What stopped the Soviet Union?

Well, ya. but it wont be like in the case of germany. the allies first need to destory the current soviet forces in europe and beat them back to russia or poland and then start bombing the soviet industries.

also unlike germany with concentrated industrial towns and cities, the russians can disperse it's industry thruout it's vast terrority.

 

Just saw a document on the Red Army attacking the Japanese forces in Manchuria in Aug 1945. The amount of troops transferred by the end of July 1945 was huge so by the time the Red Army most probably did not have the troops anymore in Europe to start a fight.

Must say the attack by the Red Army was rather devastating. Even if the Japanese did not have quite equal tanks they were dedicated and ready to die for the emperor. And just in a couple fo weeks the Red Army conquered an area the size of half-Europe!

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1986/RMF.htm

 

Why should Stalin attack when he got his hands on all of Eastern Europe, by expanding his empire by liberating those countries from the Nazis? At the end of the day Stalin came up smelling of roses.

 

I think the main reason would be keeping other major powers off the european continentand to provide a buffer zone.

And i really doubt that Stalin's main concern was to look good to the world.

 

Say that again as the cold war sets in.

 

So true. Stalin was a hero in the eyes of most of Eastern Europe because of his liberation of their countries, what more could he ask for?

 

It would be intersting to see what would happen but I think it would of been another bloody war.The allies would win over the Soviets reason being the Russians had been kicked about and were on the knees fighting after fighting the germans.

 

Maybe in the beginning. But after a while, we can see that the people had a ery different opinion of things, especially those from the Eastern block.

 

I wonder why...

 

American and British Tactical Air was of such an overwhelming nature that the former Luftwaffe could only dream of. That alone would have been enough to blast every Soviet troop concentration, fuel, ammunition, supply dump and railroad bridge, all the way back to the Soviet Union, not to mention supporting and making easier every Allied armored advance.

 

Just wondering...anybody counted how many planes and bombing missions and time it would take to bomb the USSR into kingdom come?? Germany is a much smaller place and in 1943-1944 production numbers were getting bigger despite the massive bombings.

Of course it is easier if you use nukes but once again you might regret using them later.

 

This is really rough but gives some idea of the major cities / regions:

Chemical industries:
Donets Basin, particularly Konstantinovka, Gorlovka, and Lisichansk
Moscow
Sumigait / Baku
Vefremov
Dzerzhinsk
Kazan
Urals region: Perm, Novokuybyshevisk, Ufa, Salavat, and Novotroitsk
Omsk
Krasnoyarsk

Metals production
Donets Basin: Zaporozhye, Zhdanov, Taganrog, Kirovy Rog among others
Stalingrad
Urals region: Nizhniy Tagil, Krasnoturinsk, Kamensk-Uralskiy, Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk among others
Cherepovets
Novekuznetsk
Krasnoyarsk
Shelekhov

Heavy industry
Donets Basin, particularly, Kharkov
Moscow
Leningrad
Gorky
Sverdlovsk
Chelyabinsk
Novokuznets
Irkutsk
Vladovostk

Anyway, Soviet industry seems to be concentrated into five rough areas:

Donets Basin
Urals region
Kuznets Basin
Irtursk Basin
Moscow region

As I understand it, the Soviet electrical production system of the era was extremely vulnerable as it was concentrated in a handful of large plants, particularly hydroelectric ones. The transportation system was also very vulnerable, particularly the trans-siberian rail system.
Oil production relies heavily on rail and river shipment of crude to refineries.
Aluminum production is also concentrated in just a few cities using very large smelters.
The Urals sites might initially be relatively safe from attack due to their distance from likely bases in Western Europe or China. Short of the US developing good aerial refueling or putting the B-36 or similar aircraft in service alot of targets are well over 1000 NM from likely bases and simply out of range.

 

Holy mackerel, all this ganging up on the Russians that seems to have been the fashion here lately gives the impression that instead of the nazis the Allies should have fought the other guy!

There was this B-25 in 1943 I saw with the lettering on top : "Finito Benito, Next Hiroito!". It appears it should have been "Next Uncle Joe!"

Read the list with me again:

On the side of the Axis: Germany, Italy, Japan, Romania, Hungary, Finland.

On the side of the Allies: UK and Commonwealth nations, France, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Danemark, Holland, Belgium, Norway, US, Brazil, Mexico, Italy too but later, and a number of other smaller states. Surprise, surprise, the Soviet Union too!

 

I still remember fondly the 3 stooges short were Moe was Hitler and at the meetings of his allies you have Tojo, The Sultan of Turkey , Mussolini and Stalin. It wasn't until Germany invaded in 41 that the US stopped seeing Stalin as an enemy.

 

Hey, that's Five Stooges How old are you, to remember the Three Stooges? I only dimly remember a few movies I saw in black and white in the 60s.



[off topic mode off]

 

The Three Stooges are on all the time over here in the states Za.

 

In fact, I watched one of their "one reels" (a short of about 20 minutes) on Sunday last where Moe was Hitler (dictator of Moronia in the short), Curly was Göring and, Larry Göbbels-like characters. Curly had medals on head to toe including several promenant ones on his postierior. It was weird but humorous.

 

In fact, I watched one of their "one reels" (a short of about 20 minutes) on Sunday last where Moe was Hitler (dictator of Moronia in the short), Curly was Göring and, Larry Göbbels-like characters. Curly had medals on head to toe including several promenant ones on his postierior. It was weird but humorous. </font>[/QUOTE]I remember a Hitler related Three Stooges episode. Not sure if it's the one you are talking about though, I'm sure there were a few.

 

There were several "one reels" as well as a three reel movie where the Stooges did Hitler or fought him. In the movie they are protecting a professor who invents a flying tracked submarine.

 

Don't say that too loudly or else one of the usual What-If loonies will whip this up into another Wonder Weapon(tm) that certainly ought to have allowed the Germans to win the war again