Yugoslavia was called Operation Punishment. Nearly two months later and with the loss of approximately ten divisions of men, Hitler decided to begin his campaign against Russia, Operation Barbarosa. Hitler felt threatened by Stalin and his interests in the Mediterranean. Stalin also had interests in Romania and this could create problems for Hitler's war effort due to his dependence on Romanian oil. Therefore Hitler decided to attack Russia to protect his's own interests in these areas along with his chances to win World War II. Germany took the offensive with the aid of Bulgaria and Finland with Italy able to provide more men during the summer. Consistent fighting and the tremendous distances covered had placed a great strain on the attacking strength of the German forces. Poor weather and breakdowns in mobile units led to numerous delays. An example of this is that after the battle for Kiev, Panzer Group 2 had only 30% of it's tanks remaining, altough Panzer Group 3 and Group 4 were slightly better off. Supply lines were becoming longer and longer, and the capacity of merchanized transport had greatly declined. The railways were still operating, but they could not carry enough equipment to keep the fronts supplied. By the middle of October German troops were in excellent position surrounding Moscow. The problem of supplies still remained. German forces depended on a narrow, long and extremely vulnerable supply lines. The railway lines were operating but they were very inefficient. All of these factors along with one more major event led to the end of any ligitament German offensive in World War II. This major event was winter. As one Ger...
