Germany lost the Second World War because it was “spectacularly inefficient” and its tanks kept breaking down, according to a new history.

Britain and America, by contrast, were able to manufacture tanks and warplanes at a far quicker rate, and the equipment was more reliable when used in action.

The controversial new thesis, which seeks to challenge the “myth” of an  efficient and well equipped Nazi war machine versus the make-do-and-mend British, is propounded in a new book by historian James Holland.

He said the Wehrmacht’s iconic Tiger tank was a marvel of complex engineering, but too liable to failure, with 50 per cent of all Panzer fatalities in the war due to mechanical faults.

“A very different picture emerges and one that makes the Germans look frankly pretty inefficient and the British and Americans pretty good,” he said.

“We were much more efficient at making tanks and planes than the Germans - they were spectacularly inefficient.” ...