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Created on: June 20, 2008 Last Updated: December 05, 2011
Hitler's lack of leadership made it impossible for Germany to win the war
There is great speculation on whether Hitler could have won the war. Science fiction books like Newt Gingrich's "1945" deal with a world where Hitler had some successes. On the other hand, authors like John Birmingham take the view of Hitler being a paranoid madman. In his series Axis of Time, Hitler continues to make the fatal errors he made in our world. In my opinion, Hitler's mental state and lack of common sense prevented him from winning the war.
Hitler's first major error was to halt the attack against the evacuating Allied troops at Dunkirk. While the Allied troops evacuated, Hitler ordered the ground assault to cease, leaving them trapped. In addition foul weather kept the Luftwaffe on the ground; saving the Allied troops from a certain death. By the time Hitler gave the order for the ground troops to continue, it was too late. This type of micromanaging continued throughout the war and fouled many operations as well as military research. Waging war should be left to the generals, because they know what they are doing.
In order for Hitler to win the war, he would have had to agree on some type of ceasefire. In my opinion, Hitler's mental condition, whatever it may have been during the war, would have prevented him from winning the war. In his mental state, he would have continued to make mistakes, like attacking Russia. Hindsight is twenty/twenty; however, it must have been obvious to the German generals at the time that the invasion of Russia was a major mistake.
Another issue that would have prevented Hitler from winning the war is that his generals were not trustworthy. By no means were these generals traitors to Germany. Their attempts to assassinate Hitler throughout the war were very heroic. These generals watched Hitler take their country down the road of destruction. With every attempt on Hitler's life there was a chance that they would be discovered and many were. Hitler's inept leadership caused a deep rift between him and his generals. In layman's terms, Hitler lacked the common sense to win the war.
Throughout the war Germany's weapons were far more advanced than those of the allies. In today's world the country with the most advanced weapons usually wins the war. This did not happen with Germany. Germany had the most advanced weapons of the war. The Me262, the first operational jet fighter, was delayed by Hitler. He wanted a bomber not a fighter. Germany had the
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