1. One reason that Germany was defeated was that, despite the fact that the Italy campaign was not successful in terms of winning the war, the Allied captured or Monte Cassino and the resulting battles on the Gothic Line kept German troops tied up. This was helpful because the allies' Operation Overlord.
2. The success of Operation Overlord (D-Day) was also a major factor in the defeat of Germany. Meticulously planned, "an assault force of 4000 ships and landing craft carried 176,000 soldiers...escorted by 600 warships and 7000 fighter planes". After 5 battles the Allies managed to break through the coastal defenses. Consequently 2.1 million allied soldiers were able to get into northern France. The following invasion of southern France (Operation Anvil) allowed the allies to drive the Germans out of France by September.
3. Poor Leadership -- Hitler refused to admit defeat, not allowing the German army to retreat or surrender, instead launching a new bombing campaign against Britain. This was effective, but caused the Allies to launch a new bombing raid of their own. Long-range fighting technology was also a factor in the success of this, managing to cripple Germany's fuel supplies. destroying railways, etc.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
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