CHAPTER 5:

GERMANY’S
DEFEAT IN WWII
5.1 Reasons for the defeat
of Germany in WWII
Q. Was the entry of the USA in
1941 the main cause of
Germany’s defeat in WWII?

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 Key Knowledge Learning Outcomes
Reasons for the defeat of - examine the
Germany reasons for the
• USA’s entry into WWII defeat of
• Over-extension of Hitler’s army Germany in WWII
on many fronts

Concepts: appeasement, collective security, Communism, Fascism,

League of Nations, Nazism, militarism, authoritarianism

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 ALLIES AXIS
CHURCHILL (BRITAIN) HITLER (GERMANY)

ROOSEVELT (US) STALIN (USSR) TOJO (JAPAN) MUSSOLINI (ITALY)

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GERMANY’S UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER: 7 MAY 1945
V-E DAY: 8 MAY 1945

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 What is the
message of
this cartoon
regarding
Germany’s
defeat?

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 Reasons for Germany’s defeat
• The entry of the USA

• The over-extension of German forces on

many fronts

• Allied resistance from other countries:

– USSR
– Britain
– Resistance movements in Nazi-occupied
European countries

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HOW IT WENT DOWN

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1. ROLE OF THE US

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Chronology of US contribution in
WWII:
– 1930s: Neutrality Acts of 1930s – included the
cash-and-carry clause

– 29 Dec 1940: President Roosevelt spoke

about how the United States must become
‘the great arsenal of democracy’

– March 1941: Lend-Lease Act

– 8 Dec 1941 (1 day after Pearl Harbor was

bombed): Formal entry into WWII
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 1.1 INDIRECT INVOLVEMENT IN WWII

From cash-and-carry to… Lend-Lease Act

Why change: so that US can become
THE ‘GREAT ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY’ 10
1.1 INDIRECT INVOLVEMENT IN WWII

• Impact:
– This Lend-Lease agreement was extended
to more than 30 countries.

– Amounted to almost US$50 billion in

assistance from the US.

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1.2 FORMAL INVOLVEMENT IN WWII
RESOURCES
Lend-Lease
US$31.4 BILLION TO BRITAIN US$11.3 BILLION TO USSR

Money spent on WWII

US Britain £28 USSR other Allies
£84.5 billion billion £48 billion £19.75 billion

MANPOWER
US USSR GERMANY
11 MILLION 12.5 MILLION 12.5 MILLION

FRANCE BRITAIN ITALY

2.5 MILLION 4.5 MILLION 1.5 MILLION
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 1.2 FORMAL INVOLVEMENT IN WWII
Collaboration with allies on military
strategies

Most important success:

OPERATION OVERLORD
- Opened 2nd front of fighting
- Started with D-DAY (6 June 1944);
Normandy (France)
- Resulted in decisive Allied victory (8 May
1945)

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D-DAY

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D-DAY

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In order to ensure the success of
D-Day…
• the US also had to help the Allies
achieve

– Control of the air: for regular bombing to

weaken German terroritories

– Control of the sea[typo in notes]: to

control the Atlantic Ocean to ensure
movement of supplies / troops from US to
Britain
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2. GERMANY’S WEAKNESSES
AND MISCALCULATIONS

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2.1 INEFFECTIVE COMMAND STRUCTURE

• Hitler was the only one who had the

power to make decisions, and had
access to all information.

• Military inexperience but insisted on

making military decisions and went
against the advice of his experienced
generals

• Impact: Mistakes, costing Germany to

lose important battles.
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2.1 INEFFECTIVE COMMAND STRUCTURE

• Example #1: Battle of Britain (1940)

– Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to focus only on destroying the British Royal Air
Force (RAF).
– However when a German plane bombed civilian areas of London by
mistake, he shifted his focus to attacking Britain’s cities instead.
– This gave the RAF time to recover and denied Hitler victory over Britain.

• Example #2: Invasion of the USSR (1941)

– Germany’s surprise invasion of the USSR gave Germany the upper hand.
– However Hitler disregarded the advice of his generals and shifted some of
his military divisions to attack other places instead of first attacking
Moscow, the Soviet capital.
– This resulted in the war dragging into the bitter Russian winter which the
German troops were ill-prepared for.
– Hence Hitler lost the only real chance the Germans had to end the war
against the Soviets quickly and decisively.

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2.2 WAR ON TWO FRONTS

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 2.3 INAPPROPRIATE USE OF RESOURCES AND
MILITARY FUNDS
• Weakened its military production and effectiveness
during the war.
• Hindered Germany’s military capability to sustain its war
efforts and challenge the Allies effectively.

• Example #1: Inappropriate choice of weaponry and

military equipment

• Example #2: Competition for funds among military

leaders

• Example #3: Lack of adequate personnel for armament

production

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Eg instead of producing the more-
threatening U-boats when invading
Britain, Germany invested heavily on
battleships and cruisers

German U-boat (submarine)

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 2.4 HEAVY RELIANCE ON PETROLEUM

• Relied heavily on petroleum which was the chief

resource powering its war machine

• Because Germany had very little natural

petroleum reserves of its own:
– invented synthetic oil
– seized oilfields of Nazi-occupied countries

• Impact:
– German synthetic oil and oilfields were vulnerable to
Allied aerial bombing
– Destruction of oilfields in Romania by the Soviet Red
Army and American Air Force (Aug 1944).

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3. ROLE OF USSR

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 3. ROLE OF USSR
– Initially unprepared for
Germany’s surprise
invasion on 22 June 1941

– However USSR eventually

gained an upper hand.

– Battle of Stalingrad -
Germany’s first defeat in
Europe.

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3. ROLE OF USSR

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 3. ROLE OF USSR
• Impact:
– The defeat of Germany in the Battle of
Stalingrad shattered the illusion of German
invincibility – this boosted the morale of the
Allied Powers and turned the tide for them.

– The Red Army also contributed to continued

pressures on Germany at the Eastern Front,
which stretched German troops too thinly.

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4. ROLE OF BRITAIN

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 4. ROLE OF BRITAIN
• Situation for Britain:
– by 17 June 1940, the only Allied country left in
Europe fighting Germany until the entry of US and
USSR in 1941;
– faced with the power of the Germany military
forces which had conquered most of Europe in
less than 2 months;
– dangerously low in resources by 1940.

• However British resilience enabled them to

sustain their war effort on the Western Front,
greatly depleting Germany’s military
capabilities.
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London’s Biggest Blitz

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Role of PM Winston
Churchill:
- Rallied his people to
continue the war effort
- Outmanoeuvred politicians
who wanted to negotiate
with Adolf Hitler.

Source: Churchill calling for a

united national effort;
a quotation from his first
speech as Prime Minister to
the House of Commons on 10
May 1940.

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 4. ROLE OF BRITAIN
Role of the British Royal Air Force (RAF):
• Hitler had ordered the Luftwaffe to:
- Weaken the RAF by bombing British shipping
and coastal defences, airfields and radar
installations.
- Then shifted focus to weaken British morale
through a sustained bombing of British cities
(known as the Blitz).

• When Hitler made the decision to shift focus,

the RAF took advantage of the time to repair
their airfields and radar systems.
– The RAF was thus able to retaliate against the
Luftwaffe, and prevent the Germans from
achieving control of the air. 33
5. ROLE OF RESISTANCE
MOVEMENTS

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‘resistance movement’
a secret or illegal organisation refusing to
comply to authority, esp in an occupied
country

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5. ROLE OF RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS
• Resistance movements in Nazi-occupied European
countries provided vital information and behind-the-lines
support to the Allies.

• Limited resistance until 1941

• Increased resistance with the German invasion of USSR.

– Communists were used to working underground and
became actively involved in resisting the Nazis
– Many civilians who opposed the Nazis joined the
communist resistance.

• Resistance was also actively encouraged and supported

by the British and Soviet governments.

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5. ROLE OF RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS
• Examples of most prominent movements:
– the Yugoslav, Polish and Soviet resistance movements, and
the Free French Forces under Charles de Gaulle.

• Examples of resistance against the Nazis:

– Blew up rail links and sabotaged factories
– Engaged in non-cooperation
– Spread false information and propaganda
– Gathered intelligence for the Allies
– Helped Allied prisoners-of-war who had escaped, as well
as pilots who were involved in plane crashes
– Joined the attack on the Germans once their retreat
began

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Simone Segouin, the 18 year old French
Resistance fighter, 1944 38
Jewish Resistance in WWII

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 CONCLUSION
• Note:
– We have touched on WAR
various battles.
battle
– But remember that battle
victory/defeat in a battle is
not = victory/defeat in a
battle
war.
battle
– You need to explain why
that battle (eg battle of
Stalingrad) was important
to the overall war.

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 CONCLUSION (v1)
Was the entry of the US the most important factor in the defeat of
Germany?

• The US was indeed instrumental in defeating Germany due to its

superior military and economic abilities which were necessary to
support Allied efforts against Germany.
•
• However the efforts of the rest of the Allies helped accelerate the
weakening of Germany. This is especially true for the USSR whose
contributions to the Eastern Front were crucial for the success of
the Allies on the Western Front.
•
• Nonetheless, Germany’s weaknesses laid the foundations for its
own defeat as sooner or later, their resources would have been
drained by their constant costly mistakes. Thus they would not be
able to sustain their war effort, regardless of the entry of the US. 41
 CONCLUSION (v2)
• Why did Germany surrender?

– Germany’s weaknesses laid the foundation of their own

defeat as their mistakes provided vital opportunities for the
Allies to win. [sooner or later, they would not be able to sustain
such an ambitious war effort]

– The entry of the US accelerated Germany’s defeat by

providing the Allies the necessary resources and strategies to
deal a knockout blow on D-Day. [US made the Germans
surrender sooner rather than later]

– The USSR triggered the process of Germany’s defeat as Soviet

military successes boosted Allied morale while dampening
that of the Germans’.
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 CONCLUSION (v2)
• Why did Germany surrender?

– The British and resistance movements played an important

role in diminishing German military resources in the long run.
[important but did not lead to a direct and immediate
defeat; depended a lot on US and USSR contributions]

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 Recommended Reading
World War Two: How The Allies Won
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/how
_the_allies_won_01.shtml

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