Hitler once said that his generals knew war, but not economics, and this was one of his smartest remarks.
Many of the generals of Nazi Germany were well-educated, experienced military men. They know very well how to use and destroy entire armies.
What they don't understand is a bigger vision.
In short, why Moscow was not the right decision:
Whether the Nazis were able to take Moscow is very debatable. The Nazis failed to take Stalingrad and Leningrad, so why did they occupy Moscow?
The capture of Moscow can hardly change anything. The cost of capturing the city was very high, and the Germans took it for nothing. The Soviets had planned to lose the city, believing that the Germans would attack and were ready to continue fighting without Moscow. Napoleon also occupied Moscow, but did he win?The really useful region is the Urals, where resources and equipment are being produced.
Germany's priority is in the south, and that's the right priority.
Okay, let's dig a little deeper.
Hitler decided to attack the Soviet Union during the French campaign and instructed Franzharde to draw up an offensive plan.
Executed by Halder's subordinate Erich Max.
When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, their strategic goal was to engage and defeat the Red Army, thus forcing the Soviet Union to surrender. At first, this seemed to work, since the Germans captured quite a few Red Army, which was reforming the army.
The Germans did destroy the Red Army, but they greatly underestimated the size of the Soviet reserves, so soon another Red Army appeared, and then another.
By 1942, when the Germans stopped, they realized that the "defeat of the entire Red Army" was not going very well and needed more time. Therefore, the goal turned to the achievement of some war goals without a complete defeat of the USSR.
One of the main reasons for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union was to seize oil-rich core areas and use them to fuel tanks, planes, ships, and trucks. Germany has been facing a severe fuel shortage, and Romania's limited oil fields simply cannot solve this problem.
Thus, Hitler realized that a quick and decisive victory was no longer possible, and subsequently, the Germans began to concentrate on breaking through in the south and capturing the core.
If the Germans could occupy intact the places determined by the pre-conference (in the highly unlikely), they would turn the war in their favor. They will have enough oil to finance them in unlimited quantities until victory.
Compared to Moscow. If the Germans had taken Moscow, they would have taken another large city after a costly battle. No new resources will be obtained, the war will not end, and the strategic situation will remain largely unchanged.