> The allies gave nothing away. Stalin had the whip hand and was not going to release it. <
True, FDR was not very assertive at Yalta. But you’re right! When it came to Eastern Europe, Stalin held every last card.
How could have FDR and Churchill played it differently? They could have threatened to cut off lend-lease supplies. But Stalin would have just laughed at that.
I guess FDR could have threatened Stalin with the atomic bomb. But that would have been a bluff. And Stalin was no dummy. He would have called that bluff.
Stalin knew more about the A bomb than Roosevelt. The Manhattan Project was through and totally infiltrated by his agents.