thanx for sharing guys
:) thanks for sharing:solute::solute::bodek::bodek::bodek: Superb work Alphawolf.... truly superb.... thanks mate... ffuuuuhhhhh... penuh dgn ketelitian.... fffuuuhhhhhh..... Seperti dijanji....
Untuk membantu Operasi Overlord, Alies melancarkan Operasi Bodyguard untuk mengaburi mata pihak Jerman, dimana sebenarnya pendaratan akan dilakukan. Nama 'Bodyguard' diambil dari ucapan PM Winston Churchill dalam tahun 1943 dimana beliau mengatakan 'In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies'. Bodyguard bertujuan untuk :
1. Membuat Jerman meletakkan apsukan-pasukan mereka di kawasan luar daripada Normandy
2. Meyakinkan Jerman bahwa pendaratan di Normandy hanyalah sebagai umpan/decoy kepada pendaratan 'sebenar' yang akan dilakukan 'beberapa minggu kemudian'.
Bagi menjayakan operasi ini, Allies akan cuba meyakinkan Hitler yang:
1. Pendaratan akan bermula pada musim bunga 1944 melibatkan US, UK dan Russia yang akan menyerang Norway.
2. Allies Barat (UK/US) akan meneruskan serangan di Itali dan juga menyerang Greece dan Balkan.
3. Jika serangan ke Perancis tetap diadakan, ianya akan dilakukan di Pas De Calais dan selepas bulan Julai 1944
4. Sebarang pendaratan di pantai Perancis selain di Pas De Calais adalah helah semata2 bagi 'diversion' pendaratan sebenar di Pas De calais.
Kesemuanya mengeksploitasi kepercayaan Hitler yang:
1. Salah satu sebab kekalahan Jerman dalam WW1 ialah keranan armada laut yang terperangkap di laut Baltik dan tidak dapat keluar ke Laut Utara dan Atlantik kerana laluan Skagerrak dan Kattegat antara Norway dan tanah besar Eropah dikuasai pihak berikat. Sebab itu beliau menyerang Norway seawal 1940 serta meletak pasukan yang besar untuk menguasai pelabuhan di pantai Norway.
2. Hitler yakin Allies akan mendarat di Balkan/Greece tambhan pula sekutu Eropah Timur Jerman mula goyah.
3. Bahagian tersempit Selat Inggeris di PAs De Calais (22 batu lebar) dipercayai Hitler akan menjadi lokasi utama pendaratan...
OK sambung.....
[ Last edited by alphawolf at 1-10-2005 03:56 PM ] Sambung...
Operasi Bodyguard terdiri dari beberapa operasi. Operasi-operasi tersebut ialah
1. Operasi Fortitude North
-Operasi ini mengeksploitasi ketaksuban Hitler yang Allies akan menyerang Norway. Melalui oopeasi ini kononnya Allies teridiri dari angkatan Us, UK dan Rusia akan mendarat di Norway. Untuk menghadapi angkatan ini Hitler meletak 464,000 anggota, 2 divisyen kereta kebal, satu armada udara dengan lebih kurang 600 pesawat serta 1,600 meriam pertahanan pantai. Pasukan ini akan kekal berada di Norway bagi menghadapi 'pendaratan' nanti - sebenarnya 150,000 anggota adalah lebihan dan boleh dihantar ke barisan lain tetapi sebab ketaksuban Hitler, mereka kekal di sana.
2. Operasi Fortitude South
-Operasi ini adalah berdasarkan logik bahawa parmada pendarat perlu berlayar sebarapa dekat yang boleh. Keadaan perairan yang tak menentu di Selat Inggeris membantu operasi ini kerana Jerman percaya yang Allies perlu mendarat dikwasan tersempit Selat Inggeris antara Dover dan Pas De Calais selebar 22 batu (nota: Ini juga kawasan perenang Selat Inggeris mencuba skill dan nasib - termasuk Datuk Malik maidin). Secara logiknya disinilah kawasan pendaratan dan untuk itu satu pertahanan pantai yang kuat dibina disini. dan jika Hitler mempercayai inilah kawasan pendaratan nanti, dua kebaikan akan diperolehi Allies iaitu unit dan struktur pertahahan yang kuat akan dikekalkan Hitler disitu dan pendaratan sebenar di Normandy boleh dikatakan sebagai diversion sahaja.
Bagi menjayakan operasi ini, satu Grup Tentera palsu telah diwujudkan iaitu First US Army Group (FUSAG) yang terdiri dari '50 divisyen dgn lebih 1 juta anggota' dalam Operasi Fortitude South I. Beribu2 kenderaan dan kertea kebal palsu dibuat dari getah telah dibuat serta khemah2 kosong dibina di timur England dan pesawat pengintip Jerman dibiarkan mengambil gambar lokasi2 palsu tersebut. Bagi menambah kredibiliti FUSAG, ia 'diperintah' oleh komander terkemuka US iaitu General Patton. Siaran2 rado palsu turut dilakukan.Hitler termakan umpan ini dan meletak Group tentera terkuatnya di Eropah Barat, Grup tentera Ke-15 di Pas De Calais, jauh ke utara dari tapak pendaratan sebenar dan mereka kekal di sana walaupun D-Day telah berjalan kerana percaya yang 'pendaratan sebnar' akan dilakukan di sana.
Fortitude South II pula meyakinkan Hitler yang pendaratan di Normandy hanyalah untuk mengaburi mata beliau. Kononnya Pendaratan sebenar akan berlaku 45 hari selepas D-Day di pantai Pas De Calais. Untuk ini, perhubungan wireless palsu diudarakan bagi memaklumkan Order Of battle FUSAG tadi. Juga ditambah 260 lancang pendarat palsu di pantai Timur England dan pesawat pengintip Jerman dibiarkan mengambil gambar mereka.
Hasil Operasi Fortitude North dan South, angkatan perang jerman terkuat di Eropah Barat kekal dikedudukan masing2, jauh dari pendaratan sebenar. Pergerakan bantuan dari Grup Tentera ke-15 Jerman tidak berlaku sehingga setelah Allies berjaya menyerbu masuk ke Normandy dan jerman meglamai kekalahan.
3. Operasi Zeppelin
- Operasi ini megeksplotasi ketakutan Hitler yang sisi selatan Jerman yang mula goyah akan diserang Allies. Sekutu Hitler di Balkan - Bulgaria, Hungary dan Rumania merupakan sumber utama tenaga manusia dan minyak jentera perang jerman. Untuk ini, maklumat palsu diberikan sama seperti Fortitude South I - satu pasukan besar Allies diketuai General Patton akan menyerang wilayah ini. Juga Allies melemahkan keutuhan negara2 ini dari terus menyokong Hitler. Hasilnya, FM Rommel yang mengetuai pertahahan di Normandy dihantar ke Balkan untuk mengetuai pertahanan di sana pula dan kemudiannya pulang ke Perancis setelah tiada apa2 berlaku. Ini menggangu jadual penambaikan pertahanan di pantai Normandy. Juga untuk mengukuhkan pertahanan di balkan, divisyen kereta kebal Panzer Lehr, Divisyen Kereta Kebal SS Ke-9 Hohenstaufen, Divisyen Kereta Kebal SS Ke-10 Frundsberg dan beberapa divisyen infantri yang sepatutnya berada di perancis telah dihantar ke balkan. Hasil dari operasi2 penipuan ini, hanya pasukan yang berada di Normandy sahaja yang menentang pendaratan Allies. Dua divisyen kerta kebal simpanan yang boleh membantu unit2 di pantai berada dibawah kawalan Hitler sendiri dan apabila kebenaran diberi ianya terlambat. Unit2 di Normandy kebanyakannya terdiri dari askar kerahan tenaga dan kebanayakannya terdiri dari rakyat negara sekutu Jerman dan bukan anggota tentera Jerman asli. Mereka ini kurang berkemahiran berbanding tentera rakyat Jerman. Begitupun, pendaratan menghadapi tentangan sengit dimana pendaratan US di pantai Omaha hampir gagal. Bebrapa sasaran strategik turut gagal ditawan mengikut jadual. Bagaimana jika jerman tidak termakan umpan yang dihulur Allies? And to answer taiaha's Q...
The German Navy actually plans to have carriers in their fleet. Under Plan Z developed by Grand Admiral Erich Raeder, by 1944 the Kriegsmarine would consist of :
8 battleships (Bismarck, Tirpitz + 6 'H'-class : Looks like the Bismarck, only larger and more powerful)
5 heavy cruisers (Admiral Hipper, Blucher, Prinz Eugen, Seydlitz and Lutzow)
3 battlecruisers (Scharnhorst, Gneisenau + another)
12 panzerschiffe (Admiral Graf Spee, Deutschland, Admiral Scheer + 9 others)
6 light cruisers
4 aircraft carriers
With the outbreak of war in 1939, work stopped on the building/unbuilt ships and resources are diverted for U-boat buliding programme. Work on the Graf Zeppelin continued however, albeit at a snail's pace. The project however has one enemy : Reichmarschall Herman Goring of the Luftwaffe. He is contemptious of the carrier project as the planes would be under naval control, not him. He informed Hitler that the planes ordered for the air wing would not be complete until 1944 (despite the fact that the Messerschmitt Bf 109T fighters and Junkers Ju 87C bombers are ready for delivery). Hitler later ordered Goring toproduce them and he came up with modified versions of Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighter and Junkers Ju 87B Stuka - planes which are being replaced in Luftwaffe service. Raeder is obviously disappointed. In 1943, Raeder became throughly disillusioned and was relieved on his own request. He was replaced by Admiral Karl Donitz, a submariner, and the work on the Graf Zeppelin completely stopped.
The reasons why Germany did not embark on the same carrier building exercise as Japan are
1. Hostility from Goering.
2. Diverted resources
3. Successes of the U-Boats
4. Raeder being a 'battleship admiral' - German carriers are supposed to support the battle fleet rather than being the main striking arm.
5. the Germans also lacked experience and growing pains of operating carriers unlike the Japanese, British and Americans.
Interestingly, the Graf Zeppelin, without aircraft, can still become one of germany's commerce raiders as she is armed with 16 150mm guns, 12 105mm AA,22 37mm AA and 28 20mm AA. Bayangkan sekiranya Operasi Bodyguard gagal dan perkara2 ini berlaku:
1. Pertahanan pantai Jerman lebih mantap kerana FM Rommel terus-menerus memantau persiapan
2. tambahan 150,000 tentera, 700 kapalterbang, 4 divisyen kereta kebal dan beberapa divisyen infantri kekal di Normandy
3. 18 divisyen dari Tentera Ke-15 di Pas De Calais dihantar serta merta ke Normandy
Berkemungkinan Allies akan tumpas dan situasi dalam adegan pembukaan filem 'Saving Private Ryan' akan bertambah dahsyat. Originally posted by yellow belmont at 28-9-2005 06:39 PM
intelligence Jerman kena tipu ngan intelligence Allied .. eh ko tak baca ker citer king_kong tu? .. :hmm:
baru baca hehehe The sinking of Bismarck is a classic naval battle. -The beginning of the end of German Navy.
http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/7769/bismarck07small0mw.jpg
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/5948/bismarcktitel8oa.jpg
As per year 1941 Bismarck was the biggest battleship in the German Navy(Kriegsmarine). In fact she was the flagship and the pride of the German people. Her firepower and armour are awesome anda very serious threat to the Royal Navy. Royal Navy despatched HMS Hood to challange Bismarck. Sadly Hood sunk within 17 mins after the first salvo was fired on that tragic morning 24 May 1941.http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/1063/a21bismarck041fiord7nx.gif
Ship's Hull
Displacement (empty) 41.243 t
Displacement (full load and warequiped) 52.328 ts
Overall length 250,50 m
Beam cwl 36,00 m
Height of hull sides 15,00 m
Draught at standard displacement 8,70 m
Draught at full load and warequiped 10,17 m
Armament
4 x 38cm double turrets main armament
6 x 15cm double turrets secondary armament
8 x 10,5cm double guns heavy anti-aircraft
8 x 3,7 cm double guns light anti-aircraft
20 x 2cm anti-aircraft
10 x single mounting
2 x quadruplets
2 x Heeresflak light anti-aircraft
Perbandingan antara HMS Hooddan Bismarck
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2325/bshdcmpre0sn.gif
Battleship Scharnhorst danGneisenau ditugas khusus untuk melumpuhkan perjalanan kapal-kapal dagang pihak Berikatdi Atlantic . Penggunaan ć…¶apital ships Fakta Kekalahan German: #1
Operasi Barbarossa Walaupun menyerang Rusia tanpa dapat mengalahkan UK terlebih dahulu adalah satu risiko besar yang diambil Hitler (dan kalah), Hitler berkemungkinan berpendapat Jerman boleh menewaskan Rusia dengan mudah (We kick the front door and the whole edifice came tumbling down) atas sebab berikut
1. Red Army, walaupun besar tetapi kepimpinan agak lemah pada awal 40an akibat pembersihan yang dilakukan Stalin pada hujung 30an dan ramai pemimpin tentera senior yang berkaliber telah dibunuh.
2. Red Army menghadapi masalah menewaskan Finland pada 1939-1940.
3. Kepercayaan Hitler terhadap superiority Werhmacht
additional interesting fact
Hitler Successor: Grand AdmiralKarl DonitzSelepas Hitler menembak kepalanya pada 30 April 1945, dia mengarahkan bahawa empayar Nazi yang sudah jatuh tergolek tu di serahkan kepada pemerintah tentera laut tertinggi tentera Nazi iaitu Grand Admiral Karl Donitz. Ini merupakan satu surprise dikalangan kabinet parti Nazi kerana sebelum ini Herman Goring atau Heinrich Himmler yang disebut2 akan menggantikan Adolf Hitler, ditambah pula dengan Donitz yang tidak pernah menyatakan sokongannya kepada parti Nazi dan tidak pernah menyertai parti tersebut. Karl Donitz merupakan pemenrintah tentera dan bukannya ahli politik.
Teori menyatakan Hitler sudah hilang kepercayaan terhadap orang2 kanannya apabila satu demi satu cubaan membunuhnya gagal. Ini ditambah pula dengan rancangan pembunuhannya didalangi oleh salah satu orang yang paling dipercayainya iaitu Kolonel Stauffenberg. Hitler dalam last testamentnya mengarahkan Grand Admiral Donitz dilantik menjadi Staatsoberhaupt (Head Of State) so secara rasminya jadila Donitz fuhrer baru German menggantikan Adolf Hitler. Donitz memindahkan HQ Nazi dari Berlin kepada satu tempat rahsia di kawasan Flensburg berdekatan sempadan Denmark.
Kerajaan pendek Donitz digelar Flensburg Government, dan tugas pertama beliau sebagai Fuhrer adalah mengarahkan Chief-of-Staff tentera German iaitu Alfred Jodl untuk menyerah kalah tanpa syarat kepada Allied Forces. Antara ayat didalam mesej Donitz kepada Jodl yang mengubah sejarah dunia ialah "Semua tentera dibawah kawalan German diberhentikan operasi aktifnya pada 2301 jam mengikut Central European Time bertarikh 8 May 1945". Keesokan harinya Colonel-General Alfred Jodl menurukan tandatangan menyerah kalah tentera German di Berlin kepada Red Army pimpinan General Zhukov. Maka dengan secara rasminya tamatlah Perang Dunia ke-2.
Donitz cuba menghidupkan kembali kerajaan Nazi German dengan melantik Ludwig Von Krosigk sebagai Reichskanzler (Chancellor). Semasa hayat pendek Flensburg Goverment, Donitz mengerahkan segala usaha untuk mengumpul kembali tentera2 German yang setia dan cuba mempastikan saki-baki tenteranya menyerah kepada samada tentera Amerika atau British dan bukannya tentera Russia kerana takutkan revenge-reprisal oleh Red Army. Bagaimanapun kerajaan sementara ini tidak disahkan oleh tentera Bersekutu dan ianya dibubarkan. Donitz dan anggota2 kerajaan sementara yang lain ditangkap pada 23 May 1945.
Seperti pemimpin2 Nazi yang lain, Donitz dibicarakan di Nuremberg sebagai war criminal. Donitz, seorang Aryan yang merupakan penyokong setia Hitler, sentiasa memuji2 kehebatan Hitler sewaktu perbicaraannya. Sentimen anti-yahudi yang meluap2 sentiasa dilepaskan sewaktu perbicaraannya. Walaupun begitu, dia tidak didakwa diatas kod "Jenayah keatas Kemanusiaan" (Crimes against Humanity) tetapi didakwa atas perkara yang agak bodoh seperti konspirasi dalam melakukan perang, melakukan keganasan sewaktu perang dan terakhir tidak menyelamatkan mangsa serangan kapal selam sewaktu perang. Dia didapati bersalah atas semua tuduhan dan dihukum penjara di penjara Spandau, Berlin barat selama 11 1/2 tahun. Perbicaraan Donitz menimbulkan kontroversi kerana pihak pendakwa tidak dapat membuktikan yang Donitz bersalah atas jenayah keats kemanusiaan manakala pemimpin tentera yang lain seperti Alfred Jodl, Wilhelm Keitel, Herman Goring dan 12 yang lain dijatuhkan hukuman gantung sampai mati atas dakwaan jenayah ke atas kemanusiaan.
Donitz dibebaskan dari penjara pada 1 Oktober 1956. Beliau menghabiskan sisa-sisa hidupnya di perkampungan kecil bernama Aumuhle berdekatan Hamburg. Sewaktu tinggal disitu, beliau sempat menulis dua buah memoir. Pertama,Zehn Jahre, Zwanzig Tage (Ten Years and Twenty Days), recounting balik pengalamannya sebagai U-boat commander dan sebagai presiden German selama 20 hari. Kedua, Mein wechselvolles Leben (My Ever-Changing Life) merupakan autobiographical hidupnya. Kedua2 buah memoir beliau merupakan best-seller dan beliau mempunyai peminat tersendiri. Beliau menghabiskan masa dengan membalas surat peminat dan menjalani kehidupan yang tenang sehinggalah kematiannya pada 6 Januari 1980. Sewaktu pengebumian beliau, pemerintah dan bekas pemerintah tertinggi tentera Amerika, British, Russia dan lain2 datang memberi penghormatan terakhir mereka kepada bekas pemerintah perang dunia ke-2 yang amat hebat ini. sebenarnya hitler bukanlah seorang bijak dalam taktik peperangan, penglibatan hitlerbermula semasa perang dunia pertama ketika berusia 25 tahun dimana dia adalah seorang foot soldier ataupun dispatch bagi tentera jerman pada ketika itu, dia sentiasa bernasib baik dan tidak mendapat kecederaan walaupun keseluruhan 3000 rejimennye samada cedera, mati ataupun hilang.Sehinggalah pada 7 oktober 1916 hitler mendapat kecederaan di kaki dan dihantar ke munich untuk kerja kerja ringan.Hitler dianugerahkan iron cross fisrt class pada ogos 1918,dan leftenen yang mencadangkan dia menerima pingat itu adalah seorang yahudi. Pada bulan oktober 1918 hitler sekali lagi cedera apabila hilang penglihatan buat sementara waktu akibat serangan gas klorin dari tentera british.Akhirnya akibat tekanan dan kemungkinan tewas dalam perang dunia pertama, kerajaan jerman telah menandatangani perjanjian damai dengan kerajaan british dan perancis pada november 1918. Perjanjian itu di kenali sebagai Treaty of versailles, di dalam perjanjian itu jerman di arah membayar ganti rugi yang besar kepada perancis dan british dan terpaksa menyerahkan tanah jajahan nya iaitu Rhineland kepada perancis dan sudentenland kepada poland dan czech. Selain itu kekuatan tentara Jerman dihadkan kepada 100 ribu orang dan dilarang untuk memiliki pesawat perang dan kapal selam. Pada bulan september 1919 hitler telah di arahkan menyiasat Germans workers party yang disyaki tentera jerman sebagai gerakan marxist. Disebalik menjadi penyiasat hitler telah berjaya menarik hati ahli persatuan tersebut untuk menerimanya dengan ideologi anti yahudi dan ketaksubannya untuk mengeluarkan jerman dari perjanjian versailles yang terbukti membataskan kuasa jerman dimana hitler percaya bangsa jerman iaitu Aryan adalah bangsa yang superior. Kebolehan hitler berucap di khalayak ramai dan menaikkan semangat rakyat jerman telah menjadikan penyokongnya semakin ramai dan Germans workers party telah ditukar nama kepada National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) dimana singkatannya adalah NAZI.
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/ww2-pix/hitler-ww1.jpg
Adolf Hitler (shown left-under x) during World War I with fellow German soldiers. The dog had the name Fuchsl and was actually Hitler's pet during the war until it was stolen from him.
bersambung..
[ Last edited by cinoise at 20-3-2006 10:32 PM ] Pada 9 november 1923 Hitler telah merancang satu rampasan kuasa yang dikenali sebagai The Beer Hall Putsch tetapi gagal dan telah dipenjarakan selam 5 tahun. Belajar dari kesilapan itu Hitler merancang dengan lebih teliti untuk mengambil alih tampuk kerajaan jerman dengan melalui proses biasa iaitu pilihanraya dan setelah melalui beberapa kali pilihan raya akhirnya parti Nazi telah menjadi parti terbesar di jerman dan pada 30 januari 1933 hitler telah dilantik menjadicanselor jerman dan seterusnya menjadi Fuhrer of germany pada 23 mac 1933 selepas kematian presiden jerman Hindenburg. Pada bulan Mac 1935 Hiler telah mengarahkan supaya kekuatan tentera jerman di besarkan sekaligus melanggar perjanjian vesailles yang telah ditandatangani dan sepatutnya dengan ini british dan perancis boleh menyerang jerman tetapi itu tidak berlaku dimana ia merupakan satu kesilapan besar. Pada 7 mac 1936 hitler telah memulakan penjajahanya di eropah dengan menghantar 3 batallion tentera untuk menduduki kembali Rhineland yang telah diberikan kepada perancis dalam perjanjian versailles. Sekali lagi dunia menunggu perancis dan britain untuk bertindak tetapi sekali lagi dua kuasa ini mendiamkan diri dan sekadar mengemukakan bantahan, sebenarnya hitler hanya ingin menguji perancis dan telah mengarahkan 30000 tenteranya yang hanya berkelengkapan rendah untuk berundur seandainya perancis menyerang. Ini sekali lagi merupakan kesilapan terbesar yang dilakukan oleh britain dan perancis kerana jika mereka bertindak sedah pasti jerman tidak akan menang dengan keupayaan tentera merekan yang ketinggalan berbanding tentera perancis dan british dimana tentera jerman sekadar mempunyai 36 division manakala perancis mempunyai 100 division. Kesilapan inilah yang membuatkan tentera jerman semakin kuat sehingga perancis sendiri tidak berdaya untuk mengalahkan mereka pada perang dunia ke 2
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/triumph/triumph-map.gif
empayar jerman sebelum penaklukan
bersambung... Baguih hang cinoise buat dari sebelum Hitler berkuasa...aku tak larat...dan tak sempat! he he aku sebenarnya suka2 je search kat internet sbb nak tau pasal hitler nih.. nnt kalau ade masa aku sambung... kalau ade yang tersilap sorry ekk sbb aku translate.. takut tersalah translate plak.. Ten Important Reasons Why Germany Lost The War
I found this in a website and it is kind of interesting. I am still pouring into the details but it is important that my fellow forumers read and understand it.
These are the ten German blunders thatcontributed the most to Germany's defeat. This list is purely from opinion and should be judged accordingly, whether you agree or disagree with them. No one can say whether they would have won the war without these mistakes, even though I believe that Nazis would have eventually been defeated regardless of their victories. It is also impossible to say any war was won or lost because of a finite set of reasons, simply because war is too complex to completely analyze, but I have tried to narrow Germany's loss down to ten. I tried to get to the "lowest common denominator" by tracing defeat to the root of the problem. Forgive me if I don't explain them well enough, but I think these reasons are almost self-explainitory.
1. Operation Barbarossahttp://img69.imageshack.us/img69/5459/german5jw.gif
By attacking the Soviet Union, Germany signed its death certificate as it took on an enemy it could never defeat. Although he came close, Hitler grossly underestimated the Soviet industrial and military capacity as well as their will to fight at any cost. Additionally, he created a second front, which consumed the majority of Germany's best men, weapons and machinery, which were destroyed by the Red Army. Had the Germans kept their treaty with the Soviets, or even made an alliance with them, surely the world would be a very different place today.
2. Hitler's Interference In Military Affairs
It is impossible to deny that his military suffered greatly because of his meddling, so much so that several assassination attempts were made. Instead of leaving the planning solely up to his very competent military leaders and scientists, he chose to interfere and make poor, ignorant decisions. In the beginning he made several bold gambles which paid off, but as the Allies turned the tide, he refused to adopt a conservative stance. Even when it was clear that the war was lost, Hitler chose to continue the fight, determined to bring everyone else down with him.
3. Poor Intelligence
Throughout the war, the Germans always seemed to be at a disadvantage when it came to knowing what the enemy was up to. The Germans had too many secrets given away, were too ignorant of Allied progress, and were duped too many times by Allied trickery to recover. The Allies had a greater reservoir of military intelligence, and used their resources better. They drew on vast amounts of German secrets through double agents, captured weaponry, and intercepted messages, all of which culminated in a devastating blow. Throughout the war, the Germans were surprised at how the Allies could have the upper hand so often, when often the reason was because the Allies knew what the Germans were going to do and how they were going to do it. A perfect example is the British invention of centimetric radar, something the Germans thought was physically impossible. In 1943 when the Germans finally discovered its existence in a RAF wreckage, the British were already regularly using it on their anti-submarine patrols.
4. Overextension
This has been the downfall of many doomed empires, and the Third Reich was no exception. Within the first year of WWII, Hitler had much of Europe in his hands because of quick victories which led him to presume that he was invincible. Hitler continually pushed his luck too far and should have learned from the Battle of Britain that his war machine was not infalliable. Once he got deeper and deeper into Europe, supply lines began growing as his army was shrinking, and his overextension in the east proved fatal.
5. Poor Military Production Early On
Although Germany had great industrial power, they failed to take full advantage of it until later in the war, when they were already on the ropes. Hitler scoffed at the American assembly line mentality and opted for quality, not quantity in his production, while laughing at the idea of using women and children for the war effort. The Americans and Soviets had the exact opposite strategy, choosing to throw as much men and material as possible at Hitler, and in the end the Allies' superior numbers led to their victory. After his disasterous losses in Russia, Hitler switched to mass production and standardization, but by then it was too late.
6. Failure To Take Britain Out Of The War In 1940
The first half of 1940 was a terrifying time for the Allies, especially the British, who had their back against the wall so early on. Hitler had most of the British forces trapped at Dunkirk and made the colossal mistake of letting 340,000 Allied soldiers escape, most of which would return to fight again. Instead of winning a Stalingrad-like victory at Dunkirk, he gave the Allies the breathing room they needed to regroup and a morale boost that carried them into their next big victory in the Battle of Britain. Hitler underestimated the RAF and overestimated the Luftwaffe, and for the second time he missed his chance to deliver a potentially fatal blow to the British, which would have severely curtailed the Allies' future attacks.
7. Counterproductive Military And Governmental Structure
The Third Reich has been called the most disorganized and unstructured government in any modern society, and it seems to fit that bill. Although Hitler had absolute power, his "will" was so ambiguous that he had scores of people running the show, and often there were several people working uncoordinately on the same job or working against one another. This labyrinth of disarray and backbiting carried into the military, where Hitler also encouraged rivalry and animosity to weaken the power of everyone else working for him to secure his own power. He failed to realize that these structural weaknesses would only collapse around him later on in the war when people began to dispise him.
8. Nazi Ideology
Nazi official Hans Frank said it best by lamenting that empires built on democracy last for ages, but empires built on hate and violence are always short-lived. The Nazis proved that maxim true by racially, politically and militarily setting themselves apart from the rest of humanity, which bred a world full of enemies that would have their revenge. The Nazis' racist policies gave them the false impression that they were superior to everyone else, setting them up for defeat. By believing other ethnic groups were subhuman, he alienated potential allies and underestimated his enemies.
9. Failure To Take Advantage Of Technology
The Nazis had access to some of the most advanced weaponry in the world, but never made full use of it. They had the world's first guided missles, the V-1 & V-2 rockets, but Hitler only wanted to use them to terrorize London. They had the world's first jets, like the Me-262, but Hitler wanted to use them as bombers and not the superior fighters they were. They had captured plans for a device which allowed submerged U-boats to operate their diesel engines, but sat on them for years until the Allies had won the Battle of the Atlantic. They had the scientists who could have made a German atomic bomb, but it never happened. Time and time again the Germans seemed to have many military advantages (like their late-war assault rifle which the Soviets copied with their AK-47) but they either used them too late or in a wasteful manner.
10. Failure To Utilize Their Few Allies Properly
The Germans were very self-reliant, but made a grave mistake by letting the Italians try to run a "parallel war" in the Mediterranean and Africa. They were doomed from the beginning and forced to step in and take control, when they could have just integrated Italian forces into the Wehrmacht, like they did with other countries later. However, they showed carelessness in using Axis nations' forces, most notably at Stalingrad, where they guarded the 6th Army with Romanian troops, who were quickly enveloped by the Soviets and led to the Germans' defeat. One aspect historians have speculated about for years is their failure to use the Japanese as true allies, which may not have made a difference in the long run, but it certainly could have helped both Axis countries.:hmm::hmm: HMS Hood sunk on the 24th May, 1941 during the early morningencounter with Bismarck. See post # 52.
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