Were the Germans really that good?

[Steel God]

I'll disagree with you. The Germans WERE that good, and should have been beaten long before they actually were, and they were that good only in part thanks to doctrine (which was supperior). The other key was a professionally trained officer corp that had no equal. The General Staff work of the Germans was superior to all other nations at the time. Their training kept them cohesive long past the point that other armies fell apart.

To taken acception to particular points of your statement:

The German tanks did not outclass the Russian tanks early in Barbarossa, in fact it was the other way around, even more so than the French tanks outclassed the Germans (which was machine wise also the case).

And the 10 months to beat the Germans after D-Day should have been shorter. Poor planning, and the Allies need to play politics pulled their chain up short in 44, not the German Army. Not because the German Army sucked, but because by 44 the war had already been won in the east. The recovery the Germans managed in 44, and the victory at Arnhem, and the counter attack in the Ardennes speak volumes to a a fighting force that should have been down for the count but took full advantage of the opportunties it was given by it's enemies. Only a top notch, professional to it's very soul, military organization can achieve those types of things.

Yes, the Germans WERE that good, and in the end were defeated on all levels by Russian Blood and American Industry. Not better tactics, better doctrine, or better equipment.