ϟϟ-Division „Wiking“ in the Checheno-Ingush ASSR (Нохч-ГІалгІайн ACCP)

Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler - determined to command personally

Marder II of SS-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 5 Wiking in the Caucasus

German intelligence estimated that about 70 percent of Soviet oil production was centred in the Caucasus region. If the German Reich could seize the Caucasus oilfields, the Wehrmacht would no longer be constrained to fight a pauper's war with inadequate fuel reserves. Furthermore, the Red Army would also suffer from the loss of the Caucasian oilfields and Adolf Hitler hoped that fuel shortages would constrain Soviet offensive capabilities. He maintained a profound distrust of his senior command, despite the unflagging loyalty that most of them displayed right to the end. Hitler wanted to be the Feldherr, the generalissimo, exercising direct control of the armies himself. His commanders tried, both directly and indirectly, to persuade him to adopt a more realistic plan, without success. This was the major breakdown in personal relations between Hitler and his High Command. Teletype message to the SS-Division Wiking on September 28 1942:

SS-Division Wiking's march route through East Europe and Soviet Union 1941-1945

TO: Commander, SS-Division Wiking. The entire field army is looking to your division. You have the task of paving the way for the field army toward Grozny. /signed/ Generaloberst Ewald von Kleist. It was intended for the division to eject the enemy ensconced at Malgobek, which was on the demarcation line between Europe and Asia. Blocking any German advance to Grozny was the Malgobek ridge. SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Felix Steiner was ordered to launch a flanking maneuver along the valley of the River Kurp that ran behind the ridge. Wiking's first objective was the fortified town of Sagopshin or Ssagopschin, several kilometers farther up the valley, which was crisscrossed with steep-sided gorges and antitank ditches. Credit: Military historians Adrian Gilbert and Robert Forczyk. Top image: photo taken by Hitler's personal photographer Hugo Jäger, specialised in colour photography. LIFE photo archive. FU. Middle image: a tank destroyer Marder II of the SS-Panzerjägerabteilung 5 of the Wiking in the Caucasus during Operation Edelweiß. The Marders were not assault vehicles or tank substitutes; they were best employed in defensive or overwatch roles. During combat, the Marders often used to flank enemy tanks and destroy them from the side or rear. Credit: Julius Backman Jääskeläinen. c. Bundesarchiv.