Question by hazerboy55: why did hitler fail to defeat russia?
Reasons why Hitlers failed to defeat Russia
Answers and Views:
Answer by konarttis
The russian winter/.
too cold. russians where more troops in that moment.
Answer by Yun
He tried in the first place.
History should have shown him that fighting Russia in its own land on its own terms was suicide.
The Russians are masters of attrition and house to house fighting. Both of those things are good for beating militaries bigger than the defender, and the Russians had more men as well. The Germans didn’t really stand that much of a chance.
Answer by lucky
reason why hitler failed to defeat russia was because he was being attacked by england & usa from one side & he attacked russia in winter & his troops who were already tired by constant fighting couldn’t bear the harsh russian winter & finally they were defeated by russia . hitler always believed that german’s were invincible. it was because of this stupid belief he decided to attack russia inspite of warnings by his genrals & commanders not to do so.if he had first concentrated on defeating england & then attacked on russia, germany wouldn’t have been defeated.
Answer by S. M.
Hitler had somewhat of an alliance with Stalin, but broke it by invading Russia. However, the Nazis weren’t prepared for the severity of Russian winters, so the Russians were able to beat them back.
Answer by DON W
It was a case of a wolf attacking a lion. While the wolf has large fangs, is a good fighter and may at first gain the upper hand, the lion will ultimately win.
The Soviet Union, although caught unprepared when the Germans invaded, had huge resources to call upon: a very large population, mineral wealth, factories–you name it. Their land mass was incredibly large, extending all the way to the Pacific. Once they were able to mobilize their population and industry, they were able to push back the Germans. Aiding them was the awful Russian climate, which the Germans weren’t adequately prepared for, and the long supply lines needed to feed the German army. Plus, the Russians were fighting on their home turf, and were highly motivated to defend “Mother Russia”. The western allies also helped by launching their own offensives in Italy, Normandy, and the south of France, which forced Hilter to reinforce his western armies, pulling away resources which he needed to fight the Soviets.
Answer by Osis Dorsey
pride, snow, and God
Job chapter 38:
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
Answer by Reverend Rene
Listen, and listen good. Hitler failed to defeat Russia due to many reasons, one of which was thinking that German soldiers were more than human, “superhuman. His only thought was in conquest, not all the variables that go into warfare, food, clothing, etc. He forgot one of the most important factors in warfare, the HUMAN FACTOR! Men are not machines, and machines are not men!
Read all the answers in the comments.
Add your own answer!
Agility Man says
I think it’s a pretty reasonable argument that Hitler could not have defeated Russia and to invade that country was suicide. Arguably it cost Germany the war. But you want specific reasons so here goes….
1. The German invasion was late. Their plan was to capture Moscow in the first 6 months (before winter set in). But they delayed Operation Barbarosa for a couple of months which meant that had less time to capture Moscow. That delay was critical because….
2. The Germans weren’t prepared for the winter that came and even subsequent winters. Making it even more important was that Hitler thought he had learned from Napoleon. He ordered his troops to hold their ground (no retreat). Which meant that during the Winter War (the first winter in Russia), the Germans weren’t able to pull back to more defensible positions. Consequently….
3. The Russians were able to launch a series of counter-attacks during that first winter. These attacks cutoff some German forces, inflicted worse casualties but more importantly allowed the Russians to begin to rebuild their Army.
You see, Stalin had purged most of the officer corps prior to the war for political reasons. He was left with untrained toadies. And the Russian Army showed it with their performance in the first 4 months of the war. But come winter (and the ability to go on limited offensives, roll out US military supplies which were upgrades over some of their older equipment and as new officers emerged via a deadly Darwinian process of combat), a better, more capable, better led and equipped Soviet Red Army emerged.
4. Distance. Just getting to Moscow is immense. And part of the way it matters is that your supply lines become extended. The further the Germans went, the more fuel became a problem. And just look at a map of Russia. Look at the distance from St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) all the way to the Crimean (Sevastopol). How can you protect a front of that distance? So the Germans inevitably became vulnerable to counterattacks. And during the start of Barbarosa, the Germans relied more on horse than trucks for transportation.
5. Numbers. If the Germans couldn’t win an early war, by then the Russians would start to become competent. In that sense it was like the Japanese fighting us–they needed an early victory over the US or we’d regain our footing and then our industrial might would assert itself (as it did). Same with Russia. By year two of the war, the numbers of Russian troops (which hadn’t stopped the Wehrmacht in year one) were no being better led, had more tubes/artillery, better aircraft, better tactics and the Germans through a combination of distance and partisan involvement were hurting for supplies.
6. The T-34. The KV-1 was a nasty surprise for the Germans but was available in limited numbers and was not very mobile. But the T-34 was a factor throughout the war. It was fast, handled mud well, outgunned initially the German armor it faced and it’s sloped front made it impregnable to the standard German PAK at the time of Barbarossa.
Bottom line: if Germany didn’t beat Russia in the first 6 months of the war, they weren’t going to ever. Because by then, the Russians had gotten their act together.
Jacob L says
Because for one, russia is a big BIG powerful nation with an incresdible ability to produce large amounts of war material in wartime. Two, Hitler was a horrible tactician that didn’t leave any desicions to his generals. he thought that he was some sort of war god and that he needed no help in planning his manuvers for entire army groups. Lastly, the will of the Russian people was immesureable. the war was put out to them by Stalin as a sacred war for the motherland. It was not a fight for communist ideals, but a defense against an evil force which sought to destroy their homeland.
hope this helps.
Jlev
lefty2ndbaseman says
The Battle of Stalingrad was the major factor in determining Germany’s fate…had they captured Stalingrad and its surroundings, they would have seized the oil fields and industrial complexes that were there. The Russian Army was able to hold off the Wermacht by fighting in at close range so the Germans could not rely as much on artillery and air raids….the Germans had supreme command of the air, but could not use it to the degree it would have liked due to this close-range combat. Also, Hitler had moved some Germany’s elite forces to Northern Africa once the Allies landed there.
glenn says
Russia is very big. By the time they made it to Moscow, the winter had set in, and they were not ready for its severity. Russia was able to mobilize additional forces to drive the Germans, weakened by the weather, back.
The Russians call it “General Winter” for the military advantages it gives them.