How Stalin gave Hitler's army a major wartime boost

Washington Times ^ | June 12, 2005 | Joseph C. Goulden

[Tailgunner Joe]

What only a few members of Stalin's inner circle knew, men such as Marshal Georgy K. Zhukov, was that his confidence stemmed from two extraordinary letters he had received from Hitler, published here in English for the first time.

In the first letter, dated Dec. 31, 1940, Hitler admitted what could not easily be concealed from Soviet air reconnaissance and long-range patrols: That indeed 70 German divisions and supporting aircraft were deployed near the U.S.S.R. border in what he called the "Government General," the term for the portion of Poland seized after the infamous 1939 pact. He claimed he wished to keep them safe from British bombers until the time came to invade England. Any talk of a German strike against the Soviet Union was the result of rumors and "fabricated documents."

The following May 14, Hitler again acknowledged the size of his forces along the Soviet frontier but warned against British disinformation and "rumors now circulating of a likely military conflict between us." Then, in a truly audacious statement, Hitler wrote, "I assure you, on my honor as a chief of state [emphasis added] that this is not the case."

In the same letter, Hitler employed what Mr. Murphy describes as "the final masterpiece in a gallery of disinformation." He "confided" in Stalin that some of his generals might launch an unauthorized provocative attack "in order to save England from its fate and spoil my plans." He asked Stalin not to respond in kind by resisting any renegades who might enter the Soviet Union. Mr. Murphy writes, "Hitler virtually dictated the scenario Stalin followed in the first hours after the invasion." Not for days did the Red Army mobilize and try to fight back the invaders. By that time, of course, the Germans had struck deep into Soviet territory.

[Enterprise]

It was an enourmously stressful time, knowing that the same incompetent corrupt administration might continue on unchecked.

[anticommunist8]

Hitler was NOT too weak to conquer the Soviet Union. Hitler just did some heavy miscalculations, one of which was to assume that Stalin wouldn't send millions as cannon fodder in Stalingrad; and he he had too huge an ego to let his generals handle the operation. Hitler was very smart as far as managing lower level combat, but he knew little about total army movements and macrostrategy.

Hitler had no plan of engaging the USA into it. Hell, he didn't even want to engage Britain in it. Britain engaged in it herself in defense of Poland. Hitler had always dreamt of an alliance with Britain (read about Ribbentropp's activities in England and read Mein Kampf) and didn't care much about overseas colonies, accepting the British empire as part of global culture.

I would love to see some evidence that Hitler wanted to drag the USA into a war. Sounds very far fetched to me.

And this is coming from a Sephardi Jew, not a Nazi apologist.

[rcocean]

The fact is the Germans were outnumbered in Men, artillery, tanks, and planes. Their tanks were actually inferior to the best USSR tanks. (T-34/KV). It wasn't until 1943 the Germans came out with an equal tank - but too late.

People forget the real reason for the disasters in 1941/1942. Stalin's refusal to give ground and his throwing his troops into penny-packet attacks. Had Zhukov's advice been followed the Germans would have been defeated in the Winter of 1941-1942.

Stalin didn't trust his own people, and had them killed on a regular basis. The idea he "trusted" Hitler is insane.

[spanalot]

"Hitler had always dreamt of an alliance with Britain (read about Ribbentropp's activities in England and read Mein Kampf) and didn't care much about overseas colonies, accepting the British empire as part of global culture. "

You are right on - few realize that Hitler rose to power as an anticommunist , stemming from the hundreds of thousands of mennonites and fundamental germans that were killed in the famine genocides of 1921 and 1932. His cult creed also demanded "Livingspace" that lay to the east (not the west).

[Hermann the Cherusker]

He simply thought that Hitler was too weak to conquer the Soviet Union (and it of course turned out that he was) and that he was much stronger than him (after all the Germans had 3150 tanks, that were at that time nowhere as good as T-34 and KV's, and the Soviets had ca. 21000 tanks, including ca. 2000 KV's that were practically immune to any German attack, plus the Soviets had 3 times as many planes).

The French and British were also stronger, but that didn't save them. Hitler made the fatal mistake of settling for economic goals in the Ukraine in August of 1941, rather than directing an attack on Moscow from Smolensk to finish off the Soviet State apparatus in the original campaign timetable of 3 months, and only then turning south to create a line of control from Arkangelsk to Astrakhan. Moscow was the nerve center of Soviet telephony, railroads, roads (such as they were) and other means of communication and control. A rump Soviet state might have survived beyond the Urals after this fall of Moscow, but it would have had little power without the manpower of the Russian heartland.

[Al Simmons]

"The French and British were also stronger, but that didn't save them. Hitler made the fatal mistake of settling for economic goals in the Ukraine in August of 1941, rather than directing an attack on Moscow from Smolensk to finish off the Soviet State apparatus in the original campaign timetable of 3 months, and only then turning south to create a line of control from Arkangelsk to Astrakhan. Moscow was the nerve center of Soviet telephony, railroads, roads (such as they were) and other means of communication and control. A rump Soviet state might have survived beyond the Urals after this fall of Moscow, but it would have had little power without the manpower of the Russian heartland."

Bingo. Had Hitler allowed his Generals to run Barbarossa, the whole thing WAS winnable - albeit at a cost far, far greater than the Germans had initially thought (having underestimated the number of Russian divisions by - what - half???)

Of course, the thing that (besides Hitler's micromanagement) guaranteed the failure of Barbarossa was the (mostly) Serbian coup-de-tat in Yugoslavia in March 1941, which repudiated the recently signed pact with Hitler, and drove him to delay Barbarossa by a crucial month while he exacted "Operation Retribution" - the conquest of Yugoslavia.

That month made the difference between the Panzers rolling into Moscow in October/November - instead of freezing to a standstill at the outskirts of Moscow in late December 1941.

[ncountylee]

"A sincere diplomat is like dry water or wooden iron."

Joseph Stalin

[Red Sea Swimmer]

Various forces played them off against one another. More than any other country Russia defeated the Nazis.

[Red Sea Swimmer]

I don't like Stalin, but that is a good saying.

[sonofatpatcher2]

Birds of feather...