>>150288338
Russia's a big place.
Plus, there wasn't a guranteed that if Hitler took Moscow that the Soviet Government would just go "oh well, we gave it our best, guess it's time to be exterminated by the Nazis, lol". If I remember, The big backup was to retreat to behind the Caucuses and just fight with Guerillas and Partisans.
Can't really get rid of the Russian people if you don't go beyond the mountains, but such an endeavor unturning every single bush, tree, and rock in ALL of Siberia just to say you "conquered Russia".
Hell, Napoleon DID make it to Moscow, but he couldn't stay since you can't do much with a charred city. You think Soviets would have allowed Germany to actually have the city proper?
tl;dr it would mean a longer drag on the war, and the Eastern Front being even MORE brutal somehow than in our time. But "General Winter" was just one of MANY factors to why Germany was never going to win in the East.
Fuck it, even *IF* somehow they got Stalin and the Soviet Government fell, the people remaining, Communist or not, are STILL, going to fight back, and hell, probably with renewed backing by the West since it means they can make a non-communist Russia post-war maybe.