Case Epstein: A Masterclass in Strategic Incompetence
June 28,1942 In the summer of 1942, the German army, stalemated on the Russian front after the failure of Operation Barbarossa the previous year, attempted a second massive offensive, this time entitled Case Blue . This offensive would be aimed at one of the economic hearts of Russia: the Caucasus oil fields. Hitler believed that if the Wehrmacht could capture those fields, Stalin's war machine, starved of fuel, would crawl to a halt. While he did appreciate that the Soviets would fight to the last to stop this from happening, Hitler understood that this reaction provided a second opportunity for the German army: to crush Soviet reserve units, thereby militarily weakening, perhaps fatally, the Soviet army. Lastly, Case Blue also sought to cut the Volga River, thereby cutting off essential Lend-Lease supplies from Stalin's allies. The initial stage of Case Blue was a smashing success with vast amounts of territory gained, including the city of Rostov. Even t...