Why do we have military bases in Germany?
The United States gained these installations, which were previously French and German installation, after winning WWII. These installations are now used in the Global War on Terror. Many of the deployed troops are routed through Germany going into and coming out of the middle east. Landstuhl, Germany houses the largest military hospital outside of the United States. While this hospital is run by the U.S. Army, it treats all troops from nations in the fight that are seriously injured downrange. Germany, of course, does not have any military base in the U.S., but they sometimes train at facilities there. Also, Germans like having the military bases, it suppports their economy and provides many jobs for them. Not to mention, they are able to use some of the training and classes provided on base. Also, if affiliated with the U.S. government in someway (i.e. marrying a US soldier, working on a US military base) they may be able to shop at the commissary or base exchange, using dollars. This saves them quite a bit of money considering what they would have to pay off base.
Why did Russia fight Germany in WW2?
It is because on June 22, 1941 Hitler invaded the Soviet Union. He believed that the German people deserved living space inside of the Soviet Union. According to Nazi propaganda, the Soviet Union was populated by "untermenschen" ethnic Slavs ruled by their "Jewish Bolshevik" masters "Operation Barbarossa (German: Unternehmen Barbarossa) was the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a 2,900 km (1,800 mile) front. Planning for Operation Barbarossa started on 18 December 1940; the secret preparations and the military operation itself lasted almost a year, from spring 1940 to winter 1941. Barbarossa's operational goal was rapid conquest of the European part of the Soviet Union west of a line connecting the cities of Arkhangelsk and Astrakhan, often called the A-A line (see the translation of Hitler's directive for details). At its end in January 1942, the Red Army had repelled the Wehrmacht's strongest blow. Hitler had not achieved the expected victory, but the Soviet Union's situation remained dire. Tactically, the Germans had won some resounding victories and occupied some of the most important economic areas of the country, mainly in Ukraine. Despite these successes, the Germans were pushed back from Moscow and could never mount an offensive simultaneously along the entire strategic Soviet-German front again. Operation Barbarossa's failure led to Hitler's demands for further operations inside the USSR, all of which eventually failed, such as continuing the Siege of Leningrad, Operation Nordlicht, and Battle of Stalingrad, among other battles on the occupied Soviet territory. Operation Barbarossa is still the largest military operation, in terms of manpower, area traversed, and casualties, in human history. Its failure was a turning point in the Third Reich's fortunes. Most importantly, Operation Barbarossa opened up the Eastern Front, which became the biggest theatre of war in world history. Operation Barbarossa and the areas that fell under it became the site of some of the largest battles, deadliest atrocities, highest casualties, and most horrific conditions for Soviets and Germans alike - all of which influenced the course of both World War II and the 20th century history."
Why did Germany/Hitler attack Russia during WWII?
It was always Hitler's aim to war on the Soviet Union. Partly because there was so much land that had been 'German' before WWI in the eastern countries and Soviet Union and partly - mainly - because it was a "Communist", Slavic (so non-Aryan) country. Add the Ukrainian wheat fields, the minerals and ores and the oil, and it was too much to leave in the hands of sub-humans!! The Non-Aggression Pact was purely to see that the more 'German' parts of Poland could be safely acquired, and that Germany would be free to wage war on the Western Front without worrying that there would be an attack from the east. Operation Barbarossa was planned long before Hitler invaded France - some say it was planned before the western campaign! It appears that Hitler felt flushed with success after conquering most of Europe. He was frustrated by the failure of the Battle of Britain, but felt the Allies were essentially 'cooped up' on the islands of Britain and could never get into "Fortress Europe". When it still seemed Germany was winning, he launched Barbarossa, to acheive his main aim. (It suprised many he waited as long as he did.) In short, then, the Non-Aggression Pact was purely tactical and always intended to be temporary. (And it did help that Soviet forces in Poland were still fitting into their new defensive positions, while their removal from 'Russian' soil weakened their defenses.)
How did Germany provide oil to military in WWII?
With difficulty, as described in Charles Fletcher’s posted quote.Germany imported oil from the USSR until mid-1941, imported oil from Romania until the summer of 1944, squeezed every drop it could from the tiny oilfields in Germany & Hungary, & synthesised oil from coal.And it was never really enough. Horse transport wasn’t used just because of industry being limited in how many trucks it could produce. For example, after the conquest of France Germany didn’t exploit the French motor industry (comparable in size to Germany’s, & the French army was more motorised than the German in 1940) as much as it could, because it couldn’t fuel all the vehicles the French could have made. Ships were laid up for lack of fuel, fuel shortages affected pilot training, etc.
World War II: Why did Germany lose?
Germany wasn't in World War II alone. She had two major allies, Italy and Japan. It is likely Hitler was expecting both to dilute the threat to Germany presented by the other side, which was pretty much limited to the British Commonwealth and a few other countries prior to the Pearl Harbor attack. Hitler likely overreached in attacking the Soviet Union, and certainly overreached by declaring war on the United States after the Pearl Harbor attack and resulting U.S. Declaration of War. At the time of the attack on the Soviets, which came in mid-Summer 1941, Britain had been more or less reduced to defending its homeland from attack and presented little immediate danger to Germany. It did carry out bombing attacks throughout Europe, but on a much smaller scale than would come later. Simply speaking, Germany had a problem with resources, particularly petroleum. It was industrially strong, though not as strong as the U.S. but fighter planes and bombers are of little value if you can't put gas in them. In the end Germany could not match the quantities of allied forces and arms directed against it. It's own forces were high quality, but irreplaceable.
Why was Russia given so much after WWII?
The Soviet Union was in a position of strength since the victory over Nazi Germany was largely due to the efforts of the Red Army. The final blow of WWII was the battle of Berlin conducted by the Red Army. It's perhaps not insignificant that the Potsdam Conference took place on Soviet controlled territory. So Stalin had very strong cards in his hands and he was aware that the Soviet Union's position of strength permitted him to negociate very far-reaching claims. The USA and the UK were merely concerned by preventing the situation following WWI in which Germany had to pay excessive damage, and which was partly the reason of the emergence of the nazis. So they accepted the territorial claims of the Soviet Union (Oder Neisse border) demanding on the other hand not to condemn Germany to excessive payments.70 years later one can discuss the ins and outs of the Potsdam Conference. Perhaps the USA and the UK were not really aware of the implications of the decisions issued from this conference. At the time the guilt for WWII was largely put on the shoulders of Germany and there was little opposition against compensation claims. Now, 70 years later, it may seem unfair that regions like Prussia, Silesia and Pomerania which had an overwhelming majority of German speaking populations, and which had been German since the Middle Ages, should be given to Poland and Russia. The USA and the UK admitted deportation of the Germans who lived there, their only requirement concerning the expulsion of German populations being that the deportation should be "orderly and humane".Perhaps this question was only a detail in the heads of Stalin and Truman, since at the same time the USA dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the main concern of Stalin and Truman may have been to divide the world into two spheres of influence. The question of German populations in the future Soviet sphere of influence may have been considered more or less a detail.
Why didn't the US occupy Britain in WWII after the Germans almost turned the island defenseless?
The Germans abandoned the idea of invading the UK way before the Americans even got involved in the war, don’t kid yourself. There’s some false smug satisfaction Americans have when it comes to “we saved your asses in WW2” or “you would be speaking German if not for us”. Even if the Germans won the battle of Britain, the Germans would not be able to invade. Sealion was never going to work. War games suggests that if the Germans did attempt a landing, it would have been met by HEAVY German losses and the ones that did make it onto shore would not survive for long, neither.“The German navy's relative weakness, combined with the Luftwaffe's lack of air supremacy, meant it was not able to prevent the Royal Navy from interfering with the planned Channel crossings. The Navy's destruction of the second invasion wave prevented resupply and reinforcement of the landed troops, as well the arrival of more artillery and tanks. This made the position of the initially successful invasion force untenable; it suffered further casualties during the attempted evacuation. Of the 90,000 German troops who landed only 15,400 returned to France. 33,000 were taken prisoner, 26,000 were killed in the fighting and 15,000 drowned in the English Channel. All six umpires deemed the invasion a resounding failure.”Furthermore, the German admiralty under Erich Raeder said that the Kriegsmarine would not be able to hold the channel long enough (even if they took it) in order for an invasion to happen.“In his memoirs, Erich Raeder, commander-in-chief of the Kriegsmarine in 1940, argued:.....the emphatic reminder that up until now the British had never thrown the full power of their fleet into action. However, a German invasion of England would be a matter of life and death for the British, and they would unhesitatingly commit their naval forces, to the last ship and the last man, into an all-out fight for survival. Our Air Force could not be counted on to guard our transports from the British Fleets, because their operations would depend on the weather, if for no other reason. It could not be expected that even for a brief period our Air Force could make up for our lack of naval supremacy.”
Why wasn't Germany banned from having an army after WWII unlike Japan?
Because East Germany had West Germany and the full might of USA at its door step. Because West Germany had East Germany and the full might of Russia at its door step.Berlin At the end of Word War II Russia and USA were rushing to take over Germany. The full might of the Russia army was in full swing and they were the first ones at Berlin and then USA came second. The city was divided into between them - West and East Berlin.Cold War Even before World War II had ended the Cold War between Russia and the West had started. A very good example that added to the tension was the Berlin blockade (Berlin Blockade) by Russia for no good reason. USA had to undertake massive airlift operations to send supplies to West Berlin.Russia had a massive army (Group of Soviet Forces in Germany ) in Germany. They were trying to kick out USA from Germany.Creation of BundeswehrBundeswehr or the West German army was formed in 1955. The Communist tension had increased greatly with the Korean war (1950-53). Intel told the West that Russia and East Germany was already rearming. There were concerns that by West that they wouldn't be able to hold of the Red tide. Even though France disliked the idea of a German army, the Russia/Eastern threat was greater. So the Bundeswehr was created. Six months later, in 1956, National People's Army East German's army was created.Why not Japan?Actually Japan did have a military force. Japan Self-Defense Forces was founded in 1954. It was started because of the tensions with North Korea. Russia is not considered a very big threat to Japan because mainland Japan was quite distant from Russia. More importantly, Russia/Soviet Union aggression was not directed toward Japan.Bottomline - Both countries had armies. Japan's army was more of a defensive force that would never attack anyone else. West Germany had strong army in case they had to stop the Red Tide from spreading across Western Europe.
Why Did Russian Troops Fare So Poorly against Finland?
Well, first thing's first, Finland still lost the war, they had to give up a lot of territory to the USSR. The question is more, why didn't they just roll over and die, and it's partly because they fought in rough terrain a lot, they had good alpine troops and the Russians didn't. Another reason is they were led by a mercenary general from Germany who did a good job at running a guerrilla campaign. A competent commander can keep guerrillas in the hills forever if they need to. Look at the Taliban. When they were beat they headed for the hills, and even the US army couldn't root them out. The nationalists were also able to win the propaganda war. The USSR hoped the Finns, who had lots of communists, would throw off the capitalist yoke and join the Karelians as part of the USSR. They didn't, they were the last Finno-Ugric nation not to be absorbed into the Soviet sphere. Then, of course, it might be possible that the Finns with pure white hair were perfectly camouflaged against the snow. There aren't too many tow-headed Russians. The USSR achieved its goal for the most part, which was creating a buffer zone against the west. I don't think they would have wanted the freezing swamps of Suomi (the name Suomi means "swamp".) Finland is a giant freezing-cold swampland. If the Russians had kept at it, they might have taken the whole thing, but maybe they came to their senses and realized it wasn't really all that great land. There are quite a few Finnic nations inside of Russia, they're called "autonomous regions" I think. The Russians thought it would be easy cause the Finns would want to be in the same country with all the other Finnic nations. When they found out it wouldn't be so easy they negotiated for a couple chunks of land instead.
Why did the Swiss remain neutral during WWII?
Switzerland managed a very difficult political feat, putting up a credible military deterrent on one side and taking any measure to avoid provoking Germany on the other side. Despite current opinion, Swiss military was strong enough to put up a real fight but not enough to repel an invasion; moreover Zurich and Geneva, the financial capitals, as well as Basel, a big industrial centre, are just on the border or respectively in lowlands, not in the mountains. So in theory Germany could have occupied the vital cities of the country and control a stalemate situation around the alpine fortress (which by the way was not meant to house the general population, but only the government and some state and army institutions). Most likely a guerrilla war would have followed, with the guerrilla able to seek refuge in the safety of the mountains: an horror scenario for any general staff. For what gain? Banks in Zurich and Geneva would have transferred their gold to the alpine fortress, and the Swiss francs in their safes would have no value. Industries in Basel and Zürich could contribute little to the war effort, as Switzerland must import all raw materials anyway; and the Swiss were more than willing to sell that little in return for their freedom.After the occupation of Vichy France, the case was even more clear: Switzerland was entirely depending on Germany's goodwill for its import of coal, grain, petrol.... everything. The Germans could tighten the noose and force Switzerland into acquiescence at their will. invasion was totally against economy of force. (I must say that I am a Swiss national and I have full respect for the men serving in the defense of the country in those years. My view of facts does not mean to diminish their feats. They hadn't the benefit of hindsight and they were facing the possibility of a devastating invasion).