06 Maestro
Posts: 3989
Joined: 10/12/2005
From: Nevada, USA
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quote:
ORIGINAL: ezz
There are many good points and theories here. Some are a little misguided, like Germany gearing up for war earlier. Well, in 1939 the 98k rifle, the staple of the army was cut to 0% production. As were mortar bombs for the 50mm. There just weren't the raw materials to make anymore.
The Germans low point for materials came in spring '39.
Come on now. If Germany had shortages of strategic materials in 1939, the war would have been over much, much sooner than it was. Germany had in fact created huge stocks of strategic materials which they may fall short of if cut off by blockade. Critical materials did not run short until well into 1944. This resulted in weaker chargers being built into AA rounds and portions of a/c being made of substandard material. In 1939 Germany acquired the Skoda Arms works from Czechoslovakia a and the weapons from same. This was when the new German Army was able to standardized their infantry rifles-which meant getting rid of several old German made types as; 1. they weren't as good as the new Czech Rifles, 2. they had more ammo (billions of rounds) for the Czech rifles. There were also military hardware of every type that was immediately included into the German forces From Czech sources.
quote:
Nothing happens in isolation. The Allies would have altered their strategies accordingly if the axis was doing better. Like those arguments that the Me262 could have won the air war in 1942 if produced in great numbers. Only if the Allies didn't react., didn't target the airfields, didn't fly in group instead of squadron strength, didn't rush through their own jets etc etc.
While I agree with this in principle, it does not always fit the reality. Simple case in point; why didn't Germany institute the 72 hour work week as did the UK. The Allied powers were doing everything they could to increase production-they could not do anything else-especially GB-they were tapped out on labor. Therefore, there would not have been any added production from GB, the USA or Russia if Germany had increased its production.
The only major power that could have very easily experience a major production increase earlier in the war was Germany. Italy had real strategic shortages of critical materials that could not be overcome, and Japan had industrial capacity limitations that would take years to overcome. Germany, on the other hand had the material, the factory space, and although a little short on labor in 1940, a peace time work week that could have been modified -at the stroke of a pen.
The higher production still would not guarantee a German victory, but it most certainly would have had a major impact on the war. And that impact would have had very significant effects on the Allied powers ability to gain an advantage against Germany on any front. This is the number one error by Germany in the whole war-not gearing up right at the beginning.
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Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.
Thomas Jefferson
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Printable Version
RE: Could Germany have defeated the USSR? - 
)-how about Germany declaring war on the Japanese for their dishonorable actions against the good people of America? 
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