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Message: <blockquote data-quote="S'mon" data-source="post: 5858702" data-attributes="member: 463">Yes, I agree - both had manpower advantages over Germany, but the huge advantage in raw materials was much more important. AIR in 1942 the USA had 140 million people to Japan's 110 million, but that does not reflect the actual balance of power between a partially industrialised resource-poor island and a fully industrialised resource-rich continent.  Furthermore US industry had perfected assembly-line mass production techniques a few years previously; the USSR and Britain had too to a lesser extent, moreso than Germany or (AFAIK) Japan - although Japan's raw materials shortage was soon so critical that arguably production efficiency barely mattered. Germany had personnel* and training advantages in the Wehrmacht and German SS; and development of Blitzkrieg tactics gave a big tactical advantage early in the war. This gave Germany an initial advantage over traditional 'peer competitors' France and Britain, but it was a huge mistake to think that it made Germany invincible.*I've seen a bunch of number-crunching from a postwar US military source on combat performance which seemed to demonstrate pretty conclusively that German superiority was genuine, not a myth.  But it was superiority in the sense of a 10-15% advantage - ie in an equal match 100 German soldiers were worth 110-115 American (or British, or Russian, AIR) soldiers.  Which is not such a big deal if you're outnumbered 2-3 to 1.</blockquote>

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