The post on the reading is below :)
Okay, so this seemed like a hopelessly ambiguous question at first, and it certainly deals with a lot of information, but in essence the reasons Germany and Italy lost are fairly easily summarized.
First, the arrival of American troops added unity and hope to the Allies both militarily and socially. Britain no longer stood alone against the Axis, and this improved morale and general probabily of sucess for the Allies. American generals such as Patton and Bradley were able to launch successful offensives with their superior troop numbers and supplies.
And supplies were something that Germany was definitely running short on. They'd been fighting a very long, hard, offensive war from a very tiny country, and Hitler no longer had the supplies or troops to continue blitzkrieg. He'd rather overextened himself, and couldn't keep up a two front war in both France and Russia. He thought that the Western front would be easier to win, so he refused to send troops to the East.
Lastly, Germany and Italy never communicated as sucessfully as the Allies did. This, of course, meant they couldn't launch joint attacks, and were less sucessful when they tried.
Prezi! http://prezi.com/puzep6tsqbqn/why-germany-and-italy-were-defeated/
So, I agree with everything Melissa said about why Germany and Italy were defeated, I just have a couple things to add to back her up I guess. So, about Germany and Italy's communication, I think she's dead on. When Hitler and Mussolini met in Germany in 1937, Hitler put on a huge show for Mussolini, construing Germany as this huge power that he would be insane not to ally with. They signed the Pact of Steel, agreeing to go to war in support of the other in any situation, but mostly they were both playing each other. Mussolini didn't think the Italian army was ready and therefore did not join Germany in Poland until nearly four months after the fact. Also, later in the war, when Mussolini visited Hitler in Germany again, he was infuriated by Hitler's condescending attitude and Mussolini's own minor role in the new European order. They were constantly in competition and trying to go behind each other's back to benefit their own country, which I think definitely contributed their loss of the war.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything that was said by Melissa and Kaitlyn. Personally, I think that the biggest reason why Germany and Italy were defeated was because of the failure of the German Blitzkrieg- or rather, of how it was employed. Blitzkrieg, in itself, was a very effective tactic, as we see by Germany's immediate total control of mainland Europe. However, Hitler overextended when he tried to fight off Britain and the USSR at the same time- dividing up ones troops is not beneficial to blitzkrieg. Once that initial storm of Hitler and Mussolini's troops had died out, they were outnumbered and outmatched. In my opinion, once Hitler had made that mistake, nothing would have stopped Germany and Italy's slow and eventual downfall.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kaitlyn, especially about Hitler and Mussolini being in competition. I think they were both so caught up in trying to further their views and so improve their countries that it kind of backfired and contributed to them losing the war. If they hadn't been so concerned with what the other was doing I think they could have presented a more united front and posed more of a threat in the war.
ReplyDeleteWe all agree on why Germany and Italy lost, and I would just like to add even more to it. The reading said that later in the war, Hitler admitted that the alliance with Italy was a mistake. The Italians lost every single campaign they started, which obviously didn't help the Axis powers.
ReplyDeleteAgreed that there were many factors as to why the pair lost the war. Personally I think they could have been a force to reckon with if they had joined with Japan as true allies. Not just named associates but true allies that planned together and shared resources, and came to one another's rescue. That alliance I think could have been very successful.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really sure what to say in response because, surprise surprise, I agree! Everyone seems to agree that Hitler's dwindling supply of resources, his inability to communicate entirely effectively with Mussolini, and the defecits of blitzkreig. The Germans had the surprise factor when they first started blitzkreig in the beginning of the war; however, eventually the allies caught on. Also, one thing I'm not sure was mentioned that we talked about in class was how Hitler kept changing his plans even though what he was doing was already effective; this probably didn't help him at all. Also his refusal to listen to anyone but himself; surrounding himself with people who would listen to him unconditionally helped him rise to power, murder millions of people, and begin a war; however, it wouldn't help him win the war.
ReplyDeleteI think that the main reason for Germany and Italy losing the war was in part due to their types of governments and the type of people who ran them. The leaders of Germany (Hitler) and Italy (Mussolini) were not the most sane or logical people, so having them in charge of your military may not be the best decision. Both were impulsive and stubborn and made poor decisions that eventually led to their downfall. Both countries didn't plan ahead enough and it caught up to them in the end.
ReplyDeleteI learned from the prezi that Mussolini did not have a moustache. I learned that the lack of communication was something that did effect the effectiveness of Germany and Italy during the war.
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