Germany and her potential allies rose to prominence early in the Second World War and led several successful operations throughout Europe, Middle and East Asia, and East and North Africa. But as the conflict went on, the Allied forces quickly grew stronger as they prioritized defeating Germany. The Allies eventually succeed in defeating Germany thanks to the Soviet Union's success on the Eastern Front and Anglo-British forces on the Western Front after defeating Italy and occupying France. The following questions will show why the Allies won: What was the impact of the United States joining the war? How effective were the two sides in laying down their military strategies and utilizing resources? How successful were the strategic tactical advantages available to both sides? The history of World War II reveals that Allied forces won against Axis Powers majorly because of the American entry into the war, superior military strategy and tactics, and their ability to cooperate across globe.
The industrialized wealthy United States joined the war proving crucial for providing resources to Allies. The British Empire, American and Soviet presence around the globe was an advantage that facilitated a successful global strategy, especially in the Mediterranean region and East Asia. Therefore, Allies were willing to fight together to achieve common objectives while Axis Powers fought separate wars. Moreover, the tactics used by the Allied forces proved to be more superior than those employed by their opponents, especially the use of air power and advanced weapons as well as naval blockades.
The United States Entry into The War
The First World War had been very costly to the United States, when tension and turmoil once again developed in Europe in 1930s Americans decided to avoid getting involved through the Neutrality Acts. The geographical placement of the United States meant that the country could develop in isolation following the industrial revolution that had been experienced even before the war. As such the Americans had already made some vital technological advancements (such as atomic bombs, bomber planes and submarines) with regard to military. Of all the countries involved in the war, the United States had more resources (that were vital for the success of the Allied forces). However, with the war intensifying, Americans preempted their entry hence resorted to developing their military forces. When Germany sunk American ships using their infamous U-Boats and Japan moved to occupy American territories in the Pacific region, the United States had to join the war.
The European Economy had not yet stabilized after the First World War and the American Lend-Lease Act allowed the United States to offer support through providing weapons to the countries it wanted to help. Good Anglo-American relations ensured the British war effort had the American support. Britain and the United States held secret talks to determine how they could defeat Germany in the event that the latter joined the war. As Overy pointed out, “the reliance on American aid indicates just how much the Allied war effort owed to the exceptional material and logistical strength of the USA.” Germany had adequately prepared for the war right before it even began since they were the first to start expansive campaigns in Europe. Italy and Japan were not a very significant in their preparedness but it should be noted that the Japanese had readied themselves by aiming to expand their empire in East Asia by capturing British colonies including China. To that effect, Japan attacked United States Navy Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor to cut off the American threat.
The United States became the key provider of weapons for the Allied war effort by employing mass production of war equipment and weapons at the time when it actually did not have enough military material to challenge the then well-equipped Germany. When you compare the German soldiers and their American counterparts during the war, the former had had sufficient time to train effectively while the latter made good use of substantial material superiority. The United States then president, Franklin Roosevelt, had the New Deal which made it possible for the federal government to control economic planning agencies by its own. The Industrial War College that had been set up earlier on was vital for production and logistics as per the United States armed forces decision in the 1920s. The New Deal facilitated the financing of military development projects at the college.
The significance of their previous industrial revolution was the development and instilling of the ideology of capitalism in Americans. That character saw the emergence of resilient entrepreneurs that were able to make tough economic decisions regarding the American war effort. This greatly contributed to the superiority of the American economy and overall economic strength of the Allied forces over the Axis Powers. Furthermore, the same period witnessed “…high levels of engineering skill…” among the Americans. The United States stance to avoid getting entangled in foreign affairs meant that for the 10 years that followed, the manufacturing industry had a surplus of workforce which was absorbed during the course of the war for increased productivity. On the other hand, Germany had most of the population already employed in factories at the time of the war breaking out, thus the level of output was less as compared to that which could be achieved in the American factories.
According to Overy, the vast resources at the disposal of Americans enabled them to develop and advance their air power. During the initial period of the war, Germany had an extremely well-trained army that had a unique determination. There was no way the Americans could defeat the Germans through ground assault. Germany’s naval dominance was also initially superior, especially in the Atlantic and Mediterranean where they sank a number of American vessels leading to the United States to declare war on Germany. For that reason, the Americans channeled most of their efforts towards air power dominance. President Roosevelt also considered it to be an effective strategy for reducing their causalities as well as being the future of warfare. With massive air power, the Americans now appeared to be fighting on equal terms against the Germans and the other Axis Powers. Their air force was so large that it dwarfed those of Japan and Germany combined.
According to Overy, the United States “…committed to strategic bombing, the long-range and independent assault on the economy and military infrastructure of Germany and Japan.” It should be noted that Britain already had their own air strategy before the United States joined the war. Fazil stated that the two Allied forces put their bomber planes together and launched a combined offensive on Germany in 1943.
Military Strategy and Tactics
Having briefly discussed the level of air dominance at the disposal of the Allied forces, it is necessary to look at the effectiveness of the tactics employed by each side to guarantee victory. Germany had been successful in conquering most of its neighboring adversaries and pushing on towards Moscow. The Germans owed their success to a well-trained and determined Army engraved in their Nazism. According to Farzil, the Nazis considered averting threats to their eastern and western fronts so as to dominate Europe. Germany believed that she could keep out the United States by conquering France then securing a treaty with Britain as well as conquering Poland and defeating the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, Japan took over Singapore and Malaya. Farzil pointed out that the success of the two forces was as a result of “both the Wehrmacht and the Imperial Japanese forces emphasized sheer fighting skills.” The military style, spirit and vigor together with superior organization and training. The tactical competence of the Axis Powers on the battleground enabled them to conduct swift and decisive operations while advancing rapidly.
However, while the Axis Powers achieved tactical success, they did not have coherent strategies that would enable them to overcome the Allied forces in the long run. On the hand, the Allied forces had a sound strategy laid down as they prioritized defeating Germany. With the weather to thank and previous tactical mistakes to learn from, the Soviets began pushing out the resource depleted German forces out of Moscow westwards while the Anglo-American forces launched a series of successful bombing campaigns upon Germany to cripple her economy. Overy stated “bombing forced German Air Force to divert most of its fighter force to the defense of Germany while reducing the proportion of bomber aircraft produced.” Therefore, the Germans had insufficient fighter and bomber planes to help them fight on their frontlines.
Germany’s advancement deep into Soviet Union meant that their forces were overstretched over vast distances across Europe. These distances challenged the effectiveness of German logistics as they were not able to provide reinforcements in ample time. Furthermore, the decision by Britain and the United States to cripple the German economy meant that energy, transport lines, and raw materials were destroyed. Germany’s ability to manufacture armaments was greatly reduced as a result of the weakening. Overy stated that Bombing was a crucial aspect that separated the two sides since it disrupted the Germany society on a large scale while boosting the morale of the British and American people. the experienced and highly trained German forces were rendered mildly toothless to inexperienced American soldiers when they landed in Normandy.
The Allied forces had a greater naval force working strategically to prevent Germany and Japan from accessing raw materials for war production. Sea blockade in the English Channel, the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, South China Sea and Java Sea proved too much of challenge for the Axis Powers. According to Farzil, the Japanese Pacific blockade flailed while the Germans could not conduct an effective naval blockade in the Atlantic hence paving the way for Allied forces to dominate at sea.
The technology that was at the disposal of Allied powers was far superior as atomic bombs, bonking bombs, and radio intelligence ensured allied victory. The German U-Boats had faulty torpedoes while the long range bombers were poorly developed hence allowing for Allied victory.
Information, Diplomacy and Global Cooperation
Another major reason why the Axis Powers were eventually defeated after initially launching successful campaigns was their lack of cooperation. Both Japan and Germany had the same objective in conquering the Soviet Union, yet they fought separate wars. The Germans failed to inform the Japanese when they launched a campaign in the Soviet Union hence giving the Soviets ample time to retreat and regroup. The eventual defeat of Germany was as a result of the Soviet Union working closely with the other Allied forces responsible for crippling the German economy while they fought a much transformed Soviet side. According to Oleson, information become a key ingredient for the Allied victory. Even after signing the Tripartite Pact, German did not share information with Japan deeming the Soviets as a weak adversary for any of them. The Japanese were never informed about Operation Barbosa hence did not take part as Soviets retreated deeper into their territory.
The British Empire ensured that Britain had the support of the Commonwealth to call upon. Battles fought in North and East Africa, and Middle and East Asia were carried out by the Commonwealth forces. In Indo-China, and the Indian Ocean islands, the Chinese and Australian forces provided military personnel who fought against the Japanese. The Commonwealth forces including Britain joined hands with Americans in East Asia to launch a successful campaign against Japan. Their level of cooperation ensured that the Japanese were outnumbered even though they had superior training and organization.
Local and global intelligence further enabled the Allied forces to armed with vital knowledge that ensured their success. As Oleson pointed out, the Japanese lacked secure communications which enabled the Americans to intercept their messages. British planes had radars that were crucial in gaining information on the placement of German forces. Furthermore, spy networks were employed within the enemy’s territory to allow the Allied powers to obtain information.
Allied forces held a series of conferences to plan their course of action during the war. In 1941, Roosevelt met with Winston Churchill to commend the Atlantic Charter allowing regaining of abolished governments by the people. They later met in 1943 in Casablanca agreeing to continue with the war in the Pacific, an invasion on Italy and push Germany to surrender with no conditions. Later in the same year, the Soviet Union, UK and US met in Teheran and agreed on a Soviet attack from the east and an Anglo-American invasion from the west. In 1945, Allies agreed that Soviets should let Poland have elections then attack Japan after defeat of Germany. Later in the year, Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Harry Truman met in Potsdam and commended the need for Japan to surrender or be destroyed.
Conclusion
The Axis Powers owed their success to superior tactical nous on the battlefield and eventually became overconfident. Their failure to capitalize on the victories and develop a sound military strategy led to their eventual defeat as they sought to fight separate battles. It is clear that the Allied forces were frightened by Germany’s brute and domination in Europe, but the Axis powers failed to replicate the same in East Asia and other parts of the globe. During the first phase of the war, the Soviets could not handle the overbearing German forces. The Soviet failures become their turning points as they soon capitalized on them and ousted Germany out of their country.
On the hand, the Allied forces received a major boost when the United States decided to join the war towards their cause. Airpower was the major tactical and strategic difference that eventually led to the victory of the Allied forces. The war was largely decided by air warfare. Germany’s lack of focus on airpower proved too much of a burden for their forces. The Royal Air force and their American counterparts were successful because they pooled together their resources. Their combined airpower was too large compared to what the Axis Powers had. In the long run, the Germans were outstretched.
They also showed a high level of cooperation by conducting joint offensives against the Axis powers. A clear and precise strategy in which Germany’s defeat was a made a priority ensured that the Axis powers were weakened as the Allied forces gained victory. This was helped by the fact that the Axis Powers fought separate wars. Their resources could not match those of the Allied powers.
Bibliography
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