Comments by "bart thomassen thomassen" (@thomassenbart) on "The Harrowing Battle of Smolensko 1941 | The Turning Point of Operation Barbarossa" video.

Your comment is so mired in armchair history, with the full backdrop of 80 years to rely upon, it is ridiculous. Before making such comments, put yourself in the position of the combatants and attempt to eliminate all you know. A fully motorized German Army was never achieved during the war, so if this is the precondition you would impose, the USSR would never have been invaded. Also, Hitler's mad idea, was not mad at all. In 41, the Germans came within a hair of achieving victory and in 42 again, the same. Previously, during WWI, Germany had actually defeated Russia, if you remember. Hitler had watched the humiliation of the Soviets in Finland and simultaneously the exploits and genius of his own forces in Europe. His attack was anything but mad. It was a gamble and Hitler was a gambler. You really need to study more, if you think any German officer would have been capable of simply shooting Hitler in late 1940 or early 41. What are you smoking?
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The Red Army had been eviscerated by this point and the millions of Russians that had surrendered are evidence of this. The moral of the population overall was also very low. The people were not for Stalin. Nazi policies are what drove the people into the hands of Stalin, had these brutal policies not been launched, likely this alone would have sealed the fate of the USSR. This battle at Smolensk was an overwhelming German victory and it did not determine the eventual inability of the Wehrmacht to conquer the USSR. That would come later and is almost certainly due to the great encirclement of Kiev, which drew off so many panzers from Army Group Center.
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That is probably because you don't understand the geography of the country at the time. Moscow was the key to the nation, culturally, politically, economically and in terms of transportation hubs. Once this city was cut off/captured, the USSR was divided in two and it would have been extremely difficult to defeat the Nazis.
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No, Smolensk was not a turning point. The term means that the strategic offensive passes from one combatant to another. This is not what happened here nor elsewhere until post Kursk, which was the actual turning point of the war.
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What wargaming are you referring to?
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@KenGraham-m2p Both regimes were horrific, and all regimes miscalculate regardless, it is not unique or particular to tyrannies.
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Smolensk was not a turning point in Barbarossa, this is a vast over statement. It was a major victory actually and demonstrated neither the end of the USSR nor that of the Wehrmacht.
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