trategy which was now limited due to his lack of control. Hitler quoted his idol Frederick the Great in saying: "I started this war with the most wonderful army in Europe; today I've got a muck heap. I have no leaders any more, my generals are incompetent, the troops are all wretched." This quote alone states the condition Hitler and his forces were in near the end of the war. Even at the end, Hitler's military plans were brilliant and may have been successful had he possessed sufficient resources and forces to ensure it a reasonable chance of succeeding. Due to his lack of forces and supplies, the Allies captured Berlin in April 1945. Hitler felt that both Germany and his Generals had failed him and that only the weak will survive the war because all the good men are already dead. Before Germany surrendered, Hitler committed suicide. Many historians have compared Hitler to Napolean. Both their failures have been the underestimation of the Russian winter. Another of Hitler's faults is the extreme overconfidence he possessed. Had he excepted failure in Russia and retreated to regroup, his offensive may not have ended in complete failure. He believed in complete domination or destruction. This belief led to his downfall and to his decition to commit suicide. References Baird, Jay W. Nazi War Propoganda, 1939-1945. Mineapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1974. Collier, Basil. The Second World War: A Military History. 1967. Massachusetts: Peter Smith, 1969. Jacobson, H.A. and J. Rower, editors. Decisive Battles of World War II: The German View. New York: G.P. Putnam Sons, 1960. Lewin, Ronald. Hitler's Mistakes. New York: William Morrow and Company Inc., 1984. Van Creveld, Martin L. Hitler's Strategy 1940-1941. London: Cambridge University Press, 1973. Zapantis, Andrew L. Hitler's Balkan Campaign and the Invasion of the USSR. Boulder, CO: Eastern Europe Monographs, 1987. ...
