Document: Factors Affecting Victory

ref:Flix000001 2008 48 002

Related Pages	Standard View \| Things Covered
Document	Factors Affecting Victory


Document Type	Article
Author Body	Peter Bobroff
Cover Thing	1939 09 01 World War Two
Writing Unit	Factors Affecting Victory
Contain Thing	Preparedness: The axis countries prepared for war because they planned to wage it. The allied countries hoped it would not happen until it was almost too late. The axis had been involved in smaller wars leading up to WW2, and these are listed in Pre Sep 1939 Activities By Axis Countries. The Japanese navy had trained seriously for decades under wartime conditions. They accepted the inevitabilty of accidents of which they had many. They expended ammunition in practise in large quantiies and made sure it all worked. Japanese ships instinctively knew what to do in most conditions. They responded or attacked quickly and accurately. The Japanese squadrons and flotillas had trained together adequately before engaging in combat. Allied ships often went into combat in company with ships they had never trained with. Disparity In Size: The axis countries were much smaller in both land area, resources and population than the allied countries. See World War 2 Alignments for a comparison of resources available to each alignment. Technology: The axis countries developed and tested much new technology before the outbreak of war. Germany in particular continued developing right until the end. In general axis technology was better in the early part of the war. The production of this new technology was hampered by the allied blockades and bombing campaigns. Allied munitions and equipment initially did not always work. US torpedoes were particularly faulty. Production: The production capacity achieved by the US was incredible. They out built the axis in every respect. The aircraft carrier emerged as the new major offensive ship type. Chronology Of Wartime Carrier Existance shows when the more major (ie non escort carrier class ) ships were commissioned or sunk. While Great Britain and Japan also built aircraft carriers, the United States was pre-eminent as shown in Building Fleet Carriers By Country See Chronology Of Wartime Carrier Existance for a compelling reason why Japan was doomed after 1942 06 03 0100 battle of Midway Island, Hawaiian Islands. The British had a large and successful class of light fleet carrier classes just entering service. Destroyers were needed in large numbers as escorts for carrier task forces and for convoys. They were being built in large numbers. How the various countries performed is shown in Building Destroyers By Country. Many views of shipbuilding performance are available on shipbuilder. There were many ships nearing completion in US yards when the war ended as shown in US Ships Building In Sep 1945 The first of the USS Midway class super carriers were just commissioning. Even if the Japanese navy had done better, it must surely have been swamped by US production. Cooperation: The axis countries cooperated very little. The various armed services of the axis cooperated poorly compared with those of the allies. The allied air forces however failed to cooperate on a number of occasions. The many area commands of the allies achieved an adequate level of cooperation. Sensible decisions were usually taken in good time. The war was a generally well managed activity. Axis commands and services on the other hand were less able to come up with realistist assessments and to make sensible decisions. War was prolonged long after any possibility of winning had vanished. Top planners and managers in UK and US obviously got along quite well and even the turbulent characters were able to fit in constructively.

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