Germans failed to defeat the Soviet Union because they were trained only to fight short, decisive battles and not long extended wars.
British Resistance
When countries in Western Europe fell to Germany, Britain was all alone. However, Britain was determined not to negotiate with Hitler and was determined to defeat him.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill played a key role in motivating the British by instilling the confidence in them that Hitler could be defeated.
Hitler has assumed that Britain would surrender once France was defeated and thus was not prepared for was against Britain.
German attempts to defeat Britain through aerial warfare failed as the strategy to bomb cities and not the military installations and bases led to Britain gaining valuable time to regroup the RAF and defeat the Luftwaffe
This led to Britain being preserved and become a launchpad for D-Day.
Resistance Movements in Europe
Many of those in Nazi-occupied territories were determined to liberate their countries from German occupation and that led to the growth of resistance fighters.
The most significant resistance groups were based in France, Yugoslavia, Poland and the Soviet Union. The Allies encouraged and supported the resistance movements as they were aware that the success of their military operations depended on the information that the resistance groups provided them with. They also provided protection to Allied operatives working in Nazi-occupied territories.
The communists often led the most successful resistance movements. This resulted in many people joining the communist-led movements. They were not attracted by the communist ideology but rather the patriotism for their homeland.
The resistance movement in Europe during World War 2 played an important role in defeating Nazi Germany's military might.