Divisions in France during Barbarossa

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Narvik
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Divisions in France during Barbarossa

#1

Post by Narvik » 12 Feb 2003, 06:25

By the time the Wermacht was in striking distance of Moscow it was thoroughly exhausted and nearly spent. If only they had a handful of fresh divisions to throw at Moscow perhaps it would have made a difference. How many divisions were occupying northern France and Norway? If 5 or 6 of them were transfered to the forward positions at Moscow... The British would surely have caught wind of these troop movements. But isn't it reasonable to assume that they would not have been able to take advantage of this only a year and a half after leaving behind all their equipment at Dunkirk?

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peter_suciu
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#2

Post by peter_suciu » 12 Feb 2003, 06:44

I'm not sure how you move whole divisions in such a short amount of time. It was the weather as much as the exhaustion of the troops that lead to a stalemate at the gates of Moscow. Keep in mind the Soviet counter-offensive also stalled shortly too.

The loss was that in the Spring that Hitler didn't decide to push it through first. Losing Moscow would have cut Russia in half.


Xanthro
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#3

Post by Xanthro » 12 Feb 2003, 08:15

A question of more troops or fresher troops wouldn't have solved the problem. While it's true that the wear and tear on equipment and men took its toll, the Germans had reached the end of their logistical supply line and the cold quickly wore both men and machine out. At least the divisions that were in the Soviet Union had time to somewhat acclimate to the cold, troops transfered in faired poorly.

Xanthro

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