Editing Case Blue (section)

==Axis strategy==

===Background===
On 22&nbsp;June 1941, Germany launched [[Operation Barbarossa]] with the intention of defeating the Soviet Union in a [[Blitzkrieg|quick offensive]] which was expected to last only 3 months. The Axis offensive had met with initial success and the Red Army had suffered some major defeats before halting the Axis units just short of [[Battle of Moscow|Moscow]] (November/December 1941). Although the Germans had captured vast areas of land and important industrial centers, the Soviet Union remained in the war. In the winter of 1941–42, the Soviets struck back in a series of successful counteroffensives, pushing back the German threat to Moscow. Despite these setbacks, Hitler wanted complete destruction of Russia, for which he required the oil resources of the Caucasus.{{sfn|Antill|2007|pp=7–12}} By February 1942 the German Army High Command ([[OKH]]) had begun to develop plans for a follow-up campaign to the aborted Barbarossa offensive – with the [[Caucasus]] as its principal objective. On 5&nbsp;April 1942, Hitler laid out the elements of the plan now known as "Case Blue" (''Fall Blau'') in ''[[Führer Directive]]'' ''No. 41''. The directive outlined the main goals of the 1942 summer campaign on Germany's [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]]: holding attacks for [[Army Group Centre|Army Group (AG) Centre]], the capture of [[Leningrad]] and the link-up with [[Military history of Finland during World War II|Finland]] for [[Army Group North|AG North]], and the capture of the Caucasus region for Army Group South. The main focus was to be the capture of the Caucasus region.{{sfn|Glantz|1995|pp=108–110}}{{sfn|Wegner|1990|p=761}}

===The oilfields===
The Caucasus, a large, culturally diverse region traversed by its eponymous mountains, is bounded by the [[Black Sea]] to the west and the [[Caspian Sea]] to the east. The region north of the mountains was a production center for [[grain]], [[cotton]] and heavy farm machinery, while its two main oilfields, at [[Maykop]], near the Black Sea, and [[Grozny]], about halfway between the Black and the Caspian Seas, produced about 10 percent of all Soviet oil. South of the mountains lay [[Transcaucasia]], comprising [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Azerbaijan]] and [[Armenia]]. This heavily industrialized and densely populated area contained some of the largest oilfields in the world. Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, was one of the richest, producing 80 percent of the [[Soviet Union]]'s oil—about 24 million tons in 1942 alone.<ref name=H2>{{harvnb|Hayward|2001|p=2}}.</ref>

The Caucasus also possessed plentiful [[coal]] and [[peat]], as well as nonferrous and rare metals. [[Manganese]] deposits at [[Chiatura]], in Transcaucasia, formed the richest single source in the world, yielding 1.5&nbsp;million tons of manganese ore annually, half of the Soviet Union's total production. The Kuban region of the Caucasus also produced large amounts of [[wheat]], [[Maize|corn]], [[sunflower seed]]s, and sugar beets, all essential in the production of food.<ref name=H2/>

These resources were of immense importance to the German war effort. Of the three million tons of oil Germany consumed per year, 85 percent was imported, mainly from the [[United States]], [[Venezuela]], and [[Iran]]. When war broke out in September 1939, the British naval blockade cut Germany off from the Americas and the Middle East, leaving the country reliant on oil-rich European countries such as [[Romania]] to supply the resource. An indication of German reliance on Romania is evident from its oil consumption; in 1938, just one-third of the 7,500,000 tons consumed by Germany came from domestic stocks. Oil had always been Germany's [[Achilles heel]], and by the end of 1941, Hitler had nearly exhausted Germany's reserves, which left him with only two significant sources of oil, the country's own synthetic production and the Romanian oilfields, with the latter supplying 75% of Germany's oil imports in 1941.{{sfn|Axworthy|Scafes|Craciunoiu|1995|p=19}} Aware of his declining oil resources, and fearful of enemy air attacks on Romania (Germany's main source of crude oil), Hitler's strategy was increasingly driven by the need to protect Romania and acquire new resources, essential if he wanted to continue waging a prolonged war against a growing list of enemies. In late 1941, the Romanians warned Hitler that their stocks were exhausted and they were unable to meet German demands. For these reasons, the Soviet oilfields were extremely important to Germany's industry and armed forces as the war became global, the power of the Allies grew, and shortages started to occur in Axis resources.{{sfn|Hayward|2001|pp=xvii, 2–5, 18}}{{sfn|Bellamy|2007|p=497}}