German weakness Part 2 of Germany's defeat

1. Germany’s weakness and miscalculations
Germany’s Defeat in WWII

2. Germany’s MISTAKES
 Ineffective command structure
 Inappropriate use of resources and
military funds
 Heavy reliance on petroleum
 War on two fronts

3. Ineffective command structure

4. Ineffective command structure
 Confusing system of overlapping authority
 Hitler insisted on making important decisions
which frequently proved to be mistakes
e.g
- Concentration of forces at Pas de Calais instead of
Normandy
- Shifted military divisions from Moscow to attack
other places
- Some historians believe that if Hitler had not
intervened in SU, Germany would have taken
Moscow and SU

5. Video
 The turning point of Deception – Top secret
tactics for D-day

6. Inappropriate use of resources and
military funds (pg149)
 Ineffective military tactics
 Invested in battleships instead of U-boat
 Competition of funds amongst military leaders

7.  Large number of
different equipments
 Many different spare
parts needed
 Lack of proven
weapons and
equipments
 Suitable clothing for
soldiers to cope with
Russian winter
 Lack of adequate
personnel for
armament production

8. Recall women’s role in Nazi
Germany

9. Women’s role in USA during War

10. Heavy Reliance on petroleum
 Lack of natural resources
 Chief resource – petroleum
 Seized oilfield from occupied land
 Heavy Allied bombing of oilfields
 Ploesti oilfields in Romania put out of operation
by SU
 German war machine came to a halt

11. War on two fronts
 Recall: Nazi-Soviet Pact

12. War on two fronts
 Probably the
biggest mistake
 Invaded Soviet
Union opening up
an Eastern Front
 Declared war on
USA believing USA
would concentrate
on Japan

13. Why did Hitler launch Operation
Barbarossa?
• In 1941, Hitler was at the height of his power.
Almost all of Europe was under his control. Only
Britain stood defiant in the West. Russia remained
independent, and potentially threatening, in the
East. In attacking Russia, Hitler sought to fulfill
his life’s mission (one that he spelt out in Mein
Kampf). He hoped to destroy communism, win
lebensraum (land) for the German master race
• All of Germany’s military leaders thought that the
Red Army was incapable of fighting a modern
war. British and American experts also thought
that the Russians would be defeated between 1 to
3 months.

14. Germany’s weakness and
miscalculations
 Ineffective command structure
 Inappropriate use of resources and
military funds
 Heavy reliance on petroleum
 War on two fronts