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Originally Posted by LeEnfield The German invasion of Russia.......Well at first the Germans were greeted with open arms in places, but when the SS arrived and started wiping them out then the mood changed. Also Germany never had the manpower to Conquer Russia and control the vast areas.
Normandy............Personally I don't think the Allies would have been thrown back even if Hitler had released the Panzer's earlier. With Allied Air Power and Naval Gunfire they would have still been held, yes the fighting might have been bloodier but in the long run I feel the result would have still been the same. |
Just wanted to pick you up on a couple of points. Firstly, it was never a lack of manpower that prevented Germany conquering Russia and secondly, the panzers were released as early as they could be in Normandy. The problem was that:
- There were contradictory orders about where the panzers should be placed. Rundstedt preferred to have the panzers placed inland near Paris (in this he was supported by Guderian & Schweppenburg) whereas Rommel wanted them placed near the beaches.
- Rommel placed some panzer divisions for political rather than military reasons. He wanted some army units close at hand for the anticipated aftermath of a successful plot to kill Hitler
As a result, Hitler placed them neither near the beaches nor near Paris as Rundstedt and Guderian wanted. Allied airpower would have held any large-scale German counterattack anyway so I agree with you there.