"Worst Military Decision of WWII?" Topic

What was the worst military decision of the Second World War?

Hitler's invasion of USSR ?

Churchill stopping his successful trouncing of the Italian army in Libya and sending half his army to Greece.

This should get interesting.

The German invasion of Russia.

Germany invading the Soviet Union.
Japanese going to war with the United States
Germany declaring war on the United States.

To start it!?

Germany and Japan allowing their military leadership to.make decisions best left to statesmen. Total lack of real strategic planning by those forces.

On the allied side: allowing the air forces so much control over the heavy bomber forces. Not pushing harder to get further into Eastern Europe.

Missing the oil and dry docks at Pearl Harbor.

Not intervening to stop Hitler in his first aggression.

+1 Mute Bystander.

Maybe not quite the worst, but Mussolini's decisions to invade in pretty much any direction tended to result in disasters.

Hilter holding the Panzers from crushing the BEf at Dunkirk and not invading Britain right after Dunkirk.

In WW1 Germany's economy was ruined. Hitler's mistake was thinking he could do better even with limited resources.

Rallynow nailed it in three sentences.

Hans Jeschonnek assuring Hitler that the Lufftwaffe could supply the 6th army "indefinitly" by air at Stalingrad.

Military operations would have to be the invasion of Russia by the Germans. Then associated with that was the no retreat order which cost countless men and units.

Willie and Joe not shaving before heading back into town.

Rallynow has pretty much nailed it.

I agree with the Dunkirk issue too.

Not finishing off the British fighter airfields during the Battle of Britain, in order to gain aerial supremacy, and instead switching to bombing their cities.

Failing to be patient, and wait until the Kriegsmarine was ready, with more vessels and subs, before starting WWII, as originally planned.

The Germans not bombing the radar stations and airfields in Battle of Britain.

German's failing to take Moscow before the onset of winter; Japan not bombing the dry dock repair facilities and oil storage at Pearl Harbor

The General Staff not assassinating Hitler.

The Japanese attacking the US instead of Russia or the UK. Germany might have gotten away with the blunders so far up till that decision.

The bit where John Wayne ran out of bullets.

Thinking that a man who writes a book discussing his country's need for "lebensraum" and has a distinct dislike for people not of his same ancestry is somehow a man you can negotiate a peaceful solution with?

Otherwise, going into Russia in 1941 without adequate time and resources was a bad idea. Let's face it – without Russia grinding the Wehrmacht into hamburger it would have been a different war.

Hitler ordering the attack at Falaise.
The whole USSR invasion idea.

Military decision. Hitler made a calculation with his staff that the USSR would fall in one season's campaign. They made a good stab at it with dramatic results. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour was a military decision wihin a very tight set of tactical circumstances to influence the strategic picture over a third of the planet's surface and was to influence the war in the other theatres against the axis. They ed up. Of course, for anyone with an interest in a 'free' world, this was the BEST decision of the war.

I agree with

Failure to crush the BEF at Dunkirk – coupled with
Switching bombing from airfields to cities in Battle of Britain

Had Britain fallen there would have been no way to retake Western Europe and with the ability to send all resources East it is likely Russia would have fallen as well.

@Dynaman8789 -I presume you are aware of Malaya, Singapore, Burma etc etc

Having let the Spanish Civil War turn into an ego boosting playground for Stalin and Hitler.

The failure of France to strike Germany after the
re-occupation of the Rhineland, and the French
lack of good tactical doctrine by which to use their
excellent armor against the Germans in 1940.

Hitler trusting Beloch to bring the Ark back to Berlin.

The French admiral who didn't agree to the British admiral's invitation in North Africa, and who then had numerous vessels pummeled and sunk, in port.

> Dynaman8789 -I presume you are aware of Malaya, Singapore, Burma etc etc

Yes, but they didn't stick to JUST UK targets.

Germany and Japan allowing their military leadership to.make decisions best left to statesmen.

Hitler made a calculation with his staff…

You do realize that Hitler's General Staff consisted of "me, myself and I".

While this kind of topic is fun all these "what-ifs" are possible ONLY if someone other than the historical figures are making the decisions.

France not pushing on with their Saar offensive in '39.

Scott Washburn for the win!

It belongs in a museum!!

Invading Russia without defeating Britain first. Why do it? Hitler had all the time in the world to bomb and starve Britain out.

I suppose it did work in WW1 though.

Germany invading Poland. At the end of the day, it meant the war started before Germany was ready.

Plasticviking3 has it right. A tie.

The Germans failed to plan for an extended campaign in Russia trusting to a quick victory ala France. Add in a lack of clearly defined strategic goals other than to take Moscow AND the constant changing of objectives and you have a disaster in the making though it would still take several years to play out.

For the Japanese it was the decision to go to war with the US and count on the US coming to terms with the Japanese following a series of reverses.

Pearl Harbor. "it seemed like a good idea at the time"

When Hitler used his time machine to get generals and he choose Napoleon and Charles XII and they both said lets invade Russia.

I guess it's better then getting Hannibal and try and cross the English Channel with Elephants.

Germany invading Russia and then declaring war on the USA.

Germany not sticking to bombing RAF bases and focusing on air supremacy.

Germany not shifting to a total war economy in 1939.

Ending in 1945 instead of marching east to Moscow.

No contest: Germany invading the USSR without having defeated Britain and the Commonwealth first.

Packing huge garrisons onto tiny pacific islands which you cannot supply or relieve and commanding them to fight fanatically to the finish, against a country that has far more industry and far far larger populations than you, in the hope that mere "spirit" and fanaticism will redress the balance. In all these island actions the Japanese lost far, far, far more men than they killed.

But the real worst decision was

1. Giving Hitler the Chancellorship in 1933

and

2. Abandoning all hope of enforcing discipline on the Kwantung Army and deciding it was easier to go to war with the Unites States instead.

To play devil's advocate a little…

Could Hitler *not* invade the USSR? Don't get me wrong, he was a lunatic and everything, but was it perhaps the only option open to him by then? He had proved unable to defeat Great Britain and did not seem content to simply sit on what he had won thus far… did the inherently unstable Reich *need* to always be expanding in able to survive?

Also, was there a chance that, if Hitler did not invade the USSR at a time that was reasonably suitable for him, then perhaps Stalin would have invaded westwards when Hitler was otherwise engaged?

I think the bigger mistake Hitler and his goons made was not 'liberating' the likes of the Ukraine, treating the people reasonably and establishing puppet regimes there. This would – I feel – have been his best shot at winning on the Eastern Front.

Of course, and as others have said, had he followed this rather more rational course of action, then he wouldn't have been the stark raving-mad, one-bollocked psycho he was.

Starting it?.

Japan attacks US.

Fighting the U.S and Russia at the same time that would bring American industrial might and air power into play.
The Russians lost something like 20 million souls -- really not a stastic some like to use it as that would indicate you are winning a war?
Regards
Russ Dunaway

Appointing Percival as GOC Malaya.