To what extent were Hitler's successes in 1939-1940 due to the weaknesses and mistakes of Germany's opponents?

Linked to the poor pre war planning was the poor leadership during the war itself in 1940. The French military was run by veterans of the Great War, therefore, much of the military thinking and leadership was similar to that of 22 years ago during which time the potential for strong mobile armies had greatly increased. These generals stubbornly had held onto their ideas and doctrines that brought them success in the previous war. They failed to accept new technology and modern warfare techniques into the army. Therefore much of the French military was poorly equipped and there was a stagnation of ideas and complacency within the army. Essentially the French army developed into a state of inertia, this would prove to be a major weakness to the French army and a sign of serious mistakes by the French leadership. Ultimately by the outbreak of war in France there was a lack of discipline and a fall in morale. This would weaken any army but coupled with the woeful leadership by such ‘great’ French military minds as Gamelin made a weak army even weaker. The modern German military would enjoy easy success over France due to the above.

Similarly the decision to defend would prove to be a major mistake. Experiences such as Verdun in the First World War had led the French to believe that a line of trenches and an immense amount of firepower would hold against any attack. France was convinced that defence was the best strategy and so vast sums of money were spent on constructing the Maginot Line to protect France’s border. However they stopped once they reached the Belgium border for fear of upsetting their neighbour by leaving them to the mercy of the Germans. This showed weakness on the part of the French government in the failure to be ruthless for the sake of France. The decision to invest in the Maginot Line meant that investment in armoured divisions and mobile armies was over looked as an offensive army would not be needed. However this is precisely what France needed in 1940. This was yet another mistake by Germany’s opponents that played into the German’s hands. Also the fact that doctrines of static defence were obsolete even before the Maginot Line was complete would prove to be another poor judgement on the part of the French to invest in defence.

In addition to mistakes and weaknesses of the leadership of Germany’s opponents there was weaknesses within the armies opposing blitzkrieg. France placed much trust in the fact Britain promised aid in the form of troops in case of the outbreak of war. Had France known the true state of the British army then no doubt she would have been extremely alarmed. The British army was almost non-existent. Initially Britain sent all five of her well trained divisions to France; however these had no armoured support as the only armoured division was still being formed. Once these were exhausted Britain sent territorial divisions. These were poorly trained and although high in spirit would prove no use against the 10 panzer divisions of the German army which were planning to flank the allied forces in Belgium by going through the Ardennes. Similarly the French military was extremely weak. There were no homogenous armoured divisions or mobile divisions unlike the German military. This would mean that no counter attack could be launched against the armoured assault through the Ardennes, nor the German push for the coast. This was another significant weakness of Germany’s opponents in 1940. As well as a lack of armour the allied air force was very ineffective. They had not invested in specific specialist aircraft unlike the German Luftwaffe and instead had many different models none of which were particularly well designed. This meant the allied armies had little air support nor could any significant damage be inflicted upon the invading German army from the air. Had Germany’s opponents prepared their armies for modern warfare then it is most likely Germany would have had more of a fight on her hands when she decided to invade France and Hitler may not have enjoyed the successes he enjoyed in 1940.

Although weaknesses and mistakes on the part of Germany’s opponents helped give Hitler success in 1939-40 there is also the fact that much has to be credited to the German army and leadership. The decision to modernise the army and create all armour divisions and mobile divisions as well as investing heavily in the Luftwaffe and infantry meant that the German army in 1939-40 was a strong force. The aircraft of the Luftwaffe were superior in quality to the allied air force and so control of the skies was quickly ensured. There was also close co-ordination between the armies on the ground and the Luftwaffe. This meant that the invading army had close air support and could quickly by pass any opponents. The officers of the air force and army were all trained at the kreigsakademie and so knew each others tactics, which allowed for finely tuned ground-air operations. This made the invading force even stronger. Much credit has to be given to Hitler for modernising the German army as this new strong army proved to be a big reason behind his successes in 1939-40.

Hitler’s tactics also helped to ensure victory and success in 1939-40. He faced much opposition form his cautious generals about the concept of blitzkrieg and of his plans to invade France. For example, Hitler came up with the plan ‘Sickle Stroke’- the invasion of France through the Ardennes. At the time he faced opposition from generals such as Bock who believed it left the army vulnerable to counter attack. Hitler also placed trust in the airborne in creating a diversion by invading Holland this would prove to be a masterful tactical decision diverting allied attention away from the main invasion in the Ardennes. Hitler’s determination and believe in his armies as well as his willingness to gamble proved to be one of the reasons behind his success. He also ensured that there was little bureaucracy within his armies. He gave orders from his headquarters (OKH) to the army high command (OKW) which then sent the orders to the officers in the field. He also ensured the officers were taught to be innovative. In comparison the allied armies had 4-6 tiers of command structure this weakened the army and the air force, even more so.

Overall emphasis has to be placed on the weakness of Germany’s opponents in 1939-40 allowing for Hitler’s successes. However, some credit has to be given to Hitler and his armies in their tactics and strength especially in terms of leadership.