R6.2 Defeat of the Germans Flashcards
Why did the final defeat of Germany take an unexpectedly long time?
By late 1944, it seemed imminent, with German armies retreating on all fronts. However, victory was delayed through allied insistence on Germany’s unconditional surrender , there was no possibility of an agreed armistice, and the Germans fought to the bitter end
What are different reasons for Soviet Strengths?
-Vast Size of Soviet Union
-Population of USSR
-USSR had vast natural resources
-Soviet command economy
-Military leadership effective
Explain how the vast size helped USSR?
It’s size made it almost impossible for Germany to strike a decisive, knock-out blow against it. German forces constantly faced problems of dangerously overstretched lines of communication. Size of USSR enabled whole new armies, and a new industrial base, to be built up in the East, beyond Germany’s reach
Explain how the Vast population and resources helped Soviets?
-Population of USSR 171 million in 1941 was nearly 3x greater than Germany’s although Hitler could also exploit manpower of occupied countries between 1938 and 1941, USSR could replace losses in a way that was impossible for the German
-USSR had vast natural resources, such as oil, that were unleashed by the war, The longer the war went on the stronger soviet military industrial power became. And in 1943, USSR simply out-produced German war industries
Explain how the Soviet command economy helped it?
It was already established before the war, and was well-suited to the needs of total war and the emergency mobilisation of workers/resources
Explain how the soviet leadership was a strength?
Military leadership of the USSR became ruthlessly effective Stalin proved himself to be a very capable war leader. Stalin’s generals became highly competent. Propaganda and patriotism motivated armed forces/civilians to fight on
What was the role of Women in Russia’s war?
All countries fighting the WW2 enlisted women in the war effort, but the USSR did so to a greater extent than any. Women fought as infantry soldiers, as tank captains and as skilled workers in munitions factories
What factors constitute Germans weaknesses towards the war?
-Hitler unable to achieve Blitzkrieg
-Germany had to fight two front war from December 1941
-Germany lacked self-sufficiency in raw materials, by 1943 to 1944 war production in Germany depended on all-out exploitation of dwindling economic and human resources
-Hitler made strategic mistakes and sacked best generals to replace with yes-men
-Germans alienated people in occupied countries, provoking resistance and preventing ideological persuasion
What factors did the Allies contribute to victory in the war?
-Presented a dangerous threat to Hitler on other fronts, preventing him from focusing on the war in the East
-Mass bombing campaigns by the British and Americans from 1943 inflicted huge damage on Germany’s war effort, weakening resources
-Allied secret intelligence undermined Germany’s war effort (Alan Turing enigma code), though Stalin never informed directly
-Economic and military aid poured into USSR
How did the USSR emerge as a superpower?
It had emerged as a superpower by 1945, before 1941, the Soviet Union had been regarded as a lesser military power, vulnerable to foreign aggression. The pressures of ww2 forced the USSR to build up huge military strength and maximise economic potential, also greatly weakening other powers
What was the effect of Soviet victory in the GPW towards communism?
It seemed to vindicate (clear blame of) communist ideology, offering the “road to socialism” as a replacement for fascism, and an alternate to capitalism.
How did the GPW victory affect USSR size?
It had massive expansion through the previously independent Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and parts of East Prussia, incorporated into the USSR as soviet republics.
Soviet victory caused one of the largest mass migrations in history, what was this?
12 million refugees, many ethnic Germans, fled westwards in 1944 to 1945 as the Red Army advanced
Why was Stalin not satisfied after the GPW victory?
He was scared and insecure, anxious about the economic power of the US and how it might be used in Europe. Stalin also feared a resurgence of Germany. Overall he feared and distrusted many of his own people, his regime ruthlessly repressed soviet citizens who were outside the USSR during war
What is the “four-power occupation of Berlin”
When the Germans surrendered, an overall peace settlement had to be reached to divide Berlin into 4 segments for France, Russia, US and UK.
This difficulty to decide led to recurrent disputes between the USSR and Western Allies
