Do you think the outcome of the war would have been different?

Question

I strongly believe that, say if the germans did get gas for the tanks at el alamein and rommel did get the supplies for his tanks that the war would have turned out alot differently. i mean for one the german tanks were extremely ahead of there time, with thick armor and basically unstoppable.

and the americans had nothing to mmatch the King Tiger tank the germans had. and i believed if the german tanks were better supplied with gas then the outcome would be alot different.

Answer 1

Sure!  Viscount M. thought it was crucial, he said on radio, 'We fight at El Alamein, or we die at El Alamein.'

A victory at El Alamein would have given Hitler access to the Baku oil fields, which were a key objective of the Russian campaign.  (Hence, he marched towards the south of Russia in a hurry.)  This victory would have ended the oil problems Germany faced, and thus Germany could have attacked Russia at her leisure - and not, as it turned out for H., at an invconvenient time.

Answer 2

The Germans had only 1000 King Tigers built, and they were not available at El Alamein.  Their Panzers were often better than the Shermans, definitely better than the Grants, but the Germans main problem was the British had broken their radio codes and new what to expect, and were able to make plans to beat them based on radio intelligence.

Answer 3

Afraid not.  While this would have made the war harder for the Allies, it also would have spread the Germans even thinner, leaving more opportunities for opening a European front sooner. And while technologically the Germans were good, they could not produce their superior tanks, or planes, in sufficient quantity to overcome the numerical advantages the allies enjoyed. The one barest possibility that the Germans could have won due to the Africa campaign, is if the Germans could have pushed on and threated India. That would have cost the English serious problems in manpower, supplies, and political stability. Otherwise, the Africa campaign was just a sideshow, one Hitler should never have gotten bogged down into. It cost him troops, and time, and all to bail out a supposed ally who provided no real support.

Answer 4

Most likely yes, the same as if Hitler had not attacked Russia or if Hitler had not ordered his planes to stop attacking the RAF and hit London.  War is full of maybes and different outcomes.

Answer 5

The reason the Germans could not get enough Petrol(gas) was because their supply lines where overstretched, the Germans needed petrol supplies for all of occupied Europe, North Africa and Russia, they depended a lot on the Ploesti oilfields in Romania for their oil and it also had to be refined, then shiped to North Africa. The problem for the Germans was that the Royal Navy and the RAF had control of the shipping lanes and the air in the Middle East, which meant German supply ships where being sunk at a high rate, which meant the Africa Korps got a fraction of what they needed.

Answer 6

I don't think so. For one thing German tanks of that era were largely older designs. The King Tiger did not exist then in the field. The allies had over whelming air superiority and controlled the sea. Any tanks need maintaince. Not just fuel. If he had won he would have had to stop to do that. In 1942 Rommel's chance to break through and reach India was long gone. If it ever existed. If he had ever reached Egypt he was still thousands of miles from there and his supply lines would have just gotten longer and longer. El Alamien is given a lot more credit than it should be for stopping him. He had lost the battle for the supply lines long before. That is why he had limited fuel and any army does not go far without supplies....It is true our tanks never matched German in armor. But we had a lot more of them and they were more reliable and faster. So in some ways the question is moot....And in north Africa in 1942 there were mostly older German designs......Fuel is only part of the issue. Any modern mechanized army runs on spare parts. Rommel had very little. Without a secure supply line he was not going far no matter how many battles he won. And reaching the Baku oil fields was almost as much a long shot as India. Recall Saddam sat in Kuwait for six months in '91 largely because his tanks could not reach into Saudi Arabia without maintaince....That was a lot more advanced and reliable generation of armor...

Answer 7

I think the russian tanks were superior to the germans cuz they had angles and shots would deflect off.

The allies were better equiped and had in sea and air warfare.

The war was more than just tanks.  Hitler was outnumbered by the allies and the russians.