Just finished a book called “Icebreaker”, available on amazon, on the origins of not only W.W. II but the real reasons Hitler attacked Russia. It is well documented and puts and entirely new slant on the War and how it started. And it is not what we learned in school in history.
My understand is that Hitler knew, as in 1914, that Russia was only getting stronger with each passing day, and the only chance was to attack as soon as possible.
But the thing is, in the end Mussolini’s botch in the Balkans may have saved the Russians, because Hitler had to delay Barbarossa for 6 critical weeks to bail out Mussolini.
I still say, if the Nazis reach Moscow, the Soviet government falls apart, and Russians start fighting amongst themselves. Hitler failed to understand how he easily could have forced civil war amongst the Soviets and “divide and conquer”.
Written by Viktor Suvorov, a Soviet Army defector, who has written numerous other outstanding books on the Soviet Army. This one is another exceptional book as well ...
Read The Sleepwalkers about WWI origins.