# When did the Germans realise the jig was up? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 17, 2015, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-germans-realise-the-jig-was-up/722735 "2015-06-17T11:59:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bert\_Nobbins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@Bert\_Nobbins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bert_Nobbins)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-germans-realise-the-jig-was-up/722735/61 "2015-06-19T19:19:20Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Anyone interested in WWII needs to read **The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy** by Adam Tooze. Seconded; it is a first-class book and a must-read. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-germans-realise-the-jig-was-up/722735/62 "2015-06-19T19:36:09Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > The Battle of the Bulge was the last offensive launched by the Germans, but I suspect that many wanted that as a bargaining chip for a negotiated surrender with the Western Allies and perhaps a joint German/Western Ally alliance against the Soviet Union. Not true…this was [Operation Spring Awakening - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Spring_Awakening) ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-germans-realise-the-jig-was-up/722735/63 "2015-06-19T22:58:18Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > You may be thinking of the [German Tank Problem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_tank_problem), in which Allied mathematicians were able to derive the Wehrmacht’s total tank strength, production rates, and even deployment, pretty accurately just from looking at the serial numbers on parts from tanks that had been destroyed or captured. What I’m thinking of is related to the German Tank problem but somewhat different. If I recall correctly, the mathematicians in hiding in Europe had access to German newspapers, but Germany had stopped reporting full casualty lists, only reporting a fixed number deaths in each edition, no matter what the truth was. But because the reports mentioned things like whether this was the (for example) Schmidts first or second son to have died in the war, the statisticians could make a good estimate of the true death rate. If I find a proper reference, I’ll let you all know. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-germans-realise-the-jig-was-up/722735/64 "2015-06-20T18:43:58Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > “I’m lucky I have flat feet so I didn’t get conscripted” If you were a 22 year-old German male in 1942, I suspect that you’d be drafted if you had two feet, flat or not. Maybe if you were an expert chemist or engineer in a war-related industry and had a boss with good connections who insisted the plant needed you. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-germans-realise-the-jig-was-up/722735/65 "2015-06-20T23:55:04Z")
Overall, 1943 when they saw the war was far from over after 3 years of blitzkrieging. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-germans-realise-the-jig-was-up/722735.md?page=3)