Causes Of The Soviet Union In Ww2

18.1) Assess the view that the disagreements about the Second Front were the most significant cause of tension between Russian and the West between 1941 and 1945.

One of Soviet Union’s biggest victories was on January 31, 1943 at Stalingrad, when over 90,000 German troops surrender (WorldWar2History.info). After this battle, the Soviet Union remained at Stalingrad and liberated most of Ukrainians, Eastern Belorussia, and themselves (ushmm.org). “In the summer of 1944, the Soviets launched another major offensive, which liberated the rest of Belorussia, and the Ukraine, most of the Baltic States, and eastern Poland from Nazi rule (ushmm.org).” During April 1945, the Soviet Union launched its final attack on the Nazi’s by taking over Vienna, Berlin and Prague, (ushmm.org).

Many people don’t know about the ruthless battles between Germany and Russia on the Eastern front of World War II. The original peace between those countries turned into hatred at Hitler’s invasion. The battles fought on the Eastern front were some of the biggest and most ferocious battles in history. Those battles left civilians and soldiers dead in the streets and the once fruitful cities reduced to rubble. Russia’s brutal involvement in World War II rivaled that of Hitler’s due to Hitler's betrayal, Operation Barbarossa, and the Battle of Stalingrad.

The collapse of the communist Soviet Union ultimately led to the end of the cold war. The dissolution of the USSR in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. Thus highlighting the inferiority of communism and the superiority of western capitalism. The collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, however, was a result of both domestic and international factors including policies established by both the US and the Soviet leaders, most importantly Gorbachev’s ‘New Thinking’ reforms combined with the hard-line approach of Ronald Reagan. It has also been argued that the collapse of communism in eastern Europe was inevitable due to its moral bankruptcy, as well as the growing economic pressures which ultimately forced the Soviet Union to

The great global conflict of the Second World War was started because of the inexistent actions taken to prevent the war. The Second World War did not happen directly, but there was a series of events that led up to the horrific war. The deadly World War II had begun by the inability to enforce the Treaty of Versailles, the corrupted League of Nations, and the failed policy of appeasement. These three points are long term causes which express thee reasoning for the outbreak of war.

The Battle of Stalingrad in 1942 was the major turning point in the war, which sparked the Soviet counterattack against the Germans which led to the Allied European victory. Considered to be one of the bloodiest battles in history, that in Stalingrad, more lives were lost than Great Britain and the USA fatalities both combined for the entire war. It is estimated that the Axis forces had a total of 750,000 causalities and 478,741 Soviet casualties . In August 1942, the Axis conducted an offensive attack to capture Stalingrad after their failure to capture Moscow the previous year. Stalingrad was very important to the USSR as it was Russia’s centre of communication in the south and a major manufacturing city. In early September 1942, the Germans advanced towards Stalingrad. The Soviets could not give up this city as it was named after

Before World War I, the Soviet five-year plan after several construction has become the world's most powerful socialist country, economic strength, industrial production capacity, according to the world.

This was best shown though the Germans Air Force, which quickly demolished the Soviet Union’s. The Germans were able to overwhelm the Soviet Union, and by mid-July 1941, the Germans were just 200 miles from Moscow. While Germany continued their way towards Moscow, The Soviet Union began to plan their counter offensive. The Red Army was able to stop German from reaching Moscow. This was the first major defeat for the German army, which gave the Soviet Union people hope that they would be able to stop the Germans.

In June, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. At first Hitler and the Nazi’s were making very good progress, killing and capturing hundreds or thousands Soviet troops. Then throughout the months of fighting Hitler and the Nazi’s just couldn’t defeat the Soviets, some say it was due to the amazing size of the Soviet Union and also Germany lack of leadership.

On June 22, 1941, Operation "Barbarossa" (Unternehmen Barbarossa) took place, the German Nazi's poured 4 million troops over the Soviet border. The war between Germany and Stalingrad started on July 17, 1942, before the Germans ever set foot on Stalingrads territory. On September 3, 1942, the German Sixth Army reached the outskirts of Stalingrad. Just one month into the fight over 2.5 million Russians were either killed, wounded, or captured. Because of this, Hitler told his men to go into Leningrad, Stalingrad, and parts of Moscow. This particular war ended on February 2, 1943. Historians would argue that this was the bloodiest battle during World War II. Some Russians would say that it was their best fighting battle of the war.

In 1945 the Second World War came to an end, many people thought there would be peace and happiness once it ended. They were correct for a while, until the turmoil left over by the World War II began a new war in itself. Germany did not like its punishment as it nearly ruined their economy and it was divided up into four areas, each controlled by United State, Soviet Union, Great Britain, and France respectively. But at the time they did not agree with many things which began to affect the territory control. The Soviet Union began to take over Eastern Europe and create communist governments. Along with the Communist governments being created in Europe, the Soviet Union began to create communist governments in Korea, Asia, and other parts

During these months the Soviets would gather large troops trying to break the seemingly impenetrable Finnish Mannerheim Lines. The Mannerheim Lines were orchestrated by Marshal Carl Gustav and it was situated at the stretch of land called the Karelian Isthmus. The Soviet forces were lead by the experienced Marshall Kirill Meretskov however the same couldn’t have been said about the Soviet’s lower command level. They were mostly inexperienced due to Stalin’s purges of the Red Army in 1937, which lead to the death of a large amount of expertise in the military. Due to the inexperience the Soviet leaders would use the same tactics of sending waves of troops over the field to try pick off the Finnish soldiers tucked in the trenches. This resulted in the Finnish easily mowing down the Soviet soldiers with rapid machine gun fire. To combat with the immense number of tanks that the Soviets had the Finnish soldiers developed what nowadays is called the Molotov Cocktail. This method of throwing burning Molotovs down the chute of a tank resulted in the wreckage of around 2000 Soviet tanks (Hickman). Perhaps the remarkable victory scored in this war was on the Raate Road near Suomussalmi in early January 1940. Isolating the Soviet 44th Infantry Division, the Finnish 9th Division, under Colonel Hjalmar Siilasvuo, was able to break the enemy column into small pockets that were then destroyed. Over 17,500 were killed in exchange for around 250

The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of a home . Russian’s have a history of unmatched resilience, dedication, and the will to survive, even in the toughest conditions. The Battle of Stalingrad was a decisive turning point during the second world war, and followed a path unlike any other battle in history. The deciding factors of the war were simple mishaps within the German Wehrmacht army, alongside straightforward and effective Soviet strategies that pulverized the Nazi’s from within, all of which was being directed by the marvelous Commanders of the 62nd Army.

The Russo-Finnish War, or Winter War, began on 30 November 1939 when the Soviet Union invaded Finland. The objectives of the Red Army were simply, conquer and subjugate all of Finland and re-establish the borders that existed prior to the First World War. The Soviet Union held the advantage in manpower, equipment, and resources, but the Finnish Army inflicted casualties on the Red Army that far exceeded their own. Not a single Red Army unit reached its initial objectives and Stalin was forced to come to the negotiation table and make a peace that left Finland as a sovereign state. The Finnish military was successful because the Red Army lacked competent leadership, didn’t have the proper equipment to fight in subzero temperatures, and the Finnish Army was able to adapt to a changing environment and use their smaller numbers to their advantage. The gaping holes in Soviet military capabilities helped fuel Hitler’s willingness to initiate Operation Barbarossa. Additionally, by invading Finland the Soviet Union turned a disinterested and essentially neutral into an enemy that had the capabilities to strike into the heart of Russia.

In 1917, in the midst of the March Revolution in Russia, where Russians protested as a result of the effects of World War I, Finland took advantage of the time to declare its independence from Russia. In 1919, Finland adopted the constitution that is still used today and became a republic. By 1939, Finland was once again attacked by the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin offered Finland territory in exchange for land that would protect northern Russia from an attack from the west. However, Finland refused to accept this offer and the Soviet Union used force to obtain the territory, starting The Winter War. After a few months of resistance, The Finns lost and the war culminated with the Treaty of Moscow, which resulted in Finland surrendering 1and to the Soviet Union.