What was the biggest blunder by the Allies during WWII, by Axis powers? Japan?

Answer 1

In the military sense only:
Hitler--Operation Barbarossa; his attack of the Soviet Union; especially before Great Britain was vanquished--this allowed the Allies to operate against him on two fronts.

Japan--the attack on Pearl Harbor. In Admiral Nagumo's own estimate, even had the attack been a complete success, the US would have regained the upper hand in the Pacific war in no more than one year.

the Allies--probably Operation Market-Garden, the push by Field Marshall Montgomery to drive through Holland and into Germany, summed up in the novel "A Bridge Too Far".

Answer 2

The biggest blunder was by Japan. The plan was brilliant to attck Pearl Harbor but they also knew that the military might of the USA would turn it around within two years.The japanese cut off by the oil as the USA began taking over the island back in the great island campaign.
The biggest blunder for Germany was attacking Russia. Hitler could not trust Stalin but when confronted with the winter attack of Stalingrad the war changed course for the Germans and were in a retreat after that.
The biggest mistake for the Allies is hard to pinpoint. For winning what blunder could most be picked out? Probably all the miscues made in the attck on Pearl Harbor from the formation of B-17s to the mini-sub outside the Harbor that was fired upon by a US destroyer.

Answer 3

For the Germans, three blunders, attacking Russia and not invading Britain following Dunkirk when we had a small and exhausted army with not enough rifles to go around. The third blunder was declaring war on the USA following Pearl Harbor, as this allowed Churchill to convince the Americans to make defeating Germany the priority for men and materials.

For the Russians, it was before the war when in Stalins purges when he got rid of most of the experienced officers in the Russian armed forces (executed).

For the Japanese it wasnt Pearl Harbour as they had to do that when they did as they were growing economically weaker by the day. Their blunder was fighting on too many fronts (Pacific and Asia). If they had left the British and Australians to stew in Singapore, Malaya and Burma, they could have concentrated their forces on the U.S in the Pacific and maybe forced the Americans to negotiate a peace deal. They could then have turned their attention on the drive to India.

As it was they had a number of their very best army groups tied up fighting the British and Australians in the Burmese Jungle for three years.

For the allies I would again disagree with Market Garden as being a blunder. It was a bold and ambitious operation which went wrong, thats different to a blunder. If it had gone better in terms of 2nd armys advance and the weather it would be hailed as a piece of tactical brilliance.

The allies real blunder was stopping and letting the Russians take Berlin and the rest of East germany as that led to the cold war.

For the Italians it was getting involved at all as they were quite simply useless in every battle.

For the French their biggest blunder was when the French Navy allowed itself to be brought under Vichy control and not taking up Churchills offer to join the Free French. That forced the British to sink it in order to stop their capital ships falling into German hands.

Answer 4

Allies: Operation Market Garden: going a bridge too far, landing right ontop of an SS Panzer Division resting and refitting in the area.

Axis: many, but the one i remember is the diversion of the 4th Panzer Army before the gates to Moscow, other blunders include forcing the 6th Army to fight an urban battle at Stalingrad, committing the last strategic armored reserves at Kursk, Battle of the Bulge doomed from the beginning, hard to pick the biggest blunder.

Japan: attack on Pearl Harbor, it awoke the 'sleeping giant."

Answer 5

Germany:
On the western front:
The retreat of the U-boats, giving the allies the chance of building up a strong force in england. The change of targets in the battle of england. The RAF was on the verge of going down, till the germans started to bombard the cities instead of the airfields and factories. The germans also did not protected their invasion fleet enough, so it got bombed.
Later on: not waking Hitler on the 6th of June. Rommel had come back from his wife's anniversary, but he couldn't use his reserves, since they were under direct control of Hitler, who was asleep.
On the eastern front:
Not beeing equipped for war at wintertime. Stalingrad: stranding a blitzkrieg to create the largest static battle ever. Diverting too many troops to the siege of Leningrad and not treating the Ukrainians well (they could have been allies).
On the southern front:
Not giving Rommel enough troops. With one or two divisions more, he could have conquored the middle East. This would have given the Germans enough oil to continue fighting.

Italians:
going to war in the first place. They couldn't even break through the french lines when the french army was beeing utterly battered by the Nazi warmachine. Later on they couldn't even beat the Greek army. The germans had to bail them out on about every battlefield they fought on.
They did have a good navy though. But Mussolini did not believe in air-carriers. And the proud fleet suffered heavy losses at Taranto by the hands of some old planes.

Japan: maybe they should have attacked Russia instead. Not sure.

Other axies: Romania and such...yes well...get yourself a history book.
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Allies:
French: the defensive doctrine. They should have attacked Germany as soon as it entered Poland.
British:
western front: Operation Market Garden I guess.
eastern front: the 'defense' of Singapore.
southern front: some disasterous operations where-as they were defeated by Rommel in the deserts.
USA: you might say Pearl Harbour, you might say 'not having any coastal defences, resulting in a record of lost ships by german U-boats'...but i would go for the carpetbombings over Germany. They did not break moral, but caused hunderds of thousands of deads. Mostly civilians.
Russia:
The initial order to stand and fight. They should have retreated more. Resulting in great defeats at Kiev etc. Bye the time the Germans came to Moskou, it was the right move though.

Answer 6

Well, the first blunder Nazi Germany made that was huge, was the refraining of making a full assault on England and turning East, toward Russia, expecting England to fall soon after the bombings. The second mistake was declaring war on Russia without finishing England, opening a two front war. And the last, most unbelievable mistake, in hoping to add Japan to Russia's eastern front, declaring war on the U.S while still engaged with England and Russia. As far as allied mistakes, they should have taken the step forward and engaged in the war before it got so big. They were trying to keep things out of sight and out of mind, much like today's anti-war movement is trying to keep the U.S out of the middle east. It's gonna be a decision to involve military force in the middle east now, or in 5,10 years, (Iran, most notably).We did right in getting in there now. Japans biggest mistake was bombing the U.S., a fact admitted by the then leader of the country.

Answer 7

Tha Allies waited to long to fight back, the Axis did not send enough reinforcements to stop us at Normandy, and Japan should not have bombed Pearl Harbor (They awakened a sleeping monster that destroyed them.)

Answer 8

German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel went home to celebrate his wife's birthday. Her birthday was June 6, 1944. He wasn't at Normandy to send in the Panzers.

Answer 9

Bombing peal harbor, even the emperor of Japan stated later realizing what he had done said," I am afraid we have awaken a sleeping giant."