u/CauliflowerFlaky9903

In the original Fall Bleu (Case Blue) plan by Germany, the strike into the southern oilfields and territories of Russia, taking Stalingrad wasn’t necessary, but it was focused on regardless during the execution of the plan. What if Germany actually followed the plan and didn’t focus so much on Stalingrad, avoiding the 300,000 man encirclement, including plenty of equipment, and the failure of Case Blue, that ended the chance of Germany winning in Russia? How would the rest of the war turn out, and the Eastern Front, with a successful Case Blue and no devastating encirclement?

In 1940, during the German invasion of France, hundreds of thousand of troops were stuck in the Dunkirk pocket. German panzer divisions were told to halt and let the Luftwaffe planes bomb the troops. The German air force didn’t succeed, allowing hundreds of thousand of extra British and French forces, including nearly the entirety of the British Expeditionary Force. What if the order to halt ground troops hadn’t been given? Would the hundreds of thousand British POWs push Britain to surrender? What would it mean for the rest of the war, like the invasion of the USSR, now with a more powerful Air Force, not hurt by the Battle of Britain, and not distracted by other theaters? Would Germany be able to open a Caucuses front by pressuring a surrounded Turkey to join the Axis? How would the war turn out?

North Africa was always a secondary theater for Germany, with the Eastern Front receiving much more troops and resources that could have been used in North Africa. Even with limited resources, though, Rommel managed to make it all the way to El Alamein. Now imagine if he actually received considerable troops and supplies. Germany would definitely secure North Africa and Middle East oil during 1941 and perhaps part of 1942. what if they then launched Operation Barbarossa afterwards, in summer 1942, what would happen? Would they be better off than just attacking in 1941? They would have vast swathes of oil, and another front on the Russians, in the caucuses, where they could cripple Russian oil production and industry. They would probably also have more troops, tanks, planes, and experience to attack the Soviets with, but the Russians also would have produced more, including the (still threatening at the time) T34s and KV tanks, but with troops led by unexperienced and unqualified commanders, because of Stalins purge in the 30s.