I have said since the day of the invasion that Russia could likely win the invasion, but lose the occupation.
of course! I would agree with that terminology.
Just like we won the invasion of Iraq in less than 2 weeks, but then lost the occupation.
Winning an occupation takes... BRUTALITY far beyond nearly any modern nation’s stomach.
The truth is, breaking those rules is in part how we won WW2. It’s just glossed over since we were the victors.
In an alternate universe where the allies lost WW2, they would of put us on trial for firebombing Dresden and dropping the nukes on Japan.
The victor makes the rules, and decides who broke them and the penalty.
Hitler knew this and is why he pushed for total war, because in the end any REAL war is total war. Becuase in the end, you either win or your dead, and then what does it matter.