|
One of the bigger lessons to be learnt from the defeat of the german armies in Russia is the effect of deranged civilian intervention in military affairs.
The turning point of the campaign came during Stalingrad. If the Germans had not focused on Stalingrad, but instead focused their attentions and armies on the southern oilfields in the Caucasus, and perhaps even the middle east, the german war effort would have been greatly boosted.
Of course, Hitler couldn't resist throwing all of his forces into a big battle to capture a city named after Stalin. Even after Leningrad and Moscow, the German armies in Russia could still have a decisive effect. They were far from defeated at that point.
Even after Stalingrad, the outcome of the war in the east was far from decided. I believe that Kursk was the crucial battle that turned the tide. It was also the battle where the Germans, abandoned all the principles of blitzkrieg, which was to attack through weakpoints, and avoid strongpoints, and decided to attack the dug-in Russians head-on. DUH....
And of course, Japan had to attack Pearl Harbor and bring the US into the war. I doubt that the US would have joined the war if Japan (and thus the Axis) had not declared war on the US.
|