Most Pointless Battle

[Brenus]

“the snow saved the germans” According Rokossovsky, the Russian General of the 16th Army, when he counter-offensive to Istra, then Volokolamsk, the Panzergruppe 4 is retreating, fast. Because the snow is too thick, the T34 can’t overtake the German in going out of the roads. In this Memories, Rokossovski wrote:” The German Generals, instead blaming the Russian Winter for their defeat, should be more grateful for the very bad weather which allowed them to retreat with less losses than they should got”. And the facts are the Red Air Force had the absolute supremacy but fog, snow and bad weather hampered its effort.

“The order of Hitler to hold ground at all cost enable the german army to hold more soviet ground by sacrificing many good men which could have made the difference afterwards.” Without this order, the Germans would have been cut in piece by the Siberian Troops. Try to run in deep snow, when the guys who ere after you are on skis…
Hitler orders were:
Keep the strategically, tactically and defendable important zones.
To provide to all units of the Wehrmacht better conditions to regrouped and rest.
To establish better conditions to restart a bigger offensive in 1942.
Where is the supposed craziness in these orders?
The Russians are the winners, but they are exhausted. The Germans pockets of resistance will succeeded to resist against an exhausted Russians soldiers. If the Germans had run they would end routing…

“All evidence points towards the fact that the soviets couldn't beat the Germans in a liquid battle”. Can I remind you the date: November 1941- January 1942, 5 months after the start of Barbarossa: Battle of Moskow, the STAVKA will attack with 1,100,000 men, 678 tanks (KV1 and T34), 8,000 pieces of heavy artillery, guns, mortars and katiuskas, and 1,200 planes (800 moderns). That is what the Germans played before. It was their game, and they lost it.

“we misunderstood ourselves here”, No no: I agreed with you. I just wanted to add that the Germans were the first to blame their allies for their failures. For me, just to climb in a Fiat M45 was a great act of courage…