Quote:
Originally Posted by James_Joyce
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This is true. From what I've read of Nazi economics however, they were dependent on war industry and the seizure of assets to even keep government lights on. Supposedly the regime was on a very short rope financially and had a skyrocketing national debt.
I don't claim to know enough about economics to really fact check a statement like this but if true, it provides a motive for the hurry. Whether they could have sustained their 1939 leads over the world is debatable, to us and perhaps to them at the time.
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Operation Barbarossa was undoubtedly their best chance to defeat the Soviet Union, and they came surprisingly close (They encircled and destroyed something like 2 million Soviet soldiers in the opening part of the war).
One thing you have to consider is that it wasn't just Hitler who underestimated Stalin, it was the Allies as well. Given a bit more time, Britain and the US may have been more reluctant to side with the Soviets against Germany for balance of power reasons (which was all they really cared about).
There was also the prospect of a
gradual increase in tension between the US and Great Britain, if the British Empire hadn't fallen apart during and after WW2. Interesting to think about.
12-09-2015, 09:24 PM
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