Strategy
The image of Hitler as a meddler in military operations is powerful and persistent. One should bear in mind, however, that his desire to control his armies' movements was not the most important factor in Germany's defeat. Hitler's truly critical decisions concerned strategy, that is, the war's timing, targets and goals. His was the only voice that counted at that level, and it was his strategy that led inevitably to Germany's eventual defeat.
He began by accepting war against the British Empire without any clear conception of how to win it. When his initial attempts to solve that problem failed, he reacted by turning against the Soviet Union - his preferred target in any case, for ideological as well as strategic reasons. There again he assumed an easy victory and had no back-up plan when success eluded him.
'... only a miracle could have staved off defeat ...'
Then, even as the failure of his eastern offensive was becoming obvious, he took on the United States, with whom he considered war to be inevitable in any case. At that point, with Germany fighting simultaneously against the world's three greatest powers, only a miracle could have staved off defeat, and none was forthcoming. From 1942 on, Germany could only hang on and try to exhaust its enemies, but their superior resources and increasingly skilled armies made the outcome first predictable and then inevitable.
This was a situation that Hitler created. Where the Allies had a clear strategic concept, he had none. Ultimately he believed that war was his only tool, that his armies would win the war simply by winning battles, and that they would win battles in large part because of their racial and ideological superiority. He never balanced ends and means at the national level, and no matter how many battles he won, there always seemed to be another one to fight. In the end, his was the nation that exhausted itself.
Published: 2003-02-21
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