The Defeat of the Germans

Question 1

What was apparent by late 1944

Answer 1

the german defeat was imminent

Question 2

what was happening to the German forces by late 1944

Answer 2

they were retreating on all fronts

Question 3

why was victory delayed

Answer 3

the allies’ insistence on Germany’s unconditional surrender

Question 4

what did Stalin want the Red Army to win

Answer 4

the race for berlin

Question 5

What capital cities were liberated as the Red Army pushed to Berlin

Answer 5

Warsaw, Budapest, Prague and Vienna

Question 6

what did Stalin expensively repeatedly order

Answer 6

all-out frontal assaults, regardless of the very high casualties

Question 7

what had weakened the German war effort

Answer 7

mass bombing

Question 8

what was destroyed in February 1945

Answer 8

Dresden

Question 9

what happened in April 1945

Answer 9

the red army reached the outskirts of Berlin; a few days later, Soviet forces met up with American forces, at Torgau on the Elbe

Question 10

what drove Stalins to want the final defeat of the Germans

Answer 10

it was driven by political as well as military motives. He wished to control as much as possible of Central Europe and Germany, as to provide a buffer zone against any future threats to the USSR

Question 11

what was the symbol of Soviet Victory in the Great Patriotic War

Answer 11

the storming of the Reichstag on 2 May 1945

Question 12

how did Geography assist the Soviet Union

Answer 12

their vast geographical size made it almost impossible for Germany to strike a decisive, knockout blow against them. German forces constantly faced problems of dangerously overstretched lines of communication.

Question 13

how did the size of Russia benefit the army

Answer 13

it enabled whole new armies and a whole new industrial base, to be built up in the East, beyond Germany’s reach

Question 14

what was the Russian population in 1941

Answer 14

171 million

Question 15

how was the population compared to the Germans

Answer 15

it was nearly three times greater than Germany’s

Question 16

how did the USSR benefit from its large population

Answer 16

they could replace their losses in a way that was impossible for the Germans

Question 17

What did the USSR have vast access ti

Answer 17

natural resources (such as oil) that were unleashed by the war. The longer the war went on, the stronger Soviet military-industrial power became

Question 18

what was output like in 1943

Answer 18

the USSR simply outproduced German war industries

Question 19

what had been established before the war

Answer 19

the command economy

Question 20

what did the command economy enable

Answer 20

it was well suited to the needs of total war and the emergency mobilisation of workers and resources

Question 21

what is a command economy

Answer 21

the Marxist theory demanded that the state should control the commanding heights of the economy to enforce socialism on business and eliminate capitalism

Question 22

what did the military leadership of the USSR become

Answer 22

ruthlessly effective

Question 23

What did Stalin prove himself as

Answer 23

a very capable war leader. His generals became highly competent. Propaganda and patriotism motivated the armed forces and civilians to fight and endure

Question 24

what did the USSR do during their war to a greater extent than any other country

Answer 24

the enlisting of women

Question 25

what did women do during the war

Answer 25

the fought as infantry soldiers; as tank captains at the Battle of Kursk; as skilled workers in munitions factors and a wide range of auxiliary ununiformed organisations

Question 26

what was Hitler unable to do

Answer 26

achieve the rapid initial victory he had hoped for

Question 27

what did Germany have to do from December 1941

Answer 27

fight a two-front war

Question 28

What did Germany lack self-sufficiency in

Answer 28

raw materials

Question 29

what did war production in Germany depend on

Answer 29

By 1943 and 1944, it depended on all-out exploitation by dwindling economic and human resources

Question 30

what did Hitler do that weakened the war effort

Answer 30

he made crucial mistakes and sacked many of his best generals, replaced them with yes-men

Question 31

What did the Germans do in occupied countries

Answer 31

alienated people in occupied ocuntries, provoking resistance movements and partisans

Question 32

How did Stalin’s allies hinder Hitler

Answer 32

they presented a dangerous threat on other fronts, preventing him from focusing on the war in the East

Question 33

What inflicted mass damage on Germany’s war effort

Answer 33

mass bombing campaigns by the British and Americans from 1943

Question 34

what were the allies able to do

Answer 34

use their secret intelligence gained by code-breaking to undermine Germany’s war effort (though Stalin was never informed about it directly)

Question 35

what poured into the USSR during the war

Answer 35

enormous amounts of vital military and economic aid