The summer of 1942 found the German Army in the Soviet Union nearing the end of its oil reserves. It was decided that this problem could best be solved by seizing the Red oilfields of the Caucasus Mountains:
"The oilfields lie northwest and southeast of Grozny and are modern and electrically operated. The National geographic Society says many wells come in as gushers and the oil is of superior quality. It has the highest benzine content of all Russian oil. Seventy-five million pounds of paraffin were turned out by Grozny's refineries before the war - an amount equal to the quantity imported by the U.S.A. A pipeline 97 miles long runs from Grozny to Makhach Kala on the Caspian Sea..."
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