The Allied Forces In World War 2 Won The War But Made A Lot Of Mistakes

Even though World War 2 ended decades ago, we sometimes have to look back in history and see what mistakes were made, what decisions were chosen. It’s easy to say some of those choices were wrong, since we now know both sides of the story.

However, back then, the commanders and troops relied only on estimated guesses and intelligence services to figure out their opponents’ next move.

Let’s check out the most memorable mistakes the Allied Forces made during the Second World War and see what lessons can be learned from the past.

20. Underestimating the Enemy

The first mistake you must avoid when you’re fighting against someone is to never underestimate the enemy. Americans didn’t think the Japanese would be a reason to worry about and look at Pearl Harbor.

Moreover, the press wrote about the Japanese that they were technologically backward, inept and “funny” people.

Next, the German Blitz and the inability to anticipate it.

19. The German Blitzkrieg

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Hitler showed clear signs that he intended to invade France through the Ardennes, but the Allied leaders ignored this possibility.

Not being able to anticipate the next move led to a military defeat, which remained known in the history as being the most devastating defeat in the 20th century – the Blitzkrieg, fully equipped with panzers.

Seven weeks later, Hitler took a photo in front of the Eiffel Tower, forcing France to surrender.

18. The Poland Invasion

Even though Poland received reassurance that England and France would protect them if Germany invaded, on 1 September 1939, the German military invaded Poland with 2,000 tanks and 1,000 planes. After 27 days, Warsaw had to surrender.

As a response, England and France declared war on Germany but did nothing more after the Poland invasion. The country remained occupied by the Nazis until 1945.

Then Greece almost came next…

17. Churchill’s Decision to Send Troops to Greece

Even Churchill himself admitted that his decision was wrong. He sent Australian and New Zealander troops into Greece from Egypt after in October 1940 Mussolini attacked Greece. The Greeks pushed Mussolini back, but then the Germans invaded.

This made Churchill send the troops to offer assistance and help them keep their independence. However, the German invasion was stronger than the Greek and British forces, ending with the evacuation of 50,000 British troops and the death of almost 19,000 soldiers.