The Most Decisive Factor in delaying Operation Barbarossa?

[Kim Sung]

From 'Crete, the Battle and the Resistance' by Antony Beevor

Martin van Creveld in his book Hiter's Strategy 1940-1941 - The Balkan Clue, published in 1973, argued most convincingly that Operation Barbarossa was delayed not by the redeployment of formations after Operation Marita, but by the slow distribution of mechanical transport, much of it captured from the French the year before, to units destined to lead the advance into Russia. Recently, the Barbarossa question began to attract attention again. Professor Hagen Fleischer disproved the theory that bad weather had delayed the launch. The whole debate then erupted at a symposium in Salonika in May 1991. To the anger of Greek academics, Professor Poog of the Military History Research Institute in Freiburg declared that there was no further doubt on the matter: Barbarossa's delay was due to the Luftwaffe's tardy preparation of airfields in Poland. When Monty Woodhouse expressed strong scepticism, Poog said that Hitler had not informed Göring of his plans. United States historians meanwhile claimed that oil distribution was the key problem. Whatever the true reason, or rather combination of reasons, for the delay, the Balkan campaign and the subsequent invasion of Crete helped confirm Stalin's false sense of security by giving him the impression that Hitler was aiming for the Suez Canal, not Russia.

This is an interesing controversy. Even though I think that all the factors in the above contributed to delay of Operation Barbarossa to varying degrees, I'd like to get feedback from other members on which was the most decisive factor in delaying Operation Barbarossa.

[Jan-Hendrik]

Professor Poog of the Military History Research Institute in Freiburg

Uge lapsus detected

It is Dr. Horst Boog, Germany's leading expert on research of Air War

Jan-Hendrik

[Kim Sung]

It's Antony Beevor's mistake, not mine. I wrote as he did.

[Jan-Hendrik]

Sometimes he seems to be a bit too "sloppy"...

Jan-Hendrik

[Kim Sung]

Von Horst Boog's book collection

http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/search ... rst%20Boog

[Art]

We have got a known document signed by Keitel.

Pragraph 1 reads: "Due to the conducting the operation on Balkans the start of operation "Barbarossa" is suspended at least for 4 weeks."

[Panzerspiel]

All,
The mention of weather as the cause of the delay in the launching of Barbarossa has substance. The Spring in central Poland in 1941 was a wet one and the heavy rains made the positioning of both air and ground assets difficult and hence contributed to the delay of the invasion.
Panzerspiel

[Benoit Douville]

I believe that the 2 most important factors in delaying the launching of Barbarossa are:

-Operation Marita
-Bad Weather and a lot of mud

Regards