e.Stalin announced a scorched earth policy to deny the Germans a single engine, or a single railway truck, and not a pound of bread nor a pint of oil. By the beginning of 1941, Hitler found himself not only fighting the enemy but also fighting to find key resources needed to keep both the people and the army going. The ongoing war with France, Britain and the expansion into Poland and Czechoslovakia required large amounts of resources, which Germany didn't possess. An assessment by the Chief of the General Staff highlighted Germany's problems regarding the now critical shortages. The report given to Hitler showed that "fuel reserves will be exhausted in autumn, aviation fuel will be down to one half, regular fuel to one quarter, and fuel oil to one half the requirements." If Germany did not obtain the much-needed resources, they could not continue to fight the war against Britain and the ever growing presence of the United States. While Hitler and Stalin had come to a non-aggression pact in 1939 that the Soviet Union would supply the resources Germany needed, Hitler knew that tensions and communistic ideals would cause a divide and eventually a break in the agreement.Logistically the German army was in poor shape on other fronts besides supplies and resources. In the summer of 1941, the Ukraine summer saw a large amount of rainfall and heat. The German tank tracks caused dust which clogged machinery, eyes and mouths and made it hard for troops to function. When it rained, the roads turned to mud which forced the Germans to leave thousands of vehicles where they stood. Additionally Hitler was depending on the Russian railroad system to carry the heavy artillery and troops further into Russia, but did not take into account that the Russian tracks were different size than the German. With the five week delay in Barbarossa brought the winter in Russia, which Hitler did not plan for.Germany pressed on towards Moscow; the cold wea...
