Why were the Germans unprepared for the Russian Winter? Why are they shown wearing coats in photographs of Stalingrad?
One of the most popular explanations why Operation Barbarrosa failed (specifically Stalingrad) was that the German forces lacked proper winter clothing. The popular stigma is that German soldiers were literally freezing to death during the battle and entire battalions were literally rock frozen that Soviets were able to counterattack bunkers and trenches with no defenders because German soldiers were asleep borderline dead from freezing. Furthermore many movies and games portray Germans as wearing summer khakis that are literally PERFECT for fighting in summer and even for the desert but would be utter suicidal to wear in late October and early November when fall is coming and the weather is getting colder. But I just recently saw a documentary where footage of the battles so German soldiers in TRENCH COATS. The kind you wear when you are going out on a cold November night. They also so all German soldiers, including captured PoWs, wearing SNOWBOOTS and quite a few even had mittens. These were the same exact unifrom I saw when I was watching a video on the German invasion of Norway where they described the Germans as being completely well-prepared to fight in the Norwegian snow. If anything the docs I watched and further research shown me pics and clips of Germans being in such full Winter clothing, they are technically well-prepared!Is the Germans lacking Winter Clothes an exagerration? How were Germans freezing to death if they had coats, snowboots, and such?