Poll: What was the turning point of World War 2?

[Gooble]

A combination of El Alamein and Stalingrad. The El Alamein just as the Germans were pushing into Stalingrad, meaning troops had to be diverted from the Eastern Front to the North African Theatre.

The Battle of Moscow also gave the Russians time to rebuild their defences and armies, so it too has a very strong case. America was already giving huge amounts of aid to Britain and the Soviet Union when Pearl Harbour happened, and may well have entered the war against Germany at a later date even if Pearl Harbour had never happened. Hitler was also planning further invasions of Britain after the Battle of Britain, but it was certainly a useful delay.

At the risk of sounding like a post-documentary advertisement, if you want to find probably the best history book written about WW2, and the links between all the various theatres of war, then I'd recommend 'A World At Arms' by Gerhard L. Weinberg. It's extremely informative and reveals a hell of a lot of stuff that you generally would have no idea about.

 

[klarr]

well im german, and from germany, so from that view point, the turning point was definantly the battle of stalingrad. it drained our econemy and it bleed our army down to its last drop. oh and by the way im not a nazi before any of you make a smart joke.

 

[Ryuzaki]

It was the British expedition to Greece in 1941. It failed, but it meant that Germany could not invade Russia until it was to late in the year.

It was the Russian Winter above all else that destroyed the German Army in Russia and turned the war. That and Hitler ordering his troops to stop advancing on Moscow and instead strike for the oilfields in the South of Russia.

 

[Ravenholm27]

stalingrad easily the germans didn't start their major retreat till then or its the battle of britain since that was truly Germany's first major loss

 

[Rajin Cajun]

what the f--- is wrong with you
go to a non biased school and learn some fact buddy, D-day was so small compared to Stalingrad, and the battle for Moscow

Size of battle says nothing about any kind of tactical signifigance. Yes the battles in Russia helped to decimate the Nazis but the invasion at Normandy gave the other allies a tactical foothold in Europe. Once they invaded Nazi Germany was doomed, the Russians could have done it alone, but they didn't and the war ended much faster the way it did. Also D-Day and the invasion had the largest mobilization of any military ever. Ever.

That is honestly wrong Normandy was no where near the biggest military mobilization it was only 250,000 Men total. Operation Barbarossa was around a million.

Okay... Largest Amphibious Invasion/mobilization... there I was more specific. happy now?

Yes because at least now it is correct.

 

[The Nihil]

Battle of Britain, the first time the Germans lost anything in that war, and without it, neither the Russian advance or D-day could have taken place.

Before anyone whines about the Russia comment, if Britain had been taken, Russia would have stood less of a chance due to low morale, support etc.

 

[Superbeast]

When the British captured the Enigma machine along with German code books in May 1941, thus finally could crack Germany's transmission codes as fast as they could be typed.

This meant that the allies knew everything the Germans were trying to do. Quite a big advantage.

 

[sneakypenguin]

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, Churchill, keen enough to realize that the U.S.'s military strength was needed to defeat Hitler, said, "So we have won after all."

 

[RebelRising]

Had Hitler persisted in taking Britain and succeeded, honored the treaty with the Soviet Union, and not declared war on America right after Pearl Harbor, I imagine he'd be near unstoppable. Hell, they might even had been allies.

Even so, Barabossa was the critical campaign; once it fell short, Russia simply overwhelmed the German war machine.

 

[forever saturday]

Battle of Stalingrad absolutely decimated the german soldiers. It was after this point that the Red Army started advancing on and eventually taking Germany. A lot of people say that America won the war and downplay what Britain, Russia, Norway, Turkey, Poland, Australia, Canada, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, New Zealand, China, and French Indochina (now Vietnam) (yes they were all on the allied side) did during the war (acting as if America fought the whole war by itself, which always pissed me off), but if you were to say that one country won the war, it would be Soviet Russia, where Red Army is decimated by YOU! Oh, and I have looked at the history and think that if Hitler had waited to attack Russia, then he could have won the war. And no, this is NOT Godwins law because this is actually relevant.

 

[Ratman95]

For the Western Campaign ,the second Hitler went "Lets go invade Russia lol".

For the Eastern ,I would say Midway.

 

[Ratman95]

The USSR and Germany would never have been Allies. Hitler hated Stalin and communism and Stalin hated Nazi's and Hitler.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

I voted the Battle of Moscow, but in my opinion the tipping point was launching Barbarossa without defeating Britain first and thus forcing the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine to fight a two-front war... while stupidly throwing away the valuable propaganda benefit (and free troops to be had!) of being seen as a liberator by getting all ethnic-cleansing on their way through Ukraine and western Russia.

-- Steve

 

[LordCraigus]

The USSR and Germany would never have been Allies. Hitler hated Stalin and communism and Stalin hated Nazi's and Hitler.

Ever heard of the Molotov?Ribbentrop Pact? A peace treaty between The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany lasting from August 1939 right up to when Hitler broke it with the invasion of Russia. Indeed not many people seem to realise Germany and Russia invaded Poland together and split it between them. During this period the Soviet Union and Germany traded military intelligence and even trained troops in each others countries.

As for the poll I'm unsure... I don't know enough about the ramifications of the Battle of Britain, El Alamain, Midway or Pearl Harbour to give much of an informed opinion about their importance.

As such I'm sort of torn between Moscow (or the failure of Barbarossa) and Stalingrad... Stalingrad is of course more famous for decimating the German troops of 6th Army, but the failure of Germany to achieve it's goals by the winter of 1941 seems to be a glimpse of what to expect in the future.

Kursk, despite it's importance in stopping Germany's last major offensive operation in the east, by the time the circumstances suggest it really was a forgone conclusion that the operation would fail.

 

[FinalGamer]

It's gonna have to be when Hitler went for Russia. He was so cocky that Britain was scraping at the ground for victory, he could have easily taken over us had he not went for Russia who just completely fucked him up. Although he did capture one part of Britain, the island of Jersey in the English Channel.

 

[Ratman95]

Im aware of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact but that was created because neither Germany or Russia where ready to go to war with each other. It was just a temporary peace.

 

[JRslinger]

I say Pearl Harbor. Once the U.S. got involved Germany didn't have a chance.

 

[captain awesome 12]

This is pretty much impossible to fully determine. There were so many important battles and operations that contributed to Germany's downfall you can't choose just one.