robin1234

.. and declaring war on the United States, I think.

scrubbedexpat099

No basis for that, bit of a old wives tale.

morpeth

There is a lot of evidence in the memoirs of various participants account of Hitler in their memoirs that he admired the British Empire and did as part of peace-feelers offer German soldiers to defend the Empire. I do not recall specifically the halt was related to that though seems perhaps was a contributing factor. Definitely seems his foreign minister as well as Hitler were perplexed why Britain would go to war for a country it couldn't save anyway.

Oink

I wonder how they're going to revise the film so it looks like the Americans came in and rescued everyone and beat the Germans while doing so?

kimilseung

I have been looking forward to this movie since the first trailers a while ago now, I think being in America makes me more appreciative of such quintessential British icons as the evacuation at Dunkirk. I am a little bit surprised that it is such a prominent picture here in the US, given that the Americans are not a part of the story, though you could forget that after reading a few of the reviews. Though the need for the evacuation is also a reminder of how important the later American involvement was, given the limited success, to put it kindly, of the British expeditionary forces in Norway and France.

scrubbedexpat099

Better late than never.

dc koop

Since Hitler's dream was to expand the 1000 year Reich eastwards then it would have made sense for him to desire some kind of peace with Britain in 1940 when he had the upper hand. What went on in his mind after he postponed the invasion of Britain after failing to achieve air superiority isn't on record as far as I know but it's possible that he believed that Britain was as good as finished anyway and presented no threat thus leaving him free to prepare for the invasion of Russia.

scrubbedexpat099

Well he did not live to write his memoirs..

Even with air superiority or partial air superiority SeaLowe was a no goer, losses in Norway and the Channel is not a river to cross.

Probably did think isolated and no serious threat and could be dealt with later.

dc koop

I've read and heard what Hitler thought of the United States, A society of inbreds dominated by Jewish interests, degenerate and with no will to fight.

Of course Hitler was a middle aged Bohemian from a small land locked country who had never traveled further than Germany so his outlook was extremely close minded. Most of the ideas he formed about America were from watching Laurel and Hardy comedies and George Raft gangster movies as well as black minstrel shows.

dc koop

Especially if the Royal Navy was waiting for the invasion force to set sail and met it half way across

robin1234

Not sure about "Bohemian?" I have a friend who is Slovakian, according to him, the family name Hitler is most often found in Slovakia and Hungary.

As for where Hitler travelled, we know he went to Paris. And didn't he attend the signing of the armistice in France?

However, the fact remains that he made the decision to declare war on the USA. Admiral Doenitz wrote in his diary that day that Germany has lost the war.

dc koop

Some German generals believed as early as late July 1941 that the invasion of Russian had been a terrible mistake with dire consequences eventually for Germany. The sheer size of Russia, the endless steppes, the dust and heat, dirt roads that turned to thick mud, their equipment which would not function properly from the dirt and dust, clogged up tank engines, the lack of trucks to carry troops, horse drawn artillery that took long periods to catch up with the Panzers, then over stretched supply lines and partisan warfare. The entrance of the US certainly sealed Hitler's fate but the invasion of Russia was the decisive step in deciding that the end of the Nazi war machine as an offensive force was only a matter of time

morpeth

An interesting question with hindsight is whether it was the decision to invade Russia that was a mistake, or the execution of the war that was faulty. The German generals, base partially on Russia's poor performance in the war with Finland, and their estimates of the manpower Stalin could command, advised Hitler the war could be won. Based on recent research including Stalin's speeches to his military, the disposition of the Russian forces in an offensive position, Hitler's long term strategic aims, was the attack on Russia not inevitable ?

As far as Dunkirk I guess in judging how much of a mistake it was my question would be whether the goal of the campaign- defeat of France- would have been better served or not by halting the advance at that time.

scrubbedexpat099

Remember only part of France had been conquered, the Germany Army was mainly horse drawn and they forces at the front were well ahead of their supply train.

Oakvillian

Operation Barbarossa (the German invasion of Russia) was more or less inevitable for several reasons. Probably foremost was the need to secure access to the Caucasus oilfields after analysis of the situation in North Africa and the Middle East led to concerns over the stability of Germany's existing supply of fuel oil. Also, though, there was a strong ideological drive to replace the Slavic population with more - erm - suitably Aryan people, providing both lebensraum for the Master Race and giving access to rich farmlands.

Of course, the execution of the campaign was hampered by weather, by inconsistent command objectives and incompetent commanders, and by the unexpected fierceness of Russian defence, especially the winter counteroffensive in late 1941 and early 42. None of which diminishes the absolutely appalling human consequences of the campaign - including that there were more casualties, both directly and indirectly through starvation and disease, than all other theatres of war put together, I believe.