The Basket
Senior Master Sergeant
- 3,712
- Jun 27, 2007
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Both Nazi Germany and the USSR recognized each other as two Socialist nations that had an identical outlook and similar ultimate goals
Most of the materials I have read over the years says that the commonly-accepted historical view is that if Germany had not invaded the USSR in 1941 that the USSR would have attacked Germany in 1942.
"..... As for the dates, the debate continues."
Thank you, D.
The Suvorov book "Ice Breaker" was an eye popper for me, when I read it. Further, broader, reading over the years has diluted my enthusiasm: here's why:
Yes, the Germans encountered huge, deployed forces in the Western Ukraine in 1941, but, Red Army maneuvers were under way,
Yes, there was little resistance, i.e. the Soviets weren't dug in, but, the MR Pact had given Russia a new line of defense and the military was in the midst of savaging the old for the new.
Stalin: after the Fall of France, in May, 1940, he no longer held the whip hand on Hiter, his orders were to avoid provocation at any cost. Not the mind-set of an imminent attacker.
What Suvorov does reveal was Soviet plans for a fast moving armored thrust (BT Tanks, paratroops, etc.) into Western Europe; after France, Germany and Britain had fought WW1 all over again and ripped each other's guts out. (1943???) This is not a strategic 'revelation' on Suvorov's part. Red Army doctrine was always: attack, attack, attack. In the summer of 1941, tens of thousands of Russian troops perished in mindless 'attacks' because of that communist dogma.
Soviet Planners are no sloucheswhen it comes to offensive combined arms operations. That they would be thinking in these terms about attacking a weakened Europe as early as 1938 should surprise no one, IMO, THAT is why the Ukraine and Parts of Siberia were starved starting in 1932, for their harvests and seed, to finance the industries and technolgies that would make a conquering Red Military a reality.