
Justanotherbloke
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- Joined
- Oct 26, 2024
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A lot of normies talk like taking Moscow would’ve been a game changer and end all be all for the Germans, but it wouldn’t have been the silver bullet they were hoping for. For the Soviets it would’ve been a symbolic and psychological blow, but not strategically. The Soviet war machine wasn’t centralized in Moscow. A massive chunk of their industry had already been moved east and well beyond the Urals, out of Luftwaffe range and far from the front lines.
You’ve got places like Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, and Kuybyshev now Samara of course in Russia, that were cranking out tanks, planes, and ammo like there was no tomorrow. Even if the Germans took Moscow, they’d still be facing a fully operational Soviet industrial base that was hundreds of kilometers deeper. Just taking a capital doesn’t shut down a country’s ability to fight, especially not one as huge and stubborn as the USSR.
Plus, the Soviets weren't going to fold just because they lost a city. Stalin had already made it clear, no surrender, they'd face reinforcements stationed from the far east as well.
Winter logistics were an utter failure on the German side, with Hitler thinking the house of cards wpuld crumble fast upon entry of the USSR, and the campaign lasting less than a couple of months. The Wehrmacht was already stretched thin just reaching the outskirts of Moscow. Supply lines were a mess. Pushing beyond that into deeper Russia? That would’ve been a logistical nightmare. No fuel, no food, roads turning into swamps in the spring, it was already falling apart.
So even if they somehow took Moscow, they still needed to push way deeper to cripple Soviet industry and truly knock the USSR out of the war. Without that, they were basically just poking the bear, not killing it. And given the scale, the distances, the weather, and the Soviets’ sheer refusal to die, it was doomed from the start. It really baffles me how stupid people can be, not thinking beyond certain milestones and seeing the whole picture.
That's also a normie way of thinking: instant gratification, completely focused on 1 thing which is Moscow in this case, thinking it's somehow the holy grail and the only thing needed for annihilation of Bolshevism and a victorious outcome in operation Barbarossa.
You’ve got places like Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, and Kuybyshev now Samara of course in Russia, that were cranking out tanks, planes, and ammo like there was no tomorrow. Even if the Germans took Moscow, they’d still be facing a fully operational Soviet industrial base that was hundreds of kilometers deeper. Just taking a capital doesn’t shut down a country’s ability to fight, especially not one as huge and stubborn as the USSR.
Plus, the Soviets weren't going to fold just because they lost a city. Stalin had already made it clear, no surrender, they'd face reinforcements stationed from the far east as well.
Winter logistics were an utter failure on the German side, with Hitler thinking the house of cards wpuld crumble fast upon entry of the USSR, and the campaign lasting less than a couple of months. The Wehrmacht was already stretched thin just reaching the outskirts of Moscow. Supply lines were a mess. Pushing beyond that into deeper Russia? That would’ve been a logistical nightmare. No fuel, no food, roads turning into swamps in the spring, it was already falling apart.
So even if they somehow took Moscow, they still needed to push way deeper to cripple Soviet industry and truly knock the USSR out of the war. Without that, they were basically just poking the bear, not killing it. And given the scale, the distances, the weather, and the Soviets’ sheer refusal to die, it was doomed from the start. It really baffles me how stupid people can be, not thinking beyond certain milestones and seeing the whole picture.
That's also a normie way of thinking: instant gratification, completely focused on 1 thing which is Moscow in this case, thinking it's somehow the holy grail and the only thing needed for annihilation of Bolshevism and a victorious outcome in operation Barbarossa.