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Mr. History:

How could Germany amass so many WWII army divisions and conquer most of Europe?

Why did the Allies not bomb the Atlantic Wall prior to its completion?

Thank you,
David Ing

? ? ?

Dear Mr. Ing,

Entire books have been written about Germany’s secret military training programs—mainly pursued in the Soviet Union during the 1920s—prior to Adolf Hitler’s renunciation of the Treaty of Versailles and his more overt buildup of a new, stronger Wehrmacht while the rest of Europe began to follow suit. Reading any one of them would provide a more satisfying answer than I could provide in one short paragraph.

The same applies to the Atlantic Wall, whose buildup is covered in any comprehensive treatment of the Normandy landings or any biography of Erwin Rommel. Suffice it to say that the Atlantic Wall did not go unbombed, but it could not be completely demolished as long as the Luftwaffe was taking a grisly toll of Allied aircraft in practically every raid.

Sincerely,

 

Jon Guttman
Research Director
World History Group
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