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  • The Germans had no chance of taking Baku. The additional hundreds of miles of empty flank the Germans would need to hold take Astrakhan and the Caspian makes it impossible. Commented Feb 26, 2015 at 1:20
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    @Oldcat Blitzkrieg deals with exposed flanks by advancing the pace of battle faster than the enemy can react. By the time they've prepared their attack the front has moved on leaving the attacker's exposed. In 1942 the Soviets were learning and reacting faster, and their flank was terribly exposed, but the Germans could still have pulled it off if it weren't for <strike>those pesky kids</strike> Hitler's amateur meddling. They should have seen Operation Uranus coming weeks away. By 1943, the Soviets were too good. Commented Feb 26, 2015 at 18:30
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    If you bypass armies and don't cover the flank, your tanks driving off to the wilds isn't going to keep those fellows from advancing into your rear. These armies are advancing into a vacuum, not breaking up the front as in Blitzkrieg. Commented Feb 26, 2015 at 19:44
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    Being outflanked is even more apparent when you look at the rail networks of the time in that region. They could deposit a large army on your northern flank pretty quick. Stalingrad was a rail hub and taking it would help safeguard operations to the southeast against this threat. Commented Mar 7, 2017 at 17:52