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== Stalingrad ==
His incompetence as a military leader was again proven when he ordered the siege of Stalingrad. The city had no real logistical significance to Germany, rather, Hitler wanted to capture the city that bore Stalin’s name as an expression of German dominance over the Soviet Union. This symbolic mission began on November 23, 1942; more than eleven months after the U.S. had entered the war on the side of the Allies. Roosevelt’s men were bolstering Allied troop numbers, and more importantly the U.S. was supplying great amounts of food, equipment, and munitions to the Allied war effort. Additionally, the Soviet industrial plants were producing tremendous amounts of the same and due to a massive conscription effort after the invasion of the previous year, the Soviet Army was now stronger and fresher.
[[File:stalingrad dead soldiers.jpg|thumbnail|300px|Dead soldiers litter the streets of Stalingrad, 1942.]]
The battle was a hard fought, street-to-street, even room-to-room, conflict. Soviet snipers utilized the city’s sewers and demolished buildings to inflict a great number of casualties on the German troops. The German 6th Army, under the command of General Paulus, was encircled by the Soviet Army. Like von Bock, Paulus requested permission to abandon the city in order to save his fighting force. Again, Hitler refused the request and informed his generals that retreat or surrender was not an option. The Luftwaffe tried unsuccessfully to supply Paulus and his men. Medical supplies and food had been exhausted by the 6th Army and General Paulus resorted to taking food from the injured soldiers to feed his healthy troops.<ref>Lyons, 178-79.</ref>
On December 12, Field Marshall Manstein attempted to make contact with Paulus’s garrison inside Stalingrad, yet was unable to do so unless the 6th Army was allowed to evacuate the city. Meanwhile, the Soviets launched another offensive north of the city where the Italian 8th Army was positioned in support of its German allies. The Soviets broke through the Italian line and proceeded south in an attempt to completely surround Paulus. At this point, the German 6th Army was completely isolated in the city and on February 2, 1943, Paulus surrendered. In the battle, the German Army lost 200,000 troops; 90,000 of which were taken prisoner.<ref>Lyons, 179.</ref>
Had Hitler allowed Paulus to withdraw from Stalingrad, the 6th Army would have been able to join with Manstein’s troops. They would have been able to reorganize, obtain food and munitions, and have retained a great number of soldiers. By forcing Paulus to remain surrounded in the city, Hitler caused the loss of manpower and a skilled leader.
== D-Day ==
Germany’s final grave error came on June 6, 1944 during the Allied invasion of Normandy; Operation Overlord. Hitler was actually correct in believing the Allied invasion was to come at Normandy, whereas von Rundstedt and Rommel, among others, had been deceived into believing that the invasion across the English Channel would come at the port city of Calais. General George Patton’s 3rd Army was positioned in southern England, which was a strategically logical point from which to launch the invasion at Calais. Further, the Allied commanders issued false intelligence reports that they knew would be intercepted by the German spy network. Finally, Normandy was not a port city and therefore seemed unlikely as an invasion site. This choice created a great amount of additional work and challenges for the Allies; however, the deception was successful.<ref>Lyons, 248-49.</ref>
[[File:dday map.jpg|thumbnail|250px|Distribution of Allied troops for invasion, 1944.]]
Once the invasions forces left England, Hitler altered his opinion and agreed with von Rundstedt that the invasion would come at Calais. While Rommel saw that the forces were targeting Normandy, Hitler believed it was a ruse due to the relatively small number of troops initially deployed by the Allies. With paratroopers from the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions dropping behind German lines, the invasion was under way and General Rommel strongly urged Hitler and von Rundstedt to deploy all of the German forces possible to Normandy. Hitler refused and retired to his bed on the night of June 5, 1944.
Upon further consideration, von Rundstedt agreed with Rommel yet refused to act without the Führer’s permission. Hitler was sleeping at the time of the D-Day invasion and not one of his subordinates would act autonomously nor wake him. As a result, the German Army did not deploy men and equipment for twelve hours after the invasion began. They did have sixty divisions positioned at Normandy; however, thirty of these divisions were reserve troops with no combat experience.<ref>Lyons, 249-50.</ref>
[[File:wounded us soldiers omaha beach.png|thumbnail|300px|Wounded U.S. soldiers on Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944.]]
As a result of Hitler’s inability to wage a successful military campaign, the Allies were able to land 150,000 troops in just one day. With the success of Operation Overlord, the Allied troops created a formidable second front with which the Germans had to contend, thereby facilitating the Soviet Army in its advance to the west. When the invasion was completed, 2,876,000 men, 11,000 aircraft, and 5,000 ships had been utilized by the Allied forces. By June 13, the Allies held sixty miles of beach. The port city of Cherbourg was secured on June 27, the rail junction of St. Lo was held on July 8, Caen was taken on July 18, and on August 26, Paris was at last liberated. The Allied success at Normandy was due to the refusal of Hitler to heed the advice of perhaps his greatest general.<ref>Toth, November 17, 2011.</ref>
== Conclusion ==
Adolph Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945. On May 8, Germany officially surrendered. Germany’s position near the center of the European continent, as opposed to the U.S., Canada, and Britain who were isolated by water, played a significant part in the following statistics:
'''Number of Dead by Country in World War II:'''<ref>Toth, December 1, 2011.</ref><ref>Lyons, 295.</ref>
* Russia-22 Million
* Germany- 6 Million
* France- 500,000
* Britain- 390,000
* United States- 170,000
* Canada- 400,000
''The above numbers do not include the victims of the Holocaust.''
Hitler’s first big mistake came at Dunkirk. This was followed by his decision to divert armor during Operation Barbarossa, his failure to allow Paulus to withdraw from Stalingrad, and his refusal to heed the advice of General Rommel during the D-Day invasion. Had these decisions been left solely to experienced military strategists, the war may have proceeded in quite a different manner. Other factors of total war, such as industrial might, women in the workforce, and economics also played an important role in the outcome of the war. Ultimately, however, the Allies were victorious in Europe due to the Atlantic Ocean, English Channel, and the gross ineptitude of Adolph Hitler.
==References==
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[[Category:Wikis]] [[Category:World War II]] [[Category:German History]] [[Category:Military History]]
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