Too Little, Too Late: An Analysis of Hitler's Failure in August 1942 to Damage Soviet Oil Production

Abstract

EVEN before Operation Barbarossa petered out in December 1941, Germany's oil reserves were severely depleted. Adolf Hitler worried that his armed forces would soon grind to a halt for want of petroleum products. During the last months of 1941 and the first of 1942, economic considerations played as much of a role in the formulation of a new strategy as did the run-down state of the eastern armies and air fleets. Hitler feared heavy Soviet bombing attacks on Rumanian oilfields, his main source of oil, and knew that the Reich's reserves were almost exhausted. Consequently, he considered the protection of the Rumanian oilfields and the acquisition of new sources of oil crucial if he were to wage a prolonged war against the growing list of nations he opposed.1 He therefore formulated Fall Blau (Case Blue), a major campaign for summer 1942. This aimed first, through preliminary offensives in the Crimea, to protect Rumanian oil centres from Soviet air attacks, and second, through a powerful thrust to the Don River and then into the Caucasus, to deliver that oil-rich region into German hands. The capture of 1.

Fuir ou ne pas fuir : l’Holocauste et les messages contradictoires de la propagande soviétique pendant la guerre, 1941

“…Nazi Germany needed Caucasian oil to continue putting into motion its war machine. 13 During the first period of the Soviet-German war (June 22late July), the North Caucasus remained far away from the main theaters of operation. 14 The region even emerged as an important evacuation destination in summer -autumn 1941.…”

U.S. Policy on Energy Access

“…According to the Journal of Military History, Hitler told his senior officers of Army Group South that without petroleum from oil rich areas in Russia the war would end for Germany. 5 Hitler's offensive against the Soviet Union, though unsuccessful, included the capture of the Caspian oil fields as a primary objective. Hitler acknowledged that Germany was "petroleum poor" and required fuel to keep his military operational.…”