The Harrowing Battle of Smolensko 1941 | The Turning Point of Operation Barbarossa 

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One major factor of the failure of Barbarossa was caused by Hitlers "buddy" Mussolini. The invasion of Sovietunion was set to May 15 1941. Mussolini however launched an attack on Greece and Yuogoslavia and that didn't went well for Italy. So Germany had to finish what Italy had started in the south of Europe before taking on Russia. I don't think this alone would have changed the course of history but it surely shortened the war. A combined invasion from both NaziGemany and Japan on Russia could have ended the war differently. In doing so, USA would have been kept out of the war a bit longer. Especially if the oilfields in Russia was taken and exploited at a maximum. The lack of oil/diesel/petrol was the achillesheel for axispowers. Thank God they didn't figured that out and act to secure the supply for oil.

Great video. The Soviets not crumbling (despite large defeats) before Moscow is severely underrated as a cause of defeat. The smart Germans knew by late summer, it was the beginning of the end. The door had been kicked in, but the "rotten house" did not fall down. They don't have enough oil, and they don't have enough men.

You know this is the first doc I've found that even talks about Smolensk. Thankyou. As for being a turning point, no. You have to expect some resistance. A half a million warm bodies is still a formidable defense. And the city was already won, so "the Battle of Smolensk" was over. Look at the terrain 20 miles East of there. Its a meeting point of rivers. No wonder they had trouble advancing.

My father didn't give up. Fight all 4 years of war. Kalinin front.Rhzev. 3:Belarusian front.Siege of Kenigsberg. My.auntys after when German berned and kill villagers hide in.a forest. Later joined Aviation regiment.. They were 16 years old. I was born after War in 1960. Nobody alive .. anymore. Father ,mom ...aunty's. Only in my.memorys live a Heroic did of our Smolensk folks New York City 🇺🇸

Interesting video. David M Glantz covers Smolensk in his book 'Barbarossa Derailed'. I think at Smolensk the Germans slowly began to realise they had bitten off more then they could chew. Blitzkrieg was bogging down.

The problem for Army Group centre at this stage was that the panzer divisions were having to bear the brunt of the fighting around Smolensk and were suffering heavy losses in men and machines. According to Barbarossa, by this stage the Red Army should have collapsed, and the people should have turned against Stalin, but neither of these things had happened. What now?

My mother's father was kia in " The Battle of Kursk "id- 7 / 43 . He was in the " FAS REICH " Division of the 2nd Waffen SS !y mother's uncle was a Colonel in Nazi - Germany s Luftwaffe , and kia when shot down in his FW 190 ( Focke Wolfe 190 ) fighter plane near Anzio , Italy early 3 / 44 .

Wow, your writing is so assertive, almost agressive, but in a good way: straight to the heart of the matter, no non sense.

A good video on the first significant German setback in the Soviet Union. Among other things the Germans encountered in and around Smolensk were the first T-34s and a Katyusha strike that panicked a formation. The Germans took the city but were stopped in their tracks 20 miles east of it for six weeks, thereby making it impossible to get to Moscow before Winter. Their hold on Smolensk remained shaky, the Soviets coming close to liberating it in their Moscow counter-offensive. The Katyusha strike was described by a Soviet officer: "We first tried out this superb weapon at Rudnya, north-west of Smolensk. In the afternoon of July 15, the earth shook with the unusual explosion of jet mines. Like red-tailed comets, the mines were hurled into the air. The frequent and dazzling explosions, the like of which had never been seen, struck the imagination. The effect of the simultaneous explosion of dozens of these mines was terrific. The Germans fled in panic, and even our own troops near the points of the explosions, who for reasons of secrecy had not been warned that this new weapon would be used, rushed back from the front line."

War Academy has the best content about ww2, I found a book about ww2 when i was 12 and now im 36. Thx for all your insightful videos.

Smolensk was a big deal for Napoleon too. He too learned that winter in Russia was " a wonderful prospect"

Clausowitz summed it up best, Germany didn’t have the manpower, logistics, or resources to win a long term war so quick wars were the only option. Clearly the Corporal never attended the German War and Staff College.

Hitler and the high command were so confident of their superiority in every way that they started acting like kids in a candy store and couldn’t decide which city or territory to destroy first. Moscow was an afterthought for Hitler at this Time because he was already thinking about the oil in the Caucasus as a priority. Hitler’s opinion of himself as the greatest military leader in history and the overconfidence of the high command made the realization of any threats unlikely except for the boots of the Generals on the ground. I learned a lot details of this battle from your video. Thanks

At the start of Operation Barbarossa, the Germans had plenty of panzers, but the madness of attacking a nation as vast as the Soviet Union without enough halftracks and trucks so that the infantry could keep up with and support panzer operations was absolutely insane. At the start of the operation, between 70- to 80% of infantry and artillery were HORSE-DRAWN. Given this massive deficit in modern operational mobility, it beggars the imagination that the Wehrmacht went along with Hitler's mad idea to take Russia. I'm rather shocked that some self-respecting German officer didn't simply shoot Hitler when he proposed this madness.

This battle doesn't get talked about enough. Germany suffered enormously here

I don’t understand, the German army being the most tactically advanced military in it’s time, the masters of combined warfare, yet logistically it was a failure! The infantry had to walk to keep up with the tanks! There were insufficient trucks! The Russians were better off having many lend lease vehicles! The Germans while devoted to making the best tanks, failed to make enough trucks for the very men they needed to support their very expensive tanks. I don’t get it!

Interesting and informative.Excellent motion photography job. Enabling viewers to better understand what/whom the orator was describing.. Class A research project!!! Rough & tumble fierce combat operations. Fighting/perishing/surviving knowing certain death/debilitating wounds were often possible. Yet still advanced forward regardless of the consequences. That's true grit style determination to succeed. Yes I would have advanced forward to Moscow. The only opportunity to seize it. Before Zhukov had ample time to reorganize his demoralized forces. And reinforce the perimeter of the city. Spring of 42 was too late.

Germany could have defeated Russia if they didn't waste so much manpower and resources trying to fight two fronts. Hitler tried to take too much too fast, he defeated himself

Everyone usually points that Germany should of let the Panzers rush towards Moscow. The Tanks can break through but if you want to hold that encirclement you need the infantry support. Maybe you could send half south to secure Kiev encirclement & much needed need war resources and let the other half of the Panzers continue towards Moscow with as many Mechanized units as you can spare. Leningrad wasn’t even as important as the railroad that was never cut near the Finnish border IMO as controversial as that might be. They should of cut that railway asap coming from Finland. I also would of focused the thrust south & center trying to get as close as possible to securing the much needed Oil while also trying to cut communications & railways by taking Moscow. Army North would of been the weakest of the 3 divisions attempting to encircle Leningrad only after the critical railway that allowed western convoys into the country had been severed. Even if you can reach the oil fields by winter of 41 if you focus your thrust center & south you have a better jumping off point for the summer offensive of 42 to try take the oil needed to continue fighting. Also they probably never should declared war on the USA that was just foolish.

It appears that the German strategists never looked at a map of the Soviet Union. With their vaulted universities notwithstanding, it seems the population of the Soviet Union was unknown.

This video is brilliant

Great video. The key factor in the German defeat before Moskow was the crazy decision from Japan not to attack Russia, while Germany declared war on USA. Then, it was just a matterof time before Germany got smashed from 2 fronts. Without declaring war on USA, Germany would have gained enough time to defeat Russia in 1942

Well done!

Yes, absolutely the Germans should have continued their push toward Moscow before the winter set in. The decision to delay it probably sealed the German's fait in the whole war.

Excellent presentation sir

I'm not sure that Smolensk 1941 "changed" the course of the war, as much as it made the Germans realize that they wouldn't beat the Soviets any time soon. I don't think that the decision to wait on going after Moscow was so bad. Napoleon captured Moscow and what good did it do him? Re-directing troops south to Kiev resulted in the capture of huge numbers of Soviet troops, and eventually set up the 1942 campaign in the southern USSR (aka "Fall Blau"). Southern USSR was where the grain and oil was produced, and that's what Germany needed strategically. Whereas capturing Moscow would have been more of a question of "morale". Since Stalin expected to keep fighting even if Moscow had been lost, the idea that capturing Moscow might have ended the war was faulty. Also, it appears that the Soviets had solidified their line east of Smolensk, and the Germans were likely not ready to try to break through that line. Yes eventually the panzers returned and they did make progress toward Moscow, then the rain came (along with the mud it caused) and then the snow and abnormally cold temperatures; also the Soviets had built fortified lines in front of Moscow (after Smolensk was captured). No one will really know whether a big early push toward Moscow (i.e. immediately after Smolensk was captured) would have made a difference in the war's outcome, though it likely would have succeeded in at least capturing Moscow. Yet even this is in some doubt, given the supply line situation for the Germans at that point in the war.

Great video.. would of could of should of....thats in my book

It would have been better to get Moscow and control the main transportation hub to keep the Russian forces from getting supplies and man power to where they were needed. Great day to you and enjoyed your time as always. God bless you all and I will check ✔️ out the next recommendation for the next battle.

Good work!

Germany attacking the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941 was a catastrophic mistake and Hitler's decision to declare war on the US later the same year without taking care of Great Britain already determined the outcome of the war. Add to that the campaign in North Africa and the occupation of Norway further sealed the fate of Germany's overstretched resources.

It’s not the city of smolenskO, it is the city of smolensK, K is the last symbol. Great video on a very underestimated battle, thanks!!

The war was truly lost at that point. But hindsight is 20/20.

What a quality❤

Good video

Good history Channel

Most experts say the Germans should have gone straight towards Moscow. The Capital and transportation hub of the USSR. I agree.

I fought this battle out on a table top map. Twice, both times as the Germans. While the Germans have an advantage in tactical maneuvers. The Russians have the advantage in strategic maneuvers. Supply shortage is critical for the Germans. You really have to play it aggressive as the Germans. Time is on the Russian side.

Had Manstein been given complete command without any Hitler interference, Manstein would have given Germany a relatively quick victory.

I believe the turn south to assist the southern Army Group was a colossal mistake that dwarfs the mistake of stopping in front of Dunkirk during the previous year.

Smolensko? Then I realized it's a Spanish video, and an excellent one at that. Great examination of a neglected historical event.

There's book dealing precisely with this subject by American historan Col David M Glantz 'Derailing Barbarossa To know more take a dip into it

I like how the video is narrated by an AI. It's like I'm listening to a computer read an essay someone wrote but there are generic b-roll shots of various public domain films of the eastern front so it seems like a legit video.

We just went for a 200km round trip drive through outback Australia on dirt roads. I'm exhausted. I really can't imagine what a 50km march would be like. Hitler just didn't appreciate distances. I can imagine these .......... in charge saying " if they can do 50km then they should be able to do 100km.

Every step forward reduced a chance for victory.

Some old huge PC strategy games are quite good, the initial placement of the panzer divisions and the road and rail network means, even if smolensk was quite far away it would end up being encircled later by both army groups. There were also a wooded area between group north and south closer to the german starting position and the russians got push pushed into that forest and encircled and it took time for the infantry to squeeze the pocket and mop up. So the panzer divisions can punch through run around and meet but the infantry have to be around to hold the area the panzer just pushed through. Maybe most of the time this was so thin that russians could filter through and get back. In some cases elit units whent from russian side through german lines found their trapped comrades and helped them back. That is how thin the encirclement often was. 30 40 km on road per day is not much. I done that in mountains with 45 Kg. So I immediately start thinking the germans being careful trying not to damage the infantry. I bet they had many breaks in the grass in the sun. Another reason for breaks is overheating. Maybe the most important when I think about it. I heared it can get hot inland in the summer. I always lived along the coast with temperature stabilzed by bodies of water.

I think about this and going into Russia was certain death. And My Father was born in Hamburg. And I loved it when I was younger and Dad's German friends would come over. These guys who were proud men who fought for Hitler and so did everyone if you were German and My Father was lucky. And I still keep in touch with a friend of ours from Hamburg and we live in Australia now,, 94 this guy is and I miss my Father and Mother very much and I really like talking about the old days and ask him about Hitler and what it was like. Many stories 🇩🇪😜

The German wargames before Barbarossa showed a German loss/faliure. Given what they then knew (underesitmating the size of red army size, recruitment rate, will to fight, production capabilties...).

It finally seems that the German - Soviet Russian War has become a footnote of history now that the 21st Century has arrived. By comparison the DRAMATIC exercises of warfare then make the current conflict in modern Ukraine seem quaint nevertheless to a significant degree the past has come BACK to haunt the region.. ☠️

It was for the Germans as Churchill said "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning"

Whether to go on the offensive or not were both viable options. Plan A: Choose to attack, then if the attack fails, it would retreat sharply, possibly retreating to Belarus. Plan B: Choose to defend on the spot, at least you shouldn't attack that year.

I don't know if this is the battle but I read a book saying that the soviet army was at a breaking point but the germans didn't know this and they stopped to regroup for 2 days which gave the russians needed time to reinforce. I also think that hitler knew history and napoleon, he visited his tomb in paris in 1940 and was terrified at the thought of capturing moscow, only to have the same fate as Napoleon, better to just capture the Ukraine first. I think he sort of wanted to avoid it. He didn't want to go down in history as having the same fate as Napoleon. Just a thought. Even if they had rushed to moscow and occupied it the lack of logistics still would have doomed them. One wonders if the japanese had invaded in Siberia and stalin's armies would have been there, if maybe the germans would have been successful

Guderian's 2nd Panzer army had 5 panzer divisions, not 3.

Normal thoughts for a leader who must plan days and weeks ahead.And then take into account that soon fall and winter approaches

if the germans had not detoured their tanks and momentum by sending them to Leningrad and Kiev, and advanced along a 200 mile front from Smolensk to Moscow they probably would have started to lay siege to Moscow in early September. They would have controlled the rail lines and resupply would not have been as big an issue.

To invade the Soviets was insanity. To not invade was insanity.

Gyoodeerian❤

In addition to turning north towards Leningrad and south towards Kiev to destroy additional Soviet forces, my suspicion is that the Wehrmacht's logistics, at that time, didn't allow them to continue any further East. When the drive East towards Moscow did continue, it seemed to proceed in a stop-start fashion which again probably reflected continued logistical challenges. At the start of Barbarossa, I think the extent of the logistical capability was estimated at 800KM, just past Smolensk; however, if the whole rotten edifice had come crashing down ( as expected or hoped for ) before 800KM was reached it wouldn't have mattered.

Smolensko? You mean Smolensk. Otherwise good video, if you want to there are two games to reflect this battle, WDS Smolensk '41 for exact historical grand strat and more general but very detailed: Gary Grigsby War in the East 2.

I used to play out this battle with a S&T Game (an OTB game) and it is easy to take Smolensk it's really hard to do anything else. Russia barely wins every time despite the heavy loses.

Directive 31 cost Germany the war. TRAGIC

The absolute victory at Smolensk by Guderian should have been immediaelty followed by the taking of Moscow as Guderian wanted and begged for the chance to do it. Only one person failed to make this happen, Hitler himself and he bares all the blame, costing Germany the war.

The Soviets had 30k tanks and 20k aircraft at the being of the war. Also huge numbers of trained paratroopers. This isn't even considering the numbers of soldiers in their reserve system. Deny it as much as you like but Stalin was going to attack into Europe sooner rather than later and Barbarossa was a pre-emptive attack. After the Nov 1940 meeting with Molotov in Berlin it was clear that the Soviets had ambitions in Europe and that was just intolerable for the Germans. Hitler flew to Finland to speak with and present von Mannerheim a medal in July of 1942 and their conversation was partially recorded. It's available here on RU-vid and should be listened to (ignore the added commentary) by everybody interested in the Russo-German war. Germany never had a chance in hell of beating the Soviets. There were quite a few things stacked against them that ultimately made victory impossible.

80 years later with all the information available, we can pick out flaws in planning and execution. They didn’t have the luxury. Imagine the discussion if Stalingrad, Moscow, Leningrad, weren’t failures.

I think that the biggest mistake was a strategic one. Employing all those forces in 3 different directions without a proper set of strategic gains (henceforth a victory) was sheer madness. A logistic nightmare. A number of German generals did warn Hitler of this. They should have concentrated their efforts in an offensive toward the Caucasus (where the resources were abundant).

My grandfathers brother, Abkar Farian, was killed defending Smolensk

City of Smolensko? Where this is located?

Bertolt Brecht, the great German playwright, in a poem titled "Smolénsk" warned Hitler of the disaster awaiting him in the USSR. He wrote : on the map the road from Berlin to Smolénsk is perhaps shorter than Fühere's thumb, but in the real world ......

Underestimating the Russians, seems like history repeating itself 😮😮😮

This and many or most of your videos are from the perspective of the German military. It would be nice to know the battles from the soviet side. How did Stalin maneuver troops to the front? Most came from the east, correct ? And many in the soviet armies were "mongoloid", but I think not necessarily of Mongolian ethnicity . How were they convinced to fight in the soviet army ? Information not available ? Or even from the British and American side. Did western international financiers orchestrate supplies to the soviets ?

Who is this Heinricky @10:06? I am assuming it is HEINZ which has been disasterously mispronounced.....

The logistics were horrible for the German Army. It's the one thing they sorely lacked skill in. Going sideways North and South let the Panzers still somewhat in logistical range. Going forward towards Moscow at that time might have well led to paralyzed tanks without fuel. PS Logistics is also a major reason why the German march slowed down after 2 weeks of invasion.

I think thrusting forward and leaving hundreds of tousand enemy armies at your flanks is not logical which could effect operation on a different scales. Just imagine russian winter counter attack in december includes the divisions in ukraine&leningrad that had not been destroyed when the siberian armies came to push germans from moscow. This could result collapse of entire front at that year's winter. Plus losing Moscow didnt yield Russians against Napoleon, while they have an army on the field. Keep that in mind.

What's the deal with the AI continuing the narration over the guy at the end? That's pretty weird.

I think the decision of dividing that army to support operations against Leningrad and Kiev was correct. Siege of Leningrad failed even with that backup, while battle of Kiev resulted in massive German victory and Soviet losses of about 600,000 soldiers

I don't see anyone asking why Hitler made this new disposition. Was it perhaps something to do with Finland's participation in the war? Incidentally, Stalin was caught by surprise because he was watching the price of wool in Germany. A static price would mean the Germans weren't invading. He couldn't perceive of the Germans' arrogance that the war would be over before the onset of winter.

Yes, because Moscow was the central point of the railways of Russia !!!! On this time !!!

Interesting video. Although I found the AI voice over annoying

Smolensko? Seriously? And you put it in the title as a cherry on top.

Лендлиз для СССР стал спасением страны большевиков от разгрома немцами.

I don't think this battle was a turning point; but I do think it was the point where the smart commanders started to see that attacking Russia was not the best decision.

At the end of 1940 there was a change in Soviet doctrine and war plans few know about. Hitherto, on Stalin's orders, Soviet doctrine was that of the attack. Anyone contemplating defensive strategies was considered defeatist and treasonous. Pavlov was in charge of the armies in the Byalystock salient, and was a proponent of offensive warfare. Up to this point Soviet strategy was to use the salient as a jumping off point in the event of a war with Germany, and to launch an invasion of East Prussia and German occupied Poland. The change in strategy came in the autumn of 1940 when two wargames were held on the instigation of Zukhov. It could be said that in these 'games', Zukhov's very life was on the line, as he was subtly challenging the Party-military doctine of the offensive. Zukhov's opponent in these games was Pavlov. In one game Pavlov played the Soviets and invaded Germany, but he was swiftly trounced by Zukhov playing as the Germans. In the second game, Zukhov played the Soviets and Pavlov the Germans. We don't know much about the results of this second game, but Soviet strategy clearly changed to a much more defensive posture following this. By this time Stalin knew the Germans would attack soon, and he had to play his own part in fooling the Germans that he hadn't rumbled their plans. Stalin also used Pavlov as a stooge and poisoned pawn. If Stalin had simply started to withdraw all forces to the interior, then this would have given the game away to the Germans, who then may have changed their own plans. Stalin didn't want this. Stalin wanted the Germans to do pretty much what they did in over-extending themselves. So, Soviet forces in the Byalystock salient did not receive the reinforcements which Pavlov constantly demanded. In particular they were starved of heavy artillery and mortars. The Germans found these later when they bit granite at Yelnia. Yelnia was described as being WWI style attritional warfare and started the process of bleeding the Wermacht white. After the Germans attacked, Pavlov was recalled to Moscow and executed for treason. Clearly he wasn't a traitor, but he had to appear as one for public consumption as Stalin wanted the Germans to continue to believe that just one more boot on the door would crash the Soviet Union down. Clearly the strategy of letting the Germans exhaust themselves worked, since over time the Red Army grew and the Wermacht shrank. In 1941 the Germans were able to mount 3 separate strategic-operational attacks across a wide front. In 1942 they could only do this in one operational theatre in the East; and by 1943 the Kursk offensive was tiny in comparison to those of the previous two summers.

why are the soviets exclusively cavalry in the early battle? i would have thought them to be infantry.

The decision to pause the offensive on Moscow can only be considered a turning point if you believe that they could have taken Moscow, and that doing so would have resulted in a German victory - which I don't. Hundreds of thousands of Russian troops destroyed or captured in the subsequent Kiev encirclement would have been available to bolster Moscow's defenses or add to the Soviet winter counter-offensive which nearly routed the German army in Russia and very likely would have retaken Moscow if the German's had managed to capture it. The Soviet Government would not have collapsed and their grip on the military and civilian population was total. When the Germans were approaching Moscow in late November, Molotov told a worried Stalin that it didn't matter if the Germans took Moscow - they would still defeat them eventually. Barbarossa was planned and implemented on the basis of intelligence which profoundly underestimated the size of the Soviet military in manpower, guns and tanks, as well as the capacity and flexibility of industry under the Soviet regime. Had The German High Command known the true scale of the Soviet forces it's doubtful they would have taken such a gamble to invade at all - even if they did believe that the Soviets were preparing to attack them.

So, what part did the Khazarians have on both sides?

I wonder how much Napolean's failure in Russia influenced Hitler's thinking during the first weeks of Barbarossa? Napolean captured Moscow but never decisively defeated the Russian army (Borodino being a tactical victory without deep strategic impact). Was Hitler convinced that capturing Moscow was less valualble than annihilating the Soviet army? 130 years can make a big difference. Moscow was the central point of most of the railroad lines in the Western Soviet Union. Given the state of Soviet roads (mostly unpaved), railroads were the key to everything in the USSR. If Hitler had not divided his Panzers but pressed on toward Moscow he might have taken the city. That might have crippled the Soviets ability to move men and material around their country.

Ughhh gotta watch Eastory after this lol

Moscow in retrospect, would have been the preferred objective instead of splitting army group center. Who knows if the Soviets would have capitulated post fall of Moscow but it was worth a try

التعزيزات حول موسكو وهي العاصمة ستكون أقوى لو لم يغير الألمان وجهتهم لهذا ستكون معركة موسكو ليست بالسهلة لكن الألمان كانوا بروح قتالية كبيرة تؤهلهم وهذا ممكن جدا لهزيمة الروس ،ولكن قدر الله هو الذي كان وسيكون

Even poor divisions still shoot bullets and artillery

hitler slowed himself down

So you always add "-O" when word is to hard?

More than half of Germany's industrial effort was spent fighting the Western allies, NOT the Soviet Union. Let that sink in.

I've been studying world war II for decades now. Not Stalingrad (definitely not Kursk), not even the Battle of Moscow was the turning point in the east, but this battle. When you think about it, the Germans didn't even occupy all of France, How were they expected or supposed to conquer the Soviet Union? Their treatment of occupied people's also hastened their demise in the east, as per Hitler statement "One only has to kick in the door in the whole rotten structure will come crashing down," this was impossible if the new structure was as bad or worse than the old one. Obviously hindsight is easy, but if one had a time machine and wanted to help the Germans, one would tell Hitler to consolidate his position in the '30s, build a small empire that would attract others to join as opposed to his taking them over, and never invading Poland (also the persecution of the Jews was as stupid politically as it was morally reprehensible). Think of Germany's place in Europe now, in 2024; had the government followed this more modest plan of consolidation (growing financially, and attracting more territory- think NATO now- and of course military growth and technical development- as opposed to expansion, Germany would be everything it is now but more. And millions of people would have had longer better lives.

Guderian the Goat 🐐

Hitler's army learned at Smolensk what Napoleon had learned at Smolensk (and Borodino), that defeating the defenders and killing enormous numbers of their soldiers wasn't enough.

I've never seen Smolensk with it ending in "o" or pronounced Smolensko.

good video.

I thought the Caucasus oil was Hitler's #1 priority and his Major supply general betrayed him by not following Hitler's orders to keep army group south as the best supplied of all the armies. Germany needed oil more than the prestige of capturing Moscow

To Split the forces in three direction was the bigger error from part of Germany, BEST said, on part of Hitler, Guderian and the bulk of the military staff, agreed what a direct push towars Moscow will overcome the russian resistence and with the capital the regimen will fall too