Comments by "bakters" (@bakters) on "Why No German Reinforcements at Stalingrad?" video.

  1. +OraPro Nobis - I think you are going a bit far with your conclusions. Germans were masters of maneuver, which is primarily a logistical exercise. You need planing and brilliant execution for such a thing to succeed. How about simply underestimating the resilience of Soviet resistance? You don't need much to make this kind of mistake, and it also explains Halder's and Manstein's frustration with never ending Soviet hordes. In this view, Germans more or less correctly estimate their logistical needs and shortcomings, and also correctly predict the outcomes of initial battles. They just incorrectly expect Soviets to crumble. I like this view better, because it does not require for Halder or Manstein to be idiots. Which is a hard sell to me, I'll admit that freely.
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  2. +fazole - Yeah, it's true that they tried to win a quick war, but that's mostly because a quick war was the only one they could hope to win. It's also the most attractive proposition, since it offers high rewards at potentially low cost. Regarding "high level of strategic thinking", I just don't know. I simply doubt that people capable of high level of tactical thinking were totally out of their depths there. War is war. It's not like it changes into something totally different on higher levels of abstraction. You need supplies, reinforcements, medicare, food, clothes, fuel, ammo and what not whether you are leading a country to war or just a platoon.
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  3. +fazole - So you argue that Germans were tactical geniuses and strategic retards? All at the same time? Sorry, but that is also a difficult sell to me.
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  4. +fazole - If all your points are valid and were avoidable, my conclusion is correct. "short range, with little strategic capability" "woefully inadequate" "ungainly impractical" "logistical nightmare" and last but not least "they really did not understand it's [Suez Canal] importance" You do argue that they were total morons on a strategic level, whether you are willing to admit that or not.
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  5. I have a problem with any explanation which requires for the German general staff to be incompetent. The explanation must lay elsewhere. Poor intelligence seems a possibility to me. If you expect your enemy to be on the brink of collapse already, you may not prioritize logistical efforts correctly. When you realize your mistake, it may be too late. Is there anything in the available data that is inconsistent with this picture? I'd be glad to know.
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  6. +TIK - I'm not trying to argue they were perfect, but sure enough they didn't look incompetent throughout all the time since 1939 till 1942. They pulled off what appears to be some sort of a miracle quite regularly. Regarding the core of your question, there are reasons why Germans were much better initially than the Allies. For once, it's Reichswehr. A relatively small army, where you needed to be a genius or a hero to even enter the ranks at anything above grunt level. The doctrine, the will, the culture - all of that mattered too, but whatever. I can pretend it didn't, because I don't really need this argument. The only thing that really matters is that Germans were experienced at modern war, while the Allies were not. Bad commanders were kicked out long time ago and people were chosen for their commands more in line with their actual battlefield abilities. While in peacetime armies of the Allies the command was often a result of skilled internal politics. We should also remember that plenty of those former enemies were hired by the Allies post-war, and their opinions were deeply respected. It's rare to do that to the foe you just beat, so my guess is they were the real deal. So I do have reasons to assume that gross incompetence should not be considered until other options are exhausted. Mistakes? Sure. Everybody makes them. Gross incompetence, which your video seems to suggest? An interesting opinion worthy of consideration, but I'm not changing tack based on just that. BTW - I'm not a particular fan of Wehrmacht or even Germany herself.
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