Don’t forget how the Soviet Union saved the world from Hitler

The Washington Post ^ | May 8, 2015 | By Ishaan Tharoor

[MinorityRepublican]

In the Western popular imagination -- particularly the American one -- World War II is a conflict we won. It was fought on the beaches of Normandy and Iwo Jima, through the rubble of recaptured French towns and capped by sepia-toned scenes of joy and young love in New York. It was a victory shaped by the steeliness of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the moral fiber of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and the awesome power of an atomic bomb.

[Aetius]

There is no doubt that the Soviet Union took the heaviest hit and did most of the fighting and dying against Germany. The scale of the war on the eastern front dwarfed that on the western.

I’m not so sure they saved the world from Hitler though. Certainly Europe would have been lost, but with the American mobilization to fight Japan, I wonder how much of a threat Hitler would have been to us. It would have taken Gemany years to build a navy strong enough to attempt a highly unlikely invasion, plus we would have still had a large advantage in manpower. On the other hand, if German scientists had more time and resources to develop advanced weapons systems and, of course, a nuclear bomb, then no country would have been safe. And Hitler would have controlled vast natural resources in Ukraine and Russia, plus possibly the Middle East too, giving him tremendous economic power.

It’s interesting what-if analysis.

[Jonty30]

It wasn’t intentional, I’m sure.

[tcrlaf]

Lend Lease
to Russia
From Major Jordan’ Diaries
(NY: Harcourt, Brace, 1952)
Chapter Nine

http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/pearl/www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/lend.html

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

Good article. Thanks for posting it.

[dead]

The Nazis and the Soviets were teammates, right up until the Nazi tanks rolled into Russia.

If Hitler wasn't a dumbass, the Soviets would have been happy to split the European and African spoils, while uniting to turn on Japan and secure Asia as well. Then North and South American would have been targeted next.

The only reason the Soviets nobly turned their guns on the Nazis was because the Nazis started slaughtering them.

[RginTN]

should we forget when the Soviet Union was partners with Hitler???????

[Aetius]

Didnt Patton make comments about wanting to push the soviets out of Europe after Germany’s defeat?

[dp0622]

120 divisions thrown at Russia. We faced 80. AND the Japs. But 200 divisions thrown our way?? ouch!!
A bomb would have won is the war against them anyway, but MASSIVE casualties, maybe 1 or 2 million American dead?
Boy was Hitler a dope. Could have had all of western Europe and left well enough alone.
But being as sick sadistic pig makes you do silly things, like get stuck in Russia in the winter

[tcrlaf]

Hitler was told that it would take another year of war production to get the victory over Russia that he wanted.
Yet Hitler went ahead with it, fearful that waiting another year would give Stalin more time to build up to attacking Germany, instead.

This belief that “now was the time” was enhanced by the poor performance of the Soviet Army against Finland and Poland, as well as the Soviet aggression against Romania (The Bessarabia Ultimatum).

[Shadow44]

If you mean brutally threw its people into a massive meat grinder against the Wehrmacht with complete disregard for their soldiers survival, then yes they did.

Not even the Nazis machine gunned their own men for retreating.

The Eastern front was savage, but the Soviets essentially flooded the Germans with sheer numbers, and with the major help of American materiel.

[Aetius]

It’s astonishing the number of casualties the Germans inflicted on the soviets in the first two years, and yet they kept fighting.

[dead]

By one calculation, for every single American soldier killed fighting the Germans, 80 Soviet soldiers died doing the same.

"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country." - George S. Patton

[dead]

It’s astonishing the number of casualties the Germans inflicted on the soviets in the first two years, and yet they kept fighting.

What choice did they have? Die fighting or die not fighting.

[GeronL]

I do not remember the Soviets sending massive amount of ammo, clothes, boots, trucks, tanks, aircraft and stuff our way during WW2... it was the other way around.

I don’t think Russia would have done nearly as well without the Lend-Lease program

[tcrlaf]

“We faced 80.”

The vast majority of which were 2nd or 2rd tier conscript or replacement units (Such as Russian “Hiwi” battalions), that only had six Inf battalions, instead of the nine Inf. battalions that units on the Eastern Front had. (1944 reorg.)

[GeronL]

You had exactly the same response I did. lol

[Shadow44]

As much as I agree with such sentiment, the reality is that the troops wouldn’t have supported another major war.

Everyone wanted to go home. There were demobilization riots as is, a war with Russia would have triggered a lot more of them.

[LeoWindhorse]

Lend-Lease , along with massive amounts of food and materials supplies . Industrial equipment , tools and parts ....

and they never have said “thanks “

[The Toll]

The war and its gruesomeness on the Eastern front is almost impossible for Americans to imagine. Even those that are militarily educated to a degree. It was beyond our WW2 experience. I am a patriot and its still true, I can’t tolerate historic revision. The average German soldier trying to hold back the Russians did things every single day that we gave out metals for. It’s simply true. It is.

[Aetius]

True. I should have said that it was astonishing that they were able to keep fighting after sustaining such losses.

I guess they were one of only a few nations that had the population to do so.