On September 6, 1941, Hitler signed a directive to launch an offensive against Moscow. By this time, the Fuhrer and his entourage were well aware that the plan to defeat the USSR during a three- to four-month campaign had failed. The Nazis had only one chance to win the protracted war - to capture the Soviet capital with a powerful blow. However, this plan was not destined to come true. The classic work of the German military historian tells how Hitler's victorious Eastern Campaign turned into a protracted campaign and turned into a disaster in December 1941.