Defeat of the Germans Flashcards
Why was victory against the Germans delayed?
Because of the allies insistence on Germany’s unconditional surrender
What did Stalin want to beat the allies in?
The race for Berlin
When did the Red Army reach the outskirts of Berlin?
April 1945
What drove Stalin in the final defeat of the Germans?
o Political and military motives
o He wished to control as much as possible of Central Europe and Germany, to provide a buffer zone against any future threats to the USSR
When and what was the symbol of Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War?
o The storming of the Reichstag
o 2 May 1945
What were the three main reasons for the defeat of the Germans?
o Soviet strengths
o German weaknesses
o Contribution by the Allies
What were the Soviet strengths that led to the defeat of the Germans?
o The USSR's vast geographical size o The population of the USSR o The USSR had natural resources o The Soviet 'command economy' o Military leadership
How was the USSR’s vast geographical size beneficial?
It made it almost impossible for German to strike a decisive, knock-out blow against it. Overstretched lines of communication for the Germans and new armies and industrial bases build in East beyond Germany’s reach
How was the population of the USSR beneficial?
Allowed losses to be replaced in a way that was impossible for the Germans since USSR’s population was three times greater
How was the USSR’s natural resources beneficial?
The longer the war went on the stronger Soviet military-industrial power became, especially in 1943 the USSR simply out-produced German war industries
How was the USSR’s ‘command economy’ beneficial?
This had been already established before the war and was well-suited to the needs of total war and the mobilisation of workers and resources
How was the USSR’s military leadership beneficial?
Bad start, but then leadership became ruthlessly effective. Stalin’s generals became highly competent and propaganda and patriotism motivated the armed forces and civilians to fight to continue
What were the German weaknesses that led to their defeat?
o Hitler unable to achieve the quick victory he hoped for
o Had to fight a two-front war from 1941
o Lacked self-sufficiency in raw materials, dwindling resources
o Crucial strategic mistakes, Hitler sacked many of his best generals and replaced them with yes-men
o Alienated people in occupied countries, provoking resistance
What were the contribution by the Allies that led to the defeat of Germany?
o Threat to Hitler on the other fronts, stopped him from focusing on war in the East
o Mass bombing campaigns in 1943 inflicted huge damage on Germany’s war effort, weakening their available resources
o Allied secret intelligence undermined Germany’s war effort
o Enormous amounts of vital military and economic aid poured into the USSR
What established the Soviet Union as a superpower and how?
o Victory in the war
o Galvanised the USSR and unleashed ints huge economic potential
o War badly weakened other European powers and made the USSR by far the dominant military power on the continent
What was Stalin anxious about after Soviet victory?
o The economic power of USA and how it could be used in Europe
o Resurgence of Germany
o His own people
How did Stalin demonstrate his fear of his own people?
The ruthless regime in repressing any Soviet citizens who had been outside the USSR during the war
What did war bring to the USSR?
Territorial expansion
What was the impact of the war on Soviet economy and what was prepared to combat this?
o Devastating
o Huge losses of lives
o Fourth Five Year Plan
What happened with industry after the war ended?
o Industrial production switched from military needs to the civilian economy
o Struggled to adjust to peacetime levels
o Electricity, mining, and steel were all down by around half
o Workforce was exhausted
What intensified the problems with industry?
Sudden ending of foreign aid through Lend-Lease in 1945
What was industry like under the Fourth Five Year plan?
o Considerable industrial recovery
o plans targets equaled or exceeded
What were the factors that led to the successes under the Fourth Five Year Plan?
o War reparation
o Central planning
o Committed efforts of Soviet people
What were the remaining economic problems?
o Economy overloaded by military expenditure, this went up due to the intensification of the Cold War
o Size of armed forces increased
o Recovery of agriculture was slow and plagued by difficulties
The effect of war on agriculture and how was the recovery hindered?
o Collective farms ruined, losses in livestock and food production decreased massively
o Recovery hindered by a severe labour shortage and that there was less land under cultivation
o 1946 was the driest year and the harvest was poor, led to famine in some regions
Was there recovery in agriculture?
o yes, but slow and patchy
o Fourth Five Year Plan brought some increases but failed to reach most targets
o Some regions better than others
What was one problem holding back reforms in agriculture?
o Stalin himself
o His writings were seen as incontrovertible which discouraged any tendencies toward innovation and change
o After his death successors felt that they had to introduce reforms and concessions to peasant farmers to alleviate agricultural problems
