how the allies won the war
Overview
Throughout the gamut of World War II literature, many factors which gave way to the Allied victory have been cited. Generally, though, such a list might be shortened to four, critical, underlying factors which cost the Axis powers the war: the surprising might of the Red Army, the massive materialistic superiority of the United States, Allied air power, and German miscalculations regarding the three former factors. Each will be discussed in detail.
The primary goal of the Allies was to claim victory in the European theatre: Allied authorities designated the principal winning condition of the war as Hitler’s defeat. Indeed, the majority of fighting that occurred on the Western front greatly impacted the Eastern front, and the Pacific theatre. Regarding the latter, the United States’ main directive was to stage an ‘island hopping’ campaign, moving from island to island in the Pacific in an attempt to cripple any attempt at a Japanese offensive. However, because the European theatre was the central focus of the war, and the fighting that occurred there principally shaped World War II itself, the theatre will be the primary focus of this page. The Pacific theatre will, of course, be delineated upon as well.
The primary goal of the Allies was to claim victory in the European theatre: Allied authorities designated the principal winning condition of the war as Hitler’s defeat. Indeed, the majority of fighting that occurred on the Western front greatly impacted the Eastern front, and the Pacific theatre. Regarding the latter, the United States’ main directive was to stage an ‘island hopping’ campaign, moving from island to island in the Pacific in an attempt to cripple any attempt at a Japanese offensive. However, because the European theatre was the central focus of the war, and the fighting that occurred there principally shaped World War II itself, the theatre will be the primary focus of this page. The Pacific theatre will, of course, be delineated upon as well.
The Red Army
In the summer of 1942, Hitler’s new Chief of General Staff, Zeitzler, reported that “[the Soviets are] in no position to mount an offensive with any far-reaching objective.” For the most part, this was true. Up until a few months following, Stalin was intimately involved in all military activities. He did not realize that political control over military action precluded the army from doing much of anything successfully. His direct interference in the first attack on Kharkov in 1941 caused it to fail. Further, in 1941 alone, Soviet casualties numbered around five million. The Red Army’s chances were bleak, at best; however, things began to turn around for the USSR in late 1942. This reversal can be attributed to three main factors: Operation Uranus, which will be discussed later, the Combined Offensive of the United States and Britain, and Allied support of the USSR.
Operation Uranus, a military operation which rejuvenated Soviet tactics and gave Stalin reason to trust his generals, provided the Red Army with freedom to act effectively. One of the consequences of the British and American Combined Offensive was the easing of the path that the Allied armies on the Eastern front had to traverse i.e. they were no longer constantly under threat of destruction from above at the hands of the Germans. Finally, shortly following Stalin’s relaxation of his political grip on the Red Army, he appointed Marshal Zhukov to the position of Deputy Supreme Commander. Zhukov, along with the material provisions sent by the United States and Britain, was able to successfully revive the military. Soviet tactics began to resemble that of Germany, with auxiliary divisions such as tank and air armies being reorganized to mimic German Panzer tank detachments and air fleets. A massive supply of telephone cable and equipment from the Allies vastly improved the communication and intelligence capabilities of Russia, and military officers and other men were trained more thoroughly in order to encourage initiative.
Once Stalin realized his mistakes, stepped back, and let Zhukov control the Red Army, the Soviets became a fighting force to be reckoned with. The majority of Russian military success should as well be attributed to Allied aid, which even Stalin (reluctantly) admits later. “[Without allied aid,] we would not have been able to cope.”
Operation Uranus, a military operation which rejuvenated Soviet tactics and gave Stalin reason to trust his generals, provided the Red Army with freedom to act effectively. One of the consequences of the British and American Combined Offensive was the easing of the path that the Allied armies on the Eastern front had to traverse i.e. they were no longer constantly under threat of destruction from above at the hands of the Germans. Finally, shortly following Stalin’s relaxation of his political grip on the Red Army, he appointed Marshal Zhukov to the position of Deputy Supreme Commander. Zhukov, along with the material provisions sent by the United States and Britain, was able to successfully revive the military. Soviet tactics began to resemble that of Germany, with auxiliary divisions such as tank and air armies being reorganized to mimic German Panzer tank detachments and air fleets. A massive supply of telephone cable and equipment from the Allies vastly improved the communication and intelligence capabilities of Russia, and military officers and other men were trained more thoroughly in order to encourage initiative.
Once Stalin realized his mistakes, stepped back, and let Zhukov control the Red Army, the Soviets became a fighting force to be reckoned with. The majority of Russian military success should as well be attributed to Allied aid, which even Stalin (reluctantly) admits later. “[Without allied aid,] we would not have been able to cope.”
The UNITED States
It is certain that the sheer material and logistical strength of the United States was the driving force of the Allies. Although the country was not able to immediately produce a well-trained, functioning army, it made up for this ‘lag’ by providing Britain and the USSR with much needed supplies that helped revive the war effort on both the Western and Eastern front of the European theater. Besides the American Lend-Lease Act for Britain, the US provided the USSR with one million miles of telephone wire, 14 million pairs of boots, enough food to feed every Soviet soldier, and over three hundred thousand trucks. Given the American contribution to Russia, the Red Army was able to regroup and overcome the Germans on the Eastern front.
Moreover, the United States saw fit to build up a massive air fleet, instead of focusing on conventional ground-based warfare. Roosevelt saw air power as the “key to future war” and a “way to reduce American casualties.” It was this focus that initiated the Allied Combined Bomber Offensive, nicknamed Operation Pointblank, as well as what inspired the use of aircraft, and later, atomic weaponry, to force Japan’s surrender.
Moreover, the United States saw fit to build up a massive air fleet, instead of focusing on conventional ground-based warfare. Roosevelt saw air power as the “key to future war” and a “way to reduce American casualties.” It was this focus that initiated the Allied Combined Bomber Offensive, nicknamed Operation Pointblank, as well as what inspired the use of aircraft, and later, atomic weaponry, to force Japan’s surrender.
False German Assumptions
The fourth central factor that contributed to the downfall of the Third Reich was the number of assumptions that Hitler and his commanders made regarding the Allies, that proved to be untrue. First, the Germans believed the USSR was an ineffectual entity that would soon collapse, according to Goebbels, “like a pack of cards.” As discussed previously, this was true up until Operation Uranus, the Combined Offensive, and Allied aid in late 1942. Second, Hitler was insistent upon the supposed inability of the United States to ever rearm in a effective and timely manner. The aforementioned air force, along with the material superiority of America, disproved this statement. Finally, the Germans held that Allied bombing was not a threat, and thus failed to properly account for it when the Combined Offensive began to really make an effect on German strategy. According to Hitler’s foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, if it weren't for these German miscalculations, “[This was a war that] Germany could have won.”
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The combined bomber offensive
The Combined Bomber Offensive of 1943, CBO for short, or codenamed Operation Pointblank, was not undertaken as a means of victory. Instead, its effect was to distort German strategy to a great degree, so much so that the Axis power was wide open for attack, and crippled. The CBO was a congregation of British and American air power in order to mount a massive offensive against Hitler’s Germany by strategically bombing German-occupied military outlets and other such targets. It achieved its goal in three ways. First, the strategic bombing forced Germany to divert its air force to the defense of Germany, instead of the Axis offense, which also resulted in a reduction of German bomber production. Second, it limited the extent to which Germany could use the resources available to it, by directly destroying occupied resources and interrupting material transport. It as well forced many German industrial centers to halt production and dismiss their workers, on the grounds of ‘death from above.’
Finally, the CBO forced radical German responses. Chief among these were the “V” weapons, and the construction of an underground economy. Regarding the latter, Hitler put millions of man hours and billions of marks into the attempted creation of an underground facility that could produce industrial and military goods sans the threat of Allied bombing, in 1943. It failed: it was impossible. Further, the “V” weapons, weapons of revenge, or Vergeltungswaffens, were meant as a means of absolute victory in World War II for Germany. Unfortunately for Hitler, they did not have the effect that he intended.
Overall, the Combined Offensive greatly helped the Allied war effort on multiple fronts. Along with clear military goals (that were reached), the bombing sustained American and British morale, while destroying that of German citizens. In fact, in 1944, over eight million Germans fled the major cities of Germany. The diversion of offensive German aircraft to a defensive position as well assisted the ground-based armies of the Allies on both fronts of the European theatre. It also destroyed Axis air power stationed over Berlin, setting the scene for the Battle of Berlin and the conclusion of the European theatre of World War II.
operation uranus
In late 1942, Stalingrad was occupied by the sixth German army. Upon Zhukov’s report of this to Stalin, the Supreme Commander allowed Zhukov, and the other Soviet generals, control over the creation of Operation Uranus, a Red Army offensive that successfully destroyed the German army in Stalingrad. Tactics for the operation were devised using mimicked German strategies, and Soviet strategies from the 1930s that were disposed of when Stalin purged the Communist party. The plan was to mount two separate Russian detachments that were to approach Stalingrad from different directions, as to entrap the German army. Over a million Red Army soldiers were involved in Operation Uranus.
The significance of this military offensive lies in its successes. First, the flanking of Stalingrad made it such that the Red Army had to initially only deal with the less experienced German soldiers that surrounded the sixth army. Second, the success of Operation Uranus was a psychological turning point for many Soviet soldiers. Stalin’s address to the men, shortly before they began the march on Stalingrad, was uplifting and provided the soldiers with a good deal of courage. One soldier, Ivan Golokolenko, said “I felt a real upsurge, a spiritual upsurge.”
The most important result of Operation Uranus was Stalin’s newfound trust in his military generals. He reimposed control over the Red Army only when Soviet victory was in sight, and allowed Zhukov and the other generals to reorganize and control the war effort all their own.
The significance of this military offensive lies in its successes. First, the flanking of Stalingrad made it such that the Red Army had to initially only deal with the less experienced German soldiers that surrounded the sixth army. Second, the success of Operation Uranus was a psychological turning point for many Soviet soldiers. Stalin’s address to the men, shortly before they began the march on Stalingrad, was uplifting and provided the soldiers with a good deal of courage. One soldier, Ivan Golokolenko, said “I felt a real upsurge, a spiritual upsurge.”
The most important result of Operation Uranus was Stalin’s newfound trust in his military generals. He reimposed control over the Red Army only when Soviet victory was in sight, and allowed Zhukov and the other generals to reorganize and control the war effort all their own.
the battle of berlin
The Soviet flag flying in berlin after the battle.The Battle of Berlin, in May 1945, was the final major battle of the European theatre of World War II. The Combined Offensive destroyed German aircraft stationed over Berlin, paving the way for Stalin’s armies to mount a massive offensive against Berlin. At this point, German military reserves were intensely crippled, and they were outnumbered and outgunned for the invasion of the German capital. Nonetheless, the battle was a gruesome one that saw the use of guerilla tactics with respect to the Germans, and the general destruction of Berlin, with respect to the Soviets. Five days after the Allied victory, Germany surrendered unconditionally. Logistics for the battle can be found here.
the pacific theatre
As stated in the introduction to this page, the tactics the Allies employed in the Pacific theatre comprised mainly of island hopping in order to cripple the Japanese offensive. This was, for the most part, successful, and aided greatly by the United States focus on air power. FDR’s dedication to building up a massive air force did not go unrealized. Indeed, the American air force largely dwarfed that of the Imperial army. Starting from early 1942, the Allies utilized air and naval warfare as they pushed towards Japan, and got close enough to mount a massive ground invasion in 1945. However, for fear of losing more Allied soldiers, and inspired by the resounding success of the CBO in the European theatre, the United States dropped two atomic bombs, three days apart, on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, guaranteeing the unconditional surrender of Japan for fear of more atomic destruction.
Related Literature
Why the Allies Won - Richard Overy, 1996, Pimlico Press
Why the Allies Won, by Richard Overy, is what the name implies: a dissertation on how the Allied powers won World War II. He touches on many conceptions of underlying factors of Allied victory, disavowing some while reaffirming others. For example, he touches upon production rates of the Axis powers and the Allied powers prior to 1942, as well as military logistics. He as well discusses military strategy used by both sides in detail. Overall, the text provides an in-depth viewpoint at the underlying factors behind the Allied victory of World War II.
Why the Allies Won, by Richard Overy, is what the name implies: a dissertation on how the Allied powers won World War II. He touches on many conceptions of underlying factors of Allied victory, disavowing some while reaffirming others. For example, he touches upon production rates of the Axis powers and the Allied powers prior to 1942, as well as military logistics. He as well discusses military strategy used by both sides in detail. Overall, the text provides an in-depth viewpoint at the underlying factors behind the Allied victory of World War II.
America, Hitler and the UN: How the Allies Won World War II and Forged Peace - Dan Plesch, 2011
This book does exactly what the title says, explains the critical role that the UN had in organizing Allied nations' armies to fight together against the Nazis. In the book, Plesch also explains the economic and social changes of the war and post-war era that the UN had to accommodate for and adapt to. He starts the book with “it needed a new start in 1945, a UN born out of the ‘ashes of war’”. This book provides a very detailed look at the role of organization and UN and their role in winning WWII.
This book does exactly what the title says, explains the critical role that the UN had in organizing Allied nations' armies to fight together against the Nazis. In the book, Plesch also explains the economic and social changes of the war and post-war era that the UN had to accommodate for and adapt to. He starts the book with “it needed a new start in 1945, a UN born out of the ‘ashes of war’”. This book provides a very detailed look at the role of organization and UN and their role in winning WWII.