If Hitler had not given the order to stop bombing the R.A.F then the bombing of Germany would not have taken place. This mistake by Hitler acted as a constant thorn in Germanys side. The bombing of Germany hinders German industry, forcing Germany to use more of its machinery to help defend rather than attack. In one night 40,00 Germans were killed due to British bombing. Also the bombing of Germany put on hold any of Germanys plans of invading other countries such as Russia. This shows that the bombing of Germany by Britain was an effective tactic and paid off. Hitler could have avoided the bombing of Germany if he had taken his chance in 1940 and wiped out the R.A.F.
In 1939 Hitler attempted to cut off the trade link between Britain and America and failed. This failure acted as a heavy punch in Germany. Hitler’s plan was to strangle the exchange of goods between Britain and America. This was a wise decision by Hitler and if he succeeded this would have been costly for Britain. This loss was by no means one of Hitler’s mistakes. Hitler’s approach and tactics were correct however overall the opponents had a stronger and more powerful naval army. Britain is a large Island surrounded by sea and relies on its naval army when at battle. Germany did not have the technology or experience to take on the British naval army. A great example of British naval strengths was radar. Up until 1943 German U-boats were free to roam in the Atlantic. But from early 1943 long range aircrafts equipped with radar could fly over the Atlantic and destroy German U-boats. This new piece of equipment was effective as in 1943 237 U-boats were sunk using radar. Germany could not keep up with this sort of technology, this proved costly for Hitler. Hitler could not have used any other tactics to overcome the British naval army and cannot be blamed for losing the war in the Atlantic.
Hitler did not expect his enemies to invade France along the beaches of Normandy where the water was shallow. On 6th June 1944 Britain, America and Canada launched a surprised attack on the beaches of Normandy. This attack opened he gateway to Germany. Hitler was not prepared for this large scaled attack as he only had 300 aircrafts to use against the enemy landings. Where as the British and their allies had 12,000 aircrafts at their disposal. On the first day of the landings around 60,000 troops arrived at Normandy. After a week this number grew to 300,000 troops and 450,000 vehicles. This was a important battle for Britain and America as it was their last chance to drive the Germans out of France and back towards Germany. Britain and its allies put all their efforts into this one battle and their planning paid off as they forced Germany out of France. Hitler’s army was outnumbered in every way possible. The mistake on Hitler’s behalf was not leaving enough troops behind in France to deal with any unexpected attacks form the opposition. Even if Hitler were to leave troops behind in France, they still would not have been able to cope with the 300,000 British and American troops
Hitler’s decision, in the summer of 1942, to invade Stalin grad with lack of weaponry and men was a foolish decision. This was one of the turning points in the war. This decision by Hitler opened a gaping wound in Germany. Even though the Russians were much well prepared and ready than the Germans, Hitler still gave the order to invade Stalin grad. This was a bad decision by Hitler and he had taken one risk to many and his lucky streak had come to an end. By the end of November 300,00 German troops inside Stalin grad were surrounded by Russian forces. By 30 January 1943 all of these 300,00 troops had either surrendered or were cut off starved. Hitler thought he would be able to capture Russian factories in the early stages of the war. However 1800 of these factories were out of Hitler’s range. This was fatal as this allowed the Russians to carry on producing tanks, planes, guns and ammunition. Hitler took a gamble in invading Russia; the Russians knew they had a considerably greater number of men and used this to their advantage. The Russian troops determination was a key factor in the battle of Stalin grad and helped assist them to victory over the Germans. In my opinion Stalin grad was the most important battle of the war. If Germany were to capture Stalin grad the gateway to the Middle East would be open, allowing Germany to gather oil and other natural resources, which the Middle East was rich in.
After Britain and America had forced the German troops back into Germany, France had the opportunity to take back the land they had lost to Germany during the war. France was able to regain Paris and bring order back to France. This was like a knockout punch for Hitler and Germany. In March 1945 there wasn’t one German left standing on Russian soil. Russians took the opening in Germany and took over Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany. Hitler no longer had anything to stand on. The Russian counter attack into Berlin was the final nail in the coffin for Germany. On 30th April 1945 Hitler took his life into his own hands and shot himself. Italian communist partisans executed Mussolini two days later. On 8 May 1945 Germany surrendered unconditionally, The Nazi rule was over.
Hitler blames weaknesses in his allies for the reason that Germany was lost World War 2. I agree that Hitler’s allies were weak but I do not agree that they were the reason Germany lost the war. I blame Germanys loss in World War 2 on Hitler’s over confidence. A great example of when Hitler’s overconfidence was damaging was his decision to invade Russia even though he had a lack of troops. Throughout the war Hitler was over confident and this backfired on him. As the war progressed Hitler’s decisions became increasingly divorced with reality and I believe that is what lost the war for Germany. Looking back on the war as a historian it is clear that in the years of 1941 and 1942 things started to wrong for Germany due to Hitler’s decisions. Early signs of things going against Germany was defeat in the Atlantic, considerable loss of troops in Russia and America declaring war on Germany. These were the first signs of things going against Hitler. After 1941 things went downhill. Large scaled allied attacks on Germany began and America won the naval battle of midway. After this it was as though Germany had a gaping whole in it inviting Britain and America to take back land Germany had gained during the war. After Britain and Americas attacks there was no way back for Hitler, Russia proceeded into Berlin the heart of the nazi rule. Hitler’s nazi rule had come to an end.
