How WW2 ended in Europe

Fayadi

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We have seen a lot of Ww 2 threads but they are more referring to what happened during the war.Dont you all find it more interesting to know how the WW2 ended.Please any WW2 experts describe how it ended?Hitler first defeat was with the britain and american force after that USSR attacked....
Anyone pls describe it more detail.By the way I got another short project on "How ww2 ended" arrghhh WW2 project again!The last time i did it was few years back.So let hears details!
 
You don't ask for much, do you? ;)

Quickly, here goes:

In 1943, after the defeats at Stalingrad and North Africa, Germany was now on the defensive, but given time, might have regained the strategic advantage in Russia in 1944 if Germany fought only defensive battles in 43.

Hitler dismissed this out of hand, declaring that the Reich must attack for political reasons (He feared his allies would lose heart and drop out of the war, which would happen eventually).

Since the Heer (German Army) was incapable of another massave offensive like Barbarrosa or Blau, it was decided to attempt a small scale offensive, to destroy a bulge in thier lines near the town of Kursk. This was a small operation to go off in spring, and may have worked then, but Hitler interfeared, delaying the offensive so that new units and Tanks (The Panther and the Elephant) could be employed.

The Russians were reciving full intelligense on German forces and planes through their highly successful spy network, so were more then ready at Kursk. The Germans were heavily defeated and realed backwards, and at the same time the western allies landed in Italy, giving Hitler an excuse to stop "Zitidell" (the code name of the operation).

The German army in the Ukrane was broken and retreated back to the Dnieper river, which the pursuing Soviets soon crossed at several points.

The Germans were able to turn Italy into a stalemate, and to stabalize the front in Russia till 1944.

The allies landed in France in June 1944, and were boxed in at normandy, but their overwhelming airpower and artillery took a tremendous toll of the Germans, smashing many formations uterly.

In Russia, Hitler ordered that all ground must be held at all costs, assigning places as "fortifed postions" which must be held to the last man. (this was a death sentance to the defenders)

The Russians lanched a massave offensive in Bellorussia, smashing the German Army group center, and in the Ukrane, the Soviets broke through into the Balkans, forcing Romania to surrender and switch sides (And depriving Hitler of his last good supply of oil), taking Bulgaria and linking with the Yugoslav partisans of Tito.

Back in the west, the Allies launched "Opertion Cobra", which allowed Patton's third army to break out of Normandy, and to take most of France, and the Germans were caught in a pocket at falaise, which almost all german heavy equipment and heavy losses in personal were incurred.

The allies pressed the Germans accross france into Belgium and the German border, before halting due to logistic shortages.

Stalin had halted his offensive in the east at the gates of Warsaw, allowing the pro-west resistance to die fighting the germans, and offering no help to them. Finland soon surrendered, (switching sides ala Romania) and expelling German forces from Lapland, and helping to cut the land route to Swedish Iron in Lapland.

The Allies tried to force the Rhine in September of 44 by dropping 3 airborne divisions in Holland, combined with an armored drive (operation market garden), but this failed mainly due to the unexpected appearnce of 2 SS armored divisions (9th and 10th).

Hitler gambled on a counter-attack in the ardennes in decenber of 44, but this failed due to over-whemling allied airpower and German lack of Fuel, food, and munitions.

The Soviets launched a winter offensive that cut of german forces in the Baltic states and east Prussia (some of them, and some of the people were evacuated by sea by the German navy).The Russians stopped about 50 miles from Berlin to await the spring.

In March, the "bulge" cleared, the allies crossed the Rhine and cut off the saar region of Germany. The Allies agreed to halt at the Elbe River, and let the Russians have Berlin.

The last month saw all of Germany cut to ribbons by allied armies from three directions.

This is not a detailed account, I left out much information, but should give you an idea of what your looking for. ;)
 
To reduce the victory to broad themes, basically the Allies out produced and out smarted the Germans.
Despite Albert Speers best efforts, Germany simply couldn't hope to match the output of top quality weapons from America and the USSR. While many German weapons were better then the Allied equivilents, the Allies were able to produce lots more of their weapons, which were gennerlly not too bad. This was especially true in the air, where by 1944 the German airforce was flying outmoded aircraft.

In addition, the Allies outsmarted the Germans by breaking thier codes, and outmanuving the German army. While Hitler has to take some of the credit for the latter, the German army was at least partly to blame in the defeats of the latter years of the war.
 
You may want to research the decision by The Americans and British not to race the Russians for Berlin.

Good post AoA. Very well done.
 
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