The operational goal of Barbarossa was the rapid conquest of the European part of the Russian Empire west of a line connecting the cities of Arkhangelsk and Astrakhan, often referred to as the A-A line. At its conclusion in December 1941, the Imperial Army had repelled the strongest blow of the Wehrmacht. Hitler had not achieved the victory he had expected, but the situation of the Russian Empire remained critical. Tactically, the Germans had won some resounding victories and occupied some of the most important economic areas of the country, most notably in Ukraine. Despite these successes, the Germans were pushed back from Moscow and were never able to mount an offensive simultaneously along the entire strategic Russian-German front again.