Well of course if the Soviet war machine was so superior in 1945:
1) Why didn't they just steamroller over western Europe?
A) Because they knew better, and were too busy crushing "dissidents" in one of the Asian Soviet Republics-forget which one.
2) Why did they stand idly by during the Berlin airlift?
(see a) above.)
3) Why did they agree to withdraw from Austria?
A) Because despite propaganda (which some people apparently STILL believe), they
weren't in a position to take the west on in a prolonged conflict.Even Mother Russia couldn't afford another 20 million casualties.
The outbreak of the Korean War would have been the perfect opportunity for Russia to advance westwards while the UN was focussed on Korea...except the strength of the west's response probably scared them back to reality.
Regards,
Gordon
[ 31. December 2003, 05:30 PM: Message edited by: The_Historian ]