28. Did Hitler’s Invasion of the Balkans Fatally Delay His Invasion of the USSR?
Another of the war’s myths posits that Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, which supposedly ground to a halt because of Russia’s winter, would have succeeded if it had only started a month or two earlier than its actual launch date of June 22nd, 1941. However, Hitler got entangled in the Balkans, invading Greece and Yugoslavia in April of 1941, which delayed the launch of Operation Barbarossa.
The first flaw is the top billing given to winter. Other factors, such as fierce Soviet resistance, the overextension of German supply lines to the snapping point as they plunged ever deeper into the USSR, and autumn rains, had already halted the Wehrmacht’s advance before the first snowstorms. The Germans had to regroup before resuming their advance on Moscow, which gave the Soviets a needed breather. German soldiers were unprepared for the terrible Russian winter when it arrived, but that was only one factor in halting their advance.