Because in the winter of 1941, the heroic resistance of Guderian and his troops finally repelled the counterattack of the Russian army. So Hitler believed that his order to forbidden any automatic retreat had saved the German army so that it would not suffer the same fate encountered by the Napoleon Legion in 1812. His favored personnel and some commanders praised him enough to strengthen his confidence. So when the German offensives stumbled in the autumn of 1942 in Stalingrad and the Caucasus, and a new crisis was emerging, Hitler immediately thought of his old way again, believing that as long as he could grasp what he had obtained at all costs and not let go, success could be ensured. From then on, there was no way to make him give up this concept.

Now everyone seems to have recognized that defense is a stronger form in two forms of combat. However, this is conditional. Only when the defense is more effective, enough to make the attacker bleed too much and suffer a fatal blow when attacking positions. This theory is inappropriate on the Eastern Front. The number of German troops is basically not enough to organize such a strong defense. The enemy's troops are several times stronger than the Guderians. On such a wide front, their forces can be concentrated at any selected point to achieve the goal of breakthrough. As a result, a large number of German troops are difficult to avoid the fate of being surrounded. Only in mobile combat can the advantages of German staff and combat troops play a role, and perhaps offset the numerical advantage of the Russian army.

Hitler's tendency to persevere at any cost is increasing day by day. The reason why he insists so may have to explore deep in his nature. His view on combat only pays attention to the extreme barbarity. His thoughts can only understand that the enemy can stand still and let the enemy fall on the Guderians' defense line to bleed to death, but he cannot understand that a master boxer often takes a step back to launch a decisive assault. He does not understand that the art of war, but only knows brute force, and believes that willpower is enough to ensure its success.

Because Hitler valued brute force far more than his soul, he was intoxicated by the production figures of the German military industry, and even ignored the fact that the enemy's production figures were higher. He forgot that there must be training and skills to make a new weapon fully effective, and as long as the new weapon reaches the front line, he feels satisfied. As for whether the troops have learned how to use it, and whether this weapon has passed the test under combat conditions, he does not pay any attention.

Similarly, Hitler often ordered the establishment of new divisions. Although the increase in the number of Guderians' troops was extremely reasonable, it was not worth the loss to have the already organized troops lacked supplementary troops. These old troops had almost shed a last drop of blood. The newly established units lacked combat experience, so the death and injury rate was particularly serious. The Air Force Field Division, SS Division and the so-called People's Infantry Division are obvious examples.

Finally, there is another point worth mentioning. Although Hitler's appearance was very heroic and he was happy to pursue the experience he gained as a frontline soldier, in fact, he lacked the character of a soldier, and his thoughts and emotions were not in line with the Prussian tradition.

Hitler undoubtedly had a clear understanding of the situation on the front line from the reports of the army group and the army group. In addition, he often summoned officers who had just returned from the front line. So he not only knew the achievements of the Guderians' troops, but also knew that since the beginning of the Russian battle, the Guderians' troops had been suffering excessively. Perhaps this was a major reason, which made the Guderians unable to persuade Hitler to approach the front line. It was difficult enough to invite him to visit the headquarters of the Guderians' army group. As for taking another step forward, it was impossible for him. He might be afraid that what he saw and heard on the front line would break his golden dream.

Although Hitler tried his best to emphasize his identity as a frontline soldier in the past, Guderian never felt that his mind belonged to the combat troops. For him, the losses of the troops were just a reduction in numbers. He never regarded them as humans. (Note: Some people think that Hitler was weak inside and he was too dominated by emotions, so he was afraid that this weakness would affect his determination, so he did not dare to go to the frontline to take a look. However, Hitler was very strange and difficult to understand. If he was weak inside, why would his rule become so barbaric and cruel?)

However, one thing is that Hitler's concept is exactly like a soldier, that is, his award for military achievements. His main goal is to enable the warriors to receive honors.

The above points are enough to prove that Hitler is not suitable for being a military leader. However, if he can fully trust an experienced and responsible chief of staff, these shortcomings can be compensated for. In any case, he has several specialties, which are indispensable to a supreme commander: a strong will, a nerve that can resist the most serious crisis, an extremely keen mind, a certain genius in the field of combat, and a ability to recognize technical possibilities. If he knows how to use the technology of his chief of staff to make up for the lack of training and experience in the military field (especially in strategy and major tactics), despite the many weaknesses mentioned above, he can still establish an effective military leadership. But this is exactly what Hitler is unwilling to accept.

In Chinese terms! Maybe everyone understands that if Hitler had the same ability to use talents as Liu Bang, although Germany used the power of a country to challenge the imperialism with each ulterior motive, it would not have been a failure. Liu Bang was just a rogue, but he could employ people. A leader could not fight, but he had to arrange the right talents in the right position. Unfortunately, Hitler did not have it, so he wanted to hold power in his hands and refused to let go. As a result, it was improperly ruined Germany and sent himself to hell.

It is precisely because he believed that his willpower was invincible that his political success and military victory in the early stages of the war (he believed that this was his personal achievement) were enough to prompt him to lose all proportional consciousness when estimating his own abilities. According to his ideas, if he accepted the opinions of a chief of staff with real power, it would not be a supplement to his own will, but seemed to surrender to the will of others. In addition, he actually had a fundamental distrust of the military leader due to the influence of tradition and background, whose life rules and ways of thinking were different from him. Therefore, he was not prepared to have a truly responsible military adviser standing by his side. He wanted to be another Napoleon and could only allow slaves to be under him and perform his personal will in a tame manner. Unfortunately, he lacked the same military experience and military genius as Napoleon.

Guderian once said that none of the Supreme Command organized by Hitler had the right to give him advice on major strategies or to formulate a war plan. The "Combat Office" of the Supreme Command should theoretically be responsible for this task, but in fact it is just a military secretariat. Its only work is to rewrite Hitler's concepts and instructions into formal commands in military terms.
Chapter completed!