This was known as Operation Barbarossa. It would eventually be the greatest land battle in history, with over 27 million casualties from its beginning in June 1941 to its end in July 1943 when the Soviets began a counter offensive that would eventually lead to Germanys defeat in 1945. But what if in June of 1941, Hitler used Operation BLUE first and Germany attacked southern Russia. Germany had a good Navy, and was allied with Italy. They already had control of most of the Mediterranean sea. After taking control of Romania, and the rest of the Balkan states, it would almost made sense. Germany could attack the farmlands of the Ukraine and move their armies south into the oil fields of the Caucasus. Simultaneously bring their Navy into the Black Sea for support and supplies. This would be the reverse strategy, because Hitler would then have to slow down his planning and fight a longer war. Germany then could cut off oil supplies and food, which would eventually starve the Russians into submission. Plus have a good point of control over the middle east. But instead he attacked northern Russia first. Operation Barbarossa was flawed from the start. First, it didnt start until the summer of 1941 as Hitler had been occupied helping the Italians take over the Balkans during the spring. Hitler didnt think much of the lateness of the beginning of his invasion because he anticipated a quick victory before the Russian winter set in. Hitler also greatly underestimated the power of the Red Army. In the beginning, both sides had over 3 million men each but while the Germans had only 3300 tanks, the Soviets had 20,000 which gave them a distinct advantage even though many of their tanks were obsolete. Another problem for Germany was Hitlers lack of tactical knowledge. This was shown when he at first pushed towards Moscow then split up his forces to attack Leningrad to the north an...
