In the winter of 1941, the Soviet Union suffered three decades of extreme weather, with average temperatures in much of Moscow as low as minus forty degrees.
For the Soviets, it was even more of a terrible winter. Not only did they have to endure the cold, but their country was also under attack by Nazi Germany. At that time, a large army of german troops was already under moscow.
However, for the Germans, that winter was a terrible nightmare. Because of the large number of German soldiers, who did not even have winter cotton clothes at all, they could only shiver outside the city of Moscow at minus forty degrees, praying that they would not freeze to death.
It can be said that the Battle of Moscow in the Soviet-German War was definitely a battle of life and death. With extremely cold weather conditions, the Soviets finally defeated the Nazi invaders and successfully dismantled the image of the German army as invincible.
At the same time, the victory in the defense of Moscow also built confidence in the Soviet army and laid the groundwork for the great counteroffensive after the Battle of Stalingrad.
(German forces in the Soviet-German War)
Hitler's Barbarossa Plan, then, had been planned for many years and could be said to have been very well prepared. But why didn't he prepare cotton clothes for the soldiers for the winter?
In fact, as early as a century ago, Napoleon had already made a failed demonstration, when Napoleon's army had experienced freezing. And Hitler, as a dictator intent on conquering all of Europe, could not fail to refer to the example of Napoleon.
In fact, all the top German figures, including Hitler, considered this question. But because the German Army's performance on the European battlefield was too good, the self-confidence of the Germans had swelled rapidly.
Eventually, Hitler made a big gamble, he concluded that Germany would occupy Moscow before winter came, so he did not prepare cotton clothes at all.
To this end, Germany played a big game of chess.
In 1939, a few days before the German blitzkrieg against Poland, the Soviet Union and Germany signed the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact and successfully divided Poland. But as Germany became invincible in Europe, especially France, once the number one army power, after the lightning fall within 39 days, the Soviet Union also began to be wary of Germany.
In order to confuse the Soviets, Hitler launched the "Sea Lion Project" and launched the famous Battle of Britain.
(Battle of Britain)
At the same time, Soviet intelligence officers collected a report on Germany's wool production between 1940 and the first half of 1941. The report shows that Germany's wool product production has not risen. All indications are that Germany will not go to war against the Soviet Union for the time being. At least in 1941, the Soviet Union was relatively safe.
However, all this is exactly what the Germans want to achieve. In June 1941, without Britain being captured, Germany abruptly tore up the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact, gathered 5.5 million troops, and launched a lightning invasion of the Soviet Union from three directions.
Because the German offensive was too sudden, the Soviets had little defense. Therefore, in the first few months of the war, the Soviet army was vulnerable and could only be defeated. Germany also seized the opportunity to move forward quickly, and in a very short period of time, it penetrated the entire line into the Soviet union.
As the situation unfolded, it was really possible for Germany to take Moscow before the winter.
(Battle of Moscow)
However, even if Germany's blitzkrieg was invincible, it was not enough to occupy the huge Territory of the Soviet Union. Speaking of which, because German armored forces were able to move unimpeded on the roads during the occupation of Western and Central European countries, germany was mistakenly believed that they could replicate the same blitzkrieg tactics in the Soviet Union.
However, the reality was that at that time, the traffic in the Soviet Union was mainly based on railways, supplemented by roads, and most of the roads were dirt roads, and there were very few asphalt roads. At the same time, the Soviet Union had a rainy season, and once it rained, the dirt roads were muddy. This was a disaster for the armored forces.
In other words, it is simply impossible for Germany to exert the power of blitzkrieg.
Because the front line was too long, the Supply of the German Army encountered serious problems. After the war was dragged into winter.
Hitler discovered the problem and rushed to produce 2 million cotton coats to support the battlefield. But by the time the cotton coats were in place, the Battle of Moscow was over.
Time, location, people, these conditions are equally unoccupied by the German army, and Hitler's idea of taking Moscow before the winter is obviously doomed to be unattainable.
(Reference: History of the Second World War)