thing im curious about what did stalin get out of molotov-ribbentrop? just half of Poland? seems like stalin was giving up way more than he was getting what incentive did he even have to ally himself with hitler?
-
-
guess they had some baltic wars going on
-
My impression was that various purges of the Red Army meant that parts of it, particularly the officer corp, were not as battle ready as their German counterparts. So, a delay in hostilities gave them a bit of breathing room. However, I'm not a professional historian.
- Show replies
New conversation -
-
-
I’m desperately failing to page my WWII knowledge back in but I think the Soviet experience up to the Battle of Stalingrad indicates that they needed all the time they could get. Although I also remember initial reports of German invasion being disbelieved by superiors so wdik...
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
No. The purge had gutted the army's leadership. The Winter War in 1939-40 was a disaster for the Red Army (approx. half a million dead) due to the utter incompetence on every level. It was part of what persuaded Hitler to attack the USSR - he thought it would be easy pickings.
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
Russia was the opposite of war ready. They'd purged their officer corps to the point that when invaded they had to haul some guys back from gulags to run the army. Their industry wasnt ready either. The invasion really caught them flat footed
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.
