You could also argue that without the rapid industrialization , payed for in Ukrainian blood, during the 1930s that stalin ordered the soviets wouldve lost the war. They at least wouldve probably had to retreat past the urals for a few years until the u.s. could ramp up and save them. Considering nazi plans for Russia, what hitler wouldve done with even those couple years would make holodomoor look like a picnic.
The soviets were barely able to hold back the nazis even after a huge boom in industrial productivity under the 5 year plans. If they had kept at there earlier pace of industrialization they wouldve been blown out of the water.
Stalin probably made a lot of strategic mistakes, but even if the soviets had a military genius leading them, if they don’t have the tanks and guns to back up those strategies they still wouldve lost.
Yeah, Stalin def could have handled defence better - but years matter in a war enormously, without Russian cannon fodder Nazis would have had the time to solidify power & the fighting in the west would have been significantly worse (or perhaps even stop with Germany victorious), Hitler was basically counting on Stalin to stop or stop being able to defend USSR at such a cost to lives, that was the actual plan.
You could also argue that without the rapid industrialization , payed for in Ukrainian blood, during the 1930s that stalin ordered the soviets wouldve lost the war. They at least wouldve probably had to retreat past the urals for a few years until the u.s. could ramp up and save them. Considering nazi plans for Russia, what hitler wouldve done with even those couple years would make holodomoor look like a picnic.
The soviets were barely able to hold back the nazis even after a huge boom in industrial productivity under the 5 year plans. If they had kept at there earlier pace of industrialization they wouldve been blown out of the water.
Stalin probably made a lot of strategic mistakes, but even if the soviets had a military genius leading them, if they don’t have the tanks and guns to back up those strategies they still wouldve lost.
Yeah, Stalin def could have handled defence better - but years matter in a war enormously, without Russian cannon fodder Nazis would have had the time to solidify power & the fighting in the west would have been significantly worse (or perhaps even stop with Germany victorious), Hitler was basically counting on Stalin to stop or stop being able to defend USSR at such a cost to lives, that was the actual plan.