Snake Featherston
Banned
In the 1941 battles General Nikolai Vatutin launched one of the first Soviet strategic victories at Stoltsy, when he encircled von Manstein's armored forces. At the time Manstein was a subordinate general quite some time away from his later brilliance, and he *was* in actual fact encircled. Assuming that a combination of feuding with his superiors and Vatutin's skill leads to his encirclement and the loss of two divisions in 1941, how much of any realistic impact does that have? Obviously the Leningrad battles wind up somewhat different, but does the capture of von Manstein in 1941 alter anything but the incidental details of German defeat? Do the Germans actually do better without Manstein's sucking up to Hitler?
From a Soviet POV, what does this kind of victory do for morale and the rise of the generals? Would Vatutin be a rival for Zhukov akin to Konev ITTL?
From a Soviet POV, what does this kind of victory do for morale and the rise of the generals? Would Vatutin be a rival for Zhukov akin to Konev ITTL?