How Hitler Controlled His Generals?

During World War 2, Adolf Hitler wanted absolute authority and control over his army. He was a very strict leader. Hitler punished generals who did not perfectly follow his directives. He would shout at them publicly, fire their asses publicly fire them or have them killed. A position Hitler took because he believed that and indeed his military leaders should have never asked questions. They basically had to follow his orders. Any general who disagreed with him was in deep trouble.

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The Battle of Stalingrad is a perfect example of this. Hitler insisted his general, Friedrich Paulus, should resist to the death. Instead, Paulus and his troops surrendered to the foe. Hitler was furious. Because Paulus was in a prison camp, Hitler went after families back home because he couldn't hurt Paulus. As a result, it terrified all other German generals. They ceased to inform Hitler of what was really happening with the war out of fear that he would kill them.

Hitler also dismissed hundreds of his better generals. Hitler would PULL a GENERAL from the BATTLE when they lost. He would frequently appoint those positions to younger men who lacked experience but were always willing to follow Hitler. This was a huge mistake. That was a spoil on the leadership of army.

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What was the whole point of blue uniforms in WW1? Wouldn't they just give away the positions of French troops?

Red Pants Problem

When World War I began in 1914, French soldiers had dark blue jackets and very red trousers. Army already realized that soldiers were clearly visible in the red pants but the politicians were unwilling to change it. There was one extreme statement even, of robbing France of the red pants to the effect that this would destroy France. So soldiers went to battle in wearing apparel seen at a distance.

The New Uniform

At the start of the war, the number of soldiers who died was very high forcing the army to switch to new uniforms. They immediately had a dull brown-purple in mind to use. That, though, required special red dye manufactured in Germany. France could not get it as they were engaged with Germany in the war.

They had only blue and white dyes, so they combined them and they received light blue-gray colored dye trademarked as Horizon Blue. This was not the paint choice to conceal the troops- it was simply the fastest color available. Eventually, French soldiers were painted blue due to recalcitrant commanders and an issue in supplies.