The German invasion of Russia in June 1941 in the famous “Operation Barbarossa” was a miscalculation on the side of the Axis Powers and therefore led to their defeat. This was because the German forces were defeated and they failed to capture Moscow because of the severe winter of November to December 1941. The German troops, with inadequate winter clothing were frozen to death by the Russian winter. The winter also disorganized their movement and as a result, they were held back by the Russians. In addition, the German soldiers suffered from the effects of the Russian Scorched earth policy which weakened them, leading to their defeat by the Russians troops.
The Axis powers were also defeated in World War II because they were outnumbered in military personnel and allies. For example, the Allied Powers like Britain and France secured support from their colonies like East Africa, Egypt, Sudan, the British Somaliland, Algeria, India and Indo – China (Vietnam). These colonies contributed man power to which the military personnel from other allies like Belgium, Holland, South Africa, Canada and later USA were added. This therefore gave the Allied Powers numerical strength over the Axis Powers which contributed to the defeat of the Axis Powers.
The Axis powers underestimated the military strength of the Allied Powers which led to their defeat. For example, Adolf Hitler invaded Russia thinking that his enemies were weak basing on his earlier success when he annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia. Instead, Russia defeated him. Similarly, Hitler did not believe that Britain would involve her entire colonial empire in World War II. When Britain finally involved her colonies in the war, this led to the defat of the Axis Powers by 1945.
The negative attitude of Europe towards the Axis powers led to their defeat. The Axis leaders were very unpopular both at home and in their occupied territories. They looked at the axis leaders as simply aggressive, dictators and had no sympathy for them. For example, Hitler and his Nazi regime were unpopular both in Germany and in the conquered areas due to the Nazi brutality in Eastern Europe. Similarly, there was the increasing unpopularity of Mussolini in Italy due to his dictatorial regime. Therefore, these leaders did not receive international support that would have enabled them to defeat the Allied Powers.
The Allied Powers had the huge or vast resources of USA and Russia which also enabled them to defeat the Axis Powers. During World War II, USA reached a production capacity of 70,000 tanks and 120,000 Aircrafts a year and most these resources were extended to the Allied Powers to boost their military capacity. For example, by 1945 the Allied Powers had four times as many military tanks as the Germans which therefore explain why Germany and her allies were defeated by the Allied Powers.
The prolonged Russian resistance contributed to the victory of the Allied powers against the Axis Powers. There was a lot of fighting on the Russian territory because Russia had a very large territory. Unlike in World War I, Russia did not withdraw from World War II and one of the reasons was that it had the largest force. As a result, Russia defeated Germany at Stalingrad in 1943 which destroyed the myth that the Germans could not be defeated. It also boosted the Russian morale to continue fighting against the Axis Powers, hence leading to their defeat by Axis Powers.
The economic superiority of the Allied Powers led to the defeat of the Axis Powers in World War II. During World War II, Britain and France used their colonies to obtain raw materials to boost their industrial capacity. On the other hand, the Axis Powers like Italy and Japan had few colonies, while the German colonies had been taken away in 1919. Worse still, during the course of the war, the Allied Powers managed to cut off supplies to Japan, Germany and Italy, hence leading to the shortage of raw materials. This together with the destruction of the German industrial area of the Ruhr by the Allied Powers left the Axis Powers economically inferior to the Allied Powers.
The entry of USA on the side of the Allied powers in December 1941 led to the defeat of Axis powers. In 1941, the Japanese navy attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbour on Hawaii islands in the Pacific Ocean. This prompted USA to enter World War II which strengthened the Allied Powers, hence leading to the defeat of the Axis powers. For example, the American air force destroyed the industrial areas in Germany. The same force bombarded the German transport routes especially the railways and this affected the movement of the German troops. It was also the same American air force that threw the first atomic bombs on the towns of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 that forced Japan to withdraw from World War II.
The success of the “Battle of El Alamein” in Egypt in October 1942 against the German and Italian forces led to the victory of the Allied Powers in World War II. This was because it prevented Egypt and the Suez Canal from falling in the German hands. It also broke the linkup between the Axis forces in the Middle East and those in Ukraine. It also led to the complete expulsion of the Axis Powers from North Africa, thus enabling the British troops in Morocco and Algeria to force the German forces in Tunisia to surrender in May in 1943. This therefore led to the defeat of the Axis Powers in North Africa.
The military superiority of the Allied Powers enabled them to defeat the Axis Powers in World War II. For example, the Allied aircrafts had improved Radar Systems that were used to detect submarines in poor visibility areas and at night. Therefore, their planes were used to hit and finish the submarines or U- boats of the Axis Powers. The initial success of the Axis powers had depended on the U-boats which were destroyed. Above all, the Allied Powers used the resources from the colonies to strengthen their military capacity.
The dynamic or able leadership of the Allied Powers led to their success in World War II. The able command of the military officers of Britain, USA, France and Russia was more superior to that of the Axis Powers. Besides, President Roosevelt of USA influenced his country to fight Germany and Japan and his successor Harry Truman authorized the use of atomic bombs on Japan. Even Winston Churchill of Britain and Josef Stalin of Russia were good leaders who influenced their people to fight against the Axis Powers. This therefore led to the defeat of the Axis Powers.
The manufacture of the U-boats by the Allied Powers led to their success. The Axis powers were initially superior on water with the use of their U-boats. However, during the course of the war, Britain and USA manufactured superior U-boats. Because of this therefore, the Allied Powers were able to defeat Japan and her allies in World War II.
There were also serious tactical mistakes committed by the Axis Powers which led to their defeat by the Allied Powers. For example, Japan failed to recognize the importance of Aircraft Carriers which would have facilitated the transportation of her aircrafts to the battle fronts. Similarly, Hitler refused to allow a strategic retreat or withdrawal of the German soldiers from Russia and as a result, he led to the death of 300,000 men at the hands of the Russians. Hitler also concentrated of the production of V– Rockets instead of Jet Aircrafts that would have challenged the military superiority of the Allied Powers especially in the air. Such mistakes therefore enabled the Allied Powers to defeat the Axis Powers.
The fall of Mussolini in Italy disabled the Axis powers, thus contributing to their defeat by the Allied Powers. In September 1943, Mussolini was driven off from power and eventually assassinated. The new government in Italy abandoned the alliance of Italy and Germany and therefore by 1944, Italy had defected the Axis Powers and joined the allied powers. The Allied powers now used Italy as a base to fight the Axis Powers. This disorganized Germany and Japan and therefore strengthened the Allied Powers, hence leading to the defeat of Axis Powers.
The increasing war fronts on the side of the Axis Powers by 1944 led to their defeat in World War II. A country like Germany had many war fronts at which to fight and that’s why she was defeated. For example, in Eastern Europe Germany was fighting with Russia yet in Western Europe, there was Britain and France while in the air there was the American air force in Central Europe. Therefore, because of these many war fronts the Allied Powers lost command and they could not be effective which weakened them, thus leading to their defeat by the Allied Powers.
The fall of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi government in Germany led to the defeat of the Axis powers. Adolf Hitler who led Europe and the entire world into World War II committed suicide in 1945 and he died with most of his Nazi staunch supporters. When Hitler died, his successor Donitz accepted to surrender and therefore on 8th May 1945, he signed a treaty of peace with the Allied Powers which ended the German resistance in World War II.
The scientific advancement and the use of the atomic bombs on Japan led to the victory of the Allied Powers in World War II. At the height of the fighting, the USA while using atomic bombs bombarded the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6th and 9th August 1945 respectively. This highly demoralized Japan so much that on 15th August 1945, Japan which apparently seemed to be the strongest axis member, surrendered unconditionally which officially marked the defeat of the Axis Powers.
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