“The Russians were able to move their eastern troops to the west because the U.S.A. was fighting Japan.”
The Soviets moved 18 divisions and 1700 tanks from the Far East to the Moscow front starting in early November 1941.
The Moscow counteroffensive, using these troop, began Dec 5 1941. We were not at war with Japan at the time.
The Soviets moved 18 divisions and 1700 tanks from the Far East to the Moscow front starting in early November 1941. The Moscow counteroffensive, using these troop, began Dec 5 1941. We were not at war with Japan at the time.
Richard Sorge --maybe the most valuable spy in 200 years-- was a Soviet spy formally working in a job for the Nazis at their Embassy in Tokyo. Of course Japan and Germany were allies, and the Germans were privvy to some of Japan's war plans:
From Tokyo Sorge let Stalin know that he had no reason to fear being attacked by Japan in the East.
For this reason Stalin could release the millions of troops safeguarding his Eastern flank and tranfer them to Stalingrad and other desperately fought for places.
The decision was so great it could have played a critical factor at Stalingrad and the Battle of Kursk, probably massively impacting the whole of WW2.
The Soviets had a master spy in Japan, Richard Sorge, who was a German journalist working in the German embassy. He informed his masters of the Japanese decision to strike the USA (East Wind, Rain), not Russia, in Spetember, 1941.