Adolf Hitler’s military tactics, poor leadership skills, and actions caused him to lose World War II. Hitler’s objective was to gain world power. He was willing to risk everything for Germany to become the most powerful country. According to Richard Overy, a British historian, “If the German people are not prepared to engage in its own survival, so be it: then it must disappear!” (538). Hitler was also willing to sacrifice Germany to attain world control and victory during World War II. The idea of losing WWII never came across Hitler’s mind because he was confident that Germany would become victorious during the war. Germany was not able to claim victory during World War II due to poor military guidance. Hitler’s military tactics led to the defeat of Germany during the war. According to Williamson Murray, a military historian, “Not surprisingly, the Battle of Britain was a dismal failure not just for the Luftwaffe, but also for German strategy” (34). Hitler was not able to come up with an effective strategy to lead Germany to victory because he was mostly concerned about eliminating the Jews. He was mainly focused on carrying out the “Final Solution” throughout the European countries. Hitler’s failure as Germany’s leader indicated that there were many flaws in his military plans. One of the tactics Hitler and his army used to help defeat their enemies was blitzkrieg. According to Andrew Roberts, a historian, “Blitzkrieg relied on fast-moving armored columns punching deep holes in the enemy's front, closely supported by dive-bombers and truck-borne infantry” (37). Germany had an advantage of using the blitzkrieg tactic because it helped them surprise, move, and attack their opponents quickly. They used this tactic agains... ... middle of paper ... ...ess, 1981. Print. Kaiser, David E. Politics and War: European Conflict from Philip II to Hitler. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1990. Print. Lacey, Jim. "How to Lose a War." World War II 25.6 (2011): 30-38. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. Macmillan, Harold. The Blast of War, 1939-1945. New York: Harper & Row, 1968. Print. Murray, Williamson. "Germany’s Fatal Blunders." Military History 26.5 (2010): 28-35. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. Overy, Richard. BBC. N.p., 17 Feb. 20011. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. Overy, Richard. The Dictators: Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2004. Print. Roberts, Andrew. "Hitler’s Lightning Strike." History Today 59.9 (2009): 12-18. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. Wistrich, Robert S. Jewish Virtual Library. N.p., 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2011.
I have chosen to write my response paper on our course’s monograph Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, by Timothy D. Snyder published by Basic Books in 2010. This text is considered revisionist history and has been very well received, even earning the 2013 Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought. Snyder’s was considerably unconstrained in his research. He has a reading knowledge of eleven European languages allowing him utilize a wide range of primary and secondary sources. These widespread sources allowed him compile a book containing many groundbreaking perspectives and conclusions.
Gottfried, Ted, and Stephen Alcorn. Nazi Germany: The Face of Tyranny. Brookfield, CT: Twenty-First Century, 2000. Print.
Wilkinson, Stephan. “The Worst Battlefield Blunders: Five Battles That Ended Badly.” History.net, Weider History Group. Web 30. March 2014.
Adolph Hitler once said, “Whoever lights the torch of war in Europe can wish for nothing but chaos.” Many of Hitler’s generals realized the truth of that statement. Multiple times they attempted to keep him from wreaking havoc on the German way of life. Their repeated warnings went unheard, resulting in Germany’s downfall. The German war effort was vastly influenced by the Anti-Nazi tendencies of Hitler’s senior officers.
Mckale,Donald M.. Hitler’s Shadow War, the Holocaust and World War 2. New York: Cooper Square.2002.Print.
o Collier, Christopher, and James Lincoln, Collier. The United States in World War II (1941-1945). New York: Benchmark Books, 2002.
The 1940’s was a time of great conflict between the United States and Europe. This led to World War II, which began on June 14th, 1940 when German troops were sent to France to occupy Paris (Nash 500). Before the United States entered World War II many conflicts erupted throughout Europe such as the advancement of German troops into various countries (Nash 501-502). The main source of these conflicts was a man by the name of Adolf Hitler. Hitler was a power hungry man who had the drive to become a political leader (Nash 492). But, the ways by which he obtained leadership were repulsive. He struck fear into the eyes of those in which opposed his teaching and killed whoever stood in his way (Nash 493). Germany faced troubling times after World War I. Hitler looked at this as the perfect opportunity to rise to power. He turned a party that consisted of a small amount of workers into the National Socialist German Workers’ party, which later became known as the Nazi party. During the 1920s, Hitler performed many speeches in order to make the Nazi party better known. In his speeches he talked about eliminating the differences between the rich and poor in order to prevent divided social classes. This made his party strong, attractive, and it quickly gained many supporters (Nash 494). By August 1934, Hitler became the Dictator of Germany and began mass takeover of Europe and World War II began (Nash 495). It was at this point when he began mass takeover of Europe and World War II began (Nash 500). He sent Nazi troops to take over nearby land, which made neighboring countries nervous. One of these countries, Russia, made a non-aggression pact with Hitler as a way to try to protect their country. Even though H...
...ieg. Under Hitler’s command, The Germany’s army could not be underestimated as it knocked down country by country.
We all have gone through troubling times in our life. We have all experienced pain and loss one way or another. The Holocaust was a completely different kind of horror, and Adolf Hitler was the sole cause of World War II and the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a terrible time for the Jewish people of Germany. Hitler had two plans for Germany, the camp life was traumatizing and the aftermath of the Holocaust left Germany both physically and mentally broken.
...cy lead to the defeat and severe losses, which were unreplaceable. Hitler was weakening his own strength, whilst he was strengthening that of his opponent by declaring war on another great power, the United States. The declaration of war on the US proved very costly. Hitler’s alliance with Italy was also a burden to Germany as they were too dependable on Germany and became more of a liability than an asset. Plus after the overthrow of the Italian Government, the new Italian government joined the allies, which opened up a new front and threat of attack. Hitler continually underestimated the strength of his opponents and overestimated the strength of his own army. Diverting his troops to different fronts too often and weakening the German force. Hitler’s pursuit of the Final solution, which drained the army of manpower and resources, and his failure to recognise the need for total war before it was too late and Germany was already facing defeat, can also be attributed to bad leadership and judgement by the Fuhrer which would eventually lead to the downfall of the Third Reich. Therefore the leadership and decisions of Hitler make him responsible for Germany’s defeat in World War Two.
The 1944 Allied landing at Normandy met a strong, networked German defense that initially disrupted the timing of the invasion, slowed down the Allied advance, and inflicted extensive casualties. The German shore defenses were a result of extensive preparations that began when the German High Command appointed Field Marshal Rommel to defend the western European coast. Rommel believed the best strategy against an Allied inv...
O’Neill, William L. World War II A Student Companion. 1 ed. William H. Chafe. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Many historians agree that "Tyrants have left noble monuments, while Adolf Hitler left only death." After the humiliating defeat from World War One and the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Germans were ready for change in government and leadership. Germany blamed the Weimar Republic for the country 's defeat in World War One, which Adolf Hitler used to his advantage. When Hitler came to power he forced Jews out of their homes and into concentration camps, ordered massacres, and tortured millions of people he disliked, because he had the authority to do so. Justice vanished during his rule as anyone who opposed Nazism, Hitler 's storm troopers removed via concentration camps or death. While it may seem that Adolf Hitler came to power
World War Two was the most devastating conflict in the history of humanity. It crippled many nations and caused millions of people to die. One of the major causes of this disastrous war was the Treaty of Versailles which ended the First World War. This treaty was destructive towards the Germans. Germany had to pay large amounts of reparations to the Allied nations at the end of World War One resulting in a Great Depression in Germany. Additionally, the Treaty of Versailles’ war guilt clause forced Germans to admit full responsibility for starting the war. Furthermore, to gain the support of the German populace, Adolf Hitler adopted an effective propaganda campaign. Adolf Hitler employed a successful propaganda campaign to gain the support of the German people combined with the Treaty of Versailles harsh economic and political sanctions ignited World War Two.
Heinz Guderian (1888-1954) was born in Kulm, West Prussia (now Chełmno, Poland). His family, like many Prussian’s, were historically landed gentry and lawyers with his father being the only soldier with whom he was closely related. Guderian, being the son of a soldier, moved around fairly extensively during his youth until he himself joined the military in 1907. During the First World War Guderian served as a signals officer, giving him insight into how technology could be used to facilitate military actions. Post-war Guderian found himself in the reduced 100,000-man German Army (Reichswehr) where he slowly began to develop his ideas of mobile warfare, gathering ideas from fellow military theorists J.F.C. Fuller, B.H. Liddell Hart, and Charles de Gaulle. This culminated in Guderian’s book Achtung – Panzer! which outlined his ideas on armor and aircraft in modern warfare. Guderian would eventually get to test his theories in action with the onset of the Second World War, making dramatic advances through Poland, France, and Russia. Perhaps because of his place as one of first to espouse both the theoretical and practical implementations of blitzkrieg he is sometimes referred to as the father of blitzkrieg and modern military theory.