1)Too ambitious - Hitler's lebensraum policy stretched the military from its base of operations in Germany. They were ill prepared and equipped to fight in Russia so far away from home.
2) Miscalculations - Germany did not anticipate the strength of the US or the Soviets. The US had resources, the Soviets had numbers. Over time, Germany became exhausted by their resiliency.
3) No allies - Germany had no real strong allies by 1943. Italy had surrendered; Japan was mired in a Pacific war.
4) Putting too many resources the "final solution" - concentration camps required a massive amount of bureaucratic, human, and material resources. These took away from the war effort.
5) Inability to capitalize on technology - Germany designed rockets, the jet engine and nuclear weapons. The war ended before they could be used to any significant degree.
6) The allies air power - preliminary bombings of Normandy softened Germany up for an amphibian invasion. After the success of Normandy, bombing continued in advance of a ground assault.
7) Contrasting leadership - Allied leadership was better organized and energized to finish the war. Eisenhower, Patton, McArthur, Churchill, Stalin created morale and used experience to succeed (Dieppe as a training mission). The German leadership lost faith in Hitler and abandoned the war effort in favour of liquidating concentration camps and escaping to tropical locations. The public no longer supported the war as infrastructure was destroyed by allied attacks.
* Some notes from a Canadian History teacher.
2) Miscalculations - Germany did not anticipate the strength of the US or the Soviets. The US had resources, the Soviets had numbers. Over time, Germany became exhausted by their resiliency.
3) No allies - Germany had no real strong allies by 1943. Italy had surrendered; Japan was mired in a Pacific war.
4) Putting too many resources the "final solution" - concentration camps required a massive amount of bureaucratic, human, and material resources. These took away from the war effort.
5) Inability to capitalize on technology - Germany designed rockets, the jet engine and nuclear weapons. The war ended before they could be used to any significant degree.
6) The allies air power - preliminary bombings of Normandy softened Germany up for an amphibian invasion. After the success of Normandy, bombing continued in advance of a ground assault.
7) Contrasting leadership - Allied leadership was better organized and energized to finish the war. Eisenhower, Patton, McArthur, Churchill, Stalin created morale and used experience to succeed (Dieppe as a training mission). The German leadership lost faith in Hitler and abandoned the war effort in favour of liquidating concentration camps and escaping to tropical locations. The public no longer supported the war as infrastructure was destroyed by allied attacks.
* Some notes from a Canadian History teacher.