Jashin :
Sad to see people downplay the USSR's role. Firstly, all the people saying "1 vs the world" is the worst argument ever. Germany had the aid of Italy, Japan, Romania, Bulgaria, Finland for a bit, and the Vichy French. Secondly, the Soviets on their own completely annihilated the German Army and the Luftwaffe. Without that, D Day or any naval invasions would've been almost impossible into Europe. Thirdly, the Germans were destined to lose. They extended and stretched their logistics too far into the USSR. Operation Barbarossa was a death sentence for Germany and when they shifted to taking oil fields and aiming for Baku, they were chewing away at their fuel too quickly where any plausible way of extracting fuel would have been impossible. The Soviets were already sabotaging their own oil fields as well so the Germans could not utilize them. And lastly, the lend lease. The lend lease served of course a good deal for the Soviets. However this doesn't mean the Germans would have taken the USSR or beaten them as a whole. Surrender for the Soviets was just not going to happen. The Germans were literally bent on exterminating all Slavs in Russia for Lebensraum. People were absolutely going to take arms and resist German occupation that would have been gruelling for German logistics and occupiers. This kept the morale for the Soviets exceptionally strong in the war. In the aspects of machinery and material, the Soviets were still going strong with most of the weapons and artillery pieces being manufactured in the USSR itself at the urals where most of the industry was evacuated beforehand. And the Soviets still had their own food, like rye bread, buckwheat, millet and barley for kulesh, potatoes, vegetables, meats and fish. However yes, the lend lease DID play a huge part in this. The US provided delicious canned meat and other fulfilling foods that kept the Soviets full on food that allowed them to fight at least with a full stomach. The Germans were just too stretched and couldn't have won. It was just not plausible in any scenario. The USSR could've held for as long as they needed, and even if the Germans kept going, the Manhattan Project would've been finished.
2026-08-08 05:55:22