Explain the reasons for the defeat of Nazi Germany by 1945, including the Eastern Front, the entry of the United States and the Allied advance

What this dot point is asking

SEAB wants you to explain why Nazi Germany, after its early run of victories, was defeated by 1945. You should be able to explain the main reasons, including the failure and reversal of the war on the Eastern Front (with the Battle of Stalingrad as the key turning point), the entry and industrial power of the United States, and the opening of a second front in the west with the D-Day landings, which trapped Germany in a two-front war. The task is explanation: show how these factors combined to overwhelm Germany, and weigh which were most important.

The answer

The turning point in the east: Stalingrad

The war on the Eastern Front, against the Soviet Union, was the largest and most important part of the war in Europe, and it was here that the tide first turned. After the German advance stalled in 1941, the decisive battle came at Stalingrad in 1942 to 1943. A huge German army attacking the city became bogged down in brutal street fighting, and then a Soviet counter-attack surrounded and trapped it. Cut off and starving, the German army was forced to surrender in early 1943. Germany lost an entire army. After Stalingrad, the initiative passed to the Soviet Union, which, with its vast reserves of soldiers and its growing production of tanks and weapons, began to push the Germans steadily back toward Germany.

The power of the Soviet Union

The Soviet Union's role in defeating Germany was enormous. Despite huge early losses, it had immense reserves of manpower and moved much of its industry east, out of German reach, where it produced large numbers of tanks, guns and aircraft. The Soviet people endured terrible suffering, but the country fought on. The Eastern Front tied down and destroyed the bulk of the German army; far more German soldiers were lost in the east than anywhere else. This relentless pressure drained Germany's strength and was a central reason for its defeat.

The entry of the United States

The war became truly global, and the balance shifted decisively, when the United States entered it at the end of 1941, after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and Germany declared war on the United States. America brought vast industrial power, money and manpower to the Allied side. American factories poured out weapons, ships and aircraft on a scale Germany could not hope to match, supplying not only American forces but also Britain and the Soviet Union. The combined industrial strength of the Allies meant that, over time, they could out-produce and outlast Germany.

D-Day and the two-front war

For years the Soviet Union had pressed its allies to open a "second front" in western Europe to relieve the pressure in the east. This came on D-Day, 6 June 1944, when British, American and other Allied forces landed in Normandy, in northern France, in the largest seaborne invasion in history. After hard fighting they broke out and advanced east toward Germany. Now Germany faced exactly the nightmare it had always feared: a war on two major fronts at once, with the Soviets advancing from the east and the Western Allies from the west. Germany's forces were squeezed from both sides and could not hold out.

The final collapse, 1945

By early 1945 Germany was being overrun from east and west. Allied bombing had also damaged German cities and industry, and Germany was running short of fuel and resources. Soviet forces fought their way into Germany and captured Berlin, while the Western Allies advanced from the other direction. As the Soviets reached Berlin, Hitler killed himself, and Germany surrendered unconditionally in May 1945. The war in Europe was over. Germany had been defeated by the combined weight of the Soviet Union, the United States and Britain, crushed between two fronts and out-produced in every kind of weapon.

Examples in context

Example 1. The scale of the Eastern Front. Far more soldiers fought and died on the Eastern Front than on any other front of the war in Europe. The Soviet Union suffered enormous casualties but destroyed the bulk of the German army. This scale is why many historians regard the Soviet war effort as the single most important factor in Germany's defeat, even though the Western campaigns and American industry were also crucial.

Example 2. American industry as the "arsenal". The United States produced staggering numbers of tanks, aircraft, ships and supplies, equipping not only its own forces but also helping Britain and the Soviet Union. This overwhelming production meant the Allies could replace their losses many times over while Germany could not. It shows how, in a long war, industrial strength was as decisive as battles in the field.

Try this

Q1. When did the D-Day landings take place? [3 marks]

• Cue. 6 June 1944, when Allied forces landed in Normandy in northern France, opening a second front in the west.

Q2. Explain why the entry of the United States helped defeat Germany. [5 marks]

• Cue. America added vast industrial production, money and manpower, out-producing Germany in weapons, ships and aircraft and supplying Britain and the Soviet Union, so the Allies could outlast Germany.

Q3. "Germany was defeated mainly because it had to fight a war on two fronts." How far do you agree? [8 marks]

• Cue. Argue the two-front war (Eastern Front plus D-Day) was crucial, but weigh it against US industrial power and the scale of the Soviet effort before judging.