Explain the principal mistakes of Hitler during World War Two. How Essay

Explain the principal mistakes of Hitler during World War Two. How could Nazi Germany have won the war (c. 1000 words) - Essay Example But what he gave the German people was more death, more destruction. His multiple mistakes in starting and prosecution the Second World War led to a new and this time total defeat for Germany. This essay will examine a number of those mistakes and show just where Hitler went wrong. Hitler made numerous mistakes during his period of leadership, but among the most blatant and serious was attacking the Soviet Union in 1941. Since the remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936, Hitler had been on a role. He had successfully annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia, and he had managed what seemed impossible the invasion of Poland and France. His western front was threatened only by Britain which was back on his heels. Therefore his major concern was with the Eastern front. There he had secured peace with Stalin in the Ribbentrop-Molotov compact which had divided Poland. Stalin didnt care what Hitler did to Europe; as far as he was concerned, Hitler could take the whole continent so long as there was peace between the two men. It was therefore a serious error for Hitler to declare war on the Soviet Union. To be fair, he thought that Stalins purges of the army has massively weakened the Soviet Unions defences. Nevertheless, the lesson had been well learnt by Napoleon 150 ye ars earlier, that Russia was never an easy place to invade and that the brutal winters made it very hard to hold ground there. Hitler thought his invasion of the Soviet Union could be complete within a few months, but he overestimated the speed and equipment at the disposal of the Wehrmacht. At Stalingrad, the Soviet army delayed the Germans long enough to effectively freeze them out and encircle the Sixth Army—a devastating blow. Hitler refused to listen to many of his best generals—a crucial error. This is a good illustration of one of Hitlers most significant errors: he never knew when to stop and consolidate his victories. He became