Which Factor Was The Most Important In Causing The End Of The Second World War?
Essay by 24 • March 27, 2011 • 1,140 Words (5 Pages) • 1,773 Views
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Historians have questioned the factors leading to the end of the Second World War. The allies had greater resources compared to the Axis power, but Germany was dominating even before the World War had begun. Though material comparison was convincing, it was the naive form of analysing the factors. Strategically, Hitler and the rest of the World made mistakes, but some of the strategies prevailed. Evidently through the events of the Second World War, strategy of the two oppositions surface apparent as the most important factor.
Hitler’s strategy was juvenile from the beginning, from his thoughts to his decisions made . He distrusted professional advice and was convinced that solitarily he dictated. Hitler offended and trusted the wrong countries, his tactic was his perceptions. One example would be Nazi officialdom’s reluctance to employ woman in munitions factories, which could have benefitted Germany three million men for active service. Militarily, he succeeded from the Blitzkrieg strategy at the beginning , though Germany lacked resources we could see that the plundering of resources Germany required worked . But towards the end, Blitzkrieg was futile as conquering Britain would require a sea and air invasion . In addition, the Luftwaffe leader, Hermann Goering was not good at tactics; he shifted the focus of attacks, and did not realize the potential of radar, his failure in premeditated planning led to the lost of the Battle of Britain . The U-boats was another example of how strategy was crucial. Initially, the Germans had strong aggression and great forecast , but when Churchill retaliated and executed tactics , they lost the battle of the Atlantic . Hitler made the biggest mistake by regarding Britain as an innate friend , it was part of his strategy to neutralise Britain, but this only made Britain stronger particularly when Hitler abandoned his plan to invade Britain when the RAF was close to defeat. Another error was the scheme to invade Russia to give the Aryan race Lebensraum. Operation Barbarossa helped Britain and gave her a respite; it was moreover a failed plan, as German troops did not have winter uniform , and Hitler lost the chance to conquer Russia due to his inconsistency of arrangements . His tactical error perpetrated him to fight on two fronts. Another grave mistake was his war with the United States, which he could not attack directly , it brought the most powerful nation in war, with its resources alongside the Allies, and war was bound to end, with the Allies emerging victorious.
Just like Hitler, Churchill made strategic faults which lead to setbacks, however benefitting from those that succeeded. The evacuation at Dunkirk was impressive , but when Churchill encouraged France to react without the BEF, it was a dreadful approach as Italy declared war on France around that time, and France fell, leading to the Allies’ first defeat. Although the allies lost their first battle, Britain won the Battle of Britain as their Radar, collectively with the weakness of the Luftwaffe proved victorious. They had also won the Atlantic Battle due to their enforced tactics . The allied bombing campaign also proved that strategy had a great impact on the outcome of a battle.
Despite Russia’s collapse at the commencement of war, Stalin’s planned economic policies since 1929 significantly helped Russia’s economic foundation , there was constant supply of war material to the Red Army , diminishing Germany’s Army to fight against increasing odds. The ploy of ideology also came into place when Communism normalized economy for military triumph. The reorganisations of Russia during the Russia winter applied several schemes, such as the Harsh Discipline, which helped in the victory of the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kursk.
Roosevelt conversely planned his stratagem carefully, and this was unbeaten throughout. American concentration shifted from Japan to Germany to prevent a Nazi victory over Russia and Britain, it thrived. With the Western allies coordinating their strategy, they fought as one power and attained harmony, which did not subsist in the Axis powers, overpowering them, and leading to the defeat of Italy in 1943. The Lend-Lease scheme helped British immensely in terms of resources and troops. In addition, the strategy of nuclear bombs ultimately ended war.
From this, we can see strategy determined a major role in the conquest or defeat of the war. Operation Overlord is one of the best examples whereby strategy was put to full use, it confused the enemy , and placed them in a vulnerable position , and even though towards the end the German had extraordinary weapons, they still lost. The allies won as they differed from Hitler’s approach, showing the magnitude of strategic planning, being the key factor in causing the end of the second world war. (809 Words)
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As a research Scholar, an article can capture the Historians with a catchy Headline. As we all know, the topic of the end of the Second World War is debated throughout
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