When Hitler decided to launch Barbarossa 3 million Germans headed east what was the objective ? Moscow impossible there was no way the Germans could have contained and controlled that City , after Pearl Harbor Hitler declared war on the U.S. in hope Japan would declare war on Russia this didn't happen and Stalin was able to shift 60 divisions from Siberia to face the Germans for Germany it was all down hill from there .

Originally Posted by tetvet

When Hitler decided to launch Barbarossa 3 million Germans headed east what was the objective ? Moscow impossible there was no way the Germans could have contained and controlled that City , after Pearl Harbor Hitler declared war on the U.S. in hope Japan would declare war on Russia this didn't happen and Stalin was able to shift 60 divisions from Siberia to face the Germans for Germany it was all down hill from there .

The USSR was still teetering in early 42, with huge losses at Rzhev. I don't think some people realize how close the USSR was to losing for the 1st year of the war. The German objective was all of the USSR west of the Urals. They planned to achieve this by defeating the Soviet armies in the field, since fighting to the Urals would present logistical issues. There is every reason "had the dice gone a bit differently" to believe the Germans could have held - occupied Moscow and or Stalingrad. As they had other major Soviet cities i.e.: Kiev, Kharkov, Minsk.

What was stupid of Hitler was to think he could simultaneously defeat both the US and the USSR. Not to mention Britain remaining undefeated forcing the U-bout and air defense war on him

Herr Hitler's biggest bad move was to declare war on the U.S. that was just plum dumb occupying Moscow would have taken all of the German resources and more it simply wasn't feasible Stalingrad was another bad move Leningrad was the right move .

Originally Posted by tetvet

Herr Hitler's biggest bad move was to declare war on the U.S. that was just plum dumb occupying Moscow would have taken all of the German resources and more it simply wasn't feasible Stalingrad was another bad move Leningrad was the right move .

I agree he should have never taken on the US, his single biggest mistake of the war. This gave the US the reason to take out Germany 1st "so to speak". We were simultaneously fighting the Japanese but the larger part of the US resources went into European theater until Germany's defeat.

There is no doubt the U.S . would have gotten in the European War one way or another FDR would have seen to that , that was the ONLY way too get us out of the Great Depression .

Originally Posted by JOC

I agree he should have never taken on the US, his single biggest mistake of the war. This gave the US the reason to take out Germany 1st "so to speak". We were simultaneously fighting the Japanese but the larger part of the US resources went into European theater until Germany's defeat.

Hitler made a massive mistake declaring war on the US, however if he hadn't I would suggest that the US would have declared war on Germany sooner rather then later.

Originally Posted by BritinAfrica

Hitler made a massive mistake declaring war on the US, however if he hadn't I would suggest that the US would have declared war on Germany sooner rather then later.

We had actually been supplying some lend lease prior to Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt wanted a reason to work with England against Germany and Hitler provided him with one.