Could Germany have ever won WWII?

[Swank]

If you're talking about nazi transatlantic bombers, they wouldn't need beams because NY and other east coast cities would be lit up like christmas trees and easy to find.
In Europe where the curvature of the earth is not too important, beams were often used by intersecting over the target city, and a beeper on the bombers instrument panel at the intersection point let the pilots know when to release their bombs.

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You can't fly over empty water for 3000 miles by dead reckoning at night and expect to come within the 80 miles of maximum visibility you might see fully lit NY in at night. Especially on a coast full of large cities, and not at all if the US adopts light restrictions.

It would have been stupid to equip expensive planes with only the light bomb loads possible with that kind of fuel requirement and then throw them away by running out of gas to do what would essentially have been minor damage to one large city. The bombers would have an enormous chance of being intercepted due to both coastal radar and picket ships spotting them, had little chance of inflicting much damage, the damage would have not been to any significant wartime industries and the result would have almost certainly been a much worse version visited on Germany, even if it was from airfields in Iceland.

Germany was unaware of how US bombers were using ground reading radar, and had absolutely no idea how to perform long distance accurate heavy bombing. Just as they remained unaware of the radar spotting their U-boats, or that their codes were broken. But they were certainly aware that it was mighty difficult doing anything that involved being 'spotted' before any damage could be inflicted.

 

[Eyeball]

..It would have been stupid to equip expensive planes with only the light bomb loads possible with that kind of fuel requirement and then throw them away by running out of gas to do what would essentially have been minor damage to one large city. .

Ah, but Hitler WAS stupid, making blunder after blunder throughout the entire war, so it's quite conceivable he considered a raid on NY purely to feed his own ego and give him the propaganda bragging rights to say "I bombed America" even if the raid did no real damage.
There are current similarities with some of todays stupid politicians who haven't a clue how to fight a war but lets not get into politics..

 

[Pyan]

If you're talking about nazi transatlantic bombers, they wouldn't need beams because NY and other east coast cities would be lit up like christmas trees and easy to find.

There's documented evidence of WWII U-boat crews being astonished by the brightness of the East Coast cities of the United States at night.

Nazi Uboats off our East Coast :: L. M. Elliott

 

[Foxbat]

Perhaps a chain of U-Boats transmitting signals to guide the bombers? That’s assuming that they don’t get picked off on the surface by the RN and USN. Perhaps possible but probably pretty unfeasible.

On the subject of Germany’s economy. It’s not enough to simply say that inflation was bad, you have to look at why it was do bad. Reparations from WW1. The USA. wanted to ease these but France and the UK would have none of it. Hitler put his country on a war economy footing and this can help in the short term by providing extra employment. He also used the resentment created by the poor economic circumstances to build up support among the population for his ambitions.

Was war between Germany and Russia inevitable? I think it was. He identified Russia as the main problem regarding Germanic expansion in Mein Kampf - which he wrote while in Landsberg prison in 1924. Lebensraum was always his goal.

 

[pogopossum]

Perhaps a chain of U-Boats transmitting signals to guide the bombers? That’s assuming that they don’t get picked off on the surface by the RN and USN. Perhaps possible but probably pretty unfeasible.

On the subject of Germany’s economy. It’s not enough to simply say that inflation was bad, you have to look at why it was do bad. Reparations from WW1. The USA. wanted to ease these but France and the UK would have none of it. Hitler put his country on a war economy footing and this can help in the short term by providing extra employment. He also used the resentment created by the poor economic circumstances to build up support among the population for his ambitions.

Was war between Germany and Russia inevitable? I think it was. He identified Russia as the main problem regarding Germanic expansion in Mein Kampf - which he wrote while in Landsberg prison in 1924. Lebensraum was always his goal.

But still it was a mistaken decision at that time. .Everyone above agrees that war was inevitable, at least initiated by Hitler. It was also pointed out that Russia with economic problems and purges was relatively weak. But as reality proved, to declare war and invade was a mistake. People forget that Hitler had many times the number of divisions fighting in the east than he had in North Africa or in Western Europe. With even a portion of the troops that were in the east Rommel could have walked across North Africa, cut off India and isolated Britain. Particularly if the US was not actively involved. Hitler thought that Russia was there for the taking. And their initial attack was a surprise. But the reality of Russian resistance caught up with him.

 

[paranoid marvin]

If the Russian soldiers surrendered, their families would be sent to the gulag. Then they themselves would freeze, or be starved to death in German captivity.

If they retreated, they would be shot and then their families sent to the gulag.

When surrender or retreat are not an option,an opponent becomes much more dificult to ovetcome, as the US discovered fighting the Japanese and the Russains in the latter stages of the war against Getmany.

If Germany had tried to win the hearts and minds of those Russains who hated Stalin, then who knows? But the Nazis behaved like Nazis, so they were never going to do that.

 

[paranoid marvin]

As for declaration of war on the US... I can only suppose that - being allied with allied with Japan - that a declaration of war from the US on Germany was no longer in doubt, and he wanted to get in there first. Then again, he didn't declare war on Britain when he knew that was inevitable, so who knows?

From what I gather, the whole point of the Japan-Italy-Germany tripartite pact was to discourage the US from entering WWII. Then Japan bombs Pearl Harbour and declares war on the USA; hardly sticking to the plan.

To be honest, I've no idea why Germany even entered into an alliance with Japan, there was so little benefit and cooperation between the two. If they had been strong allies, Japan would have invaded Russia from the East whilst Germany attacked from the West, and I'm not sure how that would have ended for Stalin.

Instead, Japan effectively stabbed their ally in the back, suprising Hitler with their attack on Pearl Harbour and bringing the gornets nest crashing down on all their heads.

If Hitler had publicly decried Japan's actions, and offered solidarity with the US - or even if he had done nothing at all, the pressure on Roosevelt to take a 'Japan first' stance would have been almost too great for him to bear.

 

[BAYLOR]

Ah, but Hitler WAS stupid, making blunder after blunder throughout the entire war, so it's quite conceivable he considered a raid on NY purely to feed his own ego and give him the propaganda bragging rights to say "I bombed America" even if the raid did no real damage.
There are current similarities with some of todays stupid politicians who haven't a clue how to fight a war but lets not get into politics..

And he entertained pie in the sky wonder weapon ideas like Eugene Sanger's Suborbital Bomber and the Nazi Orbital Death Ray weapon.

 

[Swank]

To be honest, I've no idea why Germany even entered into an alliance with Japan, there was so little benefit and cooperation between the two.

Short term, Japan occupies powers in the east that could have assisted the Allies. Long term, maybe Germany assumes it would simply take over the Japanese empire in toto when the war in the West was victorious, so having Japan subdue the East and put it under central control simplifies their plans.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Short term, Japan occupies powers in the east that could have assisted the Allies. Long term, maybe Germany assumes it would simply take over the Japanese empire in toto when the war in the West was victorious, so having Japan subdue the East and put it under central control simplifies their plans.

The thing is, regardless of any German pact, Japan was going to exert its influence in the East. Germany and Japan had entirely opposite spheres of influence, and neither was going to step on the others toes anytume in the forseeable future.

If they were operating as functioning allies, they would have simultaeneously invaded Russia from the East and West. Instead, whilst the Germans were conducting Barbarossa, the Japanese were planning on attacking the USA.

 

[Swank]

The thing is, regardless of any German pact, Japan was going to exert its influence in the East. Germany and Japan had entirely opposite spheres of influence, and neither was going to step on the others toes anytume in the forseeable future.

If they were operating as functioning allies, they would have simultaeneously invaded Russia from the East and West. Instead, whilst the Germans were conducting Barbarossa, the Japanese were planning on attacking the USA.

There are lots of ways of being allies, and military action is only one of them. But the point I was making is that it would have been easier to later defeat Japan if they started as allies.

 

[Eyeball]

To be honest, I've no idea why Germany even entered into an alliance with Japan..

Perhaps he was hoping it'd make Stalin drain Russian troops. tanks and planes from the west to the east to defend himself against a possible jap invasion, but it turned out the japs were too busy duffing up china and the Pacific to bother with Russia.

 

[Dave]

In Europe where the curvature of the earth is not too important, beams were often used by intersecting over the target city, and a beeper on the bombers instrument panel at the intersection point let the pilots know when to release their bombs.

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That "directional wireless" technology was in use as early as 1932, if you read this post here:

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