Nefarious “military’ memory launched on this day in 1941. Historical footnote. Thank The little “PUNK” Mussolini for delaying Hitler’s advance on Russia by a few key weeks. Due to the Italian army floundering in it’s southern European campaigns in Greece in early 1941, Hitler was loathe to leave his southern flank vulnerable on the eve of his backstabbing Russian invasion to the North so he committed armies to shore up the southern European “front”. These operations delayed the invasion by at least a month and proved to be critical in the Wehrmacht missing capturing Moscow by mere days as the offensive bogged down in the Fall and early Winter. Many cite this delay as the watershed moment that triggered the cascading sequence of military events that culminated in the punk corporal’s humiliating defeat.