Your entire Army's doctrine and tactics lie on mobile warfare and exploitation

Yes they did, and please never say derp again.

Baku's oil fields nigga.

Stalingrad was an important city.

The fact that the Wehrmacht received proper training but refused to adapt but the Red Army had no training but was able to adapt is rather telling.

Could you please elaborate on the logistic/geographic reasons? By no means do I buy into the whole "attacking Stalingrad for the name" bollocks, but what was the reasoning? Using the Don?

Noted.

The reasoning might have been to simply pick a location with propagandistic significance (Stalingrad) and fight in a direct confrontation until the Soviets were depleted.

The German high command probably realized that they can't go racing around the thousands and thousands of miles of Russia and expect to get anything done without wasting a huge supply of gasoline.

This is a rather novel idea, but that's a massive gamble, though - what if the Reds say "sod it" and commit their forces elsewhere?

Yes, notice on this map how it's the most southernmost big city before the vast steppe.
As you can see it's a logistical node, and across that vast steppe south only one railroad goes south, towards Rostov and Krasnodar.
But it's logistical importance is not as great in this case, you can see that Caucasus is connected via Rostov.
However, strategic importance is massive. Stalingrad by virtue of it's size and connection would act as a great base for Soviet counter-attack.
So even if Germans seized Baku oil fields and Caucasus, Soviet forces around Stalingrad would be perfectly positioned to cut them off.

Isn't Boroshilovgrad the southernmost city?

The map really sheds light on the subject, thanks.

So, in essence, if the Germans took Stalingrad, the Ruskies would have Saratov or Tambov as a base for a counteroffensive, several hundred miles further east, and would be nowhere near to threatening the Caucasus.

This map goes in the "useful things" folder.

Stalingrad's logistical importance isn't limited to its railways, it's right next to the largest river in Europe that carries waterway freight from the oil-rich Caucasus to the rest of the Soviet Union.

Furthermore, as you can see, seizing Stalingrad even without seizing Caucasus would both cut the connection between oil fields and rest of Soviet Union (there's only the link to Astrakhan, but that would be easily cut if Stalingrad was seized), and it also cut Soviet connection to Iran.
But in reality, propaganda factor played a role too.

So in essence like Vicksburg in the American Civil War?

Stavropol is practically Caucasus and south of the steppe.
You are correct, but I was just focusing on railways.

Or Tsaritsyn in Russian Civil War.

Meant to reply to obviously.

Two rivers

Anyone have any good stories about how it was like to fight there?

The Caucasus was far less relevant during the Civil war, though - it was hardly mechanized, or even motorized, warfare, so oil was not of immediate interest, right?

I have the impression the Battle of Tsaritsyn is mostly remembered because it is when Stalin acquired a lot of the grudges he would act upon given the chance (Trotsky, Vācietis).

However, I stand corrected, my knowledge is passing at best.

Or any other strategic river. When the Volga was threatened by the Germans in 1942 the Soviets had to use a massive detour for their Caucasus oil by shipping it across the Caspian to Turkmenistan, and then up through Central Asia to the interior of the country. Coupled with the drop in oil production that year it created the greatest oil crisis of the entire war for the Soviets.

Never knew that. I had thought the Soviets weren't all that reliant upon the Causasus for oil - compared to the Germans who had Bessarabia and nothing else.

If they did, the Germans would be able to push the front beyond Stalingrad and possibly anticipate Soviet advances elsewhere.

Oil was of less importance but there were industries and other resources in Caucasus, but it was also a base of White movement.
Keep in mind that many of the railways you see in that map didn't exist back then, so it was even more important accordingly, and Ukraine was a chaotic warzone.
It could act as a great bulwark against Soviet counterattack and base for offensive towards Central Russia, or a great base for attack on White territories, as it did.
If Wrangel seized it, perhaps Civil War would end differently.

Like 90% of Soviet POL production at that time was from Baku oil fields.

90% of Soviet oil production and 80% of its refining capacity were situated in the Caucasus in 1938.
Germany had imports on credit from Romania, who was the second largest producer of oil in Europe after the USSR.

the wehrmacht under no circumstance could succeed fall blau, get that into your heads

>1941, fully strenght army, fails, sufferes severe losses
>1942, you gather an army that is mostly full strenght against a stronger enemy, you let your underequiped, unexperienced allies guard your vital flanks

what could have happened, what did shitler think will happen

I realize you're doing meme history, but still - 1941 didn't fail, it achieved as much as could be hoped considering time constraints (autumn mud).

>under no circumstances could trump win the elect-

>1941 didn't fail
their objective was to defeat Soviet Union in a few month long campaign
They didn't and even got btfo in the winter counterattack and were stuck in an attritional warfare in the East while Allies were preparing to rekt their shit in the West (thanks to Hitler being kind enough to declare war on USA)
Sounds like a failure to me