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Furthermore, Stalin’s purges of army officers in the 1930s had crippled the Soviet military machine. During the early days of the war, the Red Army lacked trustworthy and skillful generals and suffered several disastrous losses. The Red Army ultimately allowed German troops almost to reach the Kremlin gates. <ref>Joseph Stalin and World War II - http://www.history.com/topics/joseph-stalin</ref> The German assault on the Soviet Union was wildly successful. During the early weeks of Operation Barbarossa, Germany averaged gains of 50 miles a day. This rapid advance was abetted by the lack of direction from Stalin. For some time, the Red Army languished without any direction from Stalin.<ref> Montefiore, p. 245</ref>

There are several theories on why Stalin should have reacted so slowly to the invasion. Some have speculated that Stalin was so shocked by the invasion and the betrayal by Hitler that he went into a state of shock. Some believe that such was his despair that Stalin retreated away from the world, unable to face the magnitude of his mistake and the consequences of his error in trusting Hitler. He had assumed that Hitler would abide by the terms of the non-aggression pact of 1939. Some historians have even suggested that Stalin suffered some nervous breakdown. Another less popular theory is that Stalin deliberately withdrew from the scene to avoid being ousted from power. When he saw that no one was about to challenge his authority, he decided to control the situation. <ref>Bellamy, Chris, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375724710/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0375724710&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=4af9160f8751b9120921c7982235532a Absolute War: Soviet Russia in the Second World War]</i>. New York: Alfred A. Knopf & Random House.2007), p. 53</ref>