what were the main disadvantages of the Axis Powers in World War 2?

Answer 1

In Germany in a Word, Hitler. Hitler aside from questionable mental capacity, was a control freak, who interfered with the command and control of his arms forces which where lead by some very capable generals and admirals. Hitler opened a two front war, by invading Russia in the dead of winter (never a good idea).

From the Japanese homeland the biggest problem they had was a lack of natural resources. Evan Admiral Yamamoto when planing the Pearl Harbor attack said that starting a war with America was a very bad idea. He having been educated in the Unites States, knew first hand of the incredible Industrial capability and natural resources of the United States.

Answer 2

From what I know, I can't say they really had any. Both in the European and Pacific theaters, the military leaders were mostly capable, the soldiers loyal, the civilians were contained, and their technology was on par with the Allies.

It was through a series of individual blunders that won the war. The Japanese didn't destroy the American carriers when they hit Pearl Harbor. The Germans attacked Russia and weren't able to get victory before winter came. Allied intelligence was able to trick the Germans to think that D-Day was happening on a different beach.

There's other things as well, these are a few that I remember.

Answer 3

Germany lost the war in Europe for three major reasons:

1) The invasion of the Soviet Union was extremely costly. In one particular week, they lost 500,000 men! All dead.

2) In the last year or two, Hitler began using vital military resources to transport Jewish people to labor camps. Trains carrying hundreds of thousands of civilians to accomplish nothing of value to the nation could have been used to transport reinforcements and equipment to the Russian front. Hitler's generals were very bitter about this, and some of them were among the attempted assassinations in the last two years of the war.

3) The United States had millions of fresh troops battling against progressively younger and less experienced Germans as German lost their best in Russia and sent lightly trianed and inexperienced everywhere else.

Japan lost the Pacific war for one reason, and one only: the superior American economy was able to manufacture ships, planes and other equipment much faster than Japan.

We started the war outnumbered 2 to 1 in ships and much worse in planes, and we even had a smaller production capacity than the tiny island group. Roosevelt harnessed heavy industry across the country, hired Rosie the Riveter (the female workforce) to build the equipment, and by the end of the war we were still producing planes and ships at a much faster rate than the Japanese, and we had the population to man them.

Those two nukes were just the icing. Our forces had already taken every Japanese conquest by sheer force of troops and equipment and were planning an invasion of Japan as the nukes were being dropped.

Answer 4

Hitler was a good military strategist, yes, but his strategies and orders are all imposible to fulfil.

The first mistake he made was to allow himslef to be swayed by Hermann Goering into believing that the Luftwaffe can destroy the remnants of the combined allied armies in Dunkerque in 1940. Of course, Goering never did destroy the allies and all the while Panzer tanks are waiting just a few kilometers to the south

Then he made the mistake of believing too much on his ability to persuade the British to end the war, in his terms.

So he ordered Goering and the Luftwaffe to eat the British alive, the problem is that the Luftwaffe was numerically superior, hence Churchill called his pilots 'the few', but the British were fighting on their ground, strictly speaking thier air, and they have the advantage of radar while the Germans had to rely on dead reckoning.

Then he attacked Soviet Russia while waging the Battle of Britain rright after attacking Greece, causing him too long and failing to prepare for a winter war.

The Germans have fancy toys, but they failed to use those toys to the maximum potential, and sometimes, they just don't have the thing that they need, like a four engine bomber perhaps.

Hitler have good commmanders in the field, like Rommel and von Rundest, but he also have idiotic commanders serving near him, so he takes the advise of those guys and he executed his own generals on rumors.

Then he failed to see a trap when there is one. His failed attack on Kursk is a good example. Hundreds of Panzer tanks and more than half burning.

He failed to listen to his general Rommel, whom he deeply trusted and once commanded his own private guards, and as a result lost Normandy, and the entire war.

Of course, Germany lack the oil resources to keep the massive German Blitzkrieg, meant for attack and not defense, moving.

Towards the end of the war, Germany was suffering massive loss of men and they are unable to replenish them, because Hitler decided to discriminate the Jews and the other minority groups which could have given him more than a million more troop to throw at the allies.

Answer 5

The did not have the materials for war within their own boarders. Starting a war on two fronts without the manpower to fight such a war. Trying to take Russia, they must have forgotten Napoleon & his defeat by the Russian winters. Declaring war on Poland. Troops were used to fight the Polish resistance that could have been use elsewhere. Declaring war on America. Forgot about the 1st W.W. Used trains that should have carried supplies to troops for transporting Jewish people to concentration camps. Remember, their leader had only held the rank of Corporal in 1st W.W., it showed.

Answer 6

opened up two other fronts before they finished the first front in western europe

instead of concentrating on england hitler went to russia and north africa and so divided and weakened his forces

also - the lufwaffe was commanded by an incompetant goring - an ace yes from ww1 but not command material - look at his stupid material drop to the germans at stalingrad

also hitler is the same not a military strategist - changing bombing strategies on england in 1940 from the airfields to the cities - a major blunder that allowed the raf to regroup and hit back - two disadvantages - command of airforce by goring and all armed forces by hitler

Answer 7

The biggest this was their political leadership and lack of industrial resources and fuel.

Answer 8

they were losers from the beginning

Answer 9

they didnt trust each other.