[Vince Ferrer]

The Red army was offensively postured at the border when the Germans invaded in June 1941. The Germans missed getting attacked themselves by only a couple of months. There are many accounts of German soldiers and commanders being baffled by the soviet troop dispositions with them being offensively postured as the only explanation. If you look at the way the soviet forces were arrayed right before the German attack you would come to the same conclusion.

One thing historians consider very reliable about Stalin is that he would accuse others of doing things he did or was planning to do. There are events that historians pin on Stalin with no other evidence than the fact that he accused someone else of doing it.

One thing he accused FDR of doing was waiting out the war so that by the time Europe was exhausted, he could swoop in and conquer the winner easily and take over Europe.

[dfwgator]

Stalin was caught completely off guard, for two weeks immediately after the attack he was cowered in his room alone, until he was talked out of it, and finally re-assumed leadership.