Factors That Led To Allied Victory And Axis Defeat

The development of novel weapons, tactics, and economic mobilization strategies were all highlighted by World War II. Debilitating effects from the conflict could be seen on the battlefields as well as at home. Britain, France, Russia, and eventually the United States of America were at war with the Axis Powers as the Allies. To avoid the growing danger of global barbarism posed by Nazism and Fascism, Germany, Italy, and later Japan joined forces. The Allies prevailed in Europe for a variety of causes. The Allies had a clear command structure, more resources than the enemy, control of the seas, and greater manpower. The Axis' disadvantages were exacerbated by their vulnerability. Germany lacked support from its allies and most of the citizens condemned its involvement in the war. This paper explores the factors that contributed to Allies victory over the Axis in World War II.

Research questions

Which country started World War II?

Which countries constituted the Allies and the Axis?

Which side won?

How did they win?

What factors contributed to the victory?

Thesis Statement

Analyzing the history of World War II, various factors contributed to the victory of the Allies and the loss of the Axis. In essence, the failures of the Axis compounded the opportunities of the Allies in winning the war. Additionally, when the USA joined the war, it reinforced the Allies against the already strained Axis group. The Allies had superiority overseas, and their resources were extensive. They were also able to conduct an efficient communication system, unlike their opponents. While these constituted the strengths of the Allies, some failures of the Axis contributed to their loss. First, Germany’s last offensive failed. Also, its communication systems were ineffective, and its allies surrendered leaving Germany at the mercies of the Allies. What is more, the German citizens were discontented. This weakened the Axis position and eventually lost the war to the Allies in 1945.

Historical Context

The decimation of the World War I had extraordinarily destabilized Europe, and in many regards, issues that were left unsolved lead to World War II. Specifically, political and financial insecurity in Germany and waiting disdain over the unforgiving terms forced by the Versailles Treaty filled the ascent to power of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist (Nazi) Party.

In 1933 when Hitler became the German Chancellor, he united power by declaring himself the preeminent leader, ‘Führer’, in 1934. Fixated on the possibility of the prevalence of the unadulterated German race, Hitler trusted that gaining the vital living space for the race to expand was only possible by starting a war. He started rearming Germany disregarding the Versailles Treaty. Subsequent to marking unions with Italy and Japan against the Soviet Union, in 1938, Hitler sent troops to occupy Austria and the next year annexed Czechoslovakia. Hitler's open hostility went unchecked as the United States and the Soviet Union were focused on internal administration challenges, and neither France nor Britain, two countries most crushed by the Great War, were anxious for a confrontation.

In late August 1939, Hitler and Soviet leader Stalin marked the German-Soviet Nonaggression agreement which prompted panic in Paris and London. Hitler had long arranged an intrusion of Poland, a country to which France and Great Britain had guaranteed military help on the off chance that Germany assaulted it. The deal with Stalin held that Hitler would attack, Poland on two fronts, and the Soviet would help with overpowering and isolating the country itself. In September 1st 1939, Hitler attacked Poland from the west; after two days, France and Britain pronounced war to Germany starting World War II. What followed was a war that lasted for six years that ended with the Allies winning.

Soviet troops attacked Poland on September 17th from the east. Poland fell rapidly after being attacked on both sides, and by mid-1940, the Soviet Union and Germany had separate control over the country as stated by a secret convention added to the Nonaggression Pact. Stalin's strengths at that point moved to possess the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) and crushed a resistant Finland in the Russo-Finish War. Amid the six months following the attack of Poland, the absence of activity with respect to Germany and the Allies in the west prompted talk in the news media of a fraud war. Adrift, the British and German naval forces faced off a heated battle where German's submarines were lethal by striking Britain's merchant ships and consequently sinking more than a hundred ships.

On April 9th, 1940, Germany attacked Norway and possessed Denmark simultaneously, so the war began. German powers cleared through the Netherlands and Belgium in a quick assault. After three days, Hitler's troops crossed the Meuse River and struck French armies at Sedan, close to the impenetrable Maginot line. The Germans infiltrated the line with their planes and tanks and proceeded to the back rendering it futile. The British Expeditionary Force evacuated Dunkirk in late May, while in the south. French strengths planned doomed resistance. With France near collapse, Benito Mussolini of Italy enacted his pact with Hitler, and on June 10th Italy announced war against Britain and France.

Though the Royal Air Force defeated the German’s in the Battle of Britain, Britain’s resources were near exhausted, thus, necessitating a pact with the USA for aid. Since Britain was confronting Germany in Europe, the United States was the primary country equipped to battle Japan which had incorporated an extension of its continuing war with China by late 1941 and the annexation of European pioneer possessions in the Far East. On December 7th, 1941, 360 Japanese flying machines assaulted the major U.S. maritime base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii shocking the Americans totally and killing more than 2,300 troops. The assault on Pearl Harbor served as USA reason for entering World War II, and on December 8th, Congress announced war on Japan. Germany and other Axis Powers speedily proclaimed war on the United States.

The American and British powers had crushed the Italians and Germans by 1943. An Allied intrusion of Italy and Sicily took after in July 1943, and Mussolini's administration fell. However, the Allies’ battle against the Germans in Italy would proceed to 1945. On Eastern Front, a Soviet counteroffensive propelled in November 1942 came to an end with a bloody Battle of Stalingrad. The approach of winter combined with the decreasing supplies marked the end for German troops there, and the remainder of them surrendered in 1943 January 31st.

On June 6th 1944, the Allies started a massive attack landing approximately one hundred and fifty-six thousand British, American, and Canadian troopers on the shorelines of Normandy, France. Accordingly, Hitler poured the rest of his armed force into Western Europe guaranteeing Germany's thrashing in the east. Soviet troops soon progressed into Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Romania, while Hitler accumulated his strengths to drive the Americans and the British again from Germany in the Battle of the Bulge, the last significant German offense of the war. A serious aeronautical siege preceded the Allied land attack of Germany, and when Germany formally surrendered on May 8th 1945, Soviet strengths had possessed a significant part of the nation. Hitler was at that point dead, having conferred suicide on April 30th in his Berlin bunker.

Supporting Points

The Allies won in World War II due to some strengthening factors and the failures of the Axis. First, the Allies had the superior manpower. Though the French were on the verge of collapse after the Germans attacked and Britain was drained, the entry of the USA, a nation that had not participated in any prior battles, tremendously increased the support for the Allies. Besides, Germany’s forces were dwindling with time, and its resources were exhausted. Secondly, the Allies has vast industrial and agricultural resources compared to the Axis forces. Also, USA’s late entry into the war replenished their supplies.

Thirdly, The Allies command structure permitted more productive mobilization of resources and the capacity to coordinate an exceptionally planned counter attack. Many inadequately performing officers had been expelled and supplanted with youngsters who had a practical war experience. Foch, as Allied authority, gave solidarity of reason and planning, and his administration style supported adaptability. Allies indicated unique ability in the coordination of infantry, artillery, armor, and airship operations. On the other hand, Ludendorff was indecisive. Lastly, Allies had control at sea. It empowered them to select men and acquire supplies from their provinces and nonpartisan nations. Allied blockade of German ports decreased Germany's physical power. Germany's unlimited submarine fighting neglected to decimate Allied maritime power and prompted American's entrance into World War II.

Apart from the strengths that the Allies possessed, some failures contributed to their victory and the loss of the Axis. The last German offense failed as it could not breach the Allies’ advances. Hitler had poured his armed force into Western Europe, guaranteeing Germany's thrashing in the east. Also, Germany at this point had exhausted its supplies. The allies had developed better attack strategies that countered the German tactics. Secondly, Germany has allies that provided ineffectual support. Besides, some, like Turkey and Bulgaria, surrendered at the homestretch leaving Germany to fight alone. The blow that rendered Germany weak was the discontent of its people. The shortage of supplies had destroyed the morale of its troops. German citizens wanted the government to end as it had taken a toll on their economy leading to high cost of living. These factors coupled with the superior weaponry technology of the Allies lead to the final collapse of Germany and the subsequent success of the Allies in World War II.

Integration of Scholarly Research

According to Overy, English powers were near defeated everywhere in 1942. The American economy was peaceful, evidently caught off guard for the enormous requests of aggregate war. The Soviet system was shattered in 1941, with two-thirds of its tanks, planes, and armies destroyed. This was a war that Germany could have won. However, the Soviet Red Army transformed by learning its mistakes and planning a subsequent counteroffensive. Additionally, when the USA joined the war, it increased the support of the Allies. The Germans erred. There were shortcomings and merits in Hitler's system, but misjudgments were exorbitant. The German conviction that the Red Army was a primitive army unequipped for delayed resistance, or Hitler's opinion that the USA would take years to rearm and would never handle a compelling armed force, or the inability to perceive that besieging was a risk worth considering were really important.

However, another vital point in regards to the absence of compelling procedure and collaboration shown by the Axis powers was that Italy failed to meet expectations militarily and monetarily, given that Stalin was not giving Hitler products, decreasing the reserves which Hitler depended on intensely. Although succeeding at first, followed by a defeat in Greece, had the Duce succeeded in holding these places, less weight would have been set by the Germans, and an alternate circumstance may have inundated. Apparently, the biggest blunder for the Axis sake was the inability to build up the Atomic bomb. This was the sole weapon utilized by the Allies which put an end to the Second World War. Had Germany and the Axis Powers grew such innovation, it would more likely than not have been an entirely extraordinary result.

Nonetheless, it is important to note that the miscalculation of the Axis was not the only reason the Allies won. The Allies were organized and the command structure had practical strategies. Pre-war Anglo-French organizers effectively realized that to overcome the invasion of Nazi Germany would include taking three basic strides. First, absorb the initial Axis assault, then accumulate overwhelming numbers in weapons and troops wearing out the adversary, and lastly, launch a crushing offensive. Surprisingly, this is precisely what happened. Another essential point in the Allies’ planning was the execution their principle of unequivocal surrender. This fundamentally implied that there could be no negotiated peace with Axis Powers as proposed by the United Nations Declaration and the Atlantic Charter. This was an essential part of Allied triumph as it furnished the Allies with a level of duty, yet consolation that their nations would not negotiate with the enemy, a peace agreement, thus, motivating the public.

Not exclusively was the U.S. manufacturing mass volumes in arms and assets for the war, after some time, Russia started to manufacture and reinforce its economy as well. In the long run, because of their Five-Year Plan, the Soviet Union was creating twice as much steel and big guns, thousands more tanks and flying machine. The German intrusion had taken a toll on Stalin's rail network, power generating capacity, and a significant part of his steel and iron supply. Stalin was keen moving more than 1500 iron, steel, and designing plants far out of Hitler's compass into the Urals-Volga-Siberian heartland with a specific end goal to ensure and maintain the manufacturing levels. Additionally, the way that the Russian economy and asset base were devoted to mass production demonstrated plans as opposed to endeavoring to grow new, better ones, similar to the case in Germany. 

Though Russia was amazingly successful in expanding its economic production with the aim of accommodating weakening war, nothing clarifies Allied Victory over Axis power like the size of American rearmament. By 1944, USA was wrenching out forty percent of all the Global weapons. This economic revolution marked as the mechanical phenomenon was encouraged by American political ideologies in which the nation grasped large scale manufacturing; businesses and processing plants would contend to meet targets as long as the payment was good.

Conclusion

It is a common conviction that Allies triumph in Europe became inevitable when the United States committed to the Allied forces. Essentially, the victory in Europe was a consequence of various components. First, the self-destructive absence of coordination in strategy and lack of viable correspondence by the Axis. Also, errors and inadequacies were made before the war even started in the pre-war approach and planning by the Axis Powers. The Allies had far prevalent plans and precepts. Lastly, in particular, the Allies had financial support. The USA mobilized its economy to meet the demand for weapons and supplies to the Allied Forces in their crusades which were a defining moment for the Allied powers. The victory was inevitable under the condition that the Soviet Union and Britain are under the control of the Nazis. The United States would not have committed to the Lend-Lease deal had this occurred.

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