How the USSR Was Able to Defeat Germany by 1945, Despite the Disasters of 1941

On the whole, this is the most significant point that will be discussed because simply, the Eastern Front is where the war was won and it also facilitated the landing of the allied troops in Normandy – D-Day. Stalin had been longing for the opening of the second front to draw German tanks and infantry away from the Eastern Front. The crucial aerial bombing meant that Germany had to withdraw anti-tank guns from the Eastern front and instead, use them to fight the British bombers in the sky. This was evident with the AA Defence System (88mm tank guns) which could no longer inflict damage upon the Red Army and the Soviets. Similarly, the Germans had to divert money and manpower (infantry) to provide a significant enough opposition to discourage the Allies from continuing with their long range offensives. As well as diversion of resources, the priority of the German manufacturers shifted greatly whereby the number of fighters increased on the German front from 1405 to 1650 in 1943-44, but decreased on the Eastern Front from 445 to 425 in 1943-44. The switch of bombers to fighters meant that troops on the front line did not have a protective air force. This, along with the minimalised production of weapons, reduced the war effort served by the Germans on the Eastern Front. The only fight which the Germans could put up there was defensive which inevitably, gave

They were relying on the capture of the Russian oil fields to supply their army with fuel after their stockpiles had run out. Their lack of fuel is evident even in this battle as Friedrich Von Paulus, who was commanding the sixth army’s assault on Stalingrad, advance towards the city was very slow due to the fuel rations and at one point his army was even brought to a complete halt outside Kalach, as they had completely exhausted their fuel supply. The outcome of the Battle of Stalingrad exacerbated the Germans shortage of fuel, limiting the vital supply for their planes and tanks. Without fuel, the German panzer tanks and the mighty German Luftwaffe would be useless, thus rendering two of Germany’s greatest assets worthless. The Germans could not win the war without a reliable source of fuel. Therefore, the Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point in World War Two because it stopped the German advance into Russian thus denying them access to the Caucasus oil wells, exacerbating Germany’s fuel crisis and crippling the German army.

The vast differences in technology affected both sides, and were both beneficial and detrimental. The Germans possessed more advanced technology and weapons than the Soviets, such as the MP40. According to Staff Writer on MilitaryFactory.com, the MP40 came about when the Germans realized that their previous submachine gun, the MP43, was “too much for war time production,” and a newer, more effective model was needed. The MP40 improved its predecessor’s original model, with its small size, decreased jamming incidents, and the revolutionary folding stock. This would become the “definitive submachine gun for the German Army” (Writer).

The defeat of Germany in World War Two was due to many factors. All of these factors were influenced by the leadership and judgment of Adolf Hitler. Factors such as the stand fast policy, Hitler's unnecessary and risky decision making in military situations, for example when attacking the USSR, and the declaration of war on the US. Plus other factors, like Hitler's alliance with Italy, despite its obvious weaknesses, and the pursuit of the final solution, can all be attributed to the poor leadership and judgement of the Fuhrer, which would eventually lead to the downfall of the Third Reich.

As Germany advanced on the city of Stalingrad, Hitler decided to rush the battle and try to finish it quickly. Because of this mindset, his army was severely underprepared to fight a drawn out battle in the Russian winter. German general Blumentritt recalled “The railheads (train tracks) were as much as 200 kilometers behind the front, and the bare nature of the countryside meant that there was little timber (wood) available for constructing defenses. There were no proper trenches or fixed positions” (Document 3). The Soviets had a major advantage over the Germans of the aspect of being resupplied. While they could receive support from nearby or within the city, Germany had to rely on supplies coming from a long way out. If supply shipments were cut off by the Soviets, the Germans were forced to continue fighting with limited resources. Also, the Battle of Stalingrad is a prime example of how much changed between the first and second world war. The vast majority of World War I was fought out of trenches, with soldiers moving very little. World War II was fought in the style of urban warfare, surrounded by streets and buildings, nearly the polar opposite of trench warfare. The Germans were not trained to fight an urban style battle, and thus struggled upon reaching the city of Stalingrad. When the cold Russian winter came, German suffering reached an all time high. A soldier named Wilhelm

One of Soviet Union’s biggest victories was on January 31, 1943 at Stalingrad, when over 90,000 German troops surrender (WorldWar2History.info). After this battle, the Soviet Union remained at Stalingrad and liberated most of Ukrainians, Eastern Belorussia, and themselves (ushmm.org). “In the summer of 1944, the Soviets launched another major offensive, which liberated the rest of Belorussia, and the Ukraine, most of the Baltic States, and eastern Poland from Nazi rule (ushmm.org).” During April 1945, the Soviet Union launched its final attack on the Nazi’s by taking over Vienna, Berlin and Prague, (ushmm.org).

One of the key reasons for Germany's defeat is the internal problems suffered by Germany from late 1917. Morale in the ranks of the Germany army was diminished to a painfully low point: they were exhausted from the spring offensive and on low morale from the turn of the tide at 1918 and the new of the entry of America into the war on the Allied side. Germany was suffering overall supply problems: There were food shortages for over a year, coal became in short

In the first stages of the Russian counter attack against the German army, led by General Friedrich Paulus, the German plan for strategic retreat was stopped by Hitler himself who, in a radio message to Paulus, would say that surrender is not an option and to continue fighting until the German’s were unable to continue. This evidently selfish and stubborn behavior from the leader of Nazi Germany forced the German army to brave the Russian winter and later force their surrender in 1943 by restricting the power of his generals on the front lines. The loss of manpower from this defeat would start the downfall of the power of Nazi

the fact that they held the central heartland of Russia, which included Petrograd and Moscow. Provided a upper hand to the reds as it gave them human resources, control of the industrial heartland, control of a vast amount of inherited war materials and control of the railways. The Bolsheviks held territory that contained some 70 million people, compared to around 20 million in white controlled areas. This therefore meant that the reds had more manpower this can be seen through major battles between reds and whites as the red army invariably had a huge numerical advantage over its opponents. Also all resources that remained from Russians participation in the first world war fell into Bolshevik hands this includes arsenal of the old tsarist army an estimate suggests 2.5 million rifles. However the Bolsheviks didn’t heavily rely on these resources as Russia’s engineering and armaments factories were located in sovdepia and this gave them capacity to manufacture new weapons. This acted as an advantage to the reds as they were well equipped evidence of this is seen through the white army’s defeat in Crimea in and by December 1919

The invasion of the Soviet Union can be seen as one of Hitler’s greatest blunders. In 1941 Hitler and Stalin were in a non-aggression pact. Hitler decided to waive that pact and invade the Soviet Union in 1941 with Operation Barbarossa. Hitler’s decision to invade the Soviet Union was a great risk and ultimately led to the 3rd Reich’s downfall. The Soviet Union was a country full of vast resources and a higher population than Germany. There seems to be so many risks involved with attacking the Soviet Union. So why was the Soviet Union attacked by Germany in 1941?

Hitler concentrated too much of his military strength on Stalingrad. The capture and destruction of the city was of more symbolic value than strategic advantage. The military high command was in disarray due to a combination of disagreements and dismissals. Hitler frequently interfered in detailed operations overriding the decisions of his military commanders. This caused confusion throughout the chain of command and resulted in a distinct lack of unity. One consequence was the existence a long and vulnerable flank along the Don River manned by troops from Hungary, Italy and Romania. These troops lacked motivation and were left ill equipped, making the task of the Red Army an easier one. It is interesting to speculate that had Hitler kept out of military planning, events may have been considerably

But the failure of the Soviet foreign policy in the run up to the war and the fiasco at the start of it (Stalin's unwillingness to believe that German forces were invading) undermines the argument that dictatorship strengthened the USSR.

The defeat of Germany in World War Two was due to many factors. All of these factors were influenced by the leadership and judgment of Adolf Hitler. Factors such as the stand fast policy, Hitler’s unnecessary and risky decision making in military situations, for example when attacking the USSR, and the declaration of war on the US. Plus other factors, like Hitler’s alliance with Italy, despite its obvious weaknesses, and the pursuit of the final solution, can all be attributed to the poor leadership and judgement of the Fuhrer, which would eventually lead to the downfall of the Third Reich.

From the go Russia was mobilized and war ready faster than the Germans and themselves expected, they was only expecting a short war. Russia had no extended war plans of ammo, food, clothing and equipment and extremely bad organisation led to many un-necessary deaths and illnesses. They naively thought that 7 million shells would last the whole war, but in 1916 that was just enough for 10 days. In 1914 only 41 rifles were

During 1937 to 1939, several trials were held where many of the Old Bolsheviks were found guilty of treason. These trials became a means to exterminate potential political rivals and critics of Stalin. Those found guilty were executed. These publically held trials were accompanied by a widespread “purge”, that sent millions to prison camps. Among the purged were several of the Soviet Army’s military headships. A lack of experienced leadership played a significant role in the Soviet Union’s poor performance during the Second World War.