How the difference in railroad rail gauge may have been the key factor in Germany's failure invading Russia at the end of WW2

submitted by magnora7 from westhunt.wordpress.com

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[–]Chipit 3 insightful - 3 fun3 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 3 fun -  (3 children)

Eh, not really. German logistics were based on wishful thinking, not a realistic idea of what the vastness of Russia was like.

Moreover the Red Army was unbelievably larger than anyone ever thought. The Germans were under the impression that there were one hundred divisons they had to destroy and Russia would be defeated. They destroyed them, and there were two hundred more that they never knew about. Hitler himself said he would have disbelieved any intelligence that told him the truth.

[–]JasonCarswell 3 insightful - 5 fun3 insightful - 4 fun4 insightful - 5 fun -  (2 children)

" Eh, not really. "

Actually, this supply line railroad gauge issue was very very real.

" German logistics were based on wishful thinking, not a realistic idea of what the vastness of Russia was like. "

That is very true, but it doesn't negate the real issue, stay on track.

What would have happened had Hitler actually penetrated through to Moscow and taken Russian power? All he'd need is control over the leadership, not the masses and troops. Maybe he could have held it, or maybe it would have soon flipped back, or slowly lost grip, maybe through yet another revolution, or peacefully. We'll never know...

...he got derailed.

[–]Chipit 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

The center of gravity for the USSR was not Moscow. It was the Red Army. Destroy the army and take Moscow at your leisure.

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

You can't destroy Russia, that is foolish thinking.

Those guys have survived invasions from Napoleon, Hitler and will definitely live through your conquering attempts!

You barely even have an army. A few keyboards and a musket aren't enough to take them down. Russia is not to be messed with.