World War 2 Eastern Front

EASTERN FRONT: The strategic movement into the Crimea and the battle of Sevastopol was another one of Hitler’s grand schemes into which he bullied the German General Staff. At its center were the oil fields in the Caucasus, but it was a plan that should have waited until the Russian Forces were soundly defeated.

The Germans were coming up against better Russian Equipment as the war ground slowly on. The appearance of the superb Russian T-34 tank and newer field guns should have tipped the Germans off. Sound war management dictated the destruction of the Russian Army first: then the new industrial facilities beyond the Ural Mountains. To do this effectively, the Germans would have needed a bigger and more powerful Luftwaffe, with true strategic capabilities, including four engine bombers and long range fighters.