Why did the germans fail?

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  • Why did the Germans fail?
    • Soviet strength and Stalin's leadership.
      • Soviet was far too big for Germany to invade and knock out. They were able to move and build factories in the east
      • USSR's population was 171 Million, though Germany could exploit the raw materials and men from other countries, they couldn't replace soldiers like the soviet could
      • Soviet outproduced Germany's raw materials such as oil. The five year plans laid a good foundation for their economic strength
      • BUT... Pre wat purges weakened the army of men and competent officials
      • Stalin refused to listen to foreign sources warning him of invasion which meant that USSR was unprepared
      • Stalin moved 18 divisions to the front after learning that Japan was not going to invade
      • Stavka was set up, order number 227 and 207 which forbade soldiers to surrender and retreat
      • Stalin fired incompetent generals and hired competent ones such as Zukhov
    • German weakness
      • Hitler underestimated how long the war would go on for, this eventually put a strain of his supplies
      • Underestimated Russia
      • Germany didn't have the right raw materials, they had to exploit occupied countries
      • Hitler removed his most skilled generals and replaced them with unskilled ones
      • He alienated some of the people in occupied lands which meant that there was resistance. People were more afraid of him than Stalin
    • Allied contrabutions
      • Stalin's allies presented a threat to Hitler so he stopped focusing on the eastern front.
      • Mass bombings from America and Britain affected Germany's resources
      • Allies poured a lot of economic aid to USSR

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