Looking in detail at the plan for the rapid seizure of the USSR and its collapse, T. Higgins, a famous American historian, examines a number of reasons for its failure. Based on authentic documents, diaries, letters and memoirs of military leaders - Halder, Eremenko, Heusinger and other participants in the events, Higgins concludes that Hitler and Stalin, being the undoubted leaders within their countries, made big miscalculations in foreign policy. This is evidenced by Stalin's repressions, which bled the Soviet army, and the country's retreat to isolationism in 1939–1941, which weakened the position of the USSR on the world stage. And also Hitler’s gradual withdrawal from the real vision of events and reluctance to change his plans in any way. The book presents the reasons for the Allies’ delay in opening a second front, and their policy towards Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.