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To: tom h; All
As far as I know, Hitler never listened to anything his generals said..

There's also a problem with the idea of a "defensible line" in Russia. The original grand strategy behind Barbarossa envisioned a defensive line stretching from Archangel in the Artic down to Azerbaijan in the Caucusus..the so-called "A-A" line. This assumed that the major Soviet cities..from Murmansk, to Leningrad, Moscow, down to Stalingrad..would be conquered. They envisioned large armored forces, backed by the Luftwaffe..patrolling the vast Russian interior. I've read a synopsis of the plan..it's fascinating to see the German mind at work..but it wasn't realistic.

Slightly off topic, but for those who enjoy alternative history, I stumbled across a fascinated novel.."Dominion" by C.J. Sansom. It's set in England in 1952, 10 years after Chamberlin agreed to an armistice with Hitler. The Fascists run the government, Oswald Mosley's a big deal...and Churchill's the leader of the rebellion. A good read..worth looking for.

Probably, IMO, the first, and actually the best alternative history was by CS Forester..best known for the Horatio Hornblower saga. He wrote several volumes of short stories exploring what if Hitler had succeeded in invading England

31 posted on 06/08/2014 9:32:59 AM PDT by ken5050 ("One useless man is a shame, two are a law firm, three or more are a Congress".. John Adams)
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To: ken5050
Interesting consideration. Prior to the invasion in June 1941, Stalin was speculating as to what Hitler's expectations were in Soviet Russia openly with the Politboro. Based on Mein Kampf, they suspected it was the Ukraine, the Pripet Marshes, and the Baltic States, which would allow for German domination of the Baltic Sea.

A tome I read about Stalingrad said that Stalin, in a weak moment within the first 60 days of the invasion, was willing to concede these in a peace treaty if Hitler would stop the offensive. It was the Bulgarian Ambassador who assured Stalin, that, ultimately, Russia would prevail, if they just had the willpower, in a war of attrition.

43 posted on 06/08/2014 9:41:54 AM PDT by tom h
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