Will Coal Replace Oil?

One of the reasons Hitler lost the war is because he ran out of fuel. As Germany had not been bestowed with oil reserves, Hitler was aware of the important part oil would play in his plan for world domination. The eastern front was very much about securing Russia’s oil supply.

In the end he failed, but not before exploiting new technology that had been pioneered by two scientists called Fischer and Tropsch in the 1920s. They were able to turn coal into diesel. Rumour has it that when Patton made the final push into Germany, he did so using syphoned-off Nazi synthetic fuel.

Not long after, the Middle Eastern oil fields were opened up. There was seemingly an endless supply. The concept of coal conversion became irrelevant.
FNArena