>>Even with Richthofen's forces shifted south ???<< During "lulls" in the Stalingrad fighting, Richtofen switched air support south to Army Group A for various offensive operations. This was probably responsible for much of the Germans' success in the Caucasus, but in the end the Luftwaffe couldn't get the Germans through the mountains. If the Caucasus had been the main theater, probably the Luftwaffe would have been more effective there than historically. On the other hand, would air power ultimately have been any more successful in the mountains than in the rubble of Stalingrad? And of course with the Luftwaffe busy in the Caucasus, the Soviets would have had more freedom of action along the Don/Volga. Richtofen simply didn't have enough planes to give decent support to both army groups.
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