On the Multiple Contributing Factors Leading to Germany's Defeat in the Second World War
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: During the Second World War, Nazi Germany, relying on advanced mechanized tactics, a mature military mobilization system, and an efficient operational command mechanism, rapidly overran Western Europe in the early stages of the war, achieving remarkable military superiority and once seizing the strategic initiative on the European continent. However, within just six years, Germany shifted from a full-scale strategic offensive to a comprehensive strategic collapse, culminating in the fall of the regime and the occupation of its homeland. Germany's defeat was not an accidental outcome of a single battle, but rather a historical result shaped by the superposition of multiple factors: structural national power deficiencies, successive strategic decision-making errors, inherent defects of the dictatorial regime, ideological constraints, and the failure of the Axis alliance system. Given the premise of Nazi expansionist policies and war choices, its defeat carried a high degree of probability. This paper, grounded in the overall situation of the European theater in World War II, systematically analyzes the underlying causes of Nazi Germany's defeat from the perspectives of geopolitics, wartime economy, military strategy, and social governance, elucidating the core values of comprehensive national power, strategic resolve, and political legitimacy in modern total warfare.
Authors: A Zai, Si Lengge, Liu, Hong-sheng
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204203303