There would seem to be no question that they would not have engaged in the utterly pointless and wasteful street fighting inside the city. "Perhaps they would not have tinkered with his forces, sending whole armies south, then back to Stalingrad, seems like a waste." That was a waste, Hitlers infantile battle management at it's best... "One account states that Hitler would move his hands in great sweeps over the map, "push here, push there." It was all vague and took no account of practical difficulties." To Hitler's credit there was a belief among the general staff that "modern motorization" made significant veering around acceptable, and that doing so would be advantageous against a less mobile enemy. Of course the recklessness with which Hitler did it showed there was a very definite limit to that advantage. "I recall reading that Stalin relied on his generals more and more as the war progressed, with greater success." That's true but he always had it planned to take them all the way back down after the war. Which is exactly what he did. Historians differ over just how insane Stalin was at the time of the war, although they invariably agree that he eventually went completely bloody loony....
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