In fact, as early as when the Germans attacked France, the strategic mistakes and mistakes made by Germany had already laid the groundwork for the subsequent defeat. We let the time go back to1May 20th, 940, when Hitler's tanks had advanced to Bren and Calais, and gradually surrounded the British and French allied forces in Dunkirk. At this time, the fate of the British and French allied forces seems to have been doomed. At this moment, however, 19 panzer corps and 4 1 panzer corps received orders from the commander of panzer corps, Kleist, asking them to stop moving forward, saying that "all enemies of Dunkirk will be left to Marshal Goering's air force to solve". After receiving the order, guderian immediately questioned and protested to Kleist, but the final answer was: "This is an order issued by the Fuehrer himself and must be implemented." However, only the Air Force has proved incapable of accomplishing this mission. Guderian and Reinhardt had to stay put on the canal line, watching the British and French troops escape from Dunkirk. However, when Hitler regained command on May 26th and ordered the tanks to attack again, the fighter plane was already delayed. Taking advantage of this fleeting respite, the allies were able to implement the "generator plan" to retreat from the sea. The British and French allied forces guarded Dunkirk until June 4th, during which they used warships, fishing boats, sailboats, three-masted ships and other maritime vehicles to evacuate 324,000 people, including 85,000 French troops across the Taiwan Strait. Although the evacuated British and French troops were forced to give up all the equipment and instruments, they retained their effective strength after all, so as to restore their ability to resist the German invasion of Britain at any time, and may even cross the strait again and make a comeback. However, in fact, history has also proved that without the smooth retreat of the allied forces in Dunkirk in 1940, there would be no smooth large-scale landing of the allied forces in Normandy in 1944!
(2) Analyze and deeply discuss the setbacks encountered by the German army during the period of 1942- 1943.
194 1- 1942 The Soviet Union is bearing the main pressure of this war. Although Germany's eastern power was gradually weakened, Germany launched a series of campaigns and continued to attack the Soviet Union. 19411On February 25th, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, and the United States entered the war, which further expanded the scale of World War II. In addition, the German African Army in North Africa advanced to Alaman in the summer of 1942. From August of 1942, the British army began to repel the Germans gradually. 1942165438+10. In October, the United States and Britain landed in Morocco and Algeria in North Africa. 1 942165438+1October 19/20, the Soviet army surrounded the German Sixth Army in Stalingrad, and finally the German Sixth Army surrendered in 19431end of the month/beginning of February. Only 90,000 of the original 230,000 Germans were captured. On May 3rd, 1943, 13000 German troops and 18000 Italian troops trapped in Tunisia surrendered.
In the first five months of 1943, the Germans lost more than 70 U-boats. On May 24th, 1943 1943, Deng Nici ordered the suspension of the Atlantic War, and the blockade against Britain failed. 1The Castle Plan implemented in July 1943 concentrated more than 3,000 tanks and 1850 fighters, but failed to break through the Soviet front in Kursk, which was the last strategic attack of the German army on the eastern front. 1943, 10 In July, the Allies landed in Sicily and occupied the whole island in 38 days, thus the Allies gained an extremely important starting base, and their long-range bombers could threaten the whole Third Reich. /kloc-in the summer of 0/943, the Germans had to transfer their troops from the already tense eastern front to Italy and southern France. 1September 3, 943, the allied forces landed on the Italian island. 1On September 8th, 943, Italy declared its surrender, 1943 10 declared war on Germany on October 3rd, 10. At this point, the ground operations of the US military came to a standstill, and it didn't start again until 1944. Therefore, it has become a powerful evidence that it will be called the fisherman's profit in the future.
If we carefully analyze each battlefield, it is not difficult to find that the German army has gradually fallen into a passive situation during the period of 1942- 1943. Rational people will see that the balance of victory has begun to shift to the allies, and the axis building is about to collapse. Then let's make a comprehensive analysis and in-depth discussion on the setbacks encountered by the Germans in various battlefields during the most critical period of World War II (1942- 1943).
1 German mistakes in the Battle of Stalingrad
Stalingrad is located in the lower reaches of the Volga River, about 60 kilometers east of the Don River. It is the political, economic and cultural center of the southern Soviet Union and a transit point for land and water transportation. It is also an oil transit station and an important military industrial base from the Caucasus. At that time, Hitler's vision was to seize Stalingrad and Caucasus, cut off the traffic lifeline of Volga River, and seize Baku oil field, Ukrainian wheat and Donbass coal. Then flank Moscow to the northeast, leave the Persian Gulf to the south, and join forces with Japan in the Indian Ocean. According to Hitler's request, the German high command drew up the southern operations Plan in the summer of 1942, code-named "Blau". The main contents are as follows: The battle was launched by Marshal Bok (but he was dismissed after the capture of Voroney). The A Army Group of Lister, with the 1 Armored Army Group of Kleist as the left wing and the 17 Army Group of Ruff as the right wing, respectively attacked from the south of Kharkov and the north of Taganrog to the east and southeast, occupied Rostov in the lower reaches of the Don River and marched into the Caucasus; The Bok B Army Group, with Hult's 4th Panzer Army and Wedges' 2nd Army as the left wing and paulus's 6th Army as the right wing, respectively attacked from the east and southeast, south of Kursk and north of Kharkov, occupied Voronezh in the upper reaches of the Don River and advanced to Stalingrad. But at this time, Hitler and his senior officials made a key mistake: while continuing to March into the Caucasus, they attacked Stalingrad again, which made the German army, which had no remaining troops, further disperse its troops (just like dividing troops to attack Ukraine and Leningrad at the same time), becoming a taboo for military strategists.
Strategic and Tactical Analysis before and after the Battle of Kursk
As we all know, the Battle of 1943 Kursk is a strategic decisive battle between the Soviet Union and the German army in the prominent area of Kursk, and it is also the largest battle of tank groups in the history of human war. For a long time, people have always believed that the Soviet army won a decisive victory in the battle of Kursk, and called this battle an important milestone for the Soviet army to finally defeat the German fascists. Moreover, the Soviet side's evaluation of the results of the Kursk campaign is extremely beneficial to the Soviet side. As recorded in A Brief History of the Great Patriotic War, in the Battle of Kursk, Soviet troops annihilated 30 enemy divisions, and fascist Germany lost about 500,000 officers and men, 1500 tanks and more than 3,700 planes ... German fascism was greatly weakened. The whole world is convinced that the Red Army is superior to the Germans in fighting art, weapons and strategic command. Strategic originality has been firmly rooted in the Soviet army. "
But if we analyze this battle with a relatively objective attitude, we may get another answer. First of all, the author lists the strength comparison between the two sides in the campaign as detailed as possible, that is, on April 1943, the strength and equipment comparison on the Kursk bulge has become favorable to the Soviet side. According to Soviet statistics, the Red Army has a total of 958,000 people, 1 1965 cannons and mortars, 1220 tanks and self-propelled artillery, and1/30 combat aircraft. Accordingly, the German army has about 700,000 men, 6,000 cannons and mortars, 1 1,000 tanks and assault guns, and 1 1,500 combat aircraft. In addition, there are 269,000 officers and men, 7,406 cannons and mortars, 120 tanks and self-propelled artillery, and 177 combat aircraft in the Soviet reserve army (Grassland Military Region) not far from the Kursk arc area. At the same time, all the Soviet reserves on the Soviet-German battlefield add up to 469,000 officers and men, 8,360 cannons and mortars, 900 tanks and self-propelled artillery, and 587 combat aircraft. In contrast, the German reserve has 60,000 officers and men, 600 cannons and mortars, 200 tanks and assault guns (there are no combat aircraft at all). Before the Battle of Kursk began, the number of German reserves remained almost unchanged. (Attachment: the ratio of the total number of Soviet troops is 1.8: 1, the ratio of artillery is 3.2: 1, and the ratio of tanks to self-propelled artillery is 1.3: 1 (all sides are beneficial to the Soviet side). Only in the air force, the Germans have an advantage, but the proportional relationship is only 1. 1: 1).
Ninth floor
As for how much influence the Battle of Kursk would have on the Germans at that time, why did the Germans delay the battle again and again? Apart from the well-known time spent by the Germans to acquire more new tanks and fighters, that was the indecision of the German head of state Hitler. According to guderian's recollection after the war, he tried to persuade Hitler to give up his plan to attack Kursk at the military meeting held in May 1943, because there were many obstacles to realize this plan. Guderian rejected Capelli's opinion that the Germans should attack ideologically, while guderian pointed out that "whether Kursk is in our hands has nothing to do with the world". Hitler replied that when he considered the attack plan, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. So this proves that Hitler was not sure about the success of the campaign, so he delayed the implementation as much as possible, in fact, because his wavering confidence led to the failure of the campaign.
Judging from the strategy and tactics, tactics and the command art of the generals of both sides, the original winner should be Germany, not the Soviet army, which lost more than one million troops in the middle and early stages and even invested all its strategic reserves. On the contrary, the Germans did not suffer heavy losses in this battle as previously thought, so that they were badly weakened. Even at the end of the whole battle, only 80,000 people were killed. Moreover, due to the artistic command of Manstein and others, the Germans still retained a large number of effective forces (strategic reserve, 300,000 elite armored corps) in the stalemate stage at the end of the campaign, which played a great role in the defense of the Germans in the later period.
In fact, at the beginning of the campaign, the Soviet defense and attack were very passive. Although they have an advantage in personnel and weapons, and the number of them is two to three times that of the Germans, in fact, they succumbed to the will of the Germans and were forced to attack the sector areas where the Japanese army was easy to defend against German operations. However, when the fighting reached its fiercest season, the Germans were still able to resist the Soviet attack and win it back. The badly hit Soviet army was forced to send more troops to the area, but the situation has not been fundamentally improved.
Many people think that the Soviet Union won Kursk's most famous tank battle in prokhorov. For example, the Soviet Union thinks that the Germans seem to have damaged 300-400 tanks in prokhorov on July 1943+02-but this is only a poetic exaggeration of the Soviet tank commander in his briefing. At the gates of prokhorov, the German 2nd Tank Corps, which fought against the 5th Tank Corps of the Soviet guards, actually damaged only 5 tanks, and another 38 tanks and 12 assault guns were damaged. According to the data reported by the Soviet Union, which is consistent with the data obtained by the Germans, only the 3rd Army of the 5th Tank Army of the Soviet Guards lost more than 334 tanks and self-propelled artillery. At the same time, the Soviet army occupied almost four times the strength of its opponent-at the same time, it had two Rotmistov mechanized tank regiments-and used the ratio of 1000: 273 to deal with the Germans. But even so, the Soviet army failed to win, and they were forced to pay a very painful price. You know, according to the deployment of the Soviet high command, the tank army was originally used to participate in the counterattack and was originally sent to Kharkov. This time, the serious losses have to be greatly supplemented. Rotmistov, who had already been dismissed or taken to court by the Supreme Soviet, escaped because the German army later stopped its attack plan.
In fact, the real reason why the German army finally lost the strategic initiative and turned into a total rout was not the defeat of the German generals in this battle, but the command error caused by Hitler's unconfidence (the Anglo-American Coalition forces landed in Sicily on July 10, and the situation in Italy deteriorated. At that time, Hitler thought that the Germans were going to deploy troops to Italy and the Balkans, so the "fortress" operation might be forced to stop. But the situation is not so serious, and on the contrary, Germany's greatest strategy. Manstein, a tactician, thinks that the German army is on the verge of victory, because he still has 300,000 strategic reserves left unused, and the Soviet army has no troops to adjust at this time. After the Battle of 5438+02 on June, the first-line Germans still had strong fighting capacity, and made some progress in the following days, surrounded several Soviet infantry positions and occupied some high places with great strategic value, and the Soviet army was unable to recover the defeat (at that time, zhukov was ready to commit suicide or take responsibility in a military court).
But at this moment, Hitler decided to give up. He transferred the reserve team that could have decided the outcome of the battle to the western front, and completely abandoned all the original ideas of the Battle of Kursk and the achievements of manstein's efforts with perfect tactics.
Although the Germans gave up the opportunity of the last large-scale strategic attack, they also dealt a great blow to the Soviet Union. It was not until 1993 that the official statistics of Soviet personnel, tanks and aircraft losses in the Battle of Kursk were released. In the past, Germany's losses were repeatedly exaggerated by Soviet historians. According to their estimates, the Germans lost about 500,000 officers and men, 1500 tanks and assault guns, and more than 3,700 combat aircraft. These data are far from the real situation. According to the data provided by the high command of fascist Germany, 1943, during July and August, the German army lost 68,800 people, 34,800 people were missing and 434,000 people were injured. It is estimated that the losses of the Germans in the Kursk arc area account for two-thirds of the losses of the entire eastern front. Because during this period, the Donetsk basin, the Smolensk region and the northern theater (Mga region) are all engaged in the most intense fighting. In this way, it can be roughly determined that the number of Germans killed, missing and injured in the Battle of Kursk is 360,000 (including about 80,000 killed), and it will not be 500,000 in any case. The loss of the German Air Force is much smaller. According to the relevant documents of Freiburg Military Reference Room in Germany, during July and August of 1943, the German Air Force only lost 1030 combat aircraft in the eastern battlefield, and even the total loss in all war zones did not exceed 32 13 combat aircraft. In this way, the data that the Soviet side said, that is, the enemy destroyed 3700 planes in the Battle of Kursk, is purely a fantasy. This data is based on the report of the wartime command of the Soviet Air Force, where the enemy's losses are often exaggerated many times.
Note: 1. A secret document about the SS Panzer Corps in the National Archives in Washington, D.C.,
First of all, the SS Panzer Corps did not have more than 700 tanks recorded in historical materials. Even before the start of the campaign, only 2 1 1 tanks of the SS Panzer Corps had full combat effectiveness.
Secondly, in the battle of 12, the SS armored forces did not suffer heavy losses as people said. According to an internal German statistic on July 3rd, 1943, the SS Panzer Corps still had 163 tanks to fight after this campaign, only 48 tanks were lost. This is much smaller than the loss of the Soviet Fifth Armored Army.
2. 1984 A history of World War II of the 5th Soviet Tank Corps records that as many as 400 tanks only need to be overhauled after the 12 campaign. Although the book does not record the number of tanks lost by the Soviet army, this figure is enough to prove that the Soviet army paid a huge price in this battle.
3. Some original materials of the Soviet era even have the following words: "The 5th Tank Corps lost about 650 tanks in this encounter, and the rest tanks were incorporated into the infantry company because they could not recover their attack capability."
To sum up: As the saying goes, "Man proposes, God disposes", just as the cold helped the Soviet army win the battle of Moscow, Hitler's mistakes in this battle eventually destroyed all the original intentions of the Battle of Kursk. Of course, the consequences of the defeat in Kursk were extremely terrible for the Germans, and Nazi Germany never took the initiative in the war on the Eastern Front again. However, due to the huge losses of the Soviet Union (conservatively estimated, the ratio of casualties between the Soviet Union and Germany was 7: 1, the loss of fighters was 20: 1, and the loss of tanks and self-propelled artillery was 6: 1), which caused serious dissatisfaction among the people and made the position of the Battle of Kursk lower than that of Stalingrad and Moscow.
3 The influence of the North African war situation on the European battlefield
1942 65438+1In late October, Rommel's "African Legion" attacked from Bourouga Port, occupied Benghazi in February, and took control of the whole of cyrenaica. In June, he broke through the British Chara defense, occupied the bloody sand, and forced the defenders to surrender. In July, the pursuit of Matru routed troops crossed the Egyptian border, as the last line of defense of the British army in North Africa-the Alaman line. The key to the success of Rommel's "African Legion" lies in that Kesselring's Second Air Corps paralyzed the British malta island Air Force Base, gained the strategic and tactical air superiority in the North African battlefield, and implemented fire support for ground operations, as well as ensured the smooth flow of Mediterranean routes, so that Rommel's "African Legion" was replenished in time. (Hercules project)
When the United States decided to urgently transfer the ground equipment and combat aircraft used by the Chinese expeditionary force to North Africa in early May, the situation immediately reversed. In the stalemate from mid-July to mid-August, the British Air Force Base in malta island became active again, and the British Air Force quickly grasped the strategic and tactical air superiority in the North African battlefield, almost completely cutting off the Mediterranean route of the Axis countries, making Rommel's "African Legion" unable to get supplies of equipment and fuel. In the last week of August, the British army got 500,000 tons of supplies, while the German and Italian troops only got 6,543,800 tons of supplies. Under the threat of inaction, Rommel was forced to wage a decisive battle with the British in Alaman. How can the "African Legion", which lost its air superiority and lacked fuel, be invincible in the battle between Alaman and Hallefa, which decided the fate of North Africa?
1942 65438+1In late October, Rommel's "African Legion" attacked from Bourouga Port, occupied Benghazi in February, and took control of the whole of cyrenaica. In June, he broke through the British Chara defense, occupied the bloody sand, and forced the defenders to surrender. In July, the pursuit of Matru routed troops crossed the Egyptian border, as the last line of defense of the British army in North Africa-the Alaman line. The key to the success of Rommel's "African Legion" lies in that Kesselring's Second Air Corps paralyzed the British malta island Air Force Base, gained the strategic and tactical air superiority in the North African battlefield, and implemented fire support for ground operations, as well as ensured the smooth flow of Mediterranean routes, so that Rommel's "African Legion" was replenished in time. (Hercules Plan) When the United States decided to urgently transfer the ground equipment and combat aircraft used by the Chinese Expeditionary Force to North Africa in early May, the situation immediately reversed. In the stalemate from mid-July to mid-August, the British Air Force Base in malta island became active again, and the British Air Force quickly grasped the strategic and tactical air superiority in the North African battlefield, almost completely cutting off the Mediterranean route of the Axis countries, making Rommel's "African Legion" unable to get supplies of equipment and fuel. In the last week of August, the British army got 500,000 tons of supplies, while the German and Italian troops only got 6,543,800 tons of supplies. Under the threat of inaction, Rommel was forced to wage a decisive battle with the British in Alaman. The African Legion, which lost its air superiority and fuel shortage, was unbeaten in the battle between Alaman and Hallefa, which decided the fate of North Africa?
1 1 building
Marshal Rommel's own diary once analyzed the reasons for the failure of the Battle of El Alamein: "The air superiority of the British army made all our invincible tactical rules in the past blowing in the wind. Apart from our own powerful air force, we will never find a second real answer to counter the enemy's air superiority. In any future battle, the strength of the US and British air forces will be the decisive factor. "
Because Hitler didn't order the Second Air Corps of Kesselring to completely paralyze the British malta island Air Force Base, and didn't send paratroopers to completely occupy it, the British Air Force quickly grasped the strategic and tactical air superiority of the North African battlefield, almost completely cut off the Mediterranean route of the Axis countries, and Rommel's "African Corps" could not get supplies of equipment and fuel. It can be said that the end of the "Hercules" project directly led to Rommel's "African Legion" fiasco in Alaman!
From this analysis, it is not difficult to find that the complete reversal of the war situation in North Africa depends on air superiority, and the key to the decisive victory of the British army is to gain ground and air superiority with the support of a large number of American planes and tanks! The direct consequence of the fall of North Africa is the betrayal of its ally Italy. What's more, 1944 allied landing in Sicily and Italy's betrayal exposed Germany's strategic rear areas (Austria, Hungary and other countries) because they have been included in the allied air raid areas (as for the impact of this consequence, we will analyze it in detail below).
The end and root of the Atlantic War.
The German "wolves" that once galloped on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean also suffered the most severe blow. The Allies continued to install new anti-submarine equipment, which made its survival still difficult. The Atlantic War was suspended and declared a failure on May 24, 43. However, in addition to these, the root cause of the collapse of the German navy is often ignored. In fact, the Allies have already set the priority targets for strategic bombing. The drafting of these plans began long before the United States entered the war. So when the United States officially entered the war, the detailed bombing plan was already on the desk of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is planned to determine the priority target order of strategic bombing from the middle of 1944 (even earlier, in the middle of 1943).
(1) fighter production and processing plant;
(2) Aircraft engine factory;
(3)U boat base and wharf;
(4) Traffic routes;
(5) Oil, aluminum and rubber production bases.
Please pay attention to article 3: U boat base and wharf. In fact, in the later period of the war, the German navy had installed a variety of very advanced submarines, and the anti-submarine level of the allied forces at that time could do nothing about it. However, the reason why they failed to equip the German navy in large quantities was simple, that is, the bombing of the allied forces delayed the installation of new German submarines for at least one year, and what was more serious was that the U-boat base and dock in Germany lost more than 90% in 44-45 years. (Churchill once said after the war: If these new German "wolves" are allowed to enter the Atlantic Ocean, the European war will take off for at least another two years. )
5 Comprehensive analysis of the contrast between the East and West battlefields.
194311October 3rd, issued by Hitler and drafted by Jodl. Analysis shows that the threat from the east still exists, but greater danger is emerging in the west, and the British will land again! The vast territory of the East at best means the loss of a large territory, which is not fatal to Germany. It's completely different from the west! If the enemy opens a gap in my long line of defense, the consequences cannot be ignored!
(3) The role of allied strategic bombing-completely destroying Germany's industrial base, especially the military-related industrial base.
With the surrender of Italy, the Allies have been able to threaten Austria, an "imperial bomb shelter" (its industry has been completely integrated into the German military industry), because Austria has more and more strategic goals. Among them, the aircraft manufacturing industry ranks first. First of all, the Vienna New Town Aircraft Factory (WNF), known as the "largest fighter factory in the empire", is responsible for the final assembly of Me- 109. WNF produced 14000 Me- 109 in 1942 * *, accounting for 50% of German fighter production. In addition, there are two factories in Messerschmitt, located in Ella and regensburg. 1942,65438+February, they can produce 150 aircraft per month,17943, reaching 280 aircraft per month, of which only 20 were repaired. In addition, Vienna New Town also produced 25% FW- 190 in Germany. Another important industrial goal of Vienna New Town is the Rax factory belonging to henschel Konzern Company. 1a huge plan was prepared here before the summer of 943. This plan has the highest priority in German military industry, that is, the production of A-4 (V-2) rockets. Because these rockets pose a considerable threat to the allies, the allies chose to bomb first. By the way, this fact refutes the views of those who despise V-2.
Other important aviation military industrial targets include Haersching (producing Me-328), Klagenfurt (producing Me- 109), Schweitzer Weichardt (producing He- 162) and Zwoelfaxing (producing HE-65509) located in the southern suburbs of Vienna. Hinterbrühl (He- 162), merke (merke), Messerschmitt's branches in YeEmbacher and Stratford, Vienna's henschel branch, and the aircraft engine factories in Harlem, Bader, Graz, Steyr and Vienna New Town also produce road rollers and automobiles.
(here is a set of data that can fully explain the goal and meaning of the allied strategic bombing. )
List of other important targets:
Linz's metal industry, including Hermann G?ring factory (worster today);
Linz's chemical industry and the Danube chemical plant in Bierbaum, Moose;
Petroleum industry:
1. Tsisterdorf Oilfield;
2.2 refinery. Wayne Floridov;
3. Vacuum Petroleum Corporation); In three minutes. Wayne Kaglan;
Refinery 4.4. Wien-Lobau (Ostmaerkische mineral? lwerke AG、winter shall AG)；
5.fanto)； In five minutes. Vuesendorf
Refinery 6.6. korneuburg(Credit Ul Miner)；
7. Linz's fuel production plant (Herman -G? ring-Werke)；
8. The fuel production plant is located in 8. Moosbierbaum (Danube Chemical Stock Company);
9.Schwechat's fuel production plant (Nova Oel und Brennstoff AG).
SDP Company, henschel Company, GRAF &; Stift and Saurer-Werke are in Vienna, and SDP is in Graz, Steyr and Vienna New Town.
Herman Goering-Vulcan (tank production base) in Linz and Nibelungen-Vulcan (assault gun production base) in St. Valentine, the traffic arteries are also the main targets of bombing. The first is the shipping route on the Danube, which is the main transportation route of oil in Romanian oil fields; Railway trunk lines and their visible targets.
They are, in turn:
1. Railway station
2. Railway dispatching facilities;
3. Maintenance of the factory;
4. Bridges;
5. Locomotive (low-altitude bombing).
Bombing Austria prevented a large number of ME parts produced in Austria from being shipped to Germany or assembled on time, which dealt a serious blow to the German Air Force. In addition, the severity of this attack can also be seen from the output of aviation gasoline. The fuel output of German aircraft reached175,000 tons in April and 1944. In July, 1944, it was only 30,000 tons, and in September, 1944, the figure dropped to only 5,000 tons. Because the output of aircraft fuel depends on the operation of oil refining enterprises, under the strong bombing of allied forces, these outputs have dropped to an extremely serious degree. So that after the war, the Allies found as many as 400 intact German fighter planes at the Austrian airport, which could not be launched due to lack of fuel. The United States and Britain also bombed the Knaben mine in Norway, the main producing area of rare metals in Germany, which led to a great decline in the armor defense capability of German armored vehicles in the late war. If the Soviets defeated the Germans in the battle of the Eastern Front. The strategic bombing of the United States and Britain completely destroyed the military machine that Germany relied on to launch military operations. The simplest thing is that 1944 should equip the troops in batches, and by the end of World War II, the production of German military aircraft should not exceed 50 vehicles a month (although the production of German military aircraft is very complicated, the fatal reason for its inability to mass-produce is precisely the strategic bombing of the United States and Britain).
Take the Maibakh HL-2 10/230 engine as an example, which is the main equipment of Germany's later chariots (as for why it was chosen, people with common knowledge of World War II weapons should know that the Leopard and Tiger King in Germany used the same engine as the power in the latter part of World War II. Personally, I have always wondered why heavy tanks should be powered by medium tanks. No wonder they are not very mobile. In 44 years, its general factory in Germany planned to produce more than or close to 500 units a month, and its company in Czech Republic should produce more than 70 units a month. Maibakh and its subsidiary * * produced more than 4,346 engines of this type in 1943, and 2,973 engines in the first four months of 1944. However, its production stopped completely in April after the US-British air raid, and it was not until 10 that small batch production resumed. 1945 only produced. That is to say, from 1944 to 1945, only * * * provided more than 3,000 vehicles, which is the number of Leopard tanks and Tiger King I * * * equipment in 44 and 45 years. (Of course, there are some engines of this type produced by the automobile alliance, but unfortunately, many of them are used for tank destroyers, not for tank production. It is precisely because of the bombing of the US and British air forces that the production is scattered and the production efficiency is reduced. Even due to air strikes, its production plant in the Czech Republic has never reached the goal of producing 70 aircraft a month.
List the output of German tanks in 43-44.
model
More than 2,600 43 Panthers (I don't like to call them Panthers).
There are more than 3000 Type 4 H and J tanks.
More than 3,000 other Type 4 tanks.
/kloc-more than 0/000 tiger tanks.
44 leopards, 3,740 cars
489 Tiger Kings (by1February, 945)
Type 4 tanks/KLOC-more than 0/000 vehicles.