Fighting Power

[econ21]

Interesting. A 100 to 250 ratio is much more dramatic. (The 20% difference between Germans and Western Allies sounds almost within a likely margin of error).

I did a quick google of Dupuy's work and was puzzled by this:

In an effort to investigate the reason for consistent findings of German combat superiority, the group made a comparison of fighting strength versus overhead for German and American infantry divisions, based on tables of organization for 1943-44. This comparison showed that in a German infantry division, 59.83 of the personnel strength was involved in serving or manning weapons in a normal combat situation. The relative number in an American infantry division was 50.26 percent. This comparison "suggests" that "part" of the finding of overall German superiority "probably" was the result of better utilization of manpower.(80)

If 100 Germans = 120 Allies refers to all soldiers, then the difference in personnel strength manning weapons surely explains all the difference in combat power. Given the numbers cited, you would have 60 Germans and 60 Allies manning weapons and so they would be equal, ceteris paribus.

http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com.../chapter7.aspx