The Balkan Detour

Mussolini was jealous of Hitler’s military victories.
Seeing how Germany had conquered most of Western Europe, Italy decided to attack the Balkan Peninsula.
At first, the attack went well.  However, the defenders of Greece were very determined, and managed to drive back the Italians.
Mussolini used his power to ensure that news of failure did not reach the public, and continued the costly war.
Germany came in to bail Italy out, and quickly conquered the Balkans.
This campaign delayed Hitler’s Russian offensive by several weeks.

Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa was the plan to end WWII by 1941.
The plan was to strike quickly in the blitzkrieg style, and conquer Russia.
 Stalin was warned that Germany would attack by his advisors, but ignored them.
Hitler did NOT want a drawn-out struggle; his army was so much like Napoleon’s that a long siege could prove fatal.
As shown on the map, Germany managed to fight its way to Moscow, Leningrad, and Stalingrad.
Unfortunately, Hitler’s worst fears came to pass, and a winter siege began.
The winter weather was horrid on the mechanized tanks and the lightly equipped troops.
 It is believed that had Hitler not paused to save Mussolini from himself, the extra time would have allowed him to conquer Moscow, which would be a good victory.
Soon, the decisive battle for Stalingrad began.