Why were Germany's armed forces so modern in 1940?

Answer 1

For several reasons. The German army had been rebuilt almost from scratch only some 8 years earlier, which meant that it was not burdened by habits, equipment and conventions dating back to earlier decades. Add to that the fact that the Allies tended to lean back as old technology had won them WW 1 while Germany had lost and thus was eager to improve on its equipment and organization in order to do better this time.

Secondly, while other countries had been cutting back on army expenses, Germany had given military expenditure top priority. Combine this with a very distinct German knack for technology and organization: military historians agree that German equipment and technology was generally - and to the very end - superior to that of the Allies, and German soldiers and field officers in general showed (and were allowed) much more initiative and independent judgment than their Allied counterparts.

Thirdly, Hermann Goering, head of the Luftwaffe (the German air Force) was an old fighter ace and as a close ally to Hitler got himself plenty of room to develop - and emphasize on - modern fighter planes, while Britain in contrast had concentrated on building bomber planes - many already outdated by 1940 - that then turned out to be easy prey for the German fighter planes.