Gulfs in Industrial Production

Narrator's post:

Furthermore, what made an Allied victory even more unlikely at the start of 1942 were the series of political, industrial, technological and moral advantages the Axis powers acquired thus far. Industrially, through expanded economic platforms brought about by acquisition of resource rich territories in Europe and Asia, the economies of both Germany and Japan had a “head start” in producing war materiel. While US military expenditure in 1940 for instance amounted to only 2% of its GDP, in contrast, by 1939 Nazi Germany devoted a quarter of its GDP to producing war material, and as resources became increasingly available following its conquests, such expenditure increased to include two- thirds of her labour force and an increasing amount of foreign workers and POWs were set to work for the economy. In particular, the invasion of the USSR and early successes gave Nazi Germany access to amongst others, the Ukraine and its grain producing areas, three- quarters of iron, ore, coal and steel, the populations of the occupied territories and at least one- fifth of the USSR’s rail network; all vital commodities for war production. Meanwhile, Japanese campaigns in Asia gave her access to Southeast Asia’s economic resources such as the tin of Malaya, along with sources of manpower from former colonial possessions. In doing so she deprived the UK in particular of the supplies she depended upon for her economy; an economy weakened further by the U- Boat threat. The economies of both Germany and Japan had been conditioned earlier by the influences of factors; in Germany’s case Hitler’s aims to rearm Germany meant an increase in the sizes of the different branches of the German Armed Forces, and in particular the Wehrmacht; in Japan’s case this was due to her campaigns in China. Hence a need arose for rapid rearmament in both Axis countries to support war aims. These differences in the scale of production was a major reason why both had been able to take over much of Europe and Southeast Asia, dominating all opposition in the process.