I read a book that I thought was interesting (My apologies; I cannot remember the author, I believe the title was “How Hitler Could Have Won WWII). The premise of that book was that Hitler should have avoided war with both the Soviets and the US, and that he should have heavily fortified Afrika Korps to the point where it would have soundly defeated the British forces and conquered Egypt. From there, German forces could well have invaded British holdings in the Middle East and threatened India. Coordination with the Japanese forces in Indochina would have been possible here. Britain could not have easily defended India from a two-sided attack, and Britain would have almost been forced to capitulate to protect its colonial empire. The Soviets could have done nothing since they would have been faced with a direct invasion of the Caucus oil fields, which were a primary target of the German army in the actual invasion. Besides, it was the direct invasion by Germany that brought Stalin into the war in the first place. Absent this direct invasion, it’s unlikely that the Soviets would have done much.
Like any “what if” scenario, we’ll never know if it’s true, but it’s certainly an interesting idea.
Some things make you wonder though.
1) You invade Russia, you bring winter clothing. Duh! It’s Russia!
2) Your troops are surrounded in the Stalingrad pocket, all of your generals have advised a breakout. Not a very tough decision IMHO.
3) Why Russia’s two major cities, Leningrad and Moscow were not taken when they were vulnerable, also defies reason and logic.
4) Finally, when you have the native population welcoming you with open arms, seems to me you should treat them humanely instead of turning them into partisans.
Not rocket science.
Stalin's vision was to allow the Nazis to destroy the Capitalists and then he would destroy the Nazis.
But keep in mind, Stalin was just as insane as Hitler was.