Better late than never

[Old Hippie]

"...I believe for every German soldier killed in the East, they killed 5 Russian soldiers. Against Western allied armies it was 2 to 1 in Germany's favour. We shall never see their like again, thank God. .."

 

Then why/how did they (Germany) lose?

[McBif]

Old Hippie said:

"...I believe for every German soldier killed in the East, they killed 5 Russian soldiers. Against Western allied armies it was 2 to 1 in Germany's favour. We shall never see their like again, thank God. .."

 

Then why/how did they (Germany) lose?

 

Because of industrial production. Mostly from your country, OH. Even though Speer was actually increasing Germany's war production as late as the last few months of the war, it never came near to that of the Allies.

 

For example, at D-Day (June '44) Allied air superiority over the Luftwaffe was 400-1. The Germans could hardly move during the daytime, and so were unable to bring up their armoured divisions. Even so, it was touch and go.

 

Here're some statistics on war production (use IE. Firefox buggers up one chart):

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_production_during_World_War_II

[Flashermac]

Old Hippie said:

 

Then why/how did they (Germany) lose?

 

 

 

Also by trying to be everywhere at the same time. Hitler's troops were stretched too thin. Mussolini is blamed by some for Hitler's loss in the East. Musso decided to attack Greece, against Hitler's advice. The Greeks promptly kicked the crap out of Italy's forces, and Hitler had to go rescue Mussolini from that mess. The unwanted campaign delayed the invasion of the USSR for some time -- and meant that the German advance was caught in the Russian winter. If the attack had begun when it was supposed to, Hitler might have ended the war in the East rather quickly.

 

Also, Hitler did totally assinine things like throwing away von Paulus's fantastic troops at Stalingrad, refusing to allow them to retreat and regroup when they could.

 

(I had a cousin captured at Stalingrad. He was one of the very few Stalingrad prisoners to return alive after the war.)