Re: Could Germany Have Won WWII?
Of course, depending how you define winning.
1. Not have engaged in genocide of Jewish and more actively pursued the atomic bomb. It was on Einstein's urging - only after his sister taken to a concentration camp - that pacifist Einstein added his voice to the USA pursuing the atomic bomb. The treatment of Jews cost Gemany many scientists in general. Regardless, had Germany more pursued the atomic bomb they would have had it and with their V2s they could have won.
2. Develop a long range bomber and put their jet fighters into product when they could have, rather than wasting a year trying to develop the jet as a bomber. Lack of a long range bomber gave Russia immunity in mass production. If Germany had thrown the jet fighter into mass production when it first developed the airwar would have been quite differently.
3. Followed thru at Dunkirk with an armored ground attack against the UK troops and then including a high casualty lose invasion and defeat the UK. A fundamental mistake of Hilter was believing he could negotiate a peace with the UK, basically to divide up the world.
Casualties of Germans would have been high, but given the massive defeates and loses later the loses of the invasion would have been much less. With the UK out of the picture, the USA would have no landing base on the West and nearly all resources committed to the East (Russia). The UK lost more its heavy weapons at Dunkirk and was relatively unarmed. Lack of total air control would have mention high crossing casualties, but Germany has the forces then to lose to take the UK out of the picture - the only enemy left at the moment. Of course Germany should not have shifted to bombing English cities but instead maintained focus on the final destruction of the UK's dwindling airforce.
4. Not realistic, but not declaring war on the USA. This would not have stopped the USA supplying the UK, but it would have meant the public would have demanded war focus on Japan, not Germany.
5. Not been a total indecisive idiot in the invasion of Russia.
6. Avoided massive troop loses by not allowing generals to regroup/retreat when necessary.
7. Never have initiated conquest of North Africa at all and instead put all such resources to capturing the oil fields of Russia - which allied bombers could not have reached.
8. Accepted the initial attempts by Russian anti-Stalin troops and generals to side with German forces.
9. Convinced Japan not to attack Pearl Harbor. The Roosevelt was frozen by public anti-war sentiment until that moment.
Response:
1. It is a great exaggeration about how close Hitler was to the atomic bomb. It would at least have taken another decade, and besides, Einstein was already planning to leave for the US long before his sister was imprisoned. Other scientists, even if they weren't Jews, were already targeted because of their free-thinking ideals.
2. Impossible. Their jet fighters could never have been mass-produced, for the same reason as to why so many of their great tanks were never mass-produced. Too little material, resources, labor, and time. In addition, jet fighters were hardly different from normal fighters that day, and developing faster bombers that goes by the speed of a jet would have taken at least 5 years. In addition, Russia already had industrial immunity. Most of their war factories and industrial complexes were moved to the Urals.
3. I agree, though casualties would have been low. They could have easily pincered them off from naval protection, and it would have been an easy job for the geniuses such as Guderian and Rommel.
You also misstated the reason for relaxing at Dunkirk. They believed a large resuce attempt to have been impossible, believed that they had plenty of time, and also wanted to conserve Guderian's armor for the drive to Paris.
The Kriegsmarine was in no shape to assemble a fleet to transport the troops necessary, let alone safely escort them. A German invasion would have been a logistical nightmare.
4. I agree with this
5. The Soviets were already bound to invade at 1942. As I mentioned, there were too many ideological and historical differences between the two, and both had no illusions about the stability of their pact. All he did was speed up the inevitable
6. I agree with this. Stalingrad in particular was downright delusional
7. Capturing oil fields sounds easy when its said, but when you have to bring in highly expensive and specialized equipment, repair the holes, bring in the personnel necessary, drill the hole again, and repair damages done to the oil fields, it would have taken about 2 years. In addition, the Germans had a reason to attack the Middle East: vital British economic assets were there, inluding the mentioned oil fields. The Soviet use of scorched earth policy also indicated that they would have burned down the oil fields if they were captured.
8. Never heard about this.
9. I agree, though Roosevelt wasn't frozen by isolationism. Lend-Lease already passed and there was a decisive interventionist national feeling in the US.
