Why did the Germans stretch themselves too thin?

[wallstreeterww]

Can you guys imagine what would have happened if Germany stayed honest to their non-aggression pact with the soviet union? Do you guys think that this would have changed the face of this war? Napoleon didnt learn and hitler made the same mistake .

[Jim]

I can imagine Hitler giving Russia the feeling of false pretense over the pact that was signed, as Stalin had very little in the way of weapons and was caught on the hop by Hitler, who i believe knew this and his reason to attack Russia when he did. Now here are when all the ifs come in, like what would have happened if the weather had stayed a little milder? Thou the cold and ice was the same for both armies it certainly helped the Russians in the way of being able to increase their armaments and give a better account of themselves on the battlefield. Thats just one of many that could be debated on in this subject..

Good question Wallstreet ..

[wallstreeterww]

Thanks Jim. Talk about a huge blunder though. I guess this is what happens when a non military person is in charge of a country's military.

[Spitfire XIV-E]

The other thing that you could say is that it was a matter of when rather than if the Germans would attack Russia. The 1939 Pact was only a convenience at best. Stalin & Hitler both knew this. Stalin was hoping that he could buy time until the Red Army was thoroughly re-organised, after the disastrous purges of the 1930's where many good officers had been summarily executed or imprisoned due to Stalin's paranoia. It didn't quite happen that way and when Operation Barbarossa kicked off in June '41 the re-organisation was only partially done. Many of the Russian Divisions facing the onslought in the west were either anihilated or surrounded and forced to surrender because of the poor leadership ability of the commanders then in place.

[wallstreeterww]

Originally Posted by Spitfire XIV-E

The other thing that you could say is that it was a matter of when rather than if the Germans would attack Russia. The 1939 Pact was only a convenience at best. Stalin & Hitler both knew this. Stalin was hoping that he could buy time until the Red Army was thoroughly re-organised, after the disastrous purges of the 1930's where many good officers had been summarily executed or imprisoned due to Stalin's paranoia. It didn't quite happen that way and when Operation Barbarossa kicked off in June '41 the re-organisation was only partially done. Many of the Russian Divisions facing the onslought in the west were either anihilated or surrounded and forced to surrender because of the poor leadership ability of the commanders then in place.

Did hitler not understand that he could only conquer so much territory at one time ? Did he ever contemplate an alliance with Russia at one point or were their philosiphies too different?

[Jim]

Hitler's Excuse when things were starting to turn against him as stated, but Churchill saw thru this..

The failure of the German armies to reach their objectives was attributed by Hitler “not to the enemy, but to forty degrees of frost” nevertheless; he showed his disapproval by dismissing von Bock, commander on the central front, and replacing him by Field Marshal List. The retreats which followed were explained to the German people as tactical withdrawals dictated by the fact that Germany no longer had any strategic ambitions for the winter. Mr. Churchill in his review of the war on 11th December gave other reasons. “Six weeks or a month ago,” he said, people were wondering how soon Moscow would be taken, or Leningrad, in the north, or how soon the Germans would overrun the Caucasus and seize the oilfields of Baku. Since then a striking change has become evident. The enormous power of the Russian armies and the glorious steadfastness and energy with which they have resisted the frightful onslaught made upon them has now been made plain.
“On top of this has come the Russian winter and on top of that the Russian Air Force. Hitler forced his armies into this barren and devastated land. He has everywhere been brought to a standstill. On a large portion of the front he is in retreat; the sufferings of his troops are indescribable. In Hitler's launching of this Nazi campaign on Russia we can already see, after less than six months of fighting, that he made one of the outstanding blunders of history, and the results so far realized constitute an event of cardinal importance in the final decision of the war.”

[Spitfire XIV-E]

And of course he contradicted himself. In "Mein Kampf" he warned against war on 2 fronts but still went ahead and did it anyway....

[Kelly]

Hitler was a Mad Man and had no real sense of reality, hence the wrong decisions made Militarily

[Jim]

Originally Posted by Spitfire XIV-E

And of course he contradicted himself. In "Mein Kampf" he warned against war on 2 fronts but still went ahead and did it anyway....

Aye, this was the begining of the down fall, thou at the time the Russians were not so pleased..

[Reid1986]

I know that the opening up of fronts on both sides of Germany was one big reason for the end of the war. This was especially true when Operation Overlord was successful and allowed the Allies access to Europe on the Western front. The Germans really had very little hope of holding out in the middle of two advancing forces.