Part 13/16:
Hitler’s focus shifted from swift, strategic campaigns to a defensive, static war of attrition. The failure at Blau meant that Germany could not sustain its war effort through operational breakthroughs. Instead, the Soviets recovered, reorganized, and prepared for counteroffensives.
By November 1942, during the Battle of El Alamein and the launch of Operation Uranus—the Soviet counteroffensive at Stalingrad—the Germans were no longer able to maintain their previous levels of offensive capability. Blau’s failure set the stage for a war of attrition that would ultimately turn against Germany.