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as for WINTER...
it is interesting how winter is named as the reson for every vicotry the russian forces have had.
May I propose those who would hold that view image themselves as a potential invador. What would be your concirn? Winter. It is NOT a russian state secret. It is Not the great surprise tacktic. It always comes. It is always the same, more or less.
Napoleon knew winter would come. So did Hitler. And they DID try to deal with it.
Napoleon planed to take Moskow long before winter. And he did. He simply could not imagine that the population of the city would leave before he came, that the russian army would not fight a final battle and rather manuver and maintain operational capability. So napoleon bing a smart man decided to move south. to warmer climates. to places where his armies would forage easily. however his invincible armies were stoped. stoped by russain soldiers. again and again. only one path was unprotected - back the same way. the way that was already pilaged. that way that had no more food left. that is what kiled the french. they were all dead when they started to eat their prised cavalry horces. It was not the cold that finished them - it was hunger. they sotped being an army, and then they did die form cold and cossak sabers.
Hitler had the same plan. he just failed to take moskow in the first place. he failed to get to it during the summer. not beacuse it snows in russian in June, but because there were enogh division sacrificing themselves to stop german adavnce. because enogh fo them would continue to fight when surrounded. because russian cities were not Paris, and you did not get walk though them in a parade formation.
As for winter? yes it comes. yes it is cold. for both sides. its equaly harsh to eather side. russains are not an alien species, they have same problems with cold weather as other eruopeans. it just so happens that in defence of their home land they seem to be willing to endure hardships the enemy is not.
In eather case, the germans being some hard core people survived the winter. And even maintained superiority in numbers (after massive loses at the start of the war russian army numbered less then german by the start of moscow counteratack) and in mechanised units. it took a few more years to secure a victory. and it was mostly acomplished by superior military technology and unbelibable tenacity of russian troops.
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