Before Operation Barbarossa, the Soviet Union supplied Germany with fuel, iron ore, and other strategically important materials. That trade also reduced the need for Germany to contest access in the Baltic while it was already fighting Britain. Invasion converted a supplier into an enormous additional enemy and removed those logistical advantages. Hitler's political skill did not amount to strategic competence, and the decision is presented as evidence that there was no coherent grand strategy. Starting another major war before finishing the existing one magnified every resource problem Germany faced.
Notable Point · 1:51:56-1:53:06
Barbarossa turned a supplier into another enemy
Invading the Soviet Union cut Germany off from fuel, iron ore, and other supplies while adding a vast new war before Britain had been defeated.