How effective was the German defense of Germany in WW2? - Quora

Thank you for the excellent read. From a supply point of view, their system had a great many flaws.

The German problem was bureaucracy in its worst failed form. The type of government (national socialism) had nothing to do with it. Germany could have been capitalist and would still have had the same problems. Every German state was ruled by a governor who - while loyal to Hitler - did not like the other governors. And the hatred of the others was more important than death itself. Lets say Goering's state made rifles and Himmler's state made bullets. Himmler's hatred of Goering was such that he'd sabotage bullet shipments so that no one using Goering's rifles had bullets. This caused a lot of side projects like the paratroop's FG-42 assault rifle. You also had individual fiefdoms. There was the SS, the para's, the regular army, Afrika Korps, Gestapo, etc. Each one accountable to a variety of authorities. This would be the chief obstacle facing the conspirators wanting Hitler dead. Hitler was only one of a several headed monster's heads. If you couldn't get all the heads, there would be hell to pay. Like children misbehaving when momma's not looking, the governors all set about wholesale sabotage of their competitors. Secretary Bormann had to play nanny and spank the naughty children just to get life to carry on with as little loss of life as possible.

Germany was short of resources which in and of itself was the best reason to go to war. But when you're as short as Germany was, a little more sage planning should have been in order. Germany was bluffing from 1938 - 1939 which was okay, but there was no plan in place IN CASE someone called Germany's bluff. As a result, Germany was outnumbered in every force. Her navy was hopeless, her air force mildly capable and her army was largely like Japan's in that, reputation/bravery/courage was supposed to win over an enemy. Germany was using propaganda as a useful weapon. Every newsreel showed handsome, fit, superbly equipped German soldiers (always blonde and blue-eyed) riding into battle on shiny half tracks and carrying "schmeiser" submachine guns. One Stuka would fill the frame, drop its solitary bomb and the next scene would be an entire city exploding. Goebbels knew how to hit your senses. Before CGI, Goebbels would fill the screen with Panzers, framed by explosions as well. How could you resist? The German hope was that one Rotterdamn would happen and every future enemy would view that and scream "oh my god, that cannot happen to us - lets surrender now!" However, on more than one occasion, the German machine ran into an obstacle it couldn't reconcile (British at Arras, Polish outside Warsaw, etc). And at that point, the Germans were found with plenty of zeal but few resources.

Sadly it was too late for Field Marshall Gort to make a difference so the British pulled out of mainland Europe leaving Germany to the Russians. Churchill wisely remained alert, pricked the axis here and there (Malta, North Africa) but for the most part, waited out Germany. Like Japan, Germany conquered a lot quickly, but made no provision for getting the spoils back. Her merchant navy was sorely lacking and British subs would sink all but a handful. Leaving only enough to convince the Germans that their codes weren't being read. When Germany invaded Russia, they then embarked on a three front war that only 100% victory could make up for. And German victories weren't that spectacular. The "easy Poles" were conquered at a lot higher German losses than der fuhrer was willing to accept. Hence, the SS would be called in to stabilize. Again at Arras, the British would hold the Blitzkrieg and then the SS subsequently. Only against the French would the Germans have 100% free reign. By June 1941, Britain had air superiority over the English channel, was bombing Germany/France nightly and had the German and Italian Navies in defensive patterns. In the desert, Rommel was eating resources as fast as he could get them. Germany was advancing quickly into Russia, but did so with no guidance. At that point, Germany would be on the defensive and was unable to articulate a defense.

German pilots flew all day with no rest. Attrition in action. Likewise, the German subs were unable to sink the ships the allies were launching. Beside every knocked out Tiger was ten dead T-34's. But the Russians could afford ten T-34's. The Germans couldn't afford the one Tiger... Pulling back into Germany made air defense easy, but then it also made attack easy for the allies too. Once the bombers had 100% escort coverage, the air war was over. Panzerfaust put tank killing power into the hands of every German soldier, but again, there were too many Russian/American tanks. While the German "Kampfgruppe" principle enabled an armed force to construct on the fly and quickly engage, the regular supply evaded the regular Nazi. G.I. Joe had a tool box containing bridges, pipelines, electric power and other stuff the Germans only dreamed about. As a result, a simple river crossing would bring the Germans to a halt. For every allied tank, there was a supply vehicle, repair vehicle, spare crew, etc. The Germans only dreamed of such luxury. This meant that the German soldier had to work twice as hard. His bolt action KAR-98K was no match for an American armed with a fully automatic M-1. While Germany did come up with its share of technology (night vision gear, rockets, etc), it was always going to be too little/too late. While German quality remained high, it was a losing game. Captured Germans were exhausted. There were no rotations. Units fought until wiped out. This made cohesion impossible. Only allied blunders would prolong Germany's agony. Once it became clear that the Russians had filled their gas tanks and fed the crews, it was a foregone conclusion.

Also note that all codes are being read by Britain/USA to the point that the few shining stars in Germany's efforts were easily/quickly picked up and a suitable fix applied.

The Germans are great military people. They train hard and learn their jobs. But much like Vietnam if the government does not do their job chances of winning are slim and none. Also add in the fact that the Field Marshalls kept lieing to AH then you have catastrophic consequences. By the time they realized what was happening it was too late