The German Advantages
During W.W. II

This is the Chief of Staff's 1945 report concerning the U.S. Army's progress and set-backs during the course of the Second World War. General Marshall mentioned that dominant leg-up:

"in which the German Army held an advantage almost to the end of the war. The first was the triple-threat 88-mm [field gun] which our troops first encountered in North Africa..."

More about General Marshall can be read here.