The USSR actually had a very good position before the bungled invasion of Finland that clearly showed weakness. The USSR would have been in a much better position in order to counter Germany if they had focused on defence and avoided military adventures.
SkubEnjoyer on
1945: URRRRAAAAAAAAAAAA
koshka91 on
On Russian show Solavyev, one of the guests Shakhnazarov said something strange about Ukraine. You know that I’m a Marxist, I have no doubt at all in our eventual victory over fascism
Funny-Historian-933 on
**USSR**: “There’s no way Germany would be insane enough to invade us…oh, oh my…they actually are that insane.”
barry-29 on
This is a bit historically simplified and politically motivated. I’ll probably get downvoted for “USSR apologia” which isn’t what I’m doing, I’m just adding nuance
Throughout the 1930s the USSR was practically begging for a defense pact with the west against Germany. They were also far technologically behind and essentially had to do 100 years of industrialization within 10 years. They did not want to ally with the Nazis and knew they could not withstand the might of the Wehrmacht. Britain and France would have nothing to do with them, however.
When, in 1938, the USSR leadership saw the west completely abandon Czechoslovakia and allow Hitler to conquer them (KNOWING Hitler’s thoughts on Slavic people and what must be done)…it essentially signaled that the west would like to focus Hitler’s aggression eastward and that they would not help the USSR.
This does not mean Stalin good or Molotov Ribbentrop good, but it’s not like they were “good friends” and allies, it was a last ditch attempt to not be invaded after trying for a decade to make a pact against Germany with the west and they just signaled they didn’t give a fuck about Hitler’s expansion eastward. In hindsight, it was folly to trust Hitler, but hindsight is 20/20. The alternative at the time seemed to be just sit there and hope Hitler doesn’t keep going eastward and attack the USSR, because they would NOT have been ready in 1939 and the west did not signal they would help.
KillConfirmed- on
Well actually the France falling in 6 weeks part made the USSR (Stalin) nervous because the capitalist powers fighting each other was on the agenda, but what was supposed to happen was a drawn out mess like WWI where the workers can possibly seize power.
Stalin was looking like a 4D chess master until France fell and the devil he helped create came knocking at his door.
SG_Symes on
What if you go
Non-aggression Pact
But Hitler said
Allowdiplo
Green-Collection-968 on
Hitler conquered Europe on a diet of Soviet grain and oil.
This collaboration began with the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and continued until Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, providing fuel and food for the Nazi war effort.”
McCree114 on
They were actually counting on France and the BEF, both technically the superior armies to the Wehrmact on paper at the time (BEF actually being more mechanized than the horse and carriage + foot marching Wehrmacht in 1939), holding out and tying up the Germans in an attritional repeat of WW1. The second panel should be a worried face.
DamBustersChastise on
Wrong uniform. The M35/41 Gymnastyorka only has collar tabs
10 Comments
The USSR actually had a very good position before the bungled invasion of Finland that clearly showed weakness. The USSR would have been in a much better position in order to counter Germany if they had focused on defence and avoided military adventures.
1945: URRRRAAAAAAAAAAAA
On Russian show Solavyev, one of the guests Shakhnazarov said something strange about Ukraine. You know that I’m a Marxist, I have no doubt at all in our eventual victory over fascism
**USSR**: “There’s no way Germany would be insane enough to invade us…oh, oh my…they actually are that insane.”
This is a bit historically simplified and politically motivated. I’ll probably get downvoted for “USSR apologia” which isn’t what I’m doing, I’m just adding nuance
Throughout the 1930s the USSR was practically begging for a defense pact with the west against Germany. They were also far technologically behind and essentially had to do 100 years of industrialization within 10 years. They did not want to ally with the Nazis and knew they could not withstand the might of the Wehrmacht. Britain and France would have nothing to do with them, however.
When, in 1938, the USSR leadership saw the west completely abandon Czechoslovakia and allow Hitler to conquer them (KNOWING Hitler’s thoughts on Slavic people and what must be done)…it essentially signaled that the west would like to focus Hitler’s aggression eastward and that they would not help the USSR.
This does not mean Stalin good or Molotov Ribbentrop good, but it’s not like they were “good friends” and allies, it was a last ditch attempt to not be invaded after trying for a decade to make a pact against Germany with the west and they just signaled they didn’t give a fuck about Hitler’s expansion eastward. In hindsight, it was folly to trust Hitler, but hindsight is 20/20. The alternative at the time seemed to be just sit there and hope Hitler doesn’t keep going eastward and attack the USSR, because they would NOT have been ready in 1939 and the west did not signal they would help.
Well actually the France falling in 6 weeks part made the USSR (Stalin) nervous because the capitalist powers fighting each other was on the agenda, but what was supposed to happen was a drawn out mess like WWI where the workers can possibly seize power.
Stalin was looking like a 4D chess master until France fell and the devil he helped create came knocking at his door.
What if you go
Non-aggression Pact
But Hitler said
Allowdiplo
Hitler conquered Europe on a diet of Soviet grain and oil.
“Between 1939 and June 1941, the Soviet Union supplied Nazi Germany with significant amounts of oil, grain, and raw materials, including over 820,000 metric tons of oil and 1,500,000 metric tons of grain. These imports, facilitated by the [Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=Molotov-Ribbentrop+Pact&mstk=AUtExfCXh06aFuC2gwlwxFehxyreNQjY4sHo1hx_7wU0_t_jtKixOfkts12pmEm-l2qHGJ2cJODyUtVLIK7kqf9l2dtnQeyAPdE-V6AU7Cu72eIZfcxEMjW-qQnORrfjgVDu85k9DAc-BwUlAN_rN3mAMmKcHhRcTJO5PRP71qZ8P9yjkJk&csui=3&ved=2ahUKEwjulq_CnbuUAxXaLtAFHRhOCOAQgK4QegoIAggACAAIBhAB), helped Germany sustain its war machine during its conquest of Western Europe. [[1](https://www.facebook.com/ukr.embassy.usa/posts/world-war-ii-didnt-begin-with-a-lone-invasion-it-began-with-a-deal-in-1939-nazi-/1110620281103058/), [2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German%E2%80%93Soviet_Commercial_Agreement_(1940)), [3](https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/why-did-hitler-invade-the-soviet-union)]
Key details of the Soviet-German economic relationship:
* **Economic Agreements:** Between January 1940 and the German invasion in June 1941, the USSR delivered approximately 597.9 million Reichsmarks worth of goods to Germany, including critical raw materials like manganese ore, rubber, and petroleum. [[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German%E2%80%93Soviet_economic_relations_(1934%E2%80%931941)), [2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German%E2%80%93Soviet_Commercial_Agreement_(1940))]
* **The “Partnership”:** The trade was part of economic agreements that provided crucial resources enabling Germany’s early expansion, as the Soviet Union and Germany had established a trade partnership (1939–1941). [[1](https://www.facebook.com/ukr.embassy.usa/posts/world-war-ii-didnt-begin-with-a-lone-invasion-it-began-with-a-deal-in-1939-nazi-/1110620281103058/), [2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German%E2%80%93Soviet_economic_relations_(1934%E2%80%931941))]
* **Resources and War:** These supplies were critical to avoiding a blockade and keeping the German war economy afloat, as highlighted in reports of the time. [[1](https://time.com/archive/6764174/strategic-map-the-battlefield-of-grain/), [2](https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/why-did-hitler-invade-the-soviet-union)]
* **End of the Trade:** The trade continued until the very day of the German invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) on June 22, 1941. [[1](https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/operation-barbarossa-hitlers-great-blunder/), [2](https://www.facebook.com/WarStoriesDocs/posts/in-1941-hitler-dreamed-of-the-greatest-war-of-all-time-but-when-the-wehrmacht-en/1142644851255444/), [3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German%E2%80%93Soviet_Commercial_Agreement_(1940))]
This collaboration began with the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and continued until Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, providing fuel and food for the Nazi war effort.”
They were actually counting on France and the BEF, both technically the superior armies to the Wehrmact on paper at the time (BEF actually being more mechanized than the horse and carriage + foot marching Wehrmacht in 1939), holding out and tying up the Germans in an attritional repeat of WW1. The second panel should be a worried face.
Wrong uniform. The M35/41 Gymnastyorka only has collar tabs