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To: Fiji Hill
The Soviet Union probably couldn't have defeated Germany without the massive amount of military aid sent by the Allies, most notably the US.

Massive military aid no doubt helped, but had zero boots on the ground on the eastern front. Germany was, without doubt, defeated by the Soviet Union. Germany tendered its surrender to the Soviets in May and the American army did not get to Berlin until July, more than a month and a half later.

Eisenhower could have taken Berlin, but he chose not to. Big mistake.

Eisenhower couldn't take Berlin before the Soviets had already done so. At any rate, it is historical fact that the Americans did not do so.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)

The Eastern Front was a theatre of World War II fought between the European Axis powers and Allies, including the Soviet Union (USSR) and Poland. It encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Southeast Europe (Balkans), and lasted from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945. Of the estimated 70–85 million deaths attributed to World War II, around 30 million occurred on the Eastern Front, including 9 million children. The Eastern Front was decisive in determining the outcome in the European theatre of operations in World War II, eventually serving as the main reason for the defeat of Nazi Germany and the Axis nations. It is noted by historian Geoffrey Roberts that "More than 80 percent of all combat during the Second World War took place on the Eastern Front".

The Russians were fighting with Germany in June 1941. D-Day did not happen for the American army until 1944. The U.S. was fighting the war in the Pacific.

197 posted on 04/29/2024 7:22:58 AM PDT by woodpusher
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To: woodpusher

In a November 1941 letter to Roosevelt, Soviet Premier Josef Stalin wrote:

“Your decision, Mr. President, to give the Soviet Union an interest-free credit of $1 billion in the form of materiel supplies and raw materials has been accepted by the Soviet government with heartfelt gratitude as urgent aid to the Soviet Union in its enormous and difficult fight against the common enemy — bloodthirsty Hitlerism.”

At a dinner toast with Allied leaders during the Tehran Conference in December 1943, Stalin added: “The United States … is a country of machines. Without the use of those machines through Lend-Lease, we would lose this war.”

Nikita Khrushchev, who led the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, agreed with Stalin’s assessment. In his memoirs, Khrushchev described how Stalin stressed the value of Lend-Lease aid: “He stated bluntly that if the United States had not helped us, we would not have won the war.”


198 posted on 04/29/2024 7:24:45 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: woodpusher
Eisenhower's troops were in central Germany, only a couple hundred miles from Berlin. He could have, indeed, taken the city but he chose not to do so. British General Bernard Montgomery wanted to take Berlin, but Eisenhower thought that because it was bombed-out and in ruins, it wasn't worth the effort. This issue has been thoroughly discussed by historians such as Stephen Ambrose in his book Eisenhower and Berlin: The Decision to Halt at the Elbe (New York: Norton, 2000).

By the way, we had also been fighting the Germans since 1941. Our sailors and airmen were the first to take on the Nazis, and our soldiers began fighting them beginning with the North Africa landings in 1942, and we did plenty of fighting in Italy before the Normandy landings.

205 posted on 04/29/2024 11:22:08 AM PDT by Fiji Hill
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