Do you think Invading Russia was Hitler's biggest mistake of WWII ?

Question

If not, what event do you think was the most significant decision Hitler made that would eventually cost Germany the war?

Answer 1

Hitler did make some big mistakes :
1. Dunkirk, (you just can't allow over 250,000 enemy soldiers to leave that easily).
2. Not pursueing his goal of defeating England in 1940, (England becomes a garrison for the U.S army to invade Europe in 1944).
3. Not giving Rommel the support he needed to finally drive the British completely out of north Africa. ( no allied spring board to Italy, and allowing the Germans into Egypt and the Arab states for all that oil).
4. And of course, last but not least, RUSSIA! Simply by not sticking to his original war directive plans. He planned to attack in May, but delayed to late june. (129 years earlier Napoleon did the same thing and froze at the gates of Moscow)! Hitler took over complete control from the Generals and then started changing military goals. He had armies moving from one place to another without a true objective that they could all concentrate on. Instead of focusing three armies on Moscow, he divided them up, sending them in different directions.(Moscow wasn't considered a main objective)!
5. Oh nearly forgot, he declared war on the U.S.A in Dec.1941. (and then asked Admiral Raedar the next day," do you think the Americans will concentrate on us first, or the Japanese?").

The really interesting thing for me, and i suspect many others is that these WW2 questions always come up, and the answers will vary. It is difficult to say what strategically was his "biggest" mistake, as one has a direct effect on the other.
I believe Hitler on more than one occasion threw away a winning hand, and that comes down to a flaw in his character. The man took too much on, beliving in his own press and destiny. The world would certainly have viewed him much differently if he had not of persecuted the Jewish people and other unfortunates as he did.

Answer 2

I think generally Hitler did not expect a war in 1939, after he invaded Poland. The war came probably 3-5 years sooner than Hitler and his commanders had planned for it.

So it might very well be said invading Poland in 1939 was his biggest mistake, that Germany was only partly prepared for the war when it started.

Invading the Soviet Union was certainly a major mistake. It could very well have been his biggest as it did place Germany in a major land battle when it already was engaged in what had become primarily an air and sea war.

However, Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union made a very deep penetration and could possibly have succeeded.

Hitler made another serious error when he declared war on the United States later the same year as he invaded Russia. This opened the door to U.S. logistical aid to the Soviet Union and that, combined with the other things, would prove Nazi Germany's undoing.

Answer 3

Yes, the biggest mistake he ever made, although he didnt know it at the time. Im british, and im annoyed at all the nationalistic americans on this page..declaring war on the USA was not a big mistake, if he had defeated russia the USA wouldve been no problem at all. However, because of the time of the invasion, and the amount of troops he faced, he was defeated in the bloodiest campaign in history. Hurrah for Russia...someone needs to say it at last.

Answer 4

Hitler felt that he had no choice but to invade the Soviet Union in 1941 as the USSR was rapidly increasing its military strength. Within a few years the USSR might have been so strong that it would have been impossible for any German conquest to have succeeded. Remember, conquering the USSR for its resources and "living space" for Germans was Hitler's objective of the war in the first place. Poland, the conquest of Scandanavia, and the invasion of France were all preparatory moves. Hitler may have had a greater chance to defeat the Soviet Union had the Germans have commenced the invasion in the early spring rather than late June and had they have been sufficiently prepared for the Russian winter, which after all ought to have been a no-brainer. Fortunately for the Soviets, the Germans had to bail out the Italians in the Balkans which cost them two and a half very valuable months.

Many will argue that failing to subdue Britain, and especially failing to destroy the Royal Air Force, were Hitler's greatest mistakes. Numerous studies have shown, however, that realistically Germany did not have anywhere near the operational capacity to invade Great Britain in 1940, and even if a landing had been successful, the Royal Navy, which was 10 times the size of the Kreigsmarine, would most likely have prevented any subsequent divisions or equipment from reaching British shores, thus leading to a rapid German defeat. Even if the Germans had continued to concentrate on eliminating Britain, by 1941 British strength had greatly increased making a successful invasion next to impossible.

Hitler's biggest blunder in my view was invading Poland, and Germany was in fact very, very lucky that the French didn't launch an all out attack on the Western Front, which in September 1939 likely would have been quite successful. Germany commenced a war that in all odds was impossible for it to win given the resources of the British Empire, the Soviet Union and the United States (Hitler recognised even in 1939 that Germany would eventually have to fight the US) combined. Germany would have been wise to have consolidated its gains in Central Europe and have persuaded the UK and France, who were still prepared to appease the Germans, to return Germany's pre-1914 colonies in Asia and Africa. Of course, Hitler was mentally ill and addicted to methamphetamines, so it wouldn't be expected that he would make rational decisions.

Answer 5

Unfortunately for the American National pride , the answer is mostly yes. Biggest land battles, see Battle of Kursk, ate up most of the German Army, Russians did more fighting and far more dying.
His handling of the Eastern front with the loss of the Army Group in Stalingrad, not rearming/treating them decently the Ukranians etc caused him too much damage.
BTW. More trucks on the russian front were made in Detroit then any other place. Americans snet many millions of tons of war suppliers to the Soviet Union.

Answer 6

Hitlers biggest blunder was fighting to many fronts. If you look at any major conflict the loser is generally the one stuck in the middle fighting on both sides. If the Germans had secured Africa before they went to war with Russia the war would have ended differently. If they would have finished the Brits it would have ended different. So the biggest blunder was picking too many fights on too many fronts.

Answer 7

Strategically it was his biggest mistake. He was already fighting a war with the British. This opened a whole new front for him to try to man and supply. In all he spread himself too thin. He also lost the vast natural resources that Russia could have supplied his army.

Answer 8

Hi biggest mistake was being impatient. I

f he had given his engineers just 18 more months between the time he invaded France and expanding into Russia, they would have had jet fighters and the air war would have been a whole different story.

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Answer 9

Yes it definitely was the biggest mistake. Hitler could of conquered all of europe if he hadnt been stubborn and listened 2 his generals instead of giving out his own orders. The german army at the time was perhaps the best in the world.

Answer 10

the Brits had cracked his code and were tipping off Stalin. Stalin refused to believe it. However the Russian People had had 20 years of Communist rule and were unhappy. They welcomed Hitler as a savior. It was when he started shooting the russian people and commiting all sorts of war crimes that the People turned on him. Several of the advance units had russians joining them until they realized they were Helping the Fire against the frying pan they had lived under. Russia could have been taken if Hitler Just used the Anti- Comminist motive.