After enduring the Russian winter of 1941–1942, the German army prepared for further offensive operations. One of the major problems faced by the Nazi war machine in World War II was a shortage of oil. For this reason, Germany decided to give up on capturing Moscow for the time being, and the summer offensive of 1942 decided to focus on the war in the south of the USSR, with the target being the oil fields of the Caucasus. Meanwhile, the Soviets had their own plans.