Part 7/16:
Insufficient Troops and Divisional Strength
Despite allocating 72 German divisions, including Axis allied forces (Hungarian, Italian, Romanian), the Germans lacked the personnel and full-strength units needed. The campaign demanded multiple separate advances—towards Voronezh, Astrakhan, and into the Caucasus—effectively requiring two to three full German Army Groups.
However, they only had one, and most of its divisions were infantry—only 9 armored divisions and 5 motorized units—far below what was necessary for such an ambitious push. The Germans also faced the problem of dividing their forces among multiple objectives, diluting their strength further.