Originally Posted By: SonofJoe
I think it's generally acknowledged now that one of the great bits of good fortune we Brits had in WWII was to have Adolf Hilter in charge of the German war machine!
Had he not given the order to stop the army's advance on Dunkirk, so that Goering could show off what his Luftwaffe could do (or not do as it transpired), then Dunkirk could have been a true disaster. Certainly my old man's view was that had they kept going, and crossed The Channel, we were so unprepared, we would have folded.
Stalin was also a pretty bad commander too. Later in the war he gave more control to his generals and Hitler took more control over the military. Just goes to show you the skills that make you a political leader doesn't mean you end up a good military commander. I think Lyndon Johnson gets the same criticism for the Vietnam war.
Also I believe it wasn't Hitler that gave the command to halt, it was the generals that requested a halt. Tanks back then weren't used to the breakneck speed and they were hard charging for a while, they needed a break. I think they normally lost about 10% of their tanks from mechanical failure every 200 miles. It would have been higher under war conditions. I believe they also said the terrain they were going into wasn't suitable for tanks. Hitler just approved the halt and Goring said his planes could take care of them. I guess Hitler shouldn't have believed him when he later said the same thing when trying to resupply the 6th Army at Stalingrad.
I think it's generally acknowledged now that one of the great bits of good fortune we Brits had in WWII was to have Adolf Hilter in charge of the German war machine!
Had he not given the order to stop the army's advance on Dunkirk, so that Goering could show off what his Luftwaffe could do (or not do as it transpired), then Dunkirk could have been a true disaster. Certainly my old man's view was that had they kept going, and crossed The Channel, we were so unprepared, we would have folded.
Stalin was also a pretty bad commander too. Later in the war he gave more control to his generals and Hitler took more control over the military. Just goes to show you the skills that make you a political leader doesn't mean you end up a good military commander. I think Lyndon Johnson gets the same criticism for the Vietnam war.
Also I believe it wasn't Hitler that gave the command to halt, it was the generals that requested a halt. Tanks back then weren't used to the breakneck speed and they were hard charging for a while, they needed a break. I think they normally lost about 10% of their tanks from mechanical failure every 200 miles. It would have been higher under war conditions. I believe they also said the terrain they were going into wasn't suitable for tanks. Hitler just approved the halt and Goring said his planes could take care of them. I guess Hitler shouldn't have believed him when he later said the same thing when trying to resupply the 6th Army at Stalingrad.