Germany · Warfare / World War, 2nd. Chronological records rendered directly from the World History Database.
45: reorganized Army Group South into two smaller Army Groups, A and B; directed Army Group A to advance to the Caucasus and capture the oil fields (Operation Edelweis); directed Army Group B to attack towards the Volga and Stalingrad (Operation Fischreiher)
Believing that the main Soviet threat had been eliminated, short of oil and needing to meet all the of Case Blue, Hitler makes changes to the Fuhrer Directive No.
Logistics lines were already at breaking point with ammunition and fuel shortages most apparent and it would be impossible to advance using the conservative supply rates he demanded.
The new directive created enormous logistical difficulties, with Hitler expecting both Army Groups to advance along different routes.
There is no evidence Hitler was opposed by, or received complaints from Franz Halder, the Chief of the General Staff, or anyone else, about the directive until August 1942.
This factsheet is generated from stored World History Database records matching the country, broad category, detailed category and exact Event value shown above. Duplicate display records are collapsed; database wording is otherwise preserved. Source provenance varies by record, so formal academic citation should be checked against the relevant primary source, archive or specialist historical reference.