Despite the delay at Voronezh, the German forces continued to round up thousands of prisoners as they push further into the south of Russia. Operation Blue was going so well. Hitler decided that the 4th Panzer Army was no longer needed to capture Stalingrad. He gave orders to detach it from the drive to the Volga, and join the assault upon the oil fields with Army Group A.

The 4th Panzer crossed over the 6th Army’s line of march. The ensuing traffic jam took several days to untangle. When it was sorted out, the 4th Panzer had also commandeered a large proportion of the fuel intended for the 6th Army. Paulus’s armour stalled for lack of fuel, and logistical problems kept the drive halted for nearly 2 weeks.

Hitler subsequently changed his mind again, and ordered the 4th Panzer Army to rejoin the 6th Army.

http://www.flamesofwar.com/Article.asp?ArticleID=469

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Does not sound like the work of a genius really...

And why take the 4th panzer away if the Caucasus was his key target??

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