The reasons for the defeat of the Axis powers in the Second World War :
There were many reasons for the defeat of the Axis powers in the war which are given below :
Americans helped Britain and other Allied powers in all possible ways. In March 1941, the U.S. Congress empowered the U.S. Government to help the Allied Powers with arms against the Axis Powers by passing the ‘Lend-lease Act’. America thus, became the ‘Arsenal of Democracy’. As a result from 1941, America with her huge armaments came forward to help the Allied powers against Hitler. In 1941, in the North-Atlantic Conference, Roosevelt and Churchill accepted the Eight point Programme of war aim for the Second World War. Till the end of the war, they tried to observe those principles.
The combined resources of America, Russia and Britain were so great that it was impossible for the Axis powers to win. The Russians reconstructed their industries and continued production of war material to a large extent. It has been estimated that, by 1944 they had four times as many tanks as the Germans and could put twice as many men in the field. America manufactured over 70,000 tanks and 20,000 aircrafts a year, with which the Germans and the Japanese could not compete at all.
The Axis Powers also made a number of tactical mistakes which proved detrimental to them. For example, Japan failed to realise the importance of aircraft carriers and concentrated more and more on battleships. Japan did not possess the reserves of men and materials to meet the counter attacks which she deliberately invited. On the other hand, the United States was in a position by December 1941, to produce new ships, aeroplanes, guns and trained men in unlimited number. Hitler made a blunder by starting a winter campaign in Russia. As a result, the German army faced a terrible loss of manpower. In Normandy also the German army had to face terrible losses. The retreat in Normandy thus, led to disasters in other battle-fields.
While declaring the war, Hitler and his advisers failed to understand that the war against Britain would involve the whole British Empire and its resources. Thus, the war for Germany became too stretched defeat. Japan also made the same mistake. In the opinion of the military historian Liddel Hart, they became stretched out far beyond their basic capacity for holding their gains.
