i think main main mistake the Axis made was not cooperating. e.g. if the germans had gotten the japanese to attack the USSR through Manchuria during operation Barborssa it would have held back the Siberian divisions from going to the defence of moscow
MontyB - your post pin-points the enormous blunder of Pearl Harbour, for Japan and the axis powers.
Perhaps this is the key to the question posed by this thread.
Surely proved for the Japanese to be the worst military bite ever taken. No teeth left at all as a result. Not one.
As the possibility for the Germans to convince Russia to attack Poland first,was practically inexistent,one can not say it was a blunder .OK here is a thought, a bit of a what if.
Why couldn't the Axis's greatest blunder have been not convincing Russia to attack Poland first, in other words why couldn't they have reversed roles with Germany claiming its stake of Poland as a defensive move against Russia.
This would have made it impossible or at least very improbable that Britain and France could have declared war on Germany using its treaty ties with Poland and if they hadn't declared war on Germany then Germany would have been free to attack Russia as early as 1939-40.
Hell theoretically this could have put Germany, France and Britain on the same side.
Applies well to the Jerries too, there was little left, and less in the years to come.
From descriptions heard, I'm happy to never have experienced post-war Germany.
Suppose Austria wasn't much better...
MontyB: The Soviets didn't attack first because Stalin wanted to see if Hitler agreed to the secret part in the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. If my memory's correct (it often is not), Stalin waited about 15 days after the Germans invaded. Remember the historical conflicts between the Soviet Union and Germany, along with their ideological differences at that time. No way Stalin could have confidently invaded first, and Stalin knew at that time, the Red Army wan't a match for the Wehrmacht
Yeah I know the story that is why I have raised this as a "what if" rather than describing it as the biggest mistake of the Axis.
I am sure that most of us would accept starting WW2 was the biggest mistake made so I am asking what if the Germans had convinced the Russians to jump the border first then they would not have started WW2 but they would have had a free hand to carry on East which was their (well Hitler's) primary aim.
Sweet. Strategic blunder of giant proportions. On the other hand, Mr Churchill, whilst clinging by his finger-tips did not blink, and called Ghostbusters.
Now if your 'what if 'had taken place, we come back to the same conclusion - that Ghostbusters would have done the choosing. Hitler or Stalin?
So who would USA have preferred to remove first?
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