Could Germany have defeated the Western Allies (USA, UK and Canada) in WW2 had they not invaded Soviet Union?

Question

The Soviet Union was a murderers alley for years, either by the Great Purge of Joseph Stalin or even the Napoleon failed campaign in the 1800's. Germany obviously made a mistake invading this country. They could have never won, even if they weren't at war with Britain, USA and Canada. But...what if Germany's full military might was against the USA, Britain and Canada. Keep in mind, in all likelyhood half of all American manpower and weapons were available for the war against the Japanese. With this in mind, is it possible for a German victory in the West against the Western Allies? Yes, the Battle of Britain was a costly loss for Germany but surely if the Germans had the full power of their air force against Allied convoys in the years 1942-43, this may have proved a decisive victory over the Western Allies? Supply problems would have meant Allied defeat no? The British and Americans would have had tremendous difficulty planning their D-Day without the necessary aircraft, tanks, etc?

Answer 1

Hitler's 3 biggest blunders:

1. Ceasing the strategic bombing runs over Britain and going for bombing runs on the larger cities.

2. Declaring war against the US as per pact with Japan.

3. Invading Russia.

If Hitler had not invaded Russia and kept those resources for protecting Germany or used them to get Britian then Hitler could have probably been able to keep Europe. He would not have been able to invade the US and succeed. Not without help. However, if he gained control of Europe and then spent the next 10-15 years building a better army and navy and developing atomic weapons then he might have had a chance later on.

Answer 2

The Battle of Britain only really prevented Britain from being invaded. In itself it did not cause the defeat of the Germans. The single most significant battle was Stalingrad. Over 1.5 million people died there which is more than the combined British and American deaths for the whole war. The siege of Leningrad also cost well over a million lives. The scale of the war on the Russian front was immense. The cost in terms of lives and equipment was far higher in this theatre than in any other. It absorbed the vast majority of Germany' war resources that the loses in battles like the Battle of Britain were minuscule by comparison. If Hitler had not embarked upon Barbarossa then the Germans would have had so much more manpower and equipment available that a counter invasion by the Allies would have been many times more difficult. All this counterfactualism will never be decided unanimously but you could not conclude with certainty that the Allies would still have prevailed and indeed there is every chance that Germany could have kept its grip on continental Europe. The Soviet contribution to the Allied war effort in Europe was the largest by a single country, though their role has been played down because people typically like to play up their country's role and also because of the Cold War animosity between the former Allies and the barbarity of Stalin's regime.

Answer 3

Interesting question. Well, Germany was only a year or two away from a long range bomber, jets, radar, ICBMs and nukes. If the Hitler-Stalin pact remained intact, then Britian falls in a combined land and sea invasion. Then Hitler is convinced to go after the Middle Eastern Oil Reserves. Meanwhile, Japan falls. Then it is a one on one event. US with Canadian and Australian help versus A Europe under the control of Germany. Without the British Fleet stopping the German U-boats, it is possible that Germany could have had a limited invasion on the US eastern coast. But, in the long run, I think the final result would have been the same, sans Berlin Wall, Berlin Airlift, and the Cold War. The US military machine would have still invaded and gotten Hitler. Especially if Patton had enough time to regain his command from Bradley. Let loose Patton with several armies behind him on a small beachhead and the war ends. Maybe not '44 but certainly before '50.

Answer 4

The Soviet Union had just fought a devastating war and suffered over 25 million dead. Their country was broken, and they needed men to go back home and rebuild (men who were now in short supply - even today, you can see a dip in the male population as a result of the war). The USSR could not afford a war, at least not for a few years. Besides, the United States had a weapon of frightening power. Stalin (and Truman, and Attlee) knew that the Soviet Army was more powerful than the combined armies of the Western Allies, and the Soviet Air Force was close, but he also knew that he didn't have much of a manpower reserve left and that he didn't really have a counter to the atomic bomb. Besides, I'm not sure that Stalin actually wanted a war with the West - he wanted a powerful sphere of influence, with buffers to prevent any future war with the West (Stalin and the Soviet leadership were often very paranoid, convinced that the West was looking for an opportunity to go to war with Russia - something we believed about the Russians, too), but not world conquest at the point of a sword.

Answer 5

If Hitler hadn't invaded Russia, I think he could have lasted for a few more years, but then he would have been foiled anyway.
He made some other mistakes. I remember learning that Hitler made his scientists stop research on the atomic bomb, and they created other things. If German scientists had continued this research and discovered it first, Germany could have lasted a few more years, perhaps defeating Russia, too?
And I visited England two years ago and a British guide gave me a history lesson, another of Hitler's mistakes. There was a decisive air battle over London. Perhaps the German army got bored, but the British were down to their last airplanes and were about to surrender... But Germany surrendered first.

Answer 6

germany could have won had they kept bombing the british airfields instead of bombing the cities,if germany hadn't invaded russia,and also if the hadn't been anti semetic( some of the scientists on the manhattan project were jewish) also when the allies invaded normandy they made hitler think it was just a feint and the main invasion was to take place at pas-de calais so hitler held back a large number of reinforcements that could have swept the allies back to the sea also when the allies invaded normandy rommel commander of frances' coastal defences was back in germany celebrating his wifes birthday

Answer 7

Yes the allies would still have won.
The Battle of Britain was the turning point, and whilst it may have lasted longer you have missed the point.
The Germans were loosing more aircraft than the RAF, so they would have eventually lost the control of the skies over France first then the other occupied countries, and eventually their own.

Answer 8

It is indeed easy to speculate on various outcomes of WWII,had certain scenarios been altered.

In the end that is all it is:speculation not fact.

It is almost certain that all madmen,however successful at first,will fail eventually,falling victim to their own lunacy.

Hitler had visions of world domination,which was very unlikely to happen,WWI had already proved this.

The Romans.the Byzantines,the Macedonians all great empires that failed and fell in their quests for world domination.

Hitler was destined to meet the same fate.The only difference: after the lessons learned from the aforementioned empires,the world banned together against Hitler and with the advent of mechanical warefare from WWI was able to keep his reign of terror short in comparison.

Answer 9

Possibly

Answer 10

Yes, nothing is stronger or better then Germany