German Logistics 1939-45 Casemate (9781636245188)

German Logistics 1939-45 - (9781636245188)

Features

• 192 pages
• Over 250 photos and illustrations
• Hardcover
• Book dimensions are 8 x 10

The successes of the Blitzkrieg campaigns of 1939-41 fostered an image of Germany's unstoppable modern military machine. Yet beneath the surface lay a critical vulnerability: logistics. Postwar narratives often point to overwhelming Soviet manpower American industrial superiority or Hitler's erratic leadership as causes of Germany's defeat. While these factors undoubtedly influenced the course of the war the decisive factor in the Wehrmacht's failure was logistical inadequacy.

Despite examples of resilience—advancing so far across the Russian steppe maintaining industrial output under strategic Allied bombardment and keeping the railways running—Germany's logistical system collapsed at key moments. In Moscow troops froze without the winter gear that was stranded in depots. In North Africa vital supplies failed to reach the front. At Stalingrad air resupply proved impossible. In Normandy and the Ardennes rail and fuel shortages proved fatal. Germany's success in the early war years hid the cracks in the system and short-term wins came at a cost to its future.

This fully illustrated volume examines the logistics of the Wehrmacht's largely horse-drawn supply system its successes and its ultimate failure.