He was, by the time the Germans had 90% of the city Stalin was very close to begging for peace. The changing situation kept him from doing so. His personal secretary recollected all this in a documentary not so lng ago.
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When was Stalin on his knees begging for peace? I don't remember reading that anywhere. In fact Stalin gave orders that no Russian soldiers were to retreat. Seriously, when was Stalin on his knees begging?
While I agree that Germany could have defeated Russia, Stalin was not begging for peace. Not at Stalingrad or at any other time.
He was, by the time the Germans had 90% of the city Stalin was very close to begging for peace. The changing situation kept him from doing so. His personal secretary recollected all this in a documentary not so lng ago.
So what you're saying is that matters of pride between each armed branch within the Japanese army would prevent them from cooperating in a war against the Soviets? That's really one of the most far fetched ideas I've heard in a long time.
A source please that we can all reference?
I'll have to find the documentary then, it was specifically about Stalin. But I remember it very clearly, esp. the part about Stalingrad where the secretary noticed how worried he was at one point, and understandably so as the Germans could've easily won the entire war within a few months at that point had it not been for a few truly mindbuggingly idiotic decisions by Hitler.
Looking at a political map of Russia
http://www.russiamap.org/images/full/political-purp.gif
most of the urbanisation is in European Russia, Asian Russia has vast tracts of open territory. I can't think of a tactical reason why the USSR would station valuable troops (at least, not in any significant concentration) in the middle of these open spaces, when the threat would almost certainly come from the west.
This has two aspects that favour the Axis, it will be just as hard to meet the invasionary force as it would be for the invaders themselves to make progress - just as the Japanese have to advance westwards, the Soviets, if they intend not to disregard the threat from the east, will have to transport troops and equipment to a point where they can take the war to them.
Secondly, with the US not about to descend upon them, the Nazis would likely take European Russia, assuming Hitler doesn't do anything silly like committing resources to urban warfare etc. With the most densely populated area fallen (along with the capital), Asian Russia would fall piecemeal. The WWII Soviet Union was bereft of the same standards of communication into mid- and far eastern Russia, which was populated almost entirely by peasants.
The bulk of Soviet forces would be highly likely trying to protect the European (capital city-containing) Russia, the Japanese could contend themselves with being the largest nuisance raider in history, knowing that Soviet interference would be just as difficult for the Russians as invasion was for the Japanese. There would likely be provision for rudimentary airstrips in Asian Russia, these would be difficult to find for the Soviets, whilst the Japanese aircrews knew exactly where the Soviet airstrips were.
If the Soviets committed enough resources to settle the Japanese problem, they'd leave themselves wide open in European Russia, if they didn't, they might even have trouble locating the Japanese in the quasi-10th century wilderness of the interior and far east.
Being worried does not equate to begging on your knees for peace. I seriously doubt that Stalin ever was thinking about begging for peace...
The fact remains that they didn't co-operate in the war against the USA, so the question has to be why would they co-operate in a war against Russia. Far from being far fetched it by far the most likely situation as its backed up by history.So what you're saying is that matters of pride between each armed branch within the Japanese army would prevent them from cooperating in a war against the Soviets? That's really one of the most far fetched ideas I've heard in a long time.
The keu part in this statement is 'If the Japanese Emperor' The emperor was not making the decisions, the Military were making the political and economic decisions, he was an ineffectual figurehead.If the Japanese emperor had decided to cooperate with the Germans and do he best to beat the Soviets in the east then you can be sure he'd pour both the IJN IJA in full force and have them cooperate. During the a lot of Zeros operated from land based airfields in the Pacific, and so if the war was to be raged in the Soviet Union then they'd simply be located there instead.
Wide open to the Russian Tanks, artillery and ground attack forces. The Japanese army had no effective tanks, few Artillery pieces, very poor small arms, few anti tank guns and those they had were very poor plus no ground attack forces and I keep mentioning it they lacked transport. The minute they come out to move forward the Japanese Army is very exposed.Wide open ? To what ? The US ? They weren't gonna hit the Japanese, if so they would've done waay before they invaded China.
Again your comments support my statement. I said that they gave the technology too late and in insufficient quantity to enable the Japanese to use them, I didn't say they didn't give the techology. The Japanes jet fighter was largely all japanese. They did get some technical information around the swept wing which was incorporated but the jet engine (Ne-12) was designed and built by a joint Japanese Navy/Nakajima team headed by Captain Tanegashima and Tameji Yamada. Note this wasn't a joint Navy/Airforce team.No it is not major assumption Glider, and you need to pick up you reading again cause the Japanese were given a lot of technology by the Germans near the end of the war. And most of it was hastily put to use, esp. the jet technology
By wars end the Japanese were working on copies of the Me-262 Me-163 fighters.!
The Japanese Army was poorly equipped compared to the Russian Army in the spring of 1942 and there was much less of it. They didn't need Lend Lease equipment.The equipment they were issued with in 1941 wasn't much worse than that of the Soviet army Glider. Remember that this is before the Soviets started recieving lend lease equipment.
Glider said:Wide open to the Russian Tanks, artillery and ground attack forces. The Japanese army had no effective tanks, few Artillery pieces, very poor small arms, few anti tank guns and those they had were very poor plus no ground attack forces and I keep mentioning it they lacked transport. The minute they come out to move forward the Japanese Army is very exposed.
It's worth notingAnd regarding transport: Mostly horse drawn, but reliable. The Japanese also had some VERY good prime movers which many people often overlook! So regarding the issue of transport the Japanese have got it sorted.
The Ki-201 wasn't a close copy of the me262, it shared some of the aerodynamics certainly and as mentioned the engine was modified on the basis of the photograph, but a copy it wasn't. The me163 was a copy but as we both agree too little too late for both aircraft.Again you need to pick up the books Glider, the Japanese Ki-201 was very close to a direct copy of the Me-262! And so was their version of the Me-163.
I must have missed something, but I thought that Japan and Germany were both fighting the USA and the UK.And why was the technology handed out so late you think ? Because the Germans Japanese weren't fighting a war together. Had they fought together information would've flowed between them from start to finish, and the Japanese would soon have fielded a lot of German inspired equipment.
T26 and T28 tanks would do the job, but you are ignoring the fact that a small number of KV1 or T34 tanks would have the same effect against the Japanese as a Tiger against Sherman 75's. If Germany can spare a handfull of Tigers for Tunisia, then the Russians can spare a handful of modern tanks to face Japan.Russian tanks artillery ? What Russian tanks artillery ? The ones they need against the Germans ?
The only tanks the Soviets would have ready for operations in the east where the likes of the small T-26, which I may say weren't much better than what the Japanese had. And as for ground attack forces, the Japanese was as well equipped as the Soviets in this repect at this point in time.
The fact that you have a good prime mover doesn't mean that you army has solved its transport problems.And regarding transport: Mostly horse drawn, but reliable. The Japanese also had some VERY good prime movers which many people often overlook! So regarding the issue of transport the Japanese have got it sorted.