Hitler's strategy

Let me get it right: The Soviet Union was swimming in oil and demanded it anyway by her western allies?

According to the newspaper article, the Wehrmacht aimed for 80 % of the russian oil reserves and 90 % of the refining capacity and the Red Army could continue with the rest. But i guess they would struggle much like the axis powers did, always trying to save fuel.

The Wehrmacht did continue but was always hampered, even more the Luftwaffe and the Kriegsmarine. It is a difference to train young pilots with gliders or real aircrafts.

 

No. In 1942 SU had enough oil and the Third Reich had enough oil. Problems were elsewhere.

PS: I am astonished how quickly you have read that article. Really, have you read it? Knowlege is in reading not in talking.

 

The built up of the oil production in Sibiria started in 1939. It would have been enough for a smaller Red Army behind the Ural.

The Axis powers (all of them) never had enough oil, petrol always was an issue and it was getting worse all the time from the start of Barbarossa onwards. Japan had to conquer Dutch East-India quickly in late 1941, otherwise there wouldn't be enough fuel to attack anymore and they had to do what was dictated by the USA.

The second world war was a war of the haves against the have nots, especially concerning oil.

 

"If I do not get the oil of Maikop and Grozny I must stop this war" Adolf Hitler 1942

http://www.joelhayward.org/Too-Little-Too-Late.2.pdf

 

But he didn't ,which proved that he was talking nonsense .

 

"Hitler had a big point though. In 1940 Baku was producing 22.2 million metric tons of oil, comprising 72% of total Soviet oil production. In 1941, it produced 25.4 Mt"

Source: http://karbuz.blogspot.com/2006/10/oil-logistics-lesson-from-wwii-3.html, which sources in turn from "The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power" by Daniel Yergin
I'll need to see if 1941/42 estimates exist, but 72% loss would likely cripple USSR.
As far as Soviets migrating oil production East, the same article continues:

All the nine drilling offices, oil-expedition and oil-construction trusts as well as various other enterprises with their staffs were transferred to an area near Kuybishev, (Russia Federation in Tartarstan near the Ural Mountains north of Kazakhstan). This city soon came to be known as "the Second Baku".
Despite the severe frost the drillers started searching for oil and thanks to day and night working, the Bakuis in the region of Povolzhye increased the fuel extraction in "Kinelneft" trust that first year by 66% and by 42% in entire region of Kuybishev. As a result, five new oil and gas fields were discovered and huge oil refinery construction projects were undertaken, including the first pipe line between Kuybishev and Buturslan was built that same year.

No numbers are given for totals, but if Baku was 72%, plus Grozny and Maikop probably adding up to at least 5-10% more, the rest of Eastern USSR was at most 20-25% - and even nicreasing that WHOLE by 66% would only get you 40% of pre-caucasus-capture totals.

http://history.stackexchange.com/questions/8512/could-the-soviet-union-have-continued-fighting-world-war-ii-without-caucasus-oil

 

Don´t know if there was enough fuel for the trucks and jeeps but anyway:

Oil of Russia : www.oilru.com : “Oil of Russia” magazine

"...simple arithmetic will show that the amount of gasoline supplied under lend-lease was enough to fly 3.92 million combat missions (1,305,518/0.333), i.e. to send 3,000 aircraft on combat missions daily (3.92 million sorties/1,344 days). According to historical statistics, from 6,500 to 18,800 planes were committed to action simultaneously on Soviet and German sides in the course of hostilities, i.e. an average of 3,250 to 9.400 planes on each side. That means that aviation gasoline supplied under Lend-Lease could satisfy from 33% to 90% of the entire Soviet Air Force's requirements in various periods of the war. "

 

Well, he couldn't just "stop" because too many crimes had been committed and no one would negotiate with him.

So he tried to force the allies to negotiate. Battle of Kursk, Battle of the Bulge, V-Weapons were all attempts.

His comment about the oil of the Caucasus was surely a reply to proposals to search peace in the East without considerable gain of territory. To compete with the USA and GB as a future naval power he needed much more oil.

 

He did not mention Baku, but only Maikop and Grozny .

But whatever, the old claim that the Caucasus was essential, because it produced 65/70 % of the Soviet oil, is founded on nothing .

One should not use production figures, even not consumption figures, but only the "need " figures , which are unknown ;all we know is that the SU arrived in Berlin in 1945,when it produced 19.4 million ton of oil,against 32.2 million in 1940.But that is not indicating how much oil the SU was consuming in 1945,and how much of this was consumed by the military and by the economy .How much of the 18.2 million ton produced in 1944 was used that year and in 1945 ? No one knows .We only know that the SU was producing more, much more oil that it was consuming,not only during the war but also before the war ,which means that production figures are irrelevant .It is very possible that the SU had some 100 million ton of oil available during the war (reserves included ), but we don't know how much was consumed, we also don't know if with a lower consumption the Red Army could have arrived in Berlin . We also don't know how much the SU was depending on oil ,probably much less than the allies .

Did the SU need more oil during the war than before the war ? The answer is : NO ,because, if they needed more oil, they would have produced more oil , which they didn't .

In 1941 the Soviet oil production was 33,038 million ton, of which 23,64 was produced by Azerbadjan (which we can translate as Caucasus)

In 1942 it was 21, 988 and 15,709

In 1943: 17,984 and 12,692

In 1944 :18,261 and 11,839

In 1945 :19, 436 and 11, 494

OTOH the following figures indicate that the SU was less depending on oil than is assumed:

In 1940 the Soviet energy mix was (in %) il 18,7; wood : 20 ; coal :61,3

In 1945 oil : 15; wood 50 ; coal 35

 

Never realized Lend lease helped them that way, so much, as well:

... lend-lease was enough to fly 3.92 million combat missions (1,305,518/0.333), i.e. to send 3,000 aircraft on combat missions daily (3.92 million sorties/1,344 days)...

And that is from a Russian source. Check above.

 

Nazi sour grapes.

 

Why should Hitler concantred to Mediterranean? There is no reason for this. Hitler had known UK will want a peace of agreement If Germany beats Russia before USA joins the war. Hitler didn't want to fight to Britain really. German resorces were more and more decrease and Russia had prepared to war. Operation Barbarossa was a good decision. Because it was essential.

 

Yeah, sure. Just like pulling out all your teeth as a pre-emptive action to fighting tooth decay is essential.

 

Hitler never wanted to fight in the first place in Africa. he was planning barbarossa. But Mussolini and his Army forced him to go for help.

 

That's true but his only chance for acces to natural resources was through the Medierranean, all other routes were tightly closed: British navy at Atlantic and Russians at the east. Holding north Africa and Suez would have been great advantage for the Axis, but Italian "determination to fight" was the greatest problem.

 

It seems pretty sound, but I guess a lot of it would depend on if Turkey joined the Axis allowing Germany access through the country. If that's the case, then the North African route through Egypt, the Suez, cutting through Turkey to gain access to the middle east oil reserves, and holding the Southern Flank to Russia.

 

Just imagine: instead of Baku, Azerbaijan, Hitler conquires Shinkolobwe, Katanga - The mine produced uranium ore for the Manhattan Project. Unthinkable but possible if Hitler avoided a conflict with CCCP (USSR). Just imagine that.
PS. And add to that development of the V2 ballistic missiles, but just Churchill knew the real value of the Mediterranean. That is why his the most important victory during the first three years was named after a distant village in the middle of nothing - el Allamein.

 

Compared to the Manhattan Project, the german nuclear bomb program was a joke. Never a threat to anybody.
Werner Heisenberg, head of the team, didn't even believe it was possible at all in the near future. When he heard the news of Hiroshima he said something like: Rubbish! That wasn't a nuclear bomb, maybe a "dirty" bomb or just a bluff...
Later he invented excuses, which sounded great but didn't stand historical research.

The Allies knew it from 1944 onwards. But they kept going, too much money was already wasted...