usertron2020
Donor
Yes, because regardless of how strong the USSR actually was, Nazi ideology would have insisted that sub-human Bolsheviks would never match the German fighting man in skill and German industry in the ability to produce superior weaponry.
Exactly. Not just Nazis, but Heer generals looking for an all time chance to act out their theories and play with their toys at the same time.
I recall that OTL an objective look would have shown that the USSR was too powerful to risk attacking, but the assumptions were tweaked until an attack was possible... barely.
(The OTL weaknesses were not actually apparent or something that can be assumed - especially "total strategic and tactical surprise".)
Nothing worse, nothing more destructive to war/campaign planning than prejudicial umpires. The Japanese had the same thing happen when during their wargames for Midway they resulted two Japanese carriers sunk, whereupon the umpires arbitrarily "dumbed down" Japanese losses to one carrier damaged. Then Nagumo's CoS proceeded to rule no Japanese losses at all!