At what point in the war were the German armed forces of WW2 the strongest/relatively largest?
I'm not talking about operational success, the state of the front (or the homefront), merely actual equipment numbers and quality, and manpower (in comparison to their enemies).
Obviously late war is out of the question, and early war seems not to be a good candidate either. I suspect some time after the early successes of Barbarossa, or maybe right before the massive Soviet counterattacks around 43 or thereabouts? I wouldn't mind a more specific timeframe though...
1943
Bump for interest
Probably during operation Fall Blau in 1942.
>>1171819
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_Blue
Hmm, this looks like a solid candidate... before Stalingrad, only at the beginning of the Soviet build ups nor any significant Allied ones.
>>1170631
Before they lost two field armies in 1942 and early 1943.
>>1171819
The german army in 1942 was worse in every aspect than in 1941. The luftwaffe was worse than in 1940-pre french offensive. The navy had almost been totally sunk and only the submarines were not tatally heemed.
>>1172101
it hurts
>>1170631
The battle of Berlin, they never recovered afterwards.
bempink for intredests
>>1170631
Summer '43 was peak Nazi, but the numbers alone are misleading.
You have to take into account when and where those forces were allocated. For example, because the AngloAmerican bombing campaign was becoming more effective by 1943, 800,000 German forces were kept in Germany and assigned to air defense roles, that's more troops than were fighting in Italy.
Speer's talent for management and plundered material supply meant several industries were producing more by late '43, but since it then had to be divided between multiple fronts it didn't really result in any increased "strength".
>>1173248
do you mean moscow
>>1175509
Troops on air defense were not front line soldiers. Even if they were not needed at home, they wouldn't have been used on the eastern front.
>>1178526
For most of the war they were regular Luftwaffe troops. They would only gradually be replaced at static positions by Home Guard, Reich Labor Service, Hitler Youth, etc. until 1944.
>>1179037
Right, and they were still not front line soldiers. Just because someone is not Hitler Youth doesn't mean he's suddenly quality troop.
>>1179117
If you're extrapolating that because they were in the rear, they were somehow less than capable, that's incorrect. It's simply not an accurate reflection of their quality or training.
Hitler had a boner for AAA, so much so that one fifth of all munition production (during increasingly severe ammunition shortages) went toward it. As did one-third of all optics, two-thirds of all signals equipment, and more importantly one-third of all artillery production, at a time when those guns were desperately needed for anti-tank roles in the East. Why devote this much of your dwindling war material to incompetents and children?
Even accounts from the Battle of Berlin directly attest to it. On April 30th AAA crews on the Zoo Tower began firing on tanks and effectively halted the Soviet attack on the Reichstag from over 2km away. If they managed this, why couldn't they have been effective on the front?
>>1179242
>one fifth of all munition production (during increasingly severe ammunition shortages) went toward it. As did one-third of all optics, two-thirds of all signals equipment, and more importantly one-third of all artillery production
whoa
>>1179956
By late 1944, material shortages were so bad they began adding as much as 20% rock salt in shells to stretch the explosives.
1941
At that point they had a strong core of veterans from the Battle of France and the armor divisions had been expanded. Their army had been cut into a near flawless gem. After the failure of Barbarossa to destroy the Soviet army however the amount of casaulties meant that the army of 1941 was gone and would never be restored to the strength it once possessed.
>>1180495
>Huaxia
>A dynasty
What?
>>1180489
That's not what OP asked, though.
>>1180489
But their flawless gem had very little in terms of mechanization and by far much fewer tanks than, say, the Soviet Union. Also while they outnumbered the Soviets the Ger-Rus border, the Soviets still had s bunch of forces in the east.
>>1170631
Hey man, what game is that? Remember playing it a lot in my childhood.
>>1178526
They were a branch called the LuftShutz. The soldiers were manning AA guns but civilian volunteers were also in them.
>>1180964
Combat Mission - Afrika Korps
hella gud gayme
