{"id":1371,"date":"2017-11-20T17:31:59","date_gmt":"2017-11-20T17:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/?page_id=1371"},"modified":"2026-06-24T10:42:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T10:42:05","slug":"statistical-analysis-ready-europe-war-1939","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/world-history\/second-world-war\/statistical-analysis-ready-europe-war-1939\/","title":{"rendered":"Statistical Analysis: How ready was Europe for war in 1939?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Analysis: How ready was Europe for war in 1939?<\/h2>\n
Statistics<\/h3>\n
\n\n
\n
<\/td>\n
Army<\/strong><\/td>\n
Navy<\/strong><\/td>\n
Airforce<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Germany<\/strong><\/td>\n
\n
\n
1.5 million men<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
\n
2 Battleships<\/li>\n
2 battlecruisers<\/li>\n
9 Cruisers<\/li>\n
22 Destroyers<\/li>\n
60 U Boats<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
\n
1750 bombers<\/li>\n
1200 fighters<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
(Numbers deployed in the Invasion of Poland)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Poland<\/strong><\/td>\n
\n
\n
700,000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
<\/td>\n
\n
\n
164 fighters<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
USSR<\/strong><\/td>\n
\n
\n
1.8 million<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
\n
2 battleships<\/li>\n
2 Cruisers<\/li>\n
Submarines – many, I can’t find an exact number though.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
18,000 (planes by 1941)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
France<\/strong><\/td>\n
\n
\n
900,000 men<\/li>\n
5 million reservists<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
\n
2 Battlecruisers<\/li>\n
7 Heavy Cruisers<\/li>\n
12 Light Cruisers<\/li>\n
71 Destroyers<\/li>\n
76 Submarines<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
\n
826 fighters<\/li>\n
250 bombers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Great Britain<\/strong><\/td>\n
\n
\n
1.65 million following Dunkirk<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
Sub machine guns were used by the Wehrmacht.<\/li>\n
Panzer Tanks well armed and highly efficient<\/li>\n
Luftwaffe experience in Spanish Civil War<\/li>\n
Trained to combine forces in offensive operations (Paratroopers, Luftwaffe \nand Heer)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
\n
Technologically advanced<\/li>\n
Politically motivated troops (Waffen SS)<\/li>\n
Danger of fighting on two fronts<\/li>\n
Kriegsmarine under developed<\/li>\n
Potential supply problems in prolonged conflict<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Poland<\/strong><\/td>\n
\n
\n
Polish army experienced as a result of border skirmishes following creation of USSR<\/li>\n
Limited mechanisation of forces<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
\n
Ability to decipher German encrypted messages<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
USSR<\/strong><\/td>\n
\n
\n
Brief war with Japan and veterans from the Russian Civil War<\/li>\n
4 engine bombers<\/li>\n
Reliability of armaments an issue<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
\n
Purges of armed forces leadership in 1936 \/ 1939<\/li>\n
Availability of raw materials and manpower almost limitless<\/li>\n
Industry relatively inefficient, goods produced of variable quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
France<\/strong><\/td>\n
\n
\n
Maginot Line considered impregnable<\/li>\n
Technologically sound: Tanks produced by companies such as Renault<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
\n
Defensive policy<\/li>\n
Number of reservists<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Great Britain<\/strong><\/td>\n
\n
\n
Experience of policing the Empire<\/li>\n
Largest navy in the world<\/li>\n
Problems with reliability of infantry rifles<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
\n
\n
Radar<\/li>\n
Forces from Dominions and Empire<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Other key questions to consider:<\/h3>\n\n
Which nations are militarily capable of conducting a prolonged war?<\/li>\n
Which nations have superior weapons, training and leadership?<\/li>\n
Which nations have the means to supply their troops in the event of a sustained \ncampaign?<\/li>\n
What economic, social and political factors need to be considered when assessing \nthe readiness for war of the major European nations?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n