Adolf Hitler's Mistakes In World War Two

Mistakes are a natural part of life, yet they rarely tend to make a significant impact on the world. Adolf Hitler demonstrated through his various blunders throughout World War Two, that mistakes, when significant enough, can affect an entire war. This was proven in World War Two, through his mistakes in The Battle of Dunkirk, The Battle of Britain, and Operation Barbarossa. Hitler’s failure to recognize the turmoil he caused in World War Two through his series of mistakes, caused the eventual downfall of Germany.
The Battle of Dunkirk marked one of Hitler’s first mistakes. As Hitler wanted to conquer France, it had taken less than two weeks for the German army to make it’s way across Europe, into France, and force the French and Allied troops
In May 1940, Hitler turned his attention towards the now vulnerable Britain, directing a force of 1,350 bombers and 1,200 fighters into his aerial campaign known as The Battle of Britain (Lee). Hitler had faith in his air-campaign against Britain, however, the Luftwaffe was no match for the RAF. The Luftwaffe unlike the RAF, was not prepared for the long range operations which became a vital part of battle. German General Franz Haldervon stated: “We have never faced planes, with such precision and brilliance in the war” (Foley 116). With an inferior air-campaign, the Luftwaffe ironically aided in the failure of the German’s mission. Still, Britain was losing the battle until Hitler made yet another fatal mistake. Hitler was aggravated at how Britain remained resilient in their fighting. He recognized the strength of the RAF and knew they could inflict severe damage if something was not done quickly. The final strike came when a German bomber accidentally bombed London, and in response the RAF bombed German capital, Berlin. Furiously, Hitler decided to redirect the attacks to London and other cities in Britain, attacking ports and warehouses instead, to try to prevent the exchange of food and vital materials. However, instead of crippling the RAF who were on the verge of collapsing, the diversion gave them time to breathe, recover and call in reinforcements. The British were now determined to hold their ground. British General Alexander King stated his memory from the attack, “We took a breath. Then, no time was wasted. We began planning right away how to counter back. Don’t let them win, don’t let them win. That was all that was playing in my mind” (Foley 122). While Allied reinforcements of pilots and replacement aircrafts kept piling in, it was apparent that fighter aircrafts and fighter pilots became more available on the British side than on the German side, as German fighters had the