What if instead of occupying the USSR, Germany just destroyed it instead?

ben0628

Banned
This is a wierd idea, probably asb, but just something to think about.

Let's say by October 1941, the Germans realize that conquering the USSR is a no go. So instead of continuing a slug fest with the Russians, they decide to cut their loses and just completely withdraw back to Poland by Spring of 1942.

During this withdraw though the Germans would scorch all of occupied Russia, killing/shooting any civilians they see, taking as much resources/infrastructure as possible, wrecking all of the farmland.

Doing this would do several things. Up to this point, German casualties would be extremely low, while Russian casualties would be high. At the same time, all of Western Russia would be a uninhabited mess, with much of its resources looted and population killed. And to make things worse for the Soviets, by falling back to Poland, German logistics are no longer stretched and without suffering 1943/1944 casualties defending Western Russia in otl, the Germans would have the manpower to defend against any Russian attack and since the Soviet Union is more or less a train wreck the Germans could focus on North Africa and the Middle East.

So basically instead if making Operation Barbarossa into an invasion/occupation of the Soviet Union, turn it into a giant raid meant to temporarily knock the Soviets out for a decade or two and fund the future war effort by temporarily looting Western Russia.

Thoughts? Obviously this is probably asb (unless maybe you kill off Hitler and replace him with a more pragmatic leader), but it's something to think about none the less. Would Germany be better off or worse doing this?
 
Oh but when they do get to Germany...although I can't imagine then being much more horrible than they were.
 

trurle

Banned
This is a wierd idea, probably asb, but just something to think about.

Let's say by October 1941, the Germans realize that conquering the USSR is a no go. So instead of continuing a slug fest with the Russians, they decide to cut their loses and just completely withdraw back to Poland by Spring of 1942.

During this withdraw though the Germans would scorch all of occupied Russia, killing/shooting any civilians they see, taking as much resources/infrastructure as possible, wrecking all of the farmland.

Doing this would do several things. Up to this point, German casualties would be extremely low, while Russian casualties would be high. At the same time, all of Western Russia would be a uninhabited mess, with much of its resources looted and population killed. And to make things worse for the Soviets, by falling back to Poland, German logistics are no longer stretched and without suffering 1943/1944 casualties defending Western Russia in otl, the Germans would have the manpower to defend against any Russian attack and since the Soviet Union is more or less a train wreck the Germans could focus on North Africa and the Middle East.

So basically instead if making Operation Barbarossa into an invasion/occupation of the Soviet Union, turn it into a giant raid meant to temporarily knock the Soviets out for a decade or two and fund the future war effort by temporarily looting Western Russia.

Thoughts? Obviously this is probably asb (unless maybe you kill off Hitler and replace him with a more pragmatic leader), but it's something to think about none the less. Would Germany be better off or worse doing this?
Probably Germany will fare far worse compared to OTL. For following reasons:
1) Heavy German losses (abandoned equipment, Soviet air raids etc.) during retreat
2) Less damage to Soviet aviation
3) Loss of Ukrainian nickel and manganese mines, which means shittier German armor plating earlier in war
4) Loss of fortified regions (IOTL, Soviets were forced to bypass most of German fortified regions, especially in Ukraine)
5) Less damage to Southern Russia (IOTL, Soviet forces were forced to blow up the oil wells in Grozny oilfield due of fears what it may fall to German)
6) It will be very difficult to exterminate the predominantly rural population of western USSR. Start the operation, and anybody listening the radio will be deep in forests by the dawn of the next day. And it is physically impossible to dispense enough forces and fuel to kill everybody in few days or even weeks. IOTL, Germans never visited several villages in Smolensk oblast during their 2+ years control.
 
Wouldn't happen. A less demented leader would pass on the USSR altogether. And any raid is just gonna piss off Stalin and he never forgave anything. #6 above is correct as well.
 
Porbably you would need different Nazi leadership. Them had meaning to conquer Russia to Urals. And Nazi leaders were too maniac that they would understand reality.
 
"Complete destruction" of such an infrastructure is extremely dificult to achieve, and expensive in resources, manpower and time. As for "destroying the farmland", you'd need either thousands of tons of poison, or salt. Or both. And the time to use it. And you would also have to contaminate every water source, from wells to rivers. And "killing all the civilians" is not that simple; remember that, to kill the jews, the germans realised the more efecient way was to use death camps. The same would apply here.

Even if it worked, the "payback is a bi$$h" factor, from the russians, would be cranked up to 11. What happened in reality would pale to to what would happen when the Red Army retook the corpse-infested wasteland that western russia would have become. I doubt there would be a german left alive in any soviet-ocupied area...
 
my question would be what could they do that would eliminate (credible) Soviet offensive threat in 3 - 6 month campaign? (and eliminate it for some period of time)

killed or captured millions of Soviet troops during initial stages of Barbarossa but were still subject to counterattacks by Oct.'41 (meaning serious counterattacks)
 
my question would be what could they do that would eliminate (credible) Soviet offensive threat in 3 - 6 month campaign? (and eliminate it for some period of time)

killed or captured millions of Soviet troops during initial stages of Barbarossa but were still subject to counterattacks by Oct.'41 (meaning serious counterattacks)

Charge straight for Moscow on day 1, catch & kill Stalin. Then maybe it works. Maybe.
 
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