The Real Reason Germany Lost World War II

The Real Reason Germany Lost World War II

There has been much debate about why Germany ultimately lost the Second World War. Much is made about their failed invasion of the Soviet Union, Germany’s disastrous defeat at Stalingrad, and their inability to knock Great Britain out of the war. While all of these reasons are powerful and convincing, they do not tell the whole story. The real reason Germany lost the war was because of its alliance with Fascist Italy.

From the start, Italy was clearly the junior partner in the relationship. Despite the warm relations between Hitler and Mussolini, the Italian military was nowhere near as competent as the German military. Furthermore, Italy never consulted Germany about their military plans leading to a lot of headache and heartburn for the Nazis.

Italy started its imperial ambitions in Africa, where it waged war against Great Britain. Italy hoped to seize Britain’s African possessions in Somalia and Egypt. The British proved to be a much stronger opponent than the Italians first anticipated, and they started losing ground as early as 1940.

Italy also launched an unprovoked and ill-planned invasion of neighboring Greece. Like in North Africa, the Italians failed to appreciate the gravity of such a move.

In both cases, the Germans were called to bail them out, which ultimately led to a cascading series of events that undid most of Germany’s own plans.

Germany Never Needed Italy

Germany never needed an alliance with Italy for its ultimate success. Italy provided nothing for Germany strategically. The alliance was made purely out of ideological brotherhood. Hitler wanted to support another expansionist fascist state. But Italy never posed much of a threat to Germany’s flanks. Germany is separated from Italy via the Alps, and the Alps are some of the best defensive terrain in Europe. The Italians fought the Austrians to a standstill for years during World War I, and the Germans could have easily sealed Italy off at the Alps with minimal manpower.

Italy’s ambitions also did not line up with those of Germany. Italy wanted to establish an empire in North Africa…