Man for man, the German army outfought all allied armies by any measure. In classical military doctrine, about a 30 per cent loss in a fighting unit usually leads to entropy so, when that degree of destruction is confirmed, the victorious army moves on to the next task. (This was basically how the Israeli Army fought the Six-Day War in 1967.) But German units often suffered in excess of 50 per cent loss and held fast, fought bravely and sometimes knowingly to the death in defence of a devoutly believed cause, however horrible it might seem.