During World War II, Hitler was convinced that Americans lacked the will to fight and that any who did would be quickly overwhelmed. When early reports arrived from the battles in North Africa, German observers noted that Americans fought differently from the Europeans. Rather than charging aggressively and risking heavy infantry casualties, U.S. forces relied on overwhelming firepower—staying at a distance and expending vast quantities of artillery with little hesitation. Thanks to unmatched industrial production and logistics, fresh supplies were always available. This approach allowed relatively smaller American units to wear down much larger and well-entrenched enemy forces. In contrast, German and other European doctrines often emphasized aggressive maneuver and were sometimes more willing to accept high casualties to achieve objectives or preserve key equipment. This material-heavy American style surprised many Germans, including Hitler, who had long dismissed U.S. soldiers as soft and lacking in fighting spirit. He believed soldiers were cheap and expendable; he discovered too late that Americans fought to conserve lives by expending machines and ammunition instead. It was one of many reasons for Germany’s defeat—perhaps the hardest for some foreigners to fully understand. Americans place a high value on the lives of our soldiers. Equipment and shells could always be replaced.
