Posted on 06/08/2019 7:35:58 AM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
YouGov asked citizens from four countries deeply involved in the European theater of WWII (the UK, France, Germany, and the US) who they thought was most responsible for defeating the Nazis – the Americans, the British, or the Russians. Those in the UK were the only country who choose the British; the other three were most likely to choose the Americans.
Intriguingly, historical data shows that at the close of the Second World War the French public believed that it was the Russians, not the Americans, who had done the most to defeat the Nazis. A survey conducted by IFOP in May 1945 showed that 57% of French people credited the-then USSR with having made the greatest contribution to Nazi defeat, compared to just 20% backing the USA and 12% the UK.
(Excerpt) Read more at today.yougov.com ...
It's a reminder that up until the end, and due to the unlearned lessons of the First World War: the idea of an America-led victory in the war was not en vogue throughout large swaths of Europe, and most especially scoffed at by the elite. France was largely split between Nazi-sympathizers on one end and Bolshevik-socialists on the other.
Members of The French Resistance on the other hand, likely were more sympathetic to the US/UK effort, but they were in the minority.
There was a lot more fighting on the eastern front.
By their awful actions after the war - during the cold war, by suppressing freedom and wielding a ruthless dictatorship for the next 4 decades, the Russians squandered whatever goodwill they had in France in 1945.
Popular opinion was that the Germans were sure to win the war, with room for Soviet Union to make a dent in sort of Hitler vs. Stalin/Fascism vs. Communism showdown.
History says Russia gutted the German military.
Their greatest contribution to the effort was dying in tragically large numbers, keeping the Nazis busy on the Western front until they ran low on ammunition.
Indeed. D-Day should have been postponed one year to give the Nazis and Communists more time to kill each other.
I think Russia did more than any other one nation in defeating Germany during the Second World War.
The Russian were already at the Gates of Warsaw in June, 1944. In another year, they would have taken Berlin.
And ALL of Germany and Austria would have been occupied by Russia.
++++
Indeed. D-Day should have been postponed one year to give the Nazis and Communists more time to kill each other.
Militarily maybe...Ideologically, and in all the ways that truly mattered: not so much.
True, there was more fighting on the Eastern Front...but without Western and especially American material aid, and without about 80% of Luftwaffe resources being siphoned off to deal with the Anglo-American bombing campaign, Germany almost certainly wins on the Eastern Front.
The 66 German divisions devoted to fighting the Anglo-American armies in North Africa and Western Europe as well as the 7,000 Flak 88 anti aircraft/anti tank guns devoted to defending against Western AirPower were also a massive drain on resources - not to mention the bomb damage done to Germany.
That’s dramatic. Yeah, we had to stuff the Krauts twice within 30 years’ time.
Russia was also a much bigger country, the size of Russia was more than the other territories the Nazis occupied combined.
Once all the Germans were warlike and mean,
But that couldn’t happen again.
We taught them a lesson in 1918
And they’ve hardly bothered us since then.
-Tom Lehrer
The war hystory is heavily distorted on both sides but more so on the Western side.
That basically comes out of the fact that it was written by the defeated German officers and reinforced by Cold War stereotypes.
Their general excuses are Hitler’s insanity and winter which is nothing but bull for the most part.
Maybe if Stalin didn’t agree to carve up Poland with Hitler, Russia wouldn’t have had to fight the Nazis.
Without Russia in the War Hitler would have controlled the European continent for many more years.
Without America, Russia would not have been able to sustain a War with Germany.
With America and Russia fighting the same foe, Germany was doomed.
The fact is, Stalin signed that Non-Aggression Pact in 1939, in the hopes that Germany would defeat England and France.
By the way, to put that American material aid in context:
It’s true Russia only received 7,000 tanks which was only about 15% of their tank strength.....as they’ll be quick to tell you.
What they won’t be so quick to tell you about is that at a time of critical food shortage due to the loss of their breadbasket, Ukraine, America sent them enough food to feed a 10 million man army for the duration of the war.
Remember those brutal winters that killed lots of Germans due to exposure? America sent Russia 15 million pairs of warm felt lined boots.
America supplied 1/3 of Russia’s explosives.
America provided 2,000 locomotives at a time when Russia produced 200.
America provided 100% of aviation fuel early on when Russia refining capacity for high octane aviation fuel was knocked out.
America provided 450,000 trucks - which is THE thing that enabled the Red Army to supply its forces more than just very short distances from their supply bases. This was Germany’s single biggest weakness. They had to rely on horses which are slower, can’t carry as much and require far more manpower. The heavy American Studebaker trucks were what the Russians mounted their iconic Katyusha rockets on.
The list goes on and on. Everything you can imagine - especially industrial equipment. The Russians supplied the Manpower and paid a high price in blood - but there’s no way they survive without America’s vast supplies feeding and equipping them.
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