What would it have taken for Germany to win their war?

While the question of could Germany win has been asked it seems perennially, this is a slightly different tack. Essentially what is being asked is were there things the Germans could have done sufficently better or mistakes that if they had not happened would have allowed the Germans a win to WW 2?
Now, I'm not talking about the often brought up impossible stuff like tripling production suddenly or having some flegling technology suddenly become practical and in widespread use years ahead of its original introduction but more mundane things that the Germans simply did badly that squandered the possibility of winning.

For example, allowing Himmler and Göring to form "private" armies in parallel with the Wehrmacht (eg., the SS and Luftwaffe ground army). These were massive wastes of manpower and material. There was no justification of either beyond the private empire building of the two people running them.

 

I shall reply with a quote from J.R.R.Tolkien:

 

I think the command chain of the Wehrmacht was the single biggest problem for Germany during WW2. Many problems, such as supply and operational planning, could have been solved if the Germans had a more professionally set-up chain of command.
A good chain of command means no unrealistic operational goals, problems can be addressed in a timely fashion, and decisions are made professionally.

 

Germany would have needed a better economic base and more raw materials. Having the A-bomb, their Landkruezer Monsters, long range Amerika bombers and all sorts of technlogy would have helped. The whole Aryan Race thing didn't help much either during the invasion of Russia. They also needed more U-boats and less surface ships.

 

Bag the horses, go to motorized transport.
Secure (if possible) oil/synthetic oil, rubber/synthetic rubber.
Don't get greedy. Take and hold what you need and can.
Make friends (give them a taste)(there are always the down-trodden/disgruntled, of the conquered peoples/areas. Have them work with you to secure the other side of their border.
4 & 2 engined/long-range bombers, PBYs (ish) aircraft, C-47 (ish).
2 perhaps 3 at most (multi-purpose)(upgradable airframes/planes, high altitude (interceptor/air-superiority) & low (dive bomber/attack/fighter), 1 specialty.
Don't relax. Now work on the technological stuff, radar/countermeasures, proximity, rocket. Nothing stays new for long.
2 perhaps 3 tank chassis designs, not 50. Light, Medium, Heavy. When light becomes useless = extinct, med = lgt. hvy = med, and so on.
Stick with what works. Be successful and secure before you stray to the fantastic.
Bag the big surface fleet, do U-Boats (type XXI, as soon as possible).
Mines to work the water and the land while you sleep.
Negotiate with potential threats, no law says you have to say yes, just keep em talking while you get the range.
Keep the SS/Gestapo. Every Empire needs a "Goon Squad". If they don't love you (or fake it), let them know what door #2 has behind it.
Start earlier. You're not ready, but they're even less so. This may lead to capitulation instead of destruction. Your goal is not destruction as much as it is subjugation. No?

an opinion

 

I agree with Skunk, especially #1. Marching into combat on foot and horse is'nt going to cut it in WWII.
Start the war production sooner.

The manpower and materials wasted on all those "super-guns"....Dora and the like. Used 1 time then retired.

Hitler listening to his Generals[like Stalin did] that are actually out on the battlefield and have a better view on the situation.

 

Assasination of Hitler 30th August 1939, cancelling of Operation Fall Weiss as a bad joke.

 

I'll be damned! I was giving up this thread up for lost until I saw this concise but absolutely brilliant post!

Roddoss, this was the Intelligent Post of the Week!

 

Yeah well tell that to the 50 million or so that didn't make it, International politics pre 1939 had a lot to answer for. And we haven't learned a damn since.

On a lighter note, Hitler in the red corner and the Polish President in the Blue Corner and after 10 rounds the winner gets the others country for 1 year.

 

Germany needed a Neutral U.S.

 

Japan not to attack American interests. Keep America out of the war at all costs. Sorta like an Axis "Soviet Union First" policy.

 

The problem with all this is Germany didn't have the economy for it. Germany would have needed to devote more of its resources to building up the economy first which means they don't have a size able military until the mid to late 40s at the earliest. This leads to a world that it so different it's hard to say where things will go. Although if you go by the definition of a "war avoided is a war won" they do win this way.

 

Don't invade anybody else after the summer of 1940.

 

Hitler was a double edged sword, they needed someone to work them up to do it, but no one needed that spoiled child micro-managing "literally" everything.
Death camps were totally stupid. That made permanent enemies out of people that weren't even born yet. Work farm like prisons have now. Have them grow their own food & extra.
I don't think they should have done it (war) at all, but .... it happened.
With expanded resources raw materials/personnel from potential friends/(ah-hem) "brothers of the cause" of attached/liberated (whatever syntax-semantics the spin doctors want to call it) peoples/countries/territories.
Ol Adolf buffaloed/bullied a lot of people with nothing more than words. If he would have stuck to politics (BS), and (as Framer said) let go of the ...."I wanna be a General" baby fit stuff, a much harder immediate future may have resulted for the rest of us.
Thankfully many of his disastrous (battle/campaign/war/production/invention/distribution/supply/allocation) defeats can be attributed directly to him, and that attitude.

 

I would say that looking at history and not think up these "what-if's", the most logical move would be to perhaps just stop after France and hope Great Britain agrees?

 

If i was Adolf Hitler and i had decided that i was going to invade Poland, i would expect at least that Britain and France would envoke their mutual assistance treaties they had with Poland, thus effecting them to declarations of war, now having said that i would have had to.

1, Order plans for the eventual invasion of the west, this was done historically.
2, Order plans for the eventual invasion of Britain, should have begun by June or July 1939, to build up supply invasion vessels, to train and implement the fine art of amphibious landing, order the Luftwaffe to practice torpedo attacks and the like.
3, Never have allowed the escape of the BEF and the French at Dunkerque.
4, Under no circumstances entertain an Armistice but a full Unconditional Surrender to France and seizure of all French Naval units in Home and North African ports.
5, Here is the tricky bit, a full invasion of Britain, knock her out of the war.
6, Insist that as per Surrender Treaties, defeated nations such as France and Britain under Pro-Axis puppet governments sign mutual assistance treaties.
7, Convene a meeting with Axis partners to clearly define a "Soviet Union First Policy".
8, Agree to keep the U.S out of the war at all costs.

I can add more stuff but my time is running short.

 

hmmmm................let's see.................
how about not listening to the crazy rantings of an idiot leader! he could rally the troops, but militarily he was not the sharpest tool in the shed!

 

Clarify which idiot you refer to Adolf Hiler circa 1933 to 1945 or Geroge W Bush circa 2000 to 2008, i am confused.