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Question:

Which battle in WWII was the most critical in defeating Hitler?

D-Day?
Battle of the Bulge?
El Alamein?
Stalingrad?
Battle of Britain?
Battle of the Atlantic?
Kursk Arch?


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I know its common American belief to view D-Day as a monumental engagement of the Nazi Wehrmacht, but the fact of the matter is German forces in Normandy (and Western Europe for that matter) were little more than a skeleton force of the overall German Army. Part of the reason the Allied invasion was so successful was because once the invasionary forces adequately neutralized German marine and land defenses there was little else to oppose them. Over 60% of the German Wehrmacht were in the Eastern Front, and the fact the Russians were beginning to turn the tide of the war in the East meant there was less of a possibility of the Germans being able to reinforce their forces in the West. The Battle of Stalingrad was a devastating defeat not only to Germany, but to German war potential as well.

Since it is historically accurate to state the majority of the German forces were fighting in the East it would stand to reason Stalingrad was the most important of these battles, although one should not discount the importance of D-Day (however Western media tends to over-emphasize its importance).