Were planners estimating 100,000 casualties in the first ninety days, and would an invasion necessarily have produced ninety days of continuous fighting?
Short answerThe 100,000 figure was a genuine estimate. In this interpretation, severe early fighting, Soviet entry, and intervention involving the emperor could end the campaign before 90 days.
NotesThe estimate of 100,000 casualties in the first 90 days was genuine. The projected timeline still allows for very hard fighting in the opening weeks without assuming that combat would continue unchanged for all 90 days. Soviet troops might arrive after about a month, while mounting losses could bring imperial intervention or the emperor's capture around the campaign's midpoint. This remains a counterfactual judgment about the political and coalition events that might break battlefield resistance.