(06-29-2014 02:32 PM)TStatebobcat Wrote:  Playing the what if game. What if Germany had gone strictly east and concentrated all its efforts on Russia. Forget France and England, neither country would've lifted a finger to help Russia. You'd have to think that the Germans would've conquered Russia and with those resources then turn their eyes on the West.

I think turning the Phoney War into Blitzkrieg in the west was a big mistake. Russia held much more of what Hitler needed, primarily grain and oil.

Invading the Soviet Union May 1940 instead of instead of France and the Low Countries might very well have kept the sitzkrieg going in the west. Very little chance the US is Lend Leasing to the Soviets if Paris is free of Nazis and bombers aren't over London.

The Soviets didn't take huge advantage of US tanks and aircraft but the loved the Studebaker trucks, without that ability to move supplies and soldiers the Soviets would have been in terrible shape logistically.

France and the UK had already hosed Poland by not quickly mounting an attack after the invasion of Poland when the west was poorly guarded. Attacking the Soviets would have reduced the France/UK interest in making that attack.

Starting 57 weeks earlier than Operation Barbarossa would have given the Germans a greater opportunity to reach Moscow. Take Moscow and the Soviets have basically lost lateral movement by rail and supply and reinforcement becomes an enhanced challenge since they were short on trucks as well.