The first year of German operations in Russia in the Second World War was characterized by enormous Soviet losses in territory and men.
Most of European Russia was overrun, millions of Soviet soldiers captured and many millions more sentenced to death by starvation or mistreatment
in German prison camps or under German occupation of their homeland. And yet, most of this human suffering could have been avoided by the
Russians. They had the resources needed to stop or, at least, to contain the German drive. Soviet military equipment was equal to or better than
the Germans and they had numerical superiority too.
Only in individual ability was the Wehrmacht superior to the Red Army. From Field marshal to Landser, the German soldier was usually more capable than his Soviet counterpart.
Although part of the problem was originated by the low educational level of the Russian soldier, a large part of it was due to a unique feature of Soviet military policy in the thirties:
the political purges in the Army. By ordering the elimination of all potential Army Officers, Stalin eliminated most of the competent officers he had and opened the way for the German invaders. Had he not done so, the invaders could have been stopped. The defence of Leningrad and of Moscow, the battle of Yelnya and the winter offensives of 1941'-42 show what the Russian Army could do under competent leadership.
So? No matter what we say or do, History cannot be changed. But, at least, we can simulate what could have happened in the battlefield had the Russians been better led. We can use PANZERBLITZ as a basis and add a few counters to represent the weapons of the period.
Counters included