Hitler's Biggest Mistakes

I'm currently readying a book called The Third Reich at War, the rise and fall of Hitlers awesome military machine.
I'm sure we're all aware of some of the huge blunders that Hitler made especially late in the war. This thread is not pro hitler because we all know that he was a lunitic. However, it is interesting to consider the what if's and analyze these mistakes.

It's early into the book but the first huge mistake which I sorta knew about was Dunkirk. We all know that the British were able to escape at Dunkirk but I never really knew why or how significant it was.

The Germans sat around Dunkirk for 3 days because Hitler didn't want to lose any of his precious Panzers and Goring promised that the luftwaffe, who wanted the honor of destroying the allied armies, promised that not a man would escape. So against the advise of his top generals, they waited 3 days. In the end, 338,226 allied soldiers were saved to fight another day.

Russia. He didn't learn from Napoleon's failure. His supply lines were too thin and his equipment and men were not prepared for the weather.

To quote Eddie Izzard:
"Hitler didn't play Risk as a child"

The U boat campaign in the Mediterranean.
60 U Boats sent in. None came out. Would have all been better used in western Europe and Atlantic disrupting shipping, giving a better advantage.

1. He had the first functioning Jet plane wing the Me-262. Would have made an awesome fighter but he forced the role of bomber on it.

2. All his stupid side science projects that he ended up never using.

3. Big Bertha mega guns. They were huge and awesome but limited to rail lines.

4. The Atlantic wall. Hitler didnt learn from bypassing the Maginot line that static fortifications were idiotic at best. As best put be Patton, "Static fortifications are a monument to man's stupidity."

5. Turning on the Russians. Why would you want another 2 front war adolf? Didnt you learn from the first one?

1.His stupid order where he declared several places as "fortresses" where many German soldiers lost their lives instead of withdrawing to fight another day.

2.Dunkirk as has been pointed out

3.Starting WWII when Germany's military production wasn't ready.

And there's probably alot more.

Adolf simply started the war before Germany and Italy were ready. Hitlers top guys told him Germany would be ready in 1942 and the same can be said for the Italians. Mussolini was highly encouraged by his General staff to stay out of the war because Italy wouldnt be ready until 1942 or 1943. Both of these egomaniacs didnt listen. Italy was worse off because they hadnt fully modernized their industry or finished forming their two armored divisions(Littorio and Centauro). Mussolini also needed to replace his old school Gerneral staff guys with younger more aggressive leaders. Hitler had a 1st rate army and squandered it.

His biggest mistake was attacking russia, he was insane for doing this, yes Stalin was getting ready to expand west, but im sure they couldve reached an agreement abotu splitting Europe, can you imagine an alliance with Germany and Russia at that time ?? they wouldve steamrolled over England and any othe opposition. And then his other moumental mistake by declaring that German soldiers would fight for evry inch of ground in russia, liek JC said, he lost thousands of veteran soldiers, yes they killed THOUSANDS of russians...so what ? the russians could afford to loose 5 per every german killed and Russia was pumping out tanks and artillery by the hundreds to replace their losses.

Hitler was an idiot in military planning, he was a good politician and skilled orator, soem obscured corporal from nowhere doesnt get elelcted to chancellor unless he knows what hes doing, but he totally sucked as a general.

May he burn happily ever after.

If only he had been accepted to the Art school in Vienna,none of this would have ever happened and we'd all remember Hitler as an artist

Funny thing is that he was actually an austrian not a german and he became the German Furher. From his Bunker in February 1945 Hitler wrote "We ought to have gone to war in 1938. September 1938 would have been the most favorable date."

Warlord Solskritt wrote:

3.Starting WWII when Germany's military production wasn't ready.

The more I read, the more I'm convinced that it was Germany's economic production was their downfall. Hitler went to war too soon against everyone. Germany's industry was hampered after WWI, not sure exactly if it was destroyed in the war or hampered by the Versailles (sp) treaty. Honestly if Germany could not afford an army and a navy it had no business getting into a shooting war with any of the major powers, if anything the majors would outproduce them...pretty much this is what happened after they took on 3 major powers.

Now if Hitler had miscalculated when he and Russia attacked Poland, and the Brits and France declared war on him, many say he should have just sat there in a cold war situation until it could blow over. Then he could've turned on the Russians provided they didn't attack him first.

Honsestly I think Germany was fucked no matter what. The best they could've done is tried to side with France and England against the Russians from the very beginning.

The book I'm reading is very interesting and goes in depth of the hatred that he had for russians, jews and the Vesailles Treaty. After WWI, France took over the Rhineland which was the industrial heart of Germany. That really hammered Germany's industry.

luis the young wrote: the russians could afford to loose 5 per every german killed and Russia was pumping out tanks and artillery by the hundreds to replace their losses..

I remember reading a story about a Tiger killing 43 Russian tanks in one battle. Despite this superhuman effort the Russians over ran it and destroyed it with even more tanks. I think 5 to one is prolly too conservative. Without regard to life, the russians could prolly do 10 to one I would say.

luis the young wrote: Hitler was an idiot in military planning, he was a good politician and skilled orator, soem obscured corporal from nowhere doesnt get elelcted to chancellor unless he knows what hes doing, but he totally sucked as a general.

May he burn happily ever after.

That's what happens when civilians (ok Hitler had been a corporal in WW1, but had no operational experience) try to play general, like Bush and Rumsfeld. Look at what messes these morons make. I would hate to think what would've happened if we would've gotten into a fight with someone not as weak as Iraq, like China or Russia. Provided that no one uses nukes, Rumsfeld mismanagement would have likely caused a catastrophe for us.