How did Hitler manage to defeat the Allies in 1940?
1 Answer
He got lucky. Hitler was an opportunist of the highest order. He also put in a lot of hard work and had a lot of really talented and inventive Generals working for him.
Explanation:
The Phoney War after the conquest of Poland and before May 10, 1940 was a time of planning and plan changing for Hitler. The Allies pretty much had 1 plan and it was Plan "D" or the Dyle. It was a plan to hold on the Maginot line and advance to meet the Germans in Belgium along the Dyle River. It was a World War 1 plan expecting a World War 1 result. The Belgians weren't co-operating either.
At the time the French had what was considered the best equipped Army in the the World. They had plenty of Aircraft and Tanks (some of the best in the world at the time) and a large well equipped Navy. The Maginot line could stop any but the most determined attack. They were building more equipment. The French government had given the French military a large Budget (more than they spent). A very detailed set of German plans had fallen into French hands.
The Germans changed their plan partly because of their plans falling into enemy hands and partly because Hitler was dissatisfied with it.
He had a had a routine meeting with a young General Erich Von Manstein. Manstein had developed a plan to strike through the Ardennes Forest with a concentrated group of Armor Divisions and strike the weak hinge of the French line. Manstein went off to command a unit in East Germany and took no part in the attack. Hitler wanted to know more about the Plan.
General Heinz Gurdarian was asked if he could get Armored forces through the Ardennes, he said it was possible.
Throughout the battle The Germans did everything faster than the French. The German Generals were at the Front where the fighting was trying to influence the battle. The French Generals were far from the Front planning at a slower pace. The Germans used their Airforce as mobile Artillery to support the ground attack as well as Air superiority. The French held their Airforce back so it would be ready for the World War 1 type of War of attrition to come.
The Germans used radio code machines to co-ordinate everything.
On breakthrough the Germans paused only briefly to cover their flanks and began to dash to the channel. The Allies Dyle plan fell nicely in line with German plans by keeping the best Allied troops out of the way. The French were flummoxed. Their counter attacks were cancelled because the situation changed so rapidly. The Germans were fighting a totally different war.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blitzkrieg:_From_the_Rise_of_Hitler_to_the_Fall_of_Dunkirk
